# alternating between regular poop and runny poop



## newgolden (Jul 2, 2010)

ugh! I dont' know what is going on with Sawyer. For the last couple weeks we've been dealing with poop issues. At first he had really runny poops, frequent and some straining. I had him on rice and ground beef and then started adding his regular food back in. He started having regular poos so i thought things were back to normal but for the last few days he's been alternating between regular solid poops to runny and frequent (in the run of a day). It seems like during the day he's OK but then in the evenings he's having the problems. Any ideas what's going on here??

He is eating fine, gaining weight fine and acting fine so I don't think he's sick. He is on Nurtiscience Large Breed Puppy with some Iams mixed in (only because I had a whole bag of the Iams and didn't want to waste it). This is basically what he's been eating since we brought him home in late June so I'm not so sure it's his food.


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## RazorbackGolden (Mar 3, 2010)

Sounds like my puppy, same problem but ours is on solid gold.


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

How old are they? My first thought is coccidia, very common in young puppies and prone to outbreaks when they are under stress (like going to a new home). It is hard to diagnose from a fecal and requires a different test than is used for detecting worms.

Older pups and dogs, I suspect giardia or sometimes, coccidia. My 3 year old had an outbreak of coccidia after her spay-it was caused by the stress and her lowered immune system.


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## newgolden (Jul 2, 2010)

Sawyer is 14 weeks tommorrow. I think I will call the vet tommorrow morning. If they only suggest a fecal sample should I request another test or ask that they check for this? What type of test is it AND how the heck to do you pronounce coccidia so I don't sound like a fool??


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## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Coccidia is a definite possibility then. I would ask them to check for worms and coccidia. Not sure to explain how to say it but maybe cock-city-ah 

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2102&aid=727

It needs to be treated if that's what it is, but it is very common.


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## newgolden (Jul 2, 2010)

thanks so much and your pronounciation makes perfect sense to me  I will ask them to check for that specifically. 

Now...he had a bunch of poops tonight (so much fun considering we're away from home for the night!!) and if I can't get a sample tommorrow morning/afternoon is there any sense in me calling the vet at all? Would they ever put the puppy on the abx based on symptoms and no test??


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## Sophie_Mom (Jan 21, 2009)

Sawyer's (and Sophie's) fecal exams came back negative today! Yeah!! We wiped out the coccidia that Sawyer had (and Sophie didn't get it)!! Hopefully whatever is causing his new bout of diarrhea will resolve itself quickly too! I'm just glad he's back to his crazy self tonight!


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## Alfie's Girl (May 6, 2010)

If the coccidia is negative, it may be the fact that he is on 2 different foods. My boy had poop issues until I changed him from puppy kibble/dog meat/cereal + milk onto JUST kibble. No treats even, other than his roast knuckle bone. I also changed his kibble to a better quality one - I did it cold turkey because his poops were so bad - within a couple of days I saw a huge improvement.

Hope it all works out for you - poop issues are no fun!


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## Sophie_Mom (Jan 21, 2009)

We are back to completely solid here this morning! Yeah!!! I think I'll keep him on the boiled ground beef and rice for today and then start transitioning him back tomorrow. My husband was funny when he left for work this morning - "Call me and let me know how is poop was." Funny how these are things we are interested in!


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## jweisman54 (May 22, 2010)

I am going through the same thing with Izzy...very runny poop, negative for all parasites. The vet put her on Flagyl...she didn't poop for two days then went this morning, the first part of it was normal and the end was loose. Started her back on her kibble (Artemis puppy) mixed with rice and hamburg which she had been on for 4 days. She is also scratching a lot which makes me tend to think that she might have become intolerant to her food which is chicken base. Looking for suggestions on switching to a non chicken but good food.


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