# HELP! Puppy Diarrhea!



## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

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PART I
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I have a 13 week old GR who I believe has PICA. He ingested a few rocks, small sticks, grass and was diagnosed by the vet with Colitis after x-rays and stool samples.

They said everything was fine to just ensure he doesn't eat foreign objects. They prescribed Hill's Prescription Diet i/d Low Fat Canine Rice, Vegetable & Chicken Stew food (Hill's® Prescription Diet® i/d® Low Fat Canine Rice, Vegetable & Chicken Stew - Canned) and some liquid form antibiotics.

After about 2-3 days his stool became very normal and we were relieved. During the 3-5 days we combined his Wellness Core Puppy Grain-Free Food (https://www.chewy.com/wellness-core-grain-free-puppy/dp/37166) and his stool became very loose again and then full of mucus.

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PART II
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We went back to the vet, they said he still had Colitis and gave him more prescribed Hill's Prescription Diet i/d Low Fat Canine Rice, Vegetable & Chicken Stew food (Hill's® Prescription Diet® i/d® Low Fat Canine Rice, Vegetable & Chicken Stew - Canned) and some pill form antibiotics this time around.

The vet also recommended a Grain-Version of the food instead as most dogs can handle the grains and they aren't bad for them. So we got Wellness Large Breed Puppy Food (https://www.chewy.com/wellness-large-breed-complete-health/dp/34372).

After a few days everything started to be normal again and we slowly mixed the new Wellness food with the Hills food and everything was fine. Days later when he ran out of Hill prescribed food, we had him entirely on the Wellness food and within a few days his stool was runny with some mucus again.

He does not vomit. He occasionally scratches (usually color area), he occasionally sneezes but that is all the symptoms besides diarrhea that I have observed.

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Foods
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When I compare the ingredients from all 3 foods:


Hill's® Prescription Diet i/d® Low Fat Canine Rice, Vegetable & Chicken Stew
Wellness CORE Grain-Free Puppy Formula Dry Dog Food
Wellness Large Breed Complete Health Puppy 

The only thing that stands out to me is:


Calcium & Phosphorus Levels Difference
Chicken Meal and/or Turkey Meal in both versions of Wellness but not Hills food
Chicken Fat in Wellness foods but not Hills food

Considering the prescription food was "chicken" based, but does not contain chicken fat (according to label) I don't think it is the chicken, but is it?


Is it the limited ingredients in the prescription food that works for him vs the Wellness foods?
Is is just the food change and it takes more time to adjust and/or is he eating too much too fast? We give him 2 1/2 cups a day in two feedings, AM and PM.
We use stainless steel bowls


Here are the other foods I am considering:

Wellness Simple
Nature's Variety Instinct Limited

Hill's Science Diet Puppy Large Breed Lamb Meal & Rice Dry Dog Food

ANY help is appreciated!


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

He doesn't sound like he has Pica, he's just a normal puppy. Have you had him tested for coccidia and giardia? It doesn't have to be the food that's the problem. It sounds like the issue starts every time he comes off of the antibiotics.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

I thought that too, but prior to antibiotics and ingestion of foreign objects, he was fine. It all started when he ingested some rocks, twigs, grass, god knows what else.

He could still have colitis but I am not sure what to do since I've already spent hundreds upon hundreds in visits, antibiotics, xray, exams, prescription foods.

I also neglected to mention, he acts completely normal otherwise. Has lots of energy. Drinks water. Eats fine, but very fast.

He also has never had blood in his stool.


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

Take him to the vet again and test for coccidia and giardia if he hasn't been already. Puppies are a huge responsibility and they aren't inexpensive to care for. The use of antibiotics can cause digestion issues because it offsets the natural balance of bacteria in the GI system. He needs to be healthy.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

Will do, thanks.

Any advice on foods, feeding sizes, times, etc to help or in general is what I'm doing suffice?


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## Otter (Feb 23, 2011)

ArchersMom said:


> Have you had him tested for coccidia and giardia?


I wondered the same. Seems like every GR puppy we've had had coccidia..

Not an expert, but I would ask the vet if your puppy was tested for either of these.

Good luck.


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## ArchersMom (May 22, 2013)

It's nice if you can split there meals up into three feelings a day. 2 cups or so total should be plenty. It doesn't sound like you need to change anything, except allowing him to eat sticks and rocks. Do you take him out to potty on leash?


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

We didn't before, we started to though.

I will do the two cups a day in three feedings opposed to two feedings from now on as I was doing two feedings. Thanks for the help, I have already made a Vet appointment.

Lastly, I know each dog responds differently to each food, but would you suggest another food besides the most recent I am using of the Wellness Puppy Large Breed Formula?


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## Lambeau0609 (Aug 3, 2015)

I would stick with a prescription dog food for GI issues for a while until his stomach has time to recover. I had the same issue and used prescription royal canin but science diet also has a prescription one and I used it for about 2 months. They have such sensitive stomachs and switching foods to early is not a good idea.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

Thanks everyone for the quick replies!


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## Brixton319 (Jun 17, 2016)

Orlandoech said:


> Thanks everyone for the quick replies!


Hey I just switched to wellness core puppy food. Have you noticed your dog itching when he is fully on it?


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Sometimes a particular food just doesn't work for well for a dog. If he has diarrhea again after you transition him back to the regular food, it would be a good idea to try a different type. Something with a different meat source.


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## Ffcmm (May 4, 2016)

Lily is on wellness large breed puppy (not the core line) and it took awhile for her stools to firm up after the transition ( even though i did it gradually)
@Brixton319 I'm starting to find the lily is an itchy puppy. I'm suspecting its the food ( which she was great on earlier though) and i plan to switch to Fromm when i am through with the current large bag of wellness. Is your puppy itchy too?


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

Ffcmm said:


> Lily is on wellness large breed puppy (not the core line) and it took awhile for her stools to firm up after the transition ( even though i did it gradually)
> 
> @Brixton319 I'm starting to find the lily is an itchy puppy. I'm suspecting its the food ( which she was great on earlier though) and i plan to switch to Fromm when i am through with the current large bag of wellness. Is your puppy itchy too?


Yes it is. I have decided to stop giving it to my puppy (13 weeks) immediately as I believe it's the culprit of:

1. Loose Stool/Diarrhea
2. Itching
3. Paw biting
4. Sneezing

I have switched to a combo of wet/dry of Natural Balance L.I.D. Limited Ingredient Diets® Sweet Potato & Venison Dry Dog Formula w/ pumpkin.

He has had two feedings on it and his stool has already firmed up slightly.


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## MrsCMomtoLucy (May 25, 2016)

Lucy had a UTI early on which was treated with antibiotics. She started with the loose stools after that. Our vet recommended Pro Plan Fortiflora Probiotic and it worked amazing. It took about 2 weeks for us to notice the difference but now her stools are perfectly formed. The best price I found was on Amazon.
Good luck and keep us posted.


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## HSMCM14 (Jun 10, 2016)

Our ( 9 weeks today) had a couple episodes of loose stool yesterday. She slept a lot more than normal but has been going non-stop since she came to us 1 week and 2 days ago. She is eating and drinking and playful, and tail wagging. She hasn't had any food since yesterday at 7pm. She had about 5 episodes of loose stool though the night. It's formed but very loose. 
She is sleeping in her crate at home with my girlfriend its about 540 am here. Thinking about leaving work early and taking her to the vet for a stool check. She is getting a deworming tomorrow. Breeder gave her 2 rounds of deworming and last one was last Monday. 
I picked up some baby rice cereal as the breeder recommended.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

UPDATE

Well I had our vet appointment Saturday, Aug 6th. They took some stool samples and sent it off to get tested. We got results back yesterday and our dog Dash tested negative for any parasites. Which is good.

They believe our dog has food allergies/intolerance's but pinning them down can be very tricky, time consuming and/or expensive.

After cross referring the dog foods we had tried (expect the prescription food) they all had sweet potatoes, potatoes, and peas in common. I did some research on the internet and found that dogs can have allergies/intolerance's to those. 

Our dog has been on Natural Balance Lamb & Rice for 5-6 days now and his stools are significantly better. I am going to keep him on this food for 5-6 more weeks and then slowly introduce the Wellness Large Breed Puppy back in to see if the stool becomes lose again. It could also be the chicken source of the Wellness food.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

MrsCMomtoLucy said:


> Lucy had a UTI early on which was treated with antibiotics. She started with the loose stools after that. Our vet recommended Pro Plan Fortiflora Probiotic and it worked amazing. It took about 2 weeks for us to notice the difference but now her stools are perfectly formed. The best price I found was on Amazon.
> Good luck and keep us posted.


I will keep this in mind.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Orlan*



Orlandoech said:


> UPDATE
> 
> Well I had our vet appointment Saturday, Aug 6th. They took some stool samples and sent it off to get tested. We got results back yesterday and our dog Dash tested negative for any parasites. Which is good.
> 
> ...


Glad you had him tested for coccidia and giardia and if he's doing well on Natural Balance, as long as it has everything he needs as a puppy, I would keep him on that. We've always fed our dogs Purina, because they've done so well on it, and the breeders we've used use it too.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Orlandoech said:


> UPDATE
> 
> Well I had our vet appointment Saturday, Aug 6th. They took some stool samples and sent it off to get tested. We got results back yesterday and our dog Dash tested negative for any parasites. Which is good.
> 
> ...


If he does will on the Natural Balance, why not just keep him on that? Don't go back to something that wasn't working for him.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

mylissyk said:


> If he does will on the Natural Balance, why not just keep him on that? Don't go back to something that wasn't working for him.


I want to see if its a food intolerance. But I may not even bother.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

So

It's been over a week on the new food and everything has firmed up nicely.

However, I do see my dog scratching daily, not excessively, but scratching none-the-less. Usually it is around his collar area, and sometimes his ear. He has no hot spots, no hair loss in this area, ears are not swollen. Everything looks normal when I inspect him.

How often should he be scratching?

Again, currently he is on Natural Balance Lamb & Rice Limited Ingredient Food.


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## ceegee (Mar 26, 2015)

Keep him on the food he's able to digest. 

Our pup had some digestive issues (loose stools, diarrhea) in his early weeks, until we took him off the designer food and put him on Royal canin puppy food. The issues cleared up within a couple of days and never came back. At 8 months old he's now eating a mix of Royal canin and Acana, and is doing well.

Some foods are very rich and can be hard to digest. The fat might be the problem, or possibly the "chicken meal". If your pup is fine with the Hills prescription diet, why not try their puppy food? Most companies will allow you to try a food and will take the bag back if the dog doesn't like or can't digest it.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

ceegee said:


> Keep him on the food he's able to digest.
> 
> Our pup had some digestive issues (loose stools, diarrhea) in his early weeks, until we took him off the designer food and put him on Royal canin puppy food. The issues cleared up within a couple of days and never came back. At 8 months old he's now eating a mix of Royal canin and Acana, and is doing well.
> 
> Some foods are very rich and can be hard to digest. The fat might be the problem, or possibly the "chicken meal". If your pup is fine with the Hills prescription diet, why not try their puppy food? Most companies will allow you to try a food and will take the bag back if the dog doesn't like or can't digest it.



Well I wanted to put him on a limited ingredient food to see how he did. He is doing a lot better, but the scratching concerns me but it doesn't seem excessive, but it is daily.

I will try the Hills Science Diet Puppy if the NB food doesn't work for him long term. Right now it seems to be working and I will stick with it.

I thought the Wellness foods were causing issues due to one of the following as they had the same ingredients


Chicken (source or chicken in general)
Chicken Meal
Chicken Fat
Sweet Pototoes
Peas


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## MollieGirl (Aug 8, 2016)

My 11month old had had the same problems. She was on Wellness Large Breed Puppy and stopped eating it. Immediately when I started a slow transition to BB Large Breed Chicken, she started with diarrhea and vomiting. One week on metro and Purina EN she was fine. 2 days off metro, it all came back. She went on another week of metro and EN with slow transient to BB Lamb and Rice-she didn't made it to half BB and half Purina EN 2 days of 2nd round of metro-it all came back. Due to ear infection at the same time as diarrhea initially, vet thinks it may be allergies. She's now on as needed metro and hydrolyzed Purina. After 1 single metro dose, stools firmed up for 2 days but now diarrhea is back. Stool specimens are negative. Not sure how long to stay on new hydrolyzed food and as needed metro. This has been going on now for 5 weeks. I researched food and want to start Merrick LID grain free salmon and sweet potato not because there's no chicken or chicken fat, which is the common ingredients in previous food. Getting frustrated due to lack of sleep(2am potty breaks for diarrhea) and mostly feel so bad for my girl-most of the time she acts her normal self. Weight hasn't been an issue-she had picked up a few pounds during her first heat cycle in May. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

So my Golden has been on Natural Balance LID Lamb & Brown Rice food for 3 weeks now and his stool has been normal (unless he ingest things like small rocks, wood chips, etc). We take him in the back yard a on a lease and he isn't able to ingest things as much now.

However, 3 weeks on, and he itches a lot more than he use to. Usually around his collar and ear areas and sometimes around the back of his front legs. His ears look fine, not swollen, they don't smell, no rash, etc. 

How much should a 16 week old Golden be scratching? I see him scratching each day, multiple times and for an easy 5-15 seconds each time.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

MollieGirl said:


> My 11month old had had the same problems. She was on Wellness Large Breed Puppy and stopped eating it. Immediately when I started a slow transition to BB Large Breed Chicken, she started with diarrhea and vomiting. One week on metro and Purina EN she was fine. 2 days off metro, it all came back. She went on another week of metro and EN with slow transient to BB Lamb and Rice-she didn't made it to half BB and half Purina EN 2 days of 2nd round of metro-it all came back. Due to ear infection at the same time as diarrhea initially, vet thinks it may be allergies. She's now on as needed metro and hydrolyzed Purina. After 1 single metro dose, stools firmed up for 2 days but now diarrhea is back. Stool specimens are negative. Not sure how long to stay on new hydrolyzed food and as needed metro. This has been going on now for 5 weeks. I researched food and want to start Merrick LID grain free salmon and sweet potato not because there's no chicken or chicken fat, which is the common ingredients in previous food. Getting frustrated due to lack of sleep(2am potty breaks for diarrhea) and mostly feel so bad for my girl-most of the time she acts her normal self. Weight hasn't been an issue-she had picked up a few pounds during her first heat cycle in May. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.


Sounds like a Chicken issue. I would try Natural Balance LID food, Lamb & Rice or Venison & Sweet Potato.


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## terroh8er (Jun 18, 2016)

It's normal for a puppy to scratch on a daily basis. The collar in particular takes some getting used to.


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

It sounds like the Natural Balance is working for him. Do you think he's really scratching more, or are you just noticing it more because now you're looking out for signs of allergies given the recent troubles he's had? Its normal for dogs to scratch multiple times a day, especially in their collar area. Your dog's puppy coat is coming out and their adult coat is coming in, and thats itchy too. My 18 week old puppy scratches multiple times a day. When we go for a walk, she sits down to scratch her collar area at least once, and she's been wearing a collar since 8 weeks old. If your pup's ears are clean and coat looks nice and shiny, then its probably just normal. Usually its prolonged scratching (like for a minute at a time), or like scratching every 15 minutes all day thats concerning. If it keeps up or gets worse, you could talk to your vet about trying Zyrtec, or try switching up his food, but after colitis dogs tend to have sensitive stomachs for a few months, with temporary food intolerances (he may have a food allergy anyway), and its pretty common for puppies to get diarrhea any time their food is changed, because it alters the bacteria in the gut. If you end up switching, I would do it over a long (like three weeks) period of time.


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## Piper_the_goldenpuppy (Aug 26, 2016)

MollieGirl said:


> My 11month old had had the same problems. She was on Wellness Large Breed Puppy and stopped eating it. Immediately when I started a slow transition to BB Large Breed Chicken, she started with diarrhea and vomiting. One week on metro and Purina EN she was fine. 2 days off metro, it all came back. She went on another week of metro and EN with slow transient to BB Lamb and Rice-she didn't made it to half BB and half Purina EN 2 days of 2nd round of metro-it all came back. Due to ear infection at the same time as diarrhea initially, vet thinks it may be allergies. She's now on as needed metro and hydrolyzed Purina. After 1 single metro dose, stools firmed up for 2 days but now diarrhea is back. Stool specimens are negative. Not sure how long to stay on new hydrolyzed food and as needed metro. This has been going on now for 5 weeks. I researched food and want to start Merrick LID grain free salmon and sweet potato not because there's no chicken or chicken fat, which is the common ingredients in previous food. Getting frustrated due to lack of sleep(2am potty breaks for diarrhea) and mostly feel so bad for my girl-most of the time she acts her normal self. Weight hasn't been an issue-she had picked up a few pounds during her first heat cycle in May. Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated.


Oh man, I totally empathize. I went through this with my last dog, Mae. From the start she had diarrhea with basically every food. We tried grain free, high protein, low protein, limited ingredient diets, home cooked meals. I was also exhausted from all night diarrhea. She never had parasites, and we were continually on/off metro. So here's the tricky thing about metro...its an antibiotic, but its also highly anti-inflammatory, so it stops diarrhea somewhat by reducing "bad GI bacteria" but mostly by decreasing inflammation in the GI tract. So it works wonders even when there's no bacterial infection. Mae ended up on purina hydro. Sometimes its hard to pin down exactly what they are sensitive to. If purina hydro is working, I would stick with that for a few months to be honest, to let her GI tract recover and let her GI bacteria repopulate, because metro reduces the good GI bacteria along with the bad, which makes it hard to start any new food (they will always get diarrhea). If its not working, I would try one of the other hydrolyzed diets. I'm an advocate of grain free diets in general, my current puppy gets Fromm Surf and Turf which is grain free, (and Merrick is a great brand and salmon is anti-inflammatory and good for allergies), but they tend to be very high in protein and often hard for dogs with sensitive stomachs to handle.


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## Orlandoech (Aug 3, 2016)

Thanks! Could be that I am paranoid now, he is definitely shedding a lot of his blow coat, so likely normal.


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