# Poop, poop and more poop!



## CierraRocks (Jun 21, 2011)

I have a 3 month old puppy, his stools are SO runny. I do not know what to do! I have taken him to the vet two times so far. They cleared him for parasites and all of that good stuff and asked me to change his food-- I started him on Blue buffalo LBP, we then switched to Natures Recipe, and now that is not working either. He has been on each of those foods for at least 2 weeks. Does anybody have recommendations on this? I feed him two cups per day which is what the vet advised, he runs, plays and does all that other good puppy stuff. The stools are just runny..I have searched this forum for weeks reading about everything..I just figured I would finally post something maybe somebody can give me ideas.


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

What flavor of food are you feeding...chicken, lamb, etc?


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## CierraRocks (Jun 21, 2011)

the BB was Lamb, the nature recipe is Chicken.


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## spidermilk (Mar 18, 2010)

I had the same problem when my dog was a puppy. We started with feeding him Purina ProPlan Large Breed Puppy. After learning more about dog food I transitioned to Orijen Large Breed Puppy. Even after he was fully transitioned to that he was having runny stools. I added a spoon full of pumpkin to each meal to try to firm them up and it got a little better, but not completely better. We had taken him to the vet and checked for parasites, etc.

After fully trying the pumpkin and ruling out everything except the food I switched him to a food with a lower fat content, Solid Gold Wolf Cub. I kept doing the pumpkin (he loves it). After the transition the stools firmed up. So for the rest of his puppy-hood I fed Solid Gold Wolf Cub and Acana Wild Prairie (all life stages). Firmed up and is still firm (now he is back on Orijen Adult Food).

There are a ton of great dog foods out there so feel free to try several, but remember that seeing results after a transition can take a while, so you have to be patient. Pumpkin can't hurt, I still give it to my dog as a kong-filler. You just buy the plain, canned variety and add a spoonful. Overfeeding can also cause loose stools so you should make sure that you aren't doing that.

I don't know much about more serious health problems, just about trying new foods. I understand how frustrating it is worrying about what is wrong with the poop (and then people think you are crazy when your dog poops at the park and you are dancing around because it is firm...)- good luck!


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## CierraRocks (Jun 21, 2011)

Thanks for the hope, should I switch him cold turkey, or mix them? I switched cold turkey, and I was also wondering how long should I try one food, is two weeks long enough? I read somewhere 7-10 days which is what I have been doing. Also I will buy some pumpkin it could not hurt to try!


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## Mom2Shaman (Jun 17, 2011)

How about trying a totally different meat source like vension/buffalo with Taste of the Wild? Mine little one can't tolerate even a bit of chicken dog food but does well on lamb or vension/buffalo. I had one in the past who even lamb to lamb he had trouble with different preservative formulations. I had a cat who couldn't handle high protein levels. It's a matter of findings something that works. Keep at it, you will find the one that works for him.


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## CierraRocks (Jun 21, 2011)

Well so far, chicken and lamb is a no go. Next I will try the venison/buffalo Taste of the wild and try the pumpkin.


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## neiltus (Mar 10, 2011)

did they check for coccidia? It is pretty tough to find in poo. I had a pup go two clears and then when I brought in morning poo that was kept in the fridge, viola!


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## Steve.G (Apr 27, 2011)

You might try and add some quality probiotics to his diet that worked for my pup.


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## CierraRocks (Jun 21, 2011)

Yeah, the first time I brought him in they put something in his behind to collect poop it was negative. The second time I brought in the bigger sample and they had it sent off and rechecked for coccidia and some other stuff everythign negative. Today is the first harder poop. It made me so excited ! I am hoping the stools stay this way, we will find out throughout the day.


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

The reason I asked about which flavor you were feeding is cuz I had the same problem when my dog was a puppy. She can't tolerate chicken and lamb wasn't much better. So once I switched her to a Salmon based food the diarrhea went away.

I agree with adding some kind of probiotic as well.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

The simplest answer is that overfeeding can cause runny stools. This might not be true for your pup, but you could try cutting back to 1.5 cups/day and see if there is improvement.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

CierraRocks said:


> Yeah, the first time I brought him in they put something in his behind to collect poop it was negative. The second time I brought in the bigger sample and they had it sent off and rechecked for coccidia and some other stuff everythign negative. Today is the first harder poop. It made me so excited ! I am hoping the stools stay this way, we will find out throughout the day.


Maybe he is adapting. It takes time for his insides to settle down with new type of food. If you change you have to change slowly over 7 days minimum. My dog had the same problems. She is doing well now on TOTW High Prairie.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

spidermilk said:


> I had the same problem when my dog was a puppy. We started with feeding him Purina ProPlan Large Breed Puppy. After learning more about dog food I transitioned to Orijen Large Breed Puppy. Even after he was fully transitioned to that he was having runny stools. I added a spoon full of pumpkin to each meal to try to firm them up and it got a little better, but not completely better. We had taken him to the vet and checked for parasites, etc.
> 
> After fully trying the pumpkin and ruling out everything except the food I switched him to a food with a lower fat content, Solid Gold Wolf Cub. I kept doing the pumpkin (he loves it). After the transition the stools firmed up. So for the rest of his puppy-hood I fed Solid Gold Wolf Cub and Acana Wild Prairie (all life stages). Firmed up and is still firm (now he is back on Orijen Adult Food).
> 
> ...


We also had the problems you described. Solid Gold Wolf Cub was finally the winner for us. As an adult our dog does best with a variety of raw (prepared) and for dry Nature's Variety and Pinnacle. We rotate proteins with both brands. Our dog did not like Orijen brand. Looking back I can see maybe I was overfeeding too, so I agree that can be a problem


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## CierraRocks (Jun 21, 2011)

Thank you everybody for the wonderful advice and input. Today is stools are still normal and I am beyond excited lol. I am not holding my breath though!


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## Chrissy_GSD (Jul 3, 2011)

High fat content foods usually don't sit well with GSDs. We had this same problem with Zahra. 
We changed her food to a low fat kibble, we added rice and pumpkin, nice firm stools 
Also often when they are fine with one protein, they can't tolerate another...strange but true, Zahra can only tolerate chicken.
My vet also suggested to feed them yoghurt because it's rich in probiotics


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## CierraRocks (Jun 21, 2011)

Dun dun dun! We found out the problem. The stools were great for a day or so and then I noticed blood in the stool so BACK to the vet ASAP we went. They rechecked him for Giardia and Parvo now. Positive for Giardia(sp)!! He is now on medications and I hope they help him out.


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## GSDAlphaMom (Jul 20, 2010)

Oh good. I was going to ask if they checked for giardia. It is different test than worms/coccidia. It's running rampid right now.

I haven't read the entire thread so hope I'm not repeating. BB, Orijen, Wellness are all brands alot of dogs can't tolerate. It could very well be the food.


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