I wasn’t sure where to post this to be honest. Hunter is on Royal Canin maxi puppy food which is what the breeder weaned the puppies on to. I’m not particularly a fan of Royal Canin. I think there‘s better food for less money however he’s been doing well on it so I decided I’d keep him on the puppy food and change when he moves on to adult food. The main thing I don’t like about Royal Canin is the protein. It’s described as poultry protein. A bit vague for my liking. I started a new bag a week ago and ever since his bowel movements have been looser than they had been. Hunter usually goes three times a day. 5.30am, 9.30am and then evening. Usually firm, kickable. This last week the 9.30am is definitely not kickable. Evening more kickable or sometimes depending on what’s happened in the morning he might not even go. It could be because I’m giving him more kibble in the form of treats than I had been. I’ve always used part of my dog’s food ration for treats but I have been gIrving him more than he technically should have. I don’t think this week is much different than previous weeks though. It also quite often happens, and has happened occasionally before, if he has a race round especially zoomies. I know that sort of activity can stimulate the bowels. Obviously from the waffle I’ve just written I’m not sure why this is happening or what to do. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. 
after e.g. going into the river, and they tend to be smaller and looser than their normal poo. I don't see this as an issue, but is a bit of a confounder if you're trying to unpick the cause of his current softer poos. the other unhelpful observation is that he might have picked up a bit of a bug that's affecting his bowels.
Thank you all. I’ll keep notes and let you know of any developments. Bet you can’t wait
I had to leave work the other day because he exploded in his crate.
!!! I did all the things we’d discussed earlier in the thread but nothing helped so I rang Royal Canin nutrition helpline to ask about the feeding guide and to see if they had any suggestions. I spoke to a very nice lady. I explained what had been happening since I’d opened the bag of food. She asked for the batch number and best before date and said she’d check to see if there’d been any complaints. She then told me she’d send out a 4kg bag, to change Hunter on to it as soon as I received it and if it helped I’d to let her know and she’d send a replacement 15kg bag. That was even before she checked the batch number. It crossed my mind that similar must have happened before as they obviously had a procedure in place. A couple of hours later I received an email from her to let me know there were no other concerns or complaints about that batch so hopefully it was just an isolated incident. I got the new bag a couple of days later. I could tell the difference as soon as I opened it. It was lighter in colour but the most obvious difference was the smell. When the aroma hit me I realised, unlike the other bags I’d had, the dodgy bag hadn’t had a smell. Hunter’s reaction also suggested a difference. He was very excited when I opened the bag like cat nip to a cat and has continued to be excited whereas with hindsight with the dodgy bag he’d not been as enthusiastic as usual. After a few days of the new food I contacted Royal Canin again to let them know the 4kg bag had made a difference and they very kindly sent me a replacement. I can’t fault Royal Canin for there customer service that’s for sure although it’s a bit disconcerting that this can happen. I will be getting my food direct from them from now on. I’d subscribed to Pets at Home as they sold the food cheaper than anywhere else. I now think that’s possibly because they have old stock. The dodgy bag was 12 months older than the bag I got off Royal Canin. Now I need to decide do I keep him on Royal Canin or change 
Anyway hopefully that’s the mystery solved 
