# Switch to Air Dried Raw Ziwipeak - Diarrhea HELP!



## bluesky (May 8, 2014)

I've recently switched my dog to air dried Ziwipeak. I got some samples and since my dog has had very very loose stools (mucus looking coming out a little at a time) and got up a couple times during the night as well to eliminate. 

I really love everything about Ziwipeak and my dog absolutely loves it so am really hoping it will work out (he is extremely picky about dry kibble) plus I heard it's the closest you can get to raw so feel really good feeding it to him.

Anyone experience this? Is this common? I tried to do the transition slowly but he really just eats around the kibble to finish the ziwipeak. They have beef, lamb, venison, and venison w/fish. Is there one of these that might be lighter on his stomach to start off with?

I'm hoping his system just needs to get used to the change and his stools will go back to normal sooner than later!

Thanks so much for any advice!


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

I'd give him a tablespoon of canned pumpkin every 4-6 hours, make sure he drinks enough and ride it out for two days. If there's no improvement, he needs to see the vet.


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## bluesky (May 8, 2014)

thanks I will. I also was going to give him just plain white rice and chicken for his night meal. I'm guessing it has to be the change of food though as his stools were always fine before? Wasn't sure if this was typical to see for the first week as his body is adjusting to the new food? Also it was the Lamb Ziwipeak that I gave him, in looking at their website Lamb seemed to be the richest. The Venison seemed to be the one that was better digestible and less rich so maybe I'll switch to that and introduce it much slower? Was thinking of giving the white rice/chicken and slowly adding the Ziwipeak over the next few days?


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## Amaryllis (Dec 28, 2011)

Switching foods suddenly can definitely cause this problem. It doesn't necessarily mean that the lamb is too "rich", just that this food is different from his previous food and his GI tract is protesting. Chicken and rice is fine for a few days, but obviously not as a long term food.


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## TinyTails (May 16, 2011)

From what I have seen on the chi forum the lamb does seem to be the richest - a lot of people on there feed Ziwi. You could try the venison instead. Also make sure you are not overfeeding - the correct feeding amounts for Ziwi are pretty tiny as the food is high in calories.
Some dogs just don't do well on some foods even if we really like the food  If the pup continues to have issues I would switch. We tried Ziwipeak and the dogs loved it and I really wanted to feed it but one of the chihuahuas had a seizure reaction from something in the food both times I tried to transition him to it. The food that is best is what your dog does best on - we feed Farmina and Honest Kitchen.


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## bluesky (May 8, 2014)

I spoke with a representative from the Chewy website (as that is the best cost) and they said Beef version is typically the easiest transition for dogs, lower level of natural protein as opposed to the venison or lamb. I can't find many reviews on the beef however, most all is from venison or lamb so I think the beef came out not too long ago...


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## InkedMarie (Mar 11, 2009)

I'd use some pumpkin & do a five day transition. Practice tough love: put it down for 15 min, if he doesn't eat it, pick it up and he gets nothing else til the next meal. I'm afraid if you don't do it slowly, you'll be dealing with diarrhea.


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

How much are you feeding? A lot of people overfeed Ziwi because it looks so little. If your dog was on kibble before he probably just isn't used to how rich the Ziwi is (since it's basically all meat).

Besides pumpkin, try Slippery Elm! It seriously does wonders (I honestly can't recommend it enough).


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