[SusanG]

I started giving Callie Purina Pro Plan for seniors a year ago. I couldn't believe the change in her - her energy level went up, she is mentally sharper, just all around a great improvement. A few weeks ago I noticed her poo was not brown, but a light tan. I wondered if it was from the food. (She gets the Bright Eyes for senior small dogs kibble, mixed with the turkey & rice wet for seniors or beef & rice)) Just on a hunch, I fed her Molly's kibble (Refined Lamb) and canned Purina lamb and vegetables and her poo turned brown again and vice versa.

I wrote to Purina (twice!) and both times the answers I got were not even what I asked. About diarrhea the first time (which is not what I asked) and the second time some drivel about their tests show no stomach upset. (obviously they have uninformed office people reading from a script and I couldn't get through to a Purina scientist or vet who could answer what I asked)

I've read claylike poo can be liver problems, but why would it do that with turkey and not with a different brand and protein like lamb? She has no symptoms of liver disease. Is the Purina senior food just more digestible or is it because chicken and turkey are white meat? Molly was on PPP Savor for a long time, but she seems to have bowel problems if I feed her chicken and had to switch her to Earthborn Refined since Purina doesn't make a kibble without chicken. When Molly was on the Savor for a year, she did not have issues with poo color, but it was a different formula and she was also getting different Purina canned.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

It could be calcium-related. Have you compared the calcium content in each food?

And have you had her bloodwork done recently? This is probably something I would be discussing with a vet rather than Purina. Annual bloodwork can catch senior health issues while they're still manageable.

 

[SusanG]

Its been about a year since she had blood tests. It worth having them done again.
I see 1% calcium in the kibble - hard to know how much is in the wet food (and useless to ask Purina but I will anyway) Since this change has been only recently its either - 1) the batch of food we recently bought or 2) something brewing in Callie. I think I'll switch her back to Molly's food for now. Molly has a touchy digestive system, but Callie doesn't so introducing a different food will not bother her a bit (especially since she sneaks bites of Molly's anyway)
Our vet just announced they had a covid exposure and are closing for cleaning for 2 days. Its hard since we have to do valet visits but we need to followup

 

[SilverSylvio]

Tan or clay colored stools sometimes can indicate gall bladder/biliary issues. I believe that is more with that color being a consistent thing and not intermittent though and you would also have other indicators. That being said my dog would have tan colored stools on occasion and it wasn’t an issue, but he also had a tricky digestive system.

 

[fjm]

Pumpkin and carrots will turn my dogs poo orange. Turkey has a devastating effect on Sophy, particularly one batch which the manufacturer eventually admitted was excessively high in fat. If the colour/consistency changes when you switch foods it certainly sounds like the ingredients, although blood tests would be sensible for peace of mind.

 

[SusanG]

Pumpkin and carrots will turn my dogs poo orange. Turkey has a devastating effect on Sophy, particularly one batch which the manufacturer eventually admitted was excessively high in fat. If the colour/consistency changes when you switch foods it certainly sounds like the ingredients, although blood tests would be sensible for peace of mind.

That is my thought also. I'm going to try her on the kibble with the beef and rice wet (in place of the turkey) and see what she "produces" tomorrow. This afternoon was half dark brown, half very pale (she had the Earthborn lamb kibble and the turkey and rice wet last night) I'm thinking its something in this batch of turkey.
But, depending on the next day or so, if it doesn't normalize out - to the vet for blood tests.

 

[Dechi]

My dogs have yellow/beige small poop from the food they eat (Royal canin anallergenic from the vet). Their poop is always the same color though, which is why I’m not worried.

If your dog started to have a change of color in her poop and her diet hasn’t changed, I would want to see the vet and have a stool analysis done and probably a blood test. Especially if it’s a senior dog.

 

[Rose n Poos]

I feed my boys one of the PPP small breed versions and noticed that they not only changed the packaging but also the ingredients some. I was concerned that we might have some sort of difficulty, physically or declining to eat it. We lucked out.
The one thing that changed was that their poops became even smaller, but no color change.
If you still have an old bag you might be able to compare.

Previous

current

 

[SusanG]

I am wondering the same. I think the formula might have changed for the wet food as well (turkey & rice) but I don't have any old containers. I'm a little frustrated because Callie has done wonderfully on it for the past year and I hate to change her to something else. I am very disappointed in Purina, that it does not provide "professional advice" when you ask a question about their products, just some office person reading off a script and specifically avoiding answering the question I asked. Because I can't get a decent scientific answer from them it will cost me a few hundred dollars to do blood tests and a liver shunt test to rule out illness

 

[Rose n Poos]

There still might be a way for you to compare formulas.
You have the current bag already.
If you search a few sites like the pet stores and Amazon and others, you may find the listings still feature the previous ingredient list in the photos and description.

 

[SusanG]

Today, back to normal brown. I really think it is Bright Mind turkey & rice formula. She had her Bright Mind Kibble last night, but instead of the Bright Mind canned, I mixed in Savor Lamb and Vegetable with it. Today will try mixing in the Bright Mind Beef and Rice.

 

[Rose n Poos]

The only PPP Senior Bright Mind Small Breed formulation I found is the chicken and rice version

From the Petco website, I believe this is the previous formula

From the Purina site. I believe this is the new formula

the Analysis copied from site

Guaranteed Analysis

Crude Protein (Min)	29.0%
Crude Fat (Min)	14.0%
Crude Fiber (Max)	3.0%
Moisture (Max)	12.0%
Arginine (Min)	1.2%
Linoleic Acid (Min)	1.7%
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) (Min)	0.15%
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) (Min)	0.15%
Calcium (Ca) (Min)	1.0%
Phosphorus (P) (Min)	0.8%
Selenium (Se) (Min)	0.35 mg/kg
Vitamin A (Min)	14,000 IU/kg
Vitamin E (Min)	500 IU/kg
Pyridoxine (Min)	3.0 mg/kg
Folic Acid (Min)	0.6 mg/kg
Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C)* (Min)	90 mg/kg
Glucosamine* (Min)	500 ppm
Omega-3 Fatty Acids* (Min)	0.45%
Omega-6 Fatty Acids* (Min)	1.8%
Bacillus coagulans* (Min)	600 million CFU/lb
*Not recognized as an essential nutrient by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profiles.

 

[Rose n Poos]

Today, back to normal brown.

If she's not showing any other symptoms, and if the color change is due to differences in ingredients, then that doesn't sound too worrying.

My boys end product will sometimes vary due to intake .

 

[SusanG]

If she's not showing any other symptoms, and if the color change is due to differences in ingredients, then that doesn't sound too worrying.

My boys end product will sometimes vary due to intake .

If she's not showing any other symptoms, and if the color change is due to differences in ingredients, then that doesn't sound too worrying.

My boys end product will sometimes vary due to intake .

Thank you for the info. After experimenting with different canned, I don't think its the kibble. I think its something in the canned (actually plastic container) of the wet food (Turkey).