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Stool Issue

335 Views 13 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  samanthalynn, 
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5 days after adopting our 3/4 month old puppy, he started to have bad diarrhea. No other symptoms. We took him to the vet and they gave him Pro-Pectalin which only lasted a couple of days. During that time frame, his poop firmed up and the diarrhea was gone. After stopping it however, he now has firm stool but the last half that comes out is runny (cow pie like). The vet prescribed him Metronidazole. I haven't gave it to him yet because I have been reading alot of negative stuff about it and how it destroys the healthy bacteria in the gut and can cause negative long term effects. Anyone dealt with this type of stool issue before with their puppy and what was the diagnosis and or treatment? Don't know if i should get a second opinion from a different vet or try a holistic approach. Thanks!
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CachetheBC
His issues may be simply stress related, being homed (rehomed) can be hard on them.
New foods or over- feeding can also cause digestive problems.
You could try adding some (couple of teaspoons or so - depending on his size) plain canned pumpkin to his meals, or plain yogurt or kefir may be helpful too.
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forgotten
Replacing " live good" bacteria can be quiet simple and quiet easy with our dogs and puppies.

Try Natural live Yoghurt or Keifer yoghurt (which is said to be better). A desert spoon twice a day will do no harm. There is also Natural Live goat yoghurt which is very good too.
There is also the very smelly raw "Green tripe" which is very nutritious and full of LIVE bacteria. Although smelly, it is very natural and effective. Don't be tempted to cook it, it stinks even worse!!
What size or breed is your puppy ?
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forgotten said:
Replacing " live good" bacteria can be quiet simple and quiet easy with our dogs and puppies.

Try Natural live Yoghurt or Keifer yoghurt (which is said to be better). A desert spoon twice a day will do no harm. There is also Natural Live goat yoghurt which is very good too.
There is also the very smelly raw "Green tripe" which is very nutritious and full of LIVE bacteria. Although smelly, it is very natural and effective. Don't be tempted to cook it, it stinks even worse!!
What size or breed is your puppy ?
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i will have to try that thanks! What stores do they sell that at?

the humane society said he was a lab mix but i have no clue. Hes only 10 lbs and 3-4 months old. I did a dna test on him but wont get the results back for another 2 weeks.
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CachetheBC said:
His issues may be simply stress related, being homed (rehomed) can be hard on them.
New foods or over- feeding can also cause digestive problems.
You could try adding some (couple of teaspoons or so - depending on his size) plain canned pumpkin to his meals, or plain yogurt or kefir may be helpful too.
Click to expand...
ill try cutting back his food portions to see if that helps and give him a teaspoon of pumpkin daily too. Yesterday he actually did throw up a pile of dry dog food (first time hes thrown up) since we adopted him. So maybe it is an overfeeding issue?
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CachetheBC
Perhaps consider feeding smaller portions, more often (so that he his getting the same amount of food over the course of the day?
If you are not, perhaps consider soaking his kibble in warm water for 5 or 10 minutes before giving it to him, may help to make it a little easier for him to digest.
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C
First half firm and the last part runny is not unusual in puppies. I also find that constipation can trigger diarrhea. The dog strains to get rid of the plug, and then everything else follows in a big rush. Exercise stimulates the gut to move; lack of exercise causes constipation in my guys. I therefore make sure to get them out for gentle play and exercise at intervals throughout the day.

Has he been tested for parasites like Giardia? Metronidazole is one of the treatments for Giardia in addition to being a treatment for diarrhea. When my senior puppy needed to go onto metronidazole for diarrhea I followed up with probiotics to help restore the gut flora. My vet sent me home with a months supply of something from Purina.

I would not cut back your pup's total food ration. He's a growing puppy in need of minerals and calories, and he's not absorbing nutrients as well as he should be if he's got diarrhea and vomiting. If you think he is overeating I would instead divide his daily ration into four to six smaller snacks. You could even substitute training drills for one of his smaller meals, using part of his food ration as a reward. More and smaller meals will ensure he's never so hungry he gets the hunger pukes or the opportunity to eat until he vomits.
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Shadowfox
Another option is maybe looking at the back of the food bag. Chicken,high ratios of peas, and/or glycerin doesn't sit well with all dogs.
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Curls said:
First half firm and the last part runny is not unusual in puppies. I also find that constipation can trigger diarrhea. The dog strains to get rid of the plug, and then everything else follows in a big rush. Exercise stimulates the gut to move; lack of exercise causes constipation in my guys. I therefore make sure to get them out for gentle play and exercise at intervals throughout the day.

Has he been tested for parasites like Giardia? Metronidazole is one of the treatments for Giardia in addition to being a treatment for diarrhea. When my senior puppy needed to go onto metronidazole for diarrhea I followed up with probiotics to help restore the gut flora. My vet sent me home with a months supply of something from Purina.

I would not cut back your pup's total food ration. He's a growing puppy in need of minerals and calories, and he's not absorbing nutrients as well as he should be if he's got diarrhea and vomiting. If you think he is overeating I would instead divide his daily ration into four to six smaller snacks. You could even substitute training drills for one of his smaller meals, using part of his food ration as a reward. More and smaller meals will ensure he's never so hungry he gets the hunger pukes or the opportunity to eat until he vomits.
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Yes we already tested his poop for parasites and it came back negative for Giardia. Thats why i didn't know if putting him on antibiotics is really necessary? I also have been noticing right when he starts to poop i hear him like grunt like hes trying to push it out. So maybe he is constipated and needs more exercise. As far as the food portions go, Ive been reading mixed info on how much to give him online. Would you know how much food to give a 10 lb puppy thats about 3-4 months old? Separated 3 meals a day. On the back of his Fromm bag of food, its going by how much he would weigh at maturity and i have no clue what breed he even is lol. I get his DNA results back in 2 weeks.
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I can only estimate based on the sizes of puppies I've had, but my guess would be somewhere in the 25-40 pound range.
Regardless of adult size I've found puppy appetites can deviate a lot from what the size chart on the bag advises. Conventional wisdom is that dog food manufacturers are trying to sell dog food, and their charts tend to recommend more food than most puppies need. Therefore, a lot of people cut back a bit. In my case, I had to increase the food. I have an active breed. My puppies ate around 25-30% more on average than the charts recommended for their entire puppyhood. Their appetites also varied depending on growth spurts. They tended to go through cycles where they would eat insane amounts of food, get a bit pudgy, and then go on a growth spurt that would leave them scrawny again. The way I dealt with them was to feed four times per day. I put down 3/4 to a full cup for each meal. (My guys were supposed to end up in the 40-65 range.) If the puppy stepped away from his bowl and looked to play with something nearby, I figured that was enough food for that meal. If the puppy sniffed around the bowl looking for spilled kibbles after finishing everything in the bowl I put down another 1/4 to 1/2 cup. During peak growth spurts they would eat as much as six cups per day. As adults they seem to have stabilized on 4 cups per day.
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CachetheBC
How much to feed (quantity) varies depending on the calorie density of the food - if feeding a higher calorie food (eg: 400 calories/per cup) you would feed less by volume (cups) than a food with a lower calorie count. ( For example my active adult approx. 50 lb. dogs do well on about 2 1/2 cups of kibble (@ approx. 400 k/cal per cup per day.)

Perhaps ask your vet for an estimate on his adult size (they can usually give a pretty good estimate on mature size), then you would have an idea how much to feed.

Though this may give you some idea. Dog Size Estimator | How Big Will My Puppy Get? (purecalculators.com)
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Update: He's still having diarrhea. I started making a chart everyday listing his stools and description of them. I kind of noticed a pattern going on. He tends to have the cow pie looking poo towards the evening/night. So maybe he has a food intolerance to some ingredients in that food or an allergy? I ordered a 5Strand test for him to see what that says… i dont know what else the problem could be other than his food he's eating.
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Update: He's still having diarrhea. I started making a chart everyday listing his stools and description of them. I kind of noticed a pattern going on. During the day, he has normal healthy firm looking poos. & then in the evening/night, he tends to have the cow pie looking poo. So maybe he has a food intolerance to some ingredients in that food or an allergy? I ordered a 5Strand test for him to see what that says… i dont know what else the problem could be other than his food he's eating.
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Update: He's still having diarrhea. I started making a chart everyday listing his stools and description of them. I kind of noticed a pattern going on. During the day, he has normal healthy firm looking poos. & then in the evening/night, he tends to have the cow pie looking poo. So maybe he has a food intolerance to some ingredients in that food or an allergy? I ordered a 5Strand test for him to see what that says… i dont know what else the problem could be other than his food he's eating. I literally took away all his toys that he can easily chew up and swallow. (For example stuffed animal type toys and stuff) and his potty area is a gated off artificial grass area where there is nothing to pick up and eat.
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