# Loose stools - need advice



## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

How about adding some pumpkin to his food? That usually helps us with loose stools!


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## mickeychick (Jul 19, 2012)

We are having this issue again as well after 2 months of her having good solid poops. It's frustrating. We're back to rice and prescription canned food for a few days. We'll see how that goes.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

Yesterday he had his lunch a little later - around 2:30pm instead of noon, as I wasn't able to be home. Then he had his dinner at 6pm. Normally he'd eat at noon and 5 (plus his morning feeding). I don't want to give up on this food, but I also don't want him to have the loose stools. I may try the pumpkin if it continues. We are going to decrease his food a little tomorrow to see if that helps - and I'm going to see if TOTW can give me a feeding guideline for puppies.


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

Grain free is too rich for Riley - maybe that is the case for your guy as well? You may consider a quality food that isn't grain free - Riley does really well on the non-grain free version of Fromm.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

We were trying to go in a different direction of what he's already had, since he was vomiting on his previous foods. 

It's soooo frustrating to me, as our vet doesn't seem very knowledgeable about food and there's sooo many opinions out there it's hard to know what to do. I've heard good and bad about almost every food out there. All this experimenting is getting costly. Of course we just bought a 15 lb bag of TOTW too.....


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## Suni52 (Jan 18, 2012)

How about trying a digestive enhancer powder to his food? We give it to our dog every day, and if she has particularly soft stool, I increase the amount. We use Dogzymes.


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## WasChampionFan (Mar 31, 2012)

I would use a food with beet pulp. Pups don't have the most efficient digestive systems. They are more like a sausage machine.

Switch to a food with beet pulp. Beet pulp supports intestinal flora and maintains a stable rate of movement through the pipes.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

Or could this be related to teething?! Noticing blood on toys & looking at him he's got major teething going on. Do dogs get loose stool from teething?


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## Cora the golden (Jan 2, 2012)

Try taking a sample of the pudding poo to the vet. We had this same problem and Cora had a parasite that can stay with dogs for a while and produce pudding poos of and on


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## edgard409 (Jul 12, 2012)

I would cut down on food. 3 cups is definitely too much for him at 4 months since he is getting a high quality grainless food. Also pumpkin kinda just hides the problem for a while doesn't really solve it. 

I feed about 3.5 cups to lilly and she is on Acana LBP and it does have some grain in it. if I give her more than 3.5 cups she gets loose stools.


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## MGMF (May 13, 2009)

If he is still getting loose stools I would changel his food. You can't stay with a grain free but find one with lower protein. You can't always change back when his tummy matures. Do not feed him snacks, scraps, or chew sticks then you will get a better understanding if it is the food causing the problem. Make sure you drop stools samples often to your vet even if you don't think see anything.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

They were a little more formed during the day yesterday, but back to pudding-like by evening and liquid overnight. He's not having accidents and can make it outside in time. He was out at midnight and 2am and 4:30am. We didn't give him any breakfast this morning, as I'm not sure if I want to open his new bag of TOTW (Tractor Supply won't let you return it opened). Hubby is calling the vet to see our next step (pumpkin, rice or back to the prescription diet...) His stool is not bloody and not really having any mucus and no extreme foul odor (smells like normal poop) and he's not gassy. He's acting VERY normal other than the diarrhea...
This is soooo frustrating. This is the 4th food we've tried with him and I had such high hopes.


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## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

What other foods have you tried? I'm sorry you are going through this, I know it is frustrating. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, trust me!


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

vcm5 said:


> What other foods have you tried? I'm sorry you are going through this, I know it is frustrating. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, trust me!


Originally he was on Iams Large Breed Smart Puppy. That is what the breeder had him on and she's fed generations of her dogs Iams with absolutely no problem. About a month in he started vomiting after eating. As soon as we put him on the prescription food he stopped.

The prescription food is Purina EN gastrointestinal diet.

Then on the advice of our vet we transitioned to Purina Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy food. On his first day of all pro plan the vomiting returned. 

We put him back on the prescription food. Then a couple of weeks ago we started the transition to Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. He did fine for the transition and last monday was his first day 100% on TOTW. He did great Mon-Fri and then his stool became softer (but still formed) over the weekend - and by this monday night is was pudding like.


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## CarolinaCasey (Jun 1, 2007)

Has he ever been on Flagyl also called metronidazole? It sounds like he could have giardia, which is soooo hard to identify in a stool sample and even harder to get rid of! I'd want two weeks worth of flagyl. I'd also caution changing foods as don't think that is the issue as he was doing fine on it the week prior. The TOTW salmon is a good protein and easy to digest formula. I would certainly add the pumpkin but I guarantee that the flagyl will help clear things up. I'd also get some FortiFlora to add to his kibble during the next week. 


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## MGMF (May 13, 2009)

I would put him back on the prescription food right away if it worked for him. It is one thing to have an occasional loose but he is having a real problem. TOTW may be a good food but if it is going right though him he isn't getting any of the good stuff anyway. You can always change later as some of their tummy issues they can outgrow. For now stay with what works so he can get what he needs to grow and feel good. Don't forget to drop a stool sample at the vet.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

Hubby talked to vets office - they are thinking more a problem with the deer antler we gave him Friday as opposed to good, since he had almost a week on the food with no problems. We are to try pumpkin today & call back tomorrow with update. We had a stool sample tested last month when he was vomiting & it was negative. He was treated for tapeworm 2 weeks ago & that cleared up quickly with no digestive issues as well. 
Charlie is such a little mystery!


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## MGMF (May 13, 2009)

Some tapeworm medications kill only adult or mature tapeworm and not the eggs. This leaves the eggs to hatch about 2 - 3 weeks later.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

MGMF said:


> Some tapeworm medications kill only adult or mature tapeworm and not the eggs. This leaves the eggs to hatch about 2 - 3 weeks later.


He has no signs of tapeworm in either his stool or his crate (and believe me I've been checking his stool). We gave him one Cestex pill a week and a half ago and within a day we had no more signs of it. He didn't have diarrhea when he had the tapeworm though. When I call the vet tomorrow I will ask about it though.


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## Keragold (May 9, 2008)

There could be a few reasons for pudding poo, as some people have already pointed out. Having your vet do a fecal to rule out some kind of parasite is a good start. Feeding too much can also cause problems. so initially I wold try reducing the amount of TOTW you feed him. It may be that you are feeding a food which perhaps at this point in your pup's life is too 'rich' for him to handle. I've seen that happen with some foods which have very high meat and fat levels. Perhaps try him on a food with a lower meat inclusion and some fiber to firm things up. Increasing his fiber intake will help to wick away moisture in the intestinal tract. Once his digestive system is more mature, you can always go back and try the TOTW again if you want to.


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## WasChampionFan (Mar 31, 2012)

MGMF said:


> Some tapeworm medications kill only adult or mature tapeworm and not the eggs. This leaves the eggs to hatch about 2 - 3 weeks later.


Tapeworms do not shed eggs back into the host. The eggs exit the dog's body in a sac and they are not readily infectious. And soft stool is usually not a tape symptom.


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## Blondie (Oct 10, 2009)

Another thing you could try adding plain yogurt, I like the Greek yogurt, to the kibble. Maggie recently experienced a lot of stress being kenneled(too many dogs, too many dogs barking), while we went away to college parents weekend. Maggie had diarrhea while at the kennel and the morning I picked her up. Got her home, got her some pumpking and yogurt and back on her normal routine and she it moving her bowels per her usual and feels so much better being home.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

Thank you for all the suggestions - they've been very helpful! We gave him pumpkin yesterday(per the vet's advice). He only pooped once and it was normal, and then in the middle of the night he had one that started out normal and ended up looser. We're going to keep an eye on him today and continue with the pumpkin. I'm hoping we're on the mend. Maybe no more deer antlers for him? Still don't really know why this happened.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

Calling the vet this morning. Pumpkin helped some but we're back to pudding poop again. He was up 3 times last night. 
Looks like we'll be back to the pricey prescription food again.....and on the never ending search for an affordable food he can tolerate. TOTW seems to be too rich. With all of the food issues we've had, we've never had diarrhea till now.
Wish me luck! I'll post an update when I have one.


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## Wagners Mom2 (Mar 20, 2012)

Checking for parasites or even giardia (sp?) is the first step I would take. 

If that is all clear, are you giving any treats at all? If so, look at those as well as the food. I would personally only give him kibble at this point--including for treats to rule out what the problem is. 

I don't think I saw, but what was the breeder feeding him? And was he doing good on it? If so, I'd go back to it. If not, I would personally look at something like California Natural lamb and rice for him. Very simple ingredient list, so if it was the food, I think it will make it easier to figure out. Again, no treats. kibble for treats. No chews--invest in a kong and add some kibble in there for chewing. 

Good luck to you both. I hope he feels better real soon.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

We are taking a stool sample in today. Vet said to put him back on prescription Purina EN in the meantime and she's going to look at the ingredients on the EN and see what she can find that's not prescription that would be similar.

We are NOT giving him any treats - just using his kibble for that.

The breeder was feeding him Iams Large Breed Smart Puppy. We took him off of that because it was making him vomit (no diarrhea). He had a negative fecal exam at that time. Then he was on the prescription food and we transitioned him the Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy - which also made him vomit (again, no diarrhea) Back on the prescription food again, and now we've transitioned him to TOTW Pacific Stream - no vomiting, but now diarrhea. This is the first issue we had with diarrhea. His stools were great on the Iams, but it made him vomit. 

We took his deer antler away from him, and now he only has his kong, nylabone and stuffed toys to chew on which seem to be working fine for him.


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## Zombo (Nov 2, 2010)

This is probably a longshot, but do you give your pup ice cubes? Ours started throwing up ~30 mins after we gave them to her. We were scratching our heads until my wife googled it -- problem solved.

(It's a shame, too -- she loved ice cubes!)


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

Zombo said:


> This is probably a longshot, but do you give your pup ice cubes? Ours started throwing up ~30 mins after we gave them to her. We were scratching our heads until my wife googled it -- problem solved.
> 
> (It's a shame, too -- she loved ice cubes!)


His current issue is diarrhea, not vomiting. He does get ice cubes and frequently, but he doesn't vomit from them.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

Okay, so his fecal exam came back negative. He's back on the Purina EN for the unforeseeable future. If he starts having issues on the EN ($75/bag), we'll need to put hi on the Purina H.A. ($90/bag)
They said we could do a GI Panel to test for diseases of the GI tract. They send that to Texas A&M which is the only place in the the country that does that. It's bloodwork and fecal tests. They weren't sure of the cost and will get back to me on that. Does anyone have any experience with this type of testing, the cost and what we may be looking for??
As far as food goes, not alot of choices out there similar to the Purina EN. She suggested Royal Canin Maxi Large Breed Puppy, but at this point we need to give his poor little system a break from all the changes. Also mentioned was the EVO Evolution diet - don't know too much about that one.
Keep little Charlie in your prayers!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Ohiosmom*

Ohiomom

So sorry for all he is going through. If I were you I would try feeding him Purina Pro Plan Shredded Chicken or Beef. Our dogs love it and their poop is solid. I would definitely take a sample of his poop to the vet and get it tested to rule out parasites.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

Karen519 said:


> Ohiomom
> 
> So sorry for all he is going through. If I were you I would try feeding him Purina Pro Plan Shredded Chicken or Beef. Our dogs love it and their poop is solid. I would definitely take a sample of his poop to the vet and get it tested to rule out parasites.


We had his poop tested today and test came back negative. We tried ProPlan Chicken and Rice Large Breed Puppy and it made him vomit. Scared at this point to try anything else for awhile as his system needs a break.


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

When you do go back to a regular food, look for one with grain instead of grain free. Grain free is usually very rich in protein and puppies may not do well on it. 

Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach may be an option, it is salmon based, you could contact Pro Plan and ask what the feeding guidelines would be for a puppy.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

mylissyk said:


> When you do go back to a regular food, look for one with grain instead of grain free. Grain free is usually very rich in protein and puppies may not do well on it.
> 
> Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach may be an option, it is salmon based, you could contact Pro Plan and ask what the feeding guidelines would be for a puppy.


Our vet contacted Purina and the Pro Plan Sensitive stomach is not reccomended for dogs under 1 year of age - period. They will give no guidelines on using it for puppies at all. At this point I just want him able to eat and grow normally. Since we started his TOTW transition 3 weeks ago he's only gained 3 lbs. At 19 weeks old 33lbs. seems a little low for me, considering he was 30lbs at 16 weeks.

I'm just soooo frustrated. He's an awesome dog, but we are running out of money for his extra issues and I'm sure the GI Panel will cost a fortune. I literally have not gone more than a week without needing to call the vet for a problem since we brough him home. We love him so much and really just want him to be a happy and healthy dog!!


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

It must be very frustrating. You are not alone though, there are a lot of puppy owners struggling with this reoccurring problem, hopefully something that helped someone else on the board will help your pup too. I hope you find a good food choice for him. Maybe a limited ingredients food will work for him.


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## WasChampionFan (Mar 31, 2012)

Please put him on a mid protein and fat food with beet pulp and your problems will be solved.


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## sameli102 (Aug 23, 2009)

Mine never did well on the grain free foods, I got so tired of cleaning up pudding like stools. Right now they all eat Purina Pro Plan all life stages chicken and rice and they all do great on it. One of the easiest foods on their stomachs and transitioning to was Fromm 4 star sweet potato/duck, I didn't even do the switch gradually and they did well. I would have stayed with that but it is costly feeding 3 adults.
However, whenever they got stomach upsets that bad the vet had me stop all food and feed nothing but rice boiled with a little bit of hamburger until it cleared up.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

Charlie is no longer having diarrhea but lots of mucus with his poop now. He only woke me once last night. Through all this he is acting normal so I'm grateful for that. I'm going to stop into the vet on Monday and get some FortaFlora. His poor digestive tract is just so irritated. 

Our plan for the moment is to keep him on the prescription Purina EN for at least a month. His poor little body has been through so much since we got him - reactions to his vaccines, several food switches without success and a bout of tapeworms. That will give me more time to do some food research. Thanks so much for all the suggestions and advice as it will really help me in my research.


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## SheetsSM (Jan 17, 2008)

also take a look at how much you're feeding him (calories)--too much food will cause loose stools as well--what was the caloric comparison between the prescription diet and TOTW? 

I know when I was fostering dogs that were overcoming coccidia, I had to take in several stool samples as opposed to just one at it's hard to detect. A number of us on the forum use Dogzymes digestive enhancer (pre and probiotics), I keep my three on it year round.


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## Max's Dad (Apr 23, 2012)

I am so sorry to hear Charlie is not feeling well. I agree that grain free is not a good idea for puppies. When Max was a pup, he had soft stools on Purina Puppy Chow and then Science Diet Puppy food. We did some research, looking for a food that would create less and firmer stool. We switched him to Eukanuba Large Breed Puppy, and he did great. Max stayed on the Eukanuba until he was about 15 months old.

Maybe when you want to switch Charlie back to a more standard food, consider Eukanuba. It is available at Petco, and they take returns of open bags if you are not satisfied. I believe a 33 pound bag is around $40.

Good luck, I hope Charlie feels better soon. He sure is a handsome boy.


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

For those following the Charlie saga - I've continued this on a new post http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ng-vets-pissed-off-charlie-update-4756-a.html


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