# Extremely Puzzled...soft poop



## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

I weaned my 5 1/2 month old Abbey off her Nutro Ultra Puppy Food to the Kirkland Brand chicken formula,,,so much of you have spoke about...also her breeder uses it and told me it was a good fod for the price. OK...yes i did it properly actually over the course of 2 weeks...very slowly and steadily...she likes it and eats it with no probs...i add maybe a teaspoon and a half of wet food and put her vitamin tab and vitamin c.

In between all this i enrolled her for puppy class, she graduates tomorrow...one of the other dogs gave her Kennel Cough...she is all cleared up now, but the problem is, her poop has never been the same since she had the KC.............it is soft like pudding...and sometimes she gets it on herself while she is going.....so yes i tried the chicken and rice diet, i added pumkin to her diet, it only worked for a few days...and now i have tried a probiotic....all im doing is reading and im on overload...could it be an allergy?....could it be too rich for her, so instead of 4 cups i reduced to 3 cups to see if that was the difference...it isnt, doesnt matter how much she eats....otherwise, she is happy healthy and active...she takes a HW pill every month and i treat for fleas and ticks of course.....she poops only twice a day but when she goes its not firm at all....

then i read that GSD have sensitive stomach's...my last did not....iron stomach...also, to boot her ears are still not up but they seem firmer....whihc at this point is adding insult to injury...i have tried contacting the breeder and she forwarded me the chicken and rice diet....? thanks i knew that already......................ideas, thoughts>? comments?
Ears and poops, im stumped and really dont knw what im either doing wrong or what else i can try............if it goes on for a couple of more days im taking her to the vet...

Lorraine:help:

after reading all this, anyone ave any suggestions of what the problem may be and if its the food...which one should i try? yes i tried gluing the ears, she scratched the glue off..so i will do it again when she has the collar around her neck from her spay in a few weeks...


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I would start by having a fecal done by the vet to rule out parasites/giardia..She may have picked something up at class..IF that's clear, I would most likely try


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

> vitamin c.


I'd get the fecal as Jakoda mentioned, but also consider removing the Vit. C for now and see if that helps. 
I know 1000mg. gave our adult sized GSD runny stools. What's the mg. on your Cs?


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## jae (Jul 17, 2012)

My boy had this reaction to grainy kibbles, as well as any new food I introduced. Would do terrible, then great, then back to terrible, even with yogurt, probiotic, tylan powder. The best I got was on Natural Balance LID - but he stunk like a dog. 

I would suggest grain-free or RAW if you can swing it, I never saw him with such terrific poops on raw. I can let you know some butchers near routes 287/80 if you're interested.

Terrific poops... yeah I said it.


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

Interesting about the C Tab....i believe its the 500 ml tabs....but i gave it to her at the breeders suggestion.

If i told you, that 12 years ago, when i bought my 1st GSD, that i gve her no vitamins or Vitamin C..gave her Iams for Large Breed puppy for the first year...and then LB Iams after that, all the way up to Naturals Senior Iams, until she passed, milk bones the occasional egg and pancake Sunday breakfast...she loved watermelon....and what finally got her had nothing to do with what she ate, and was the best dog i ever knew,,,,and she always had plenty of energy and looked amazing...true gentle giant at 100lbs in her prime....all this info on food and vitamins has me spinning.

thanks for the advice...

Lorraine


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

IMO - dogs or puppies don't need a lot of extra vitamins, as the dog food has all the required nutrients.

I think a dog/puppy multi would be sufficient if you chose to supplement with vitamins. But check how much C is in them. Maybe she is getting too much.

I do know that vit. c isn't "bad" per se, just not necessary, but I've heard of giving it when dogs are diagnosed with Pano. In fact that's when we gave ours C, and he really got an upset stomach from it. Vit. C is water soluble so you can't really overdose, but it is irritating, apparently, to the GI tract. 

You may consider supplementing with something like "Next Level" which is what we use, and it has C in it.
Farnam Next Level Equine Joint Fluid, 32 oz. - 5031682 | Tractor Supply Company


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

Thanks for the reply, good information...

Lorraine...

going to try and remove it all together...the Vitamin C ...and you know, not to be gross, but i can see little tiny white sand like particles in them, and i was wondering what it could be, makes sense now....


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

Abbey'sMom said:


> Thanks for the reply, good information...
> 
> Lorraine...
> 
> going to try and remove it all together...the Vitamin C ...and you know, not to be gross, but i can see *little tiny white sand like particles in them*, and i was wondering what it could be, makes sense now....


 
In the poop? That would be parasites/eggs


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

oops, i had hit 'post' accidently, someone knocking on my door LOL..

I would get rid of the C too, it can cause loose stools. 

I have fed Diamond for years, and always tend to go back to it, nice firm stools, no problems.. I'd do the fecal, drop the C, and see what happens, still loose, I'd maybe try getting rid of the chicken and going another source..


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Did you stop the pumpkin?
Pumpkin is doing wonders for us. Hans eats three times a day and gets two good spoonfuls of pumpkin at every meal. Perfect poo every time. 

I don't know of any reason to discontinue it, unles one of you knows otherwise.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

Sometimes the pumpkin can also work in reverse


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

After she wet to te bathroom after her dinner, i had enough, i took her to the Vet...the opted to hold off of the fecal exam for whatever reason...andi have to do the 5 day boiled chicken and rice....an matrinazole (spell?)...and the afte the 4th day pepper in herfood again....she as a re check next Monday...if the pudding returns, they suggested a sensitive stomach formula...so thats what i will look into just in case....

thanks everyone for all the input....i agree, sometimes the pumpkin can work in reverse, i felt thats what it started to do....and i love the name Hans....we were going to name our Puppy Hans had she been a boy, but at the last minute the people who had second choice decided on the last boy....ah well, there is always next time...

Lorraine

will keep you all posted.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

> and the afte the 4th day pepper in herfood again.


...pepper? Was that a typo?


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

no...sorry, like sprinkle the food back in slowly......thats what they said?...we will see, in the meantime will research some sensitive stomach formula's...ty everyone

Lorraine


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

OH I see, like, gradually add her food back in. Gotcha.


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Why would the vet give a drug without a fecal, to see if she actually needs it? If it is the wrong med for what is actually going on it could do more harm than good. This happened to my parents with a puppy. They gave the meds and the puppy ended up pooping blood.
After a test they found coccidia, which the med he was taking did not treat.

The pumpkin gave her the runs?


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

Sunflowers said:


> Why would the vet give a drug without a fecal, to see if she actually needs it? If it is the wrong med for what is actually going on it could do more harm than good. This happened to my parents with a puppy. They gave the meds and the puppy ended up pooping blood.
> After a test they found coccidia, which the med he was taking did not treat.
> 
> The pumpkin gave her the runs?


 
Excellent point Sunflowers...

and what about the sand like particles???


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

The thing is, she doesnt have explosive diarrhea....she goes twice a day, and when i weighed her at the Vet, she gained 7lbs since last month, bringing her to 51.8 lbs at 5 1/2 months old....
but when she goes, its like pudding....and its not like she has the urge to go all day long....so maybe thats why they didnt test?....not real sure...i told them everything im telling you all out there?

so, all i can do is what they told me to do and wait....i will call tomorrow just to be certain why they didnt test...

Lorraine
TY all again.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

White sand-like particles could be undigested bits of rice, quite probably. Especially if the GI tract is rushing the food through.
Not necessarily eggs.
I used to see undigested corn bits when I'd clean out the shelter kennels.

Has Abby been treated in the past for worms, as in standard puppy deworming regiment? If so (and she's only 5 mos.) that could be why they opted to not test. But it's still kind of odd since it's easy to do a fecal.

Abbysmom, if you brought in a poop sample, would they test it?


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I would find out why they didn't test, and then take in a sample..missed it, thought they had done a fecal..I best start paying attention


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

She is UTD on her wormings etc, so thats a possibility why they might not have tested...that makes alot of sense to me....she came home in June UTD on her wormings and i have been on top of the shots,rabies HW preventative and flea and tick...thats why i turned to the forums, for a fresh look at the situation....from someone else's perspective.

They think her intesines are irritated...so they want them to settle down and go from there....i can only hope its as simple as that...

Lorraine


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Abbey'sMom said:


> The thing is, she doesnt have explosive diarrhea....she goes twice a day, and when i weighed her at the Vet, she gained 7lbs since last month, bringing her to 51.8 lbs at 5 1/2 months old....
> but when she goes, its like pudding....and its not like she has the urge to go all day
> 
> Lorraine
> TY all again.


Neither did the puppy who had cooccidia. It was pudding, gelatinous poop. He went more often than normal.Started slowly andnit worsened until they got blood. Breeder was livid that they gave him meds without checking, because the problem progressed and got much worse than it had to.


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

You have me thinking....going to take a sample tomorrow...

Ty...


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## Sunflowers (Feb 17, 2012)

Abbey'sMom said:


> You have me thinking....going to take a sample tomorrow...
> 
> Ty...


You are very welcome. Have them check for giardia and coccidia. 

I hope she gets over this soon. I know very well how frustrating digestive issues can be. Please keep us posted.
Oh, and by the way HUGE Bon Jovi fan, here! I once won front row tickets in 1986 because I answered the trivia question about Sayreville!


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## GatorBytes (Jul 16, 2012)

Pudding poops are indicative of enzyme deficiency also (namely fats) - should ha a TLI B12/folate test done (blood test)...also a parasite infection would show up inWBC's....metradazole (spell?) is for parasite (usually when giardia is suspected) so that blows the theory out of why they didn't test the poop.

Which revisits what Sunflowers says - why are they treating without knowing?

Still lost on the sand thing...if white rice didn't digest it word come out looking like rice not sand. or such the case of tapeworm which is described like rice grains.


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## katdog5911 (Sep 24, 2011)

I have fought the poop battle for a long time. It seems we have finally found the solution (dare I say it). Stella had pudding poops and then explosive diarrhea. Turns out she had giardia. Got treated with flagyl and panacur twice. Did boiled chicken/rice/pumpkin. Also gave her slippery elm for the diarrhea. It took a loooooong time to finally sort everything out. At one point we thought maybe food allergies so I fed her dehydrated raw for a while too. One day she just decided she didn't like it anymore. Anyhow, she is now on Fromms 4 star. I also add some Natural Balance LID canned food sometimes. And we have LOGS!!! Sometimes a bit loose but I can live with that. 
I would definitely want a stool sample done. Although even if it comes back negative, giardia could still be the cause.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

> metradazole (spell?) is for parasite


Not _just_ parasites, metronidazole works as a general antibiotic as well, if there's bacteria suspected. Also it helps with inflammation so it's really the "go to" for non-specific diarrhea which may be bacterial in nature.


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

When I went through this, here's whay helped me:

My dog had giardia, so we had that treated. Afterwards, we still had occasional bouts of soft stool.

First I would cut back on the volume of food. You'd be surprised how a half cup too much, can cause soft stool.
Then I added the Science diet light wet food as a small topping. This is an over the counter version of the vet's presciption ID. It always immediately calmed her digestive tract.

In your case, I would also add that vitamin C is a known culprit, not only for dogs, but for humans as well. As an adult 1000mg would absolutely kill my stomach. I can't imagine 500mm not being a suspect in a 40 - 50 pound dog.


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

Sunflowers, my hubby swears we moved to Sayreville NJ, just because Jon grew up here and went to school here...my oldest graduated HS already and went to Sayrevile HS...he actually showed up there to film a documentary a few years back, now my youngest just started HS.....

Im a HUGE BonJovi fan...many up close events and concerts....

his house here in NJ that he lives in now isnt far from me....and his restaurant he opened up for people to volunteer their time for a meal, or you can pay it forward and pay for someone to eat who doesnt have money...all those looks and a big heart as well.......

coincidence i said, pure coincidence....hehehe......

Lorraine


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

*UPDATE...still need some advice*

OK...so after the bout with the supersoft poop......took her to the Vet they put her on Flagyl....for 2 weeks...rice and chicken for 5 days and then slowly added her dog food back until she was back to all dog food....she currently eats the Kirkland Brand....chicken formula....she got her re check everything seemed to be fine.....my Eskie eats Natural Balance Chicken formula as well and i feed him in his little room in our finished basement so she doesnt eat his food....

SO....

someone left the gate open and now she ate his food, and my hubby just called me to say she is doing little drops of poop after doing her major AM poop like normal this morning. She was going crazy , couldnt figure out whar was wrong, she ran right to her spot and started squatting....rather dripping...

Now...am i back to the drawing board or does anyone think this will just be a one time thing because she ate the other food?

Vet said if she continued with issues might want to try a sensitive stomach formula food....or to run m ore tests because she may have something else wrong with her ...im a little worried, but any thoughts?....

she is also 6 months old today and ears are not fully up yet, but they are showing slight signs i almost feel the ears are the least of my troubles...they seem firmer buut still has the matador look...afraid to give her marrow bones etc because of the belly issues....

:help:

Lorraine


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## jlbjab08 (Aug 1, 2012)

Are logs necessary? Could it ever be that a dog just makes soft poops and nothing is wrong? Does it have to be indicative of a problem?


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

i can see soft poop...im not expecting a miracle...but now she is dripping...so it isnt solid at all....i just hope we are not 5 steps forward and 10 steps back...she is still young and training...cant believe she held it, but i hope she doesnt have something else wrong with her...

Lorraine


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

OK...so now i came home, fed her like normal, took her out...and she started off ok, but ended like she did a few weeks ago.....soft and pudding like...small white dots in her poop here and there...

Vet did run a fecal exam last week and it was negative,,,, any new thoughts?

sensitive stomach or something more serious...totally lost and frustrated...
she also seems to lose it right before she goes potty like she is uncomfortable....

any ideas would be welocme...i also have a call into the vet...

Lorraine


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## Anthony8858 (Sep 18, 2011)

Abbey'sMom said:


> OK...so now i came home, fed her like normal, took her out...and she started off ok, but ended like she did a few weeks ago.....soft and pudding like...small white dots in her poop here and there...
> 
> Vet did run a fecal exam last week and it was negative,,,, any new thoughts?
> 
> ...


The white specs could be giardia or possibly the white rice.
The little poops are a sign of too much food.
Back off a bit.

You seem to be fixated on the food and poop. 
Why don't you cut back on the food for a couple days? Skip a meal in the morning or lunch, give a little less for the afternoon, and also less at night.
No treats whatsoever. Stick with one food, and make sure he doesn't eat anything else.


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

Thankyou Anthony for the advice, tonight im getting a Giardia test done...but vet also mentioned PDI?...or an issue where the dog doesnt absorb the dog food into its system.....so if the Giardia test is negative,,,i got in touch with the breeder and they are willing to run this 300.00 blood test to see if she has anything else....so all i can hope for now is that it is the Giardia, give her meds to clear it up and take it from there, if it comes back negative, Vet said i could have a huge problem on my hands.....

baby steps, will keep you all posted


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## Abbey'sMom (Jul 25, 2012)

*Giardia Test Results*

Test was negative....

right now before i go further with blood work etc...going to go back to puppy food and start over from where this all started....im thinking with the food change to adult food....i know i have seen on here that some people dont even feed puppy food, but the one that rings true with me is not all dogs are created equal and it seems my little girl has a sensitive side...im hoping thats all it is, if i get her back onto puppy food safely with no issues....great if she starts with loose poop again, i will have the pancreatic enzyme bloodwork done....

starting from scratch.....thanks to all who helped....

hopefully going back to her puppy food does the trick 

she was on Nutro Ultra puppy, the holistic kind with no wheat gluten or preservatives....


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