# 4 1/2 GSD is having diarrhea recently



## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

He is 4 1/2 months old and recently he has been having diarrhea. Is this from him teething. We haven't changed his food, we do give him calcium vitamens 3 times a day but we have done this since he was 6 weeks old and it's never affected him. His food is IAMS puppy food. He has been house broke since he was 7 weeks and recently has went in the house 4 times in the past 2 weeks. I am worried about him and of course his vet is closed today.


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## VALIUM (Nov 15, 2007)

How bad is the diarrhea? How many poopies for now? Have u seen any blood in it? Any different color? Boil rice for him, and get him as much as water he can drink. Since this is going on for the past 2 weeks, maybe he has a parasitic infection (might be giardia). I think it might be a good idea to get him checked by a vet. Since he is a puppy, his immune system is not fully developed. Is he fully vaccinated?


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

It is pretty soft almost like mashed potatoes. There has been no blood in it and it is a darker color. Recently also he hasn't been drinking as much water as he usually does. Thank you very much for your help.


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## JakesDogs (Jun 4, 2008)

I agree with all Valium asked/said. You asked about teething - varying opinions from dog people. I have experience with a small breed that had diarrhea all through teething with no other cause found. Vet said it's not terribly unusual (especially since small dogs typically swallow baby teeth, but he also said it must be monitored closely. Diarrhea even intermittently for weeks can wreak havoc on adult dog, let alone a youngster. 

Have you noticed any other symptoms, anything at all different in his behavior during this period of time?

One other thing, if you plan a trip to the vet, a stool sample collected as close to the appointment time as possible is typically helpful. Not necessarily pleasant, but helpful.


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

Thanks for the help. He has been acting normal. Again he hasn't been drinking as much water. He used to drink to bowls a day, now I'm lucky if he drinks one whole bowl.


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## WinitheGSD (Sep 21, 2008)

Three vit. c's a day is a bit to much. to much Vitamin c could cause the diarrhea, but since you've given him the vit. c for so long with no problems before, than it can't be the vit. c. But I can't tell you how terrible Iams is. Like its a really, really bad dog food!!!!! I bet the Iams is causing the dairrhea. But he could have worms, so when the vet is open go get him tested for worms. I would recomeend biljac, california natural, natural balance, Innova, Canaidae, FROMM, and Origeen. There pretty exspensive, but they are good dog foods. and above all I would recomeeend a raw diet! Hope his







gets better!!!


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

We starting giving him 2 vitamens a day and since his weight went up the vet said to give him three a day now. He has been on IAMS since he was born. I don't understand how recently it has affected him but I will change since it's not good. What isn't good about it though. I have been told that IAMS is one of the best???? I do want to get the correct dog food, I just need so more info on them please. When you say raw diet, what are you meaning. Sorry for all the questions, I'm a newb. thanks for the help.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

if your dog had diarrhea for two weeks, two weeks, you should have taken him to the Vet long ago. even though he seems better maybe you should take him to the Vet. take a stool sample with you.


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: doggiedadif your dog had diarrhea for two weeks, two weeks, you should have taken him to the Vet long ago. even though he seems better maybe you should take him to the Vet. take a stool sample with you.


Just wondering how this helps. I thought since he is teething it might be normal, or the bones I have been giving him and now the 4th time that it happened I'm going to have it checked but it's hard when it happened last night and the vet's closed today. Please keep sarcastic comments to yourself.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

> Originally Posted By: Adam1824we do give him calcium vitamens 3 times a day but we have done this since he was 6 weeks old


did your vet recommend this? a good dog food will have plenty of calcium for a gsd pup. excess calcium is most definitely linked to abnormal skeletal development.


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

Yeah the vet recommended. That might be it, that night I gave him his vitamen and then he ate. About 1/2 hr to an our later he got sick. What are your alls opinon on IAMS dog food?


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## JakesDogs (Jun 4, 2008)

> Originally Posted By: Adam1824We starting giving him 2 vitamens a day and since his weight went up the vet said to give him three a day now. He has been on IAMS since he was born. I don't understand how recently it has affected him but I will change since it's not good. What isn't good about it though. I have been told that IAMS is one of the best???? I do want to get the correct dog food, I just need so more info on them please. When you say raw diet, what are you meaning. Sorry for all the questions, I'm a newb. thanks for the help.


Pick brains here, read, read, do independent research, discuss things with your vet, and make any changes to diet and supplements you want but just remember that ANY sudden or drastic change to your dog's diet may cause stomach upset and/or ultimately diarrhea. I think you mentioned calcium supplements - interestingly calcium is generally considered antidiarrheal. Just like there are raw food advocates, there are calcium advocates for dogs; however, a raw diet often negates the need for a lot of supplemental calcium. Just as there is lots of good info here, there are an equal number of varying opinions on what's best. By the way, Welcome!


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

thank you very much for your help. we are going to the vet tomorrow and i will let you all know what he says. again thanks for everyones help.


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

agree that calcium tabs would not likely be the cause. unless your vet has a very compelling reason to be adding calcium to his diet. id be done with that.

and since you asked, Iams, imo, is a poor choice. if you let folks know what you have available as far as pet stores/ feed stores and the like, you will get many recommendation for something that is a big step up.


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

Get some Pedialite in him in the meantime, especially if he isn't drinking water much. You need to keep him hydrated, and Pedialite will be good. You don't want it to get to the point where he starts throwing up, too. That would be bad, given the fact that he's popping all the liquids out of himself, and apparently isn't replenishing them.

If the diahrrea is still cowpie form, it could be the teething or the food, but if it's runny, more than likely he's go some kind of parasite going on, like Coccidia, which is VERY common for pups to get, as it is often passed down from Mom to her litter, and too short of a treatment for it in the beginning of its life can cause it to not have been eradicated completely, so it comes back. Ask me how I know.


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

we have the basic pet stores, pet smart, feeders supply etc


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Adam1824
> 
> 
> doggiedad said:
> ...


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Adam1824we have the basic pet stores, pet smart, feeders supply etc


Then you have access to all kinds of good foods. If it were me, and the Iams was ok on his system as you said earlier, I would not make a change right now, not until I had a handle on what's going on. While Iams is definitely not a great food, if his poops are fine on it, the last thing you want right now is to upset his poor digestive system even more by trying to get it to transition to something new, you know what I mean?

A little more info would help us provide some more suggestions.


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

Correct, it's happened 4 times in the past 2 weeks. They are some raw hide white bones. I forgot the name but they are a new bone that i just started giving him.


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

thank you so much for your help. i am really worried now and i'm just ready for the vet tomorrow. what kind of info do you need so we can hopefully get this figured out a little better so i can sleep tonight


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

The names of the raw hides are BEEFHIDE


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Adam1824Correct, it's happened 4 times in the past 2 weeks. They are some raw hide white bones. I forgot the name but they are a new bone that i just started giving him.


So, it's only 4 times, not consistent, and you just started giving him rawhide bones.

Well, Iams USED to be a top food, back in the 1980's. Similarly, rawhides were also standard fare. If it was me, I would get rid of the rawhides and never give them to him again. I bet his diahrrea goes away. Think about it. Your pup's system is being subjected to basically trying to digest leather. Give him a Nylabone to gnaw on instead.

Keep us posted.


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

> Originally Posted By: Adam1824thank you so much for your help. i am really worried now and i'm just ready for the vet tomorrow. what kind of info do you need so we can hopefully get this figured out a little better so i can sleep tonight


If he's the type that will eat ANYTHING, give him some rice with a bit of cottage cheese for taste. That will help settle his stomach. If it was just the rawhides, he might not even poop for the rest of tonight, or even tomorrow morning. If that's the case, you're probaly in good shape. Watch for the next poop. If it's formed like normal, you're back in business. If it's not, then you might want to drop a stool sample on your vet's desk. Put it in a bag first, though.









But, do you see how you panicked everyone with your first post? Although you knew what you were saying, it sounded to us like you were saying that he had diahrrea CONSISTENTLY for 2 weeks, and that he had unctrollable bouts in the house 4 times! Yikes! Cause if that were the case, a puppy could easily be ready to be hospitalized by then.

FWIW, when my pup's had diahrrea and I fed rice for a few meals, she may not poop for an entire day, which is fine. It won't constipate her, though, and I mention this so you don't panic if your pup doesn't poop on his normal schedule. Rice is NOT something that will cause constipation, it's just nice and bland and easy on the system.


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

I'm going to still take him tomorrow but its starting to make more sense now with the raw hides. I gave him one when I left and put him in his kennel. We got home about an 1-1/2 later, he ate and then about another 1/2-1hr later it happened. It's not consistent, I do think its the raw hides though but I will definately keep you all posted. What brand of food do you recommend? I just bought a new 44lbs bag so after he eats that and he is hopefully better by then I'll switch it.


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

I definately panicked and worded my post wrong. I feel alot better now. I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

Again what dog food do you recommend


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## roxy84 (Jun 23, 2007)

off the top of my head, petsmart has blue buffalo, petco has wellness, and i think solid gold and natural balance.. there are several other decent foods at those places.
i agree with Mr. Leadfoot. hold off on any changes til his system seems stable, then make any changes very gradually.

often, smaller feed stores and independent pet shops carry many of the upper end foods. if you have a pets supplies plus, they carry a large array of good foods.


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

Re: the food

There are so many different brands and formulas. There are also issues with allergies and sensitive stomach issues, especially with GSDs. With that said, maybe you're one of the lucky ones whose dog has a solid digestive tract.

If you search on this forum, or better yet, since this forum's search function is not great, peruse the Basic Care, Feeding and Diet sections, you'll see a TON of stuff about foods, and about a million opinions. However, you will also notice that many of the recommended foods are indeed good foods, but may not work with particular dogs. Mine is one of those that I believe has allergies, so some foods don't do well. So, I wouldn't want to recommend a food to you because my recommendation would be limited.

You should also know that you should NEVER just switch onto a new food; you should transtiion slowly, like gradually add more and more of the new food over a 5 day period. That way, you get your dog's system accustomed to a new type of food. The other benefit is that if you're dog is not going to do good on another food, you'll see it coming. But, if you just suddenly switch all at once, you might think it's the new food that caused the problem, or if the switch itself caused it, does that make sense?

Here's a link to a post I made on a thread that I think is a good starting point for you. Don't just read my post, read the entire thread and you'll see there's definitely a science behind foods. If you're lucky you will NOT get sucked into the whole thing, but it will give you some good ideas. My post only deals with the foods I tried, and the results that occurred with my current dog. Also note that some of the foods I tried were not the best foods, either, because I was desperate to find a food that worked for my dog's system.

Hope this helps:

http://www.germanshepherds.com/forum/ubb...true#Post959045


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

there's nothing sarcastic in my statement. you're dog had diarrhea for two weeks and you didn't take your pup to the Vet. telling you you should have taken him to the Vet and take a stool sample with you is good advice. 



> Originally Posted By: Adam1824
> 
> 
> > Originally Posted By: doggiedadif your dog had diarrhea for two weeks, two weeks, you should have taken him to the Vet long ago. even though he seems better maybe you should take him to the Vet. take a stool sample with you.
> ...


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

i miss wrote my post, he has had it 4 times in the past 2 weeks.


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## MrLeadFoot (Jan 4, 2009)

So, whatever happened? Did you go to the vet?


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## arsslt (Jan 18, 2009)

I took him and he checked out fine. The vet said he was more then likely the raw hide and the fact that he is teething. He hasn't had diarrhea since I quit giving him the raw hides.


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