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nutrition for our 8 mo. male standard

20 10:37:14

Question
thank you for your very prompt response which really helps in a situation like this. i immediately purchased innova puppy kibble and eliminated the boiled chicken; instead, adding 1/4 c of canned chicken for soul to make it palatable. he has been given nuvet plus daily by the breeder so i agree with your assumption on the chicken. with your history in raising standards, can you give me some direction on how to overcome his skittishness? he is scared of any strangers coming into our home and even after several hours, does not trust to welcome them like our other dogs. he imitates my adult standard in every instance except this. we don't know what could cause this behavior since we purchased from a breeder when he was 6 mo. our family is laid back, not high-energy so he is in a calm environment with extremely happy, well-adjusted dogs. when we try to "hold" him in our laps while the guest gets down to his level to slowly pet him, he panics. he loves us and we can do anything with him. we are at a loss. will he "grow" out of this and how? thank you keisha!
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The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
we purchased him 2 months ago (d.o.b. is 4/27/06). he was on diamond professional and prior to bringing him home, i did alot of research regarding the top 5 brands of dog food. to avoid corn and wheat, i converted to innova adult dog food; not evo. i had my other t-cup poodle and 4 yr old standard on proplan. i also boil a whole chicken and mix broth and 1/4 c of cooked deboned chicken with their dry innova for their evening meal. dry food is kept out @ all times so they can feed whenever hungry but they eat heartily for the 6pm feeding. all are healthy and good weight. i also started using nu-vet plus and give 1 tablet to the 2 standards and 1/2 tab to the 4 lb t-cup. why is the 8 mo old standard having mushy stools? his teething must be cycling down by now. the others have well formed deposits. he has already had a fecal done in nov because he had tape worms when i purchased him. he is playful, active and eats about 2 cups a day. i have him on adult dog food now because the breeder advised me. any input would be appreciated!
-----Answer-----
First off I would warn everyone to stay well away from ANY food produced by Diamonds.  The scare a bit ago was responsible for a lot of problems.
Sounds like you are feeding a nice diet.  However, despite what the breeder said I would keep my puppy on puppy food until he reaches 1 year old.  That way he does get the proper nutrition needed for a growing puppy.
Many people forget to remember that puppies are still growing and changing inside.  This can cause bouts of diarrhea or soft stools for seemingly no reason.  If your dog has had a fecal and there is nothing wrong then I wouldnt worry so much about it.  Give the puppy time to adjust to new food and do some growing.  At 8 mo he could still be teething his back molars so that could account for the soft stools.  The nutrition otherwise that you are feeding is great.  Another thing you may try with your puppy is NOT feeding him chicken.  Some dogs have an allergy to chicken and this could be making the softer stools.  The nu-vet may also be bothering him.  If you want to find out for sure what is doing it be sure to take one thing away at a time to see what he has issue with.  The chicken would be where I started first.  Remember to give him time to adjust if you put him back on puppy food.

Answer
What it sounds like to me is that he wasnt properly socalized as a puppy.  I am dealing with this with one that I got.  I take them out into public as often as I can.  You just go slow and easy.  But the more you can socialize them to strangers the better.  If you have a petsmart or petco close take him there a lot just for the socializing.  Hold him on a tight lead when people want to pet him.  THis way he can not back away and has to get used to others being around.  If he does well then carry treats in your pocket and treat him each time he lets someone pet him.  So he will learn to like it.  Poodles are very social animals and should be very outging.  He will get the hang of it but it may take a bit.  When you put him on your lap get him to stay a minute then give him a treat and let him go.  Gradually increase the time.  This should make him like it.  If you dont want to use treats then use a favorite toy.  Never be above bribery  LOL.  It works wonders.