# Hook worm or food and diarrhea. Please help!



## Brisco1983 (Feb 28, 2012)

I got my pup almost two weeks ago. Ever since his stool has been inconsistant. Mostly loose. I found out last Friday that he had hook worm. I started him on a three day worming medication and was told to wait a week and do another three day round. He is currently eating Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy Food which I have read is rich and can cause loose stool in some pups. I have started adding a small amount of pumpkin and rice to his kibble twice a day. I'm really lost as to what to do and any advise would be appreciated.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

Hooks are nasty little worms that hook onto the intestines and suck blood. They only shed eggs some of the time, so you can have several false negatives when you provide stool samples. So it is good that they found it and are getting rid of the worms. 

Blue buffalo is a quality food and if it is formulated for large-breed puppies, then it is probably fine. Dog food manufacturers want to sell you lots of dog food. So they often tell you to feed more than what is actually required for the weight and activity level and development level of your puppy. If you shave back the amount you are feeding, by 1/4 for a day and see if that firms up the poop. If it does, that is a quick fix. 

Sounds like your vet did some good diagnostic work on stools. But you can call and ask. Some medicines can cause a loose stool as well. 

Pumpkin is great, it can stop up that which runs, and loosen that which is stuck. 

Sounds like you are doing all the right things.


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## Brisco1983 (Feb 28, 2012)

Thank you! I will cut back a little today and see how it goes. I've got him in puppy classes. Should I wait untill I'm done with his second worming before I take him back? I'm assuming the second round is to get any that might be in a different stage of the life cycle that the first treatment didn't get.


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## selzer (May 7, 2005)

ask your vet. I am not sure if you should wait. If the dog potties there, you need to clean it up, that goes without saying, but it still can infest the ground and other dogs, I would maybe skip a week.


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## 1337f0x (Feb 21, 2012)

Hey!

My puppy had hook worms when I got him too. The loose stool is from the worms, deworming and mix of the food, you'll start to or already see the worms in his stool or even vomit (if he's a pukey puppy). 

Also when Simba was going through his worm problem, I would feed him less, because he was throwing up very often from the deworming pills, the less food also resulted in a firm to loose middle consistency of stool and he wasn't uncomfortable while going potty. After the worms were completely gone and I saw no more in his stool (this took about a week and a half), I increased his food intake.

I use Blue Buffalo Large Breed Puppy Food for Simba, I fed him less during his worm issue and now that the worms are gone from his system, his stool has firmed up and I'm feeding him more. I like to give him a teaspoon or so of pumpkin mixed thoroughly into his food and it keeps his stool very healthy. How much pumpkin do you add to his food? I think rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon for every 10lbs your puppy is. 

ALSO!!! I would wait to take your pup back to the classes. Although the deworming medication is made to kill the worms so they just come out of the puppies system, you can't take any chances there, as there may be eggs or other parasites still in his stool. Take no chances! Explain it to your trainer, they'll understand =) Simba is in his second stage of the deworming cycle now (even though we haven't seen any new worms in his stool or vomit), but we're going to wait another week before we take him into his puppy classes.

*i am not a pro, this is just from experience*


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