# Puppy Diarrhea and Cleaning Up



## Feathers (May 30, 2017)

Hi,

We have been trying to switch our puppy to a new and better quality food and she keeps getting diarrhea, eventhough I've been doing the switch reaaaaally reaaaaally slow. Our vet suggested probiotics to help, so I've been giving her a little bit of yoghurt too. Basically, we're just letting each bout ride itself out while she gets used to the change in diet.

However, while we kinda know how to deal with the diarrhea itself, what about clean up? We're both very deep sleepers at night, so we've been crating her just to keep her away from the walls and anything else we don't want soiled. We've thrown out a couple of towels and I've switched to just taping puppy pads to the tray. This doesn't really help keep the cage clean though, and we've had to wash the cage after every night. That's getting a little annoying... Not to mention the rusting on a pretty new cage...

How do you guys deal with this? Would you have let your puppy just roam? If you crate too, how would you have kept it clean?


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

I think you need to be setting an alarm and be taking your puppy outside often enough during the night so that she isn't pooping in the crate.

Some diarrhea for the first couple of days is expected, but if its continual then perhaps you need to rethink your food choice or the way you are introducing it.

Perhaps switch to boiled chicken breast, white rice and pumpkin for a few days/weeks until her tummy is right again and then try introducing the new food again... start mixing some of the new food in with the chicken/rice/pumpkin, then slowly start increasing the new food and decreasing the chicken/rice/pumpkin.

Have you had her dewormed and checked for other issues?


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## Feathers (May 30, 2017)

My husband works in construction and has to wake up really early, so my setting an alarm in the middle of the night will disrupt his sleep and cause him to be extra tired at work. There has to be another way... Leaving her outside maybe? 

We are trying to switch her from Purina to Blue Buffalo and I've been doing it really really slow. Started with just 5 pieces of new kibble in old one, then increased from there. Now it's still at only about 10-20% of the total amount and its been a week since I did this. This is I think the 4th night that she's had diarrhea. Not counting the first switch attempt where I tried 25% as the bag says, for 1 day and she had diarrhea for 3 nights straight. We went to the vet shortly after that. 

She's fine otherwise, not lethargic or vomiting. There's no blood in her stools or any white stuff. Color is ranging from chocolate to light brown. She's also seemingly going back and forth between slightly solid with shape to watery poop. 

We've dewormed her yes. She's had 2 shots as well. Haven't done a fecal test because hubby didn't wanna bring a sample though. He's also allergic to pumpkin so we're kinda avoiding buying anything with pumpkin. Is baked sweet potato a good substitute? How do I give it to her, mashed? 

Basically, the vet told us to keep up with the new food just so her system gets used to it... Hence why we tried again.


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## wolfstraum (May 2, 2003)

you are setting yourself up to fail big time with this puppy.

You HAVE to get her up and out in the night....sleep on the couch if you have to or in a spare room....plan on being tired and dealing with it. You are just increasing the problem and won't get the pup housebroken if you refuse to do this. 

Take a stool sample to vet - 'wanting to' is not relevant. You need to see if the pup has parasites causing this problem. 

Blue is often too rich for pups...I had one litter do great on it and another not....I use Fromm or Earthborn for puppies. Both good foods, but not as problematic.

Rice with small amounts of boiled ground meat for her meals for at least 2 or 3 days, your husband should be smart enough not to eat canned pumpkin in a container because you need to add that for some fiber as you transition the pup back to dog food.

If all this is too much or too inconvenient for you, perhaps this is not the best time for you to have a puppy.

Not trying to sound "mean" - but these are basic management issues and making excuses why you can't do them just isn't sitting well.....

Lee


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## Twyla (Sep 18, 2011)

Feathers said:


> My husband works in construction and has to wake up really early, so my setting an alarm in the middle of the night will disrupt his sleep and cause him to be extra tired at work. There has to be another way... Leaving her outside maybe?


Oh I know how the trade jobs are. My other half is a Master Electrician. He either has to be on jobs early, work overnight on jobs and so forth. He even stated he would prefer waking up a couple of extra times at night so that the potty training can be done and over with. It took about a week and pup was sleeping all night without an accident. 2 weeks and he was potty trained. Woolf is 6 1/2 yrs old now, absolutely no accidents at all in the house since then. Leaving the pup outside without training her is simply setting her up to fail.

As for Blue Buffalo for the new food; try something else, many GSD seem to have problems with Blue along with it being a rich food.


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## SamsontheGSD (Dec 23, 2016)

I also recommend a vet visit. We switched ours over the course of a week and didn't have any problems. We also switch fiid toppers and protein (chicken to fish but same brand) from time to time without issues. There may be a reason other than switching food that this is happening. 

I would also take a close look at the timing of feedings vs. timing of accidents. Can the schedule change so that the poop is timed prior to bedtime?


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## Feathers (May 30, 2017)

She is actually already housebroken. She doesn't pee in the cage anymore or in the house. I watch her closely in the day and she doesn't poop in the house either. It's just the diarrhea at night where she can't hold it in. When she had solid poop, she held it until morning. 

As for the fecal sample, the vet did ask to bring one next visit, so hubby has no choice now. It's just that last visit that he refused. 

So you guys think it's just food intolerance and I shouldn't feed Blue Buffalo? I guess that makes sense why it seems to affect her so badly. Timing didn't seem to matter either, we tried feeding at 6pm, and then at 5pm when that didn't help, still woke up to a mess. And yes, I let her out to poop before going to bed myself, and she does. 

I'm not really making excuses for myself, but I'm not the breadwinner of the house and I'm currently doing everything in regards to this puppy, so I'm kinda restricted by the fact that the hubby is constantly too tired or busy to help out. He made the decision to buy the food because it was cheaper, though I was the one who pushed to upgrade from purina. 

Are we prepared to have a puppy? He thought so. He's the one with the bully breed experience, this is literally my first dog. Would petco accept a return of this bag if Blue Buffalo really is the problem?

PS, he's not allergic to pumpkin from eating, but from touching. I don't want to contaminate anything in the house without knowing how to clean it up properly...


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

Sweet potatoes might help with the inflammation in the gut but I don't think they have the same fibre as pumpkin. What about butternut squash... is your partner allergic to that? Make sure that if you buy the tinned stuff that it doesn't have added sugar, that it is 100% pure squash/pumpkin/sweet potato.

If she is potty trained she is going to become untrained if you let her poop in her crate, you are undoing your hard work. You need to get up and let her out. A few nights of being disturbed is better than months and months of cleaning poop. We've all been there with our puppies... getting up, letting them out, being exhausted... it doesn't last forever. I am up at 4am every day, I go to gym, work a full day (8 - 5), have two small kids, 2 cats, a 7 month old puppy and a husband that works away for 3 weeks at a time... I know what exhausted is    

I can't suggest what other food for you to try as I am not in the states, but I would switch to rice and cooked meat until her tummy is settled again. 
You can get a probiotic to add to her food every day that will help repair any damage done to her gut and keep it in good health.


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## Findlay (Jan 8, 2015)

Maybe ask yr vet if a limited ingredient dog food like wellness Simple would be okay to try.


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

There used to be a time when dogs didn't require probiotics and stuff. Somewhere down the line it's become almost mandatory for lots of dogs. 


How old is the pup? How often does she eat? How much? Clear of worms?


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## KaiserAus (Dec 16, 2016)

llombardo said:


> There used to be a time when dogs didn't require probiotics and stuff. Somewhere down the line it's become almost mandatory for lots of dogs.
> 
> 
> How old is the pup? How often does she eat? How much? Clear of worms?


Yeah, they also didn't have allergies and ate whatever cheap kibble was given to them... kinda like all the gluten intolerant people and peanut allergies you see with folks today... they weren't around when I was growing up :grin2:


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

Yes, you can sub Sweet Potato for Pumpkin: "Pumpkin or sweet potato, on the other hand, is usually digestible even for pets suffering with diarrhea, so there’s some absorption of nutrients from the fiber source." (Mercola)

I would use fresh baked Sweet Potato or even frozen in stead of canned.

Definitely change foods. I vote for Fromm's. MANY people on here use this food for their pups and adults. 
 This is Family Owned, Family Run, & Family Manufactured. Most pet food companies are not.
[FONT=&quot]*Fromm Family Foods is a fifth-generation family-owned and operated artisan pet food company. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]*Produced with a commitment to quality and consistency at Fromm's hands-on facility in Wisconsin. High-nutrient digestibility and utilization offers complete and balanced nutrition. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]*Third-party pathogenic bacteria testing is practiced on all production batches to ensure safety. *http://frommfamily.com/products/gold/dog/dry/#heartland-gold-large-breed-puppy** Store Locator: *http://frommfamily.com/retailers/usa/#progress=2 
[/FONT]


If you read the threads on here you will see that MANY pups/dogs suffer with Giardia, which is a protozoa. Beside the regular stool sample, I suggest that you ask the vet to also run an ELISA test.



For the pups gut:
I believe a high quality Probiotic is a must, especially in this pups situation.


Since about 75% of the immune system lies in the gut, it is *very* important to keep it healthy. It's apparent, with all the diarrhea, that this puppy's gut is inflamed. 

If the gut isn't healthy......the body won't be healthy!

Below are High Quality, Human Ingredient Products made for pets:
*Sunday Sundae*: http://www.feedsentials.com/ (use the email to order)
*Gut Sense*: http://dr-dobias-natural-healing-usa...ducts/gutsense


Another item you can add to help with the inflammation is Slippery Elm. You can get it at a local Health Food Store (NOT GNC) or Whole Foods.
“It is a soothing nutritive herb which is perfectly suited for sensitive or inflamed mucous membrane lining of the digestive system. The bark contains mucilage and tannins that act as demulcent (relieves irritation), emollient (calmative), protectant, and astringent. You might think of it as a soothing internal bandage coating the digestive tract for its entire length.” Dr Yasson

Give 1 or 2 capsules about an hour before feeding. This will calm the gut. If powder give 1/4th teaspoon per 10 pounds of body weight, given 1 hour before meals. Mix with a small amount of plain canned pumpkin (sweet potato in your case) or non-salt chicken broth, or plain, non-sweetened yogurt or keefer.


Hope you get this straightened out.
Moms


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

If a pup is over fed, it can cause issues. Been there done that and spent money on stuff that wasn't needed. I would reduce food or do smaller meals to see if that helps. Some dogs can't take foods that are on the richer side.

I've had one dog with worms when I got her. She had issues overnight until the issue was found and taken care of.


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## Feathers (May 30, 2017)

Thanks for all the replies, guys. I stopped feeding her the Blue Buffalo yesterday and we didn't wake up to a mess this morning. Not sure if she still has diarrhea as I was not able to watch her morning poop, but no messy cage seems like an improvement to me! 

She's back to chomping down on her purina as if she has not seen food in weeks though. I was soaking her kibble in water to slow her down but didn't since stopping the new food. Would adding water contribute to the diarrhea? 

She is about 14-15 weeks old now. We started with feeding her anytime she finished the food in her bowl but then started having horse sized poop in the house and her scarfing down, so I switched to 1 cup 3 times a day. I feel like I AM over feeding her still, but after every poop, her stomach shrinks into her ribs and makes her look emancipated. 

I'll try the rice and sweet potato recipe tonight if her afternoon poop is still watery. We didn't see Fromm at petco when we bought the new food, but I'll look again this weekend. 

And yes, she has been dewormed twice. I wouldn't be surprised if she has other stuff going on in there though... Caught her eating a huge beetle whole last night ew... And apparently, she's been digging and chewing on the backyard too :|


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## Momto2GSDs (Mar 22, 2012)

"We didn't see Fromm at petco when we bought the new food, but I'll look again this weekend. " You won't find Fromm's in big box stores. Click on the Store Locator to find a place near you. A "Doggie Boutique" will usually carry this or you can order from www.chewy.com 

"And yes, she has been dewormed twice."
Giardia is different from "worms" and doesn't always show up with the first test. Also, there are various medications for different types of parasites.

"The Giardia organism has two forms. A fragile, feeding form known as the _trophozoite_ exists in the gut of infected animals, while a hardy cystic form is shed in feces and can survive several months in the environment, particularly in water and damp environments. A routine fecal flotation test may fail to detect these tiny cysts, which are shed inconsistently in the feces." (vca)

I'm not saying she has Giardia, but if the diarrhea continues, I would definitely look into the ELISA testing.


Keep us posted!
Moms


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## Feathers (May 30, 2017)

Momto2GSDs said:


> "We didn't see Fromm at petco when we bought the new food, but I'll look again this weekend. " You won't find Fromm's in big box stores. Click on the Store Locator to find a place near you. A "Doggie Boutique" will usually carry this or you can order from www.chewy.com
> [/COLOR]


Heh, yes, I was gonna check out the links as soon as I got to my computer! Was replying using phone, so. Looks like there are quite a few shops nearby that carry Fromm. I will check them out!

Well, puppy just had her afternoon poop, it was as solid as it used to be before starting the Blue Buffalo! I suppose the rich food just had to get out of her system. Of course, it is too solid for puppies, but I blame Purina for that... Which is why I wanted to upgrade lol. Good thing we bought the Blue Buffalo loooooong before we were gonna run out of the old food! Eck, having the extremes of both sides is probably not nice on her system  She's still happy and playful though, so good thing there...


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