# 4 Month Old Puppy -loose stools



## dezymond (May 3, 2012)

Have you tried a kibble that is for sensitive stomach? Maverick had a sensitive stomach as a small puppy so I had him on Blue Buffalo Basics from roughly 4mo - 10mo. 

Also if you're giving her treats, I'd hold off on those for a few days to see if her stomach reacts to them that way.


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## oakleysmommy (Feb 20, 2011)

Pro plan sensitive skin and stomach. Salmon and no corn wheat or soy. It worked wonders for us. I also add a teaspoon or more of plain Greek yogurt to every meal.


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

You give yogurt every meal? Interesting and I might start doing that myself too


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## Ripley16 (Jan 26, 2012)

What kibble is she currently on?


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## Heartsdesire (Nov 11, 2013)

Thank you for the responses. I have tried not giving her treats for a couple days. It didn't make a difference. She was on 4 health from the breeder. She is now on Purina One for Puppies which the vet said is an excellent choice. Where can I find the dog food for sensitive stomachs? What does the yogurt do?


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## Ripley16 (Jan 26, 2012)

A lot of vet foods have versions for sensitive stomachs. My girl is prone to stomach difficulties. We feed her Canidae all life stage. She's done great on it. I wouldn't use much yogurt, but is good in small portions because it is a probiotic, but to firm up stools, try canned pumpkin.


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## Mini golden (Sep 8, 2013)

We have some similar issues. Shiloh is four months, and she did have parasites when we brought her home at 8 weeks. Her stool samples are clear now, but she still gets diarrhea. Smetiems she's fine, other times she suddenly has horribly watery diarrhea and is up several times through the night. Advice I've gotten from the forum are: 1 tsp of canned pumpkin daily, less rich food, feed smaller amounts (some dogs get diarrhea just from eating too much food even if their food is not problematic in itself), plain or Greek yogurt daily, limited or no treats, no rawhide or bully sticks for chewing, and add probiotics. Not sure if all are necessary, but some combo seems reasonable depending on your situation.  

We are taking our girl to the vet tomorrow to discuss what is the best food for her system since she does have some gut damage from her history of parasitic infestations and rounds of the meds to clear her system. I get the impression that some goldens are just prone to sensitive tummies. I think our Shiloh is one of them, in addition to her early struggles.

Hope you can figure out some solutions to your pup's issues soon!


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## DeNovo206 (Oct 24, 2013)

We're also dealing with similar issues with our four and a half month old puppy, De Novo. His issues largely stem from a poor transition of food initially, to simply choosing diets which were too rich for him. We actually just very recently got ahold of one his brothers from the litter and found that he was being fed Merrick Buffalo & Sweet Potato and been doing well since being transitioned from what the breeder fed: Veterinary Formula by Arkat? Food has been discontinued, and from what I've researched had been largely sold in Southern U.S... Not entirely sure the food will also be sufficient for our little guy, but it's the best lead we've found yet, and have been stressed about finding a stable food for him.

Anyway, I think the yogurt is supposed to introduce good bacteria into the system. We use it every other week or so, just a small table spoon mixed into his food. Can also attest to a scoop of canned pumpkin. We used both on our last golden for the last two years of his life because he was dealing with IBS/GI issues... Good luck with it!


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## Heartsdesire (Nov 11, 2013)

Last night before bed she had watery diarrhea. During the night she couldn't hold it and it was so bad it went on the sliding glass door and the wall. Today we still have the same problem. I think we'll just go back to rice and ground beef for now, and I'll go to the store to get some canned pumpkin. She's already been on three different foods with the same result. I will consider another one after her stomach settles down.


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## Jules&Pilot (Sep 26, 2013)

I've been having the exact same issues with my 5 month old. He's had recurring bouts of diarrhea since I got him. The diarrhea is always at night, usually every hour. This can happen for 3 nights in a row. Each time I take him to the vet the fecal samples are negative and there is a high Clostridium count. They give me Metro each time but once the pills are done, diarrhea is back immediately. I've been adding pumpkin, probiotics and oatmeal to his food but to seemingly no avail. During the bouts of diarrhea, I feed him rice and ground beef but he's always hungry.

I've switched his food to Performatrin Puppy Lamb & Rice, its a Canadian brand I believe. 

Should I be feeding him an all stages food? Could protein be the culprit? HELP


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## Cowtown (Sep 23, 2009)

Teaspoon of canned pumpkin and a tablespoon of kefir (next to yogurt in grocery store) or plain yogurt -kefir and yogurt are probiotics - with each meal.

Or put pumpkin and some kibble in a kong and freeze as a treat.

Try that and I bet you'll see improvement.


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## Cowtown (Sep 23, 2009)

Jules, yes you should be feeding all life stages. The key for large breed dogs is a balanced calcium to phosphorus ratio and a proper amount of calcium.

Since your dog is having such stomach issues I'd STRONGLY recommend you check out Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Turkey. This food has 1 protein and 1 starch. Keeps the diet simple and clean for your pups stomach. This is also an appropriate food for large breed puppies.


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

Cowtown said:


> Teaspoon of canned pumpkin and a tablespoon of kefir (next to yogurt in grocery store) or plain yogurt -kefir and yogurt are probiotics - with each meal.
> 
> Or put pumpkin and some kibble in a kong and freeze as a treat.
> 
> Try that and I bet you'll see improvement.


I give my pups a little bit more than a teaspoon of canned pumpkin every meal. Is that ok you think?


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## Heartsdesire (Nov 11, 2013)

I made her more rice and beef, and added a small teaspoon of pumpkin. She has not had a bowel movement since then. What do you mean by "all life stages"?


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## Jules&Pilot (Sep 26, 2013)

Heartsdesire said:


> I made her more rice and beef, and added a small teaspoon of pumpkin. She has not had a bowel movement since then. What do you mean by "all life stages"?


This is happening to my puppy too. I stopped his puppy food and he's had rice, beef, and pumpkin since yesterday morning. He had a very tiny little poop this morning, but he has sooo much more energy today.


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## Jules&Pilot (Sep 26, 2013)

Cowtown said:


> Jules, yes you should be feeding all life stages. The key for large breed dogs is a balanced calcium to phosphorus ratio and a proper amount of calcium.
> 
> Since your dog is having such stomach issues I'd STRONGLY recommend you check out Nature's Variety Limited Ingredient Turkey. This food has 1 protein and 1 starch. Keeps the diet simple and clean for your pups stomach. This is also an appropriate food for large breed puppies.



Thank you! I'm going to start him on either Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach or the one you've mentioned above. The Nature's Variety seems to have very high protein content, will this affect his stomach issues?


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## Ohiomom9977 (Jul 27, 2012)

I feel your pain as last year at this time I was where you are. My Charlie started having some vomiting/loose stools around 4 months old. After lots of trial and error and switching vets he eventually tested positive for coccidia - although I don't believe that was his issue all along as coccidia poop is very foul smelling and that wasn't the case all along for him. My dog seemed to do badly on chicken or fish based foods as well as the grain free options. We ended up going with a limited ingredient lamb and rice food which made a HUGE difference. We've had solid stool for many months now. We were feeding California Naturals, but after several recalls in a row we ended up switching to Natural Balance Lamb and Brown Rice and Charlie has been doing VERY good on it!


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## Ripley16 (Jan 26, 2012)

Ripley is currently also transitioning foods. She was previously on Canidae and doing great, but I noticed that Canidae is paritally manufactured by Diamond, and with their history of recalls, I decided to call it quits. We are in the process of switching to Orijen regional red. So far so good.

I have previous experience with diarrhea from when Ripley was a puppy. She has a allergy to corn, and had to be switched off Hills vet select LBP and Blue Buffalo cold turkey. Neither was agreeing with her. Canned pumpkin was our saviour. She got half a cup with her kibble when we were in the process of switching. Within 24 hours, she had hard and healthy stools. She also gets greek yogurt with her food as well.


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## Melfice (Aug 4, 2012)

Ripley16 said:


> Ripley is currently also transitioning foods. She was previously on Canidae and doing great, but I noticed that Canidae is paritally manufactured by Diamond, and with their history of recalls, I decided to call it quits. We are in the process of switching to Orijen regional red. So far so good.
> 
> I have previous experience with diarrhea from when Ripley was a puppy. She has a allergy to corn, and had to be switched off Hills vet select LBP and Blue Buffalo cold turkey. Neither was agreeing with her. Canned pumpkin was our saviour. She got half a cup with her kibble when we were in the process of switching. Within 24 hours, she had hard and healthy stools. She also gets greek yogurt with her food as well.


Wow 1/2 a cup of canned pumpkin? That's a lot haha I'm giving my pups a tablespoon right now, but more the better might be the way to go


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## Ripley16 (Jan 26, 2012)

Melfice said:


> Wow 1/2 a cup of canned pumpkin? That's a lot haha I'm giving my pups a tablespoon right now, but more the better might be the way to go


She only get's about a tablespoon of it now, but my vet recommend half a cup when she was having really bad digestive problems, just to aid in the food transition. It worked out great, but does seam like a lot! We went through many cans during the fiasco


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## Heartsdesire (Nov 11, 2013)

I checked out some dog food at two stores yesterday and the choices seem overwhelming. Many say sensitive stomach but are for adults not puppies. 
We are doing better with one teaspoon of pumpkin once a day with beef and rice. I read that if you give them too much it will actually give them diarrhea.


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## Heartsdesire (Nov 11, 2013)

The ground beef drained, and white rice, and one teaspoon of pumpkin per day has worked! She had a normal stool today...finally. Now I have to find a dry food that will work and add it slowly.


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## Mini golden (Sep 8, 2013)

My vet says beef is the most common allergy as far as protein source for dogs. I wonder what you all have experienced? It seems like a lot of folks here are doing beef and rice. I've used chicken, but it's been the main protein in all of Shiloh's foods, including her bland diet of chicken and rice when all else fails. I wonder if switching proteins might be the way to go for her. Maybe for now the chicken has just been along for the ride with all her troubles so maybe she's grown sensitive to it? So maybe beef would be better since chicken might be bad for her? Or should I try a safer protein source like lamb or something?

Shiloh has had almost nothing but diarrhea her whole life. Short bouts of soft stool in between diarrhea episodes, but never firm, easy to scoop poops. Ever. And she's 4 months old! I'm feeling desperate. I don't ant to keep switching her around but something is wrong with what she's eating! Her parasites are gone, but the pumpkin and yogurt aren't doing a thing. It has to be the food in some way. I jut wish I could know for sure which aspect of the food is getting her. Is it the protein source itself? Is it just too rich of a food? Is it some other ingredient I'm not aware of? So frustrating to search for an answer.


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## Heartsdesire (Nov 11, 2013)

Mini golden- I feel your pain. I went to the pet store, talked with the worker/trainer there and decided to give Nutros lamb and rice a try. No wheat, no this or that. Limited. I tried only adding 10 pieces in with the beef and rice each time and the diarrhea started again. This is so frustrating. I have so much food and many treats she can't have. This really stinks. I wish we could figure it out.


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## Heartsdesire (Nov 11, 2013)

Things are worse. 6 loose diarrhea and mucous stools today, now it's just watery stuff coming out. I have not given her any dog food or treats...just white rice, ground beef, drained, and one teaspoon pumpkin. I really don't know what to do anymore. Any advice?


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## Mini golden (Sep 8, 2013)

So sorry. Shiloh has had days like that too! I feel like with Shiloh anyway her gut has been damaged from a history of parasites and diarrhea, so any little thing can set her off. I am going to try a new food with a new protein source and see if that's our problem. Maybe your dog is reacting to the beef? My vet said beef is a high allergen for dogs. Maybe you could switch to ground lamb or boiled chicken with the rice? Or maybe it's the rice and she needs a different grain? Find a protein source (or grain) she clearly doesn't react to and stick with it. At least that's my plan. And the colon guard homeopathic stuff and the probiotics I'm using will hopefully heal her gut as she grows. A mild food plus the probiotics, pumpkin and colon guard stuff are my hope... I had no idea it would be this hard to find a food that keeps a dog healthy. So frustrating.


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## Heartsdesire (Nov 11, 2013)

We switched to boiled chicken last night, and still doing teaspoon of pumpkin and white rice. She was doing fine on the ground beef for awhile. We gave her some unflavored Pedialite to make sure she doesn't get dehydrated. Other than that, she's acting normal. It's nice to know I'm not alone. I had to put my first golden on a limited diet, but her problem was more about skin allergies. That was easier to manage and she outgrew it. This diarrhea crap is for the birds. lol


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## Mini golden (Sep 8, 2013)

Heartsdesire said:


> This diarrhea crap is for the birds. lol


Lol! I agree wholeheartedly. Shiloh just went from soft stools back to watery diarrhea every three hours through the night again. Grr! My poor girl. AND I'm so tired!!!

Going to buy some ground lamb at the store. Putting her on lamb and rice. If she tolerates it then I'll try a limited ingredient lamb and rice formula kibble. If not, maybe I'll try a different grain like oats. Or I'll do lamb and potato. Something like that. 

Seriously, how hard can it be to find food a puppy can eat? So frustrating and sad.


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## Heartsdesire (Nov 11, 2013)

Oh that stinks that she had that through the night again. I understand why you're tired. We just tried the Nutro's lamb and rice. It didn't work for us, but every dog is different. I was wondering about what other carb to try. Oats and potato. Ok good to know. A tiny hard ball of poop came out today so I didn't give her the pumpkin at all today. I feed her three times a day. Hang in there. This is exhausting.


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