Hmmmm...the science diet puppy food I have been feeding is chicken based, but the Evo my husband got is 'red meat'--beef, lamb, and buffalo. I think I will bump up the ratio of 1/2 SD to 1/2 evo and see if it helps. How long was Lerwick on the new food before he had normal poops?
Puppy diarrhea
- Thread starter biowicks
- Start date
ClantyreSheltie
Forums Sage
I had that problem with my Collie and beef-based kibbles when she was younger. Raw beef? totally OK. Now she can handle anything, but it was a couple bags of ick before I figured it out.
As soon as we stopped feeding the duck-based food, his stools firmed up, within a matter of only a couple bowel movements, I'd say. We didn't do the gradual transition from the duck to the lamb, because we didn't want to keep feeding him food that might be bad. Besides... he was already having diarrhea anyway, so the sudden change wouldn't make that any worse! Because we changed the food so quickly, we noticed an improvement right away. It did take a little while for the stools to be completely "normal," since it obviously took awhile for his body to get rid of all the traces of the duck in his system... but as soon as we stopped giving him the duck-based kibble, we stopped having to wipe his butt with cottonelle wipes after every bowel movment. 
As a side note, the SD I/D the vet prescribed for us was the soft canned food... which is beef-based. Good thing, too, if the dry kibble is poultry-based!
One of the reasons I switched to the lamb-basted TOTW, besides wanting to be sure it wasn't from the same batch of food as the bag I suspected might be bad, was that the lamb-based one had a bit less fat. I had thought another possibility was that the foods we'd been feeding him might just be too rich. It sounds like the EVO is a very rich food, so that could also be contributing. I know in Lerwick's case, the main problem was definitely the poultry... but the extra fat probably wasn't helping.
He's doing great now. His whole digestive system is much hardier. He can tolerate treats, where before we couldn't give him anything (we still avoid poultry-based treats, of course), and he no longer gets diarrhea when anything remotely stressful happens (a trip to the vet, meeting a loud/agressive dog, a car ride, etc.) and before we could be sure that the next bowel movement would most definitely be full-on diarrhea. Now he has normal stools every time... except he did have one soft stool when he first came home from being neutered early this month. Even then, the stool wasn't "pudding" like it used to be, and every BM since then was normal.
As a side note, the SD I/D the vet prescribed for us was the soft canned food... which is beef-based. Good thing, too, if the dry kibble is poultry-based!
One of the reasons I switched to the lamb-basted TOTW, besides wanting to be sure it wasn't from the same batch of food as the bag I suspected might be bad, was that the lamb-based one had a bit less fat. I had thought another possibility was that the foods we'd been feeding him might just be too rich. It sounds like the EVO is a very rich food, so that could also be contributing. I know in Lerwick's case, the main problem was definitely the poultry... but the extra fat probably wasn't helping.
He's doing great now. His whole digestive system is much hardier. He can tolerate treats, where before we couldn't give him anything (we still avoid poultry-based treats, of course), and he no longer gets diarrhea when anything remotely stressful happens (a trip to the vet, meeting a loud/agressive dog, a car ride, etc.) and before we could be sure that the next bowel movement would most definitely be full-on diarrhea. Now he has normal stools every time... except he did have one soft stool when he first came home from being neutered early this month. Even then, the stool wasn't "pudding" like it used to be, and every BM since then was normal.
I think that I would have this puppy on digestive enzyme support like Nzymes -google it and you will find it. I would also go to the drug store and buy some lactobacillus and give her 1/2 cap with a tiny amount of plain yogurt or warm milk 2 times daily for 2 - 3 days. I would do the brown rice and chicken or beef or lamb diet, pick one, for a few days along with the lacto and the enzymes to let her system calm down. I haven't used "Evo" but would stop feeding it to her altogether and stick with a low fat, high fibre diet at least until this is a thing of the past. Watch her anal glands. Most common reason for anal gland problems is soft stools, there isn't enough pressure to evacuate the glands when the dog defecates and trust me, you don't want to have to deal with anal gland issues. Pick up any stool as it is passed and clean her bottom right after she poops. Continue to have fecal floats done and treat the coccidea if need be. I gotta say, I'm shocked at the number of you that have had to deal with coccidea when you've got a new puppy. I've never had to deal with it and I talked to a bunch of my friends about it the other night and they don't see it either. I do know of one Portuguese Water Dog breeder that treats all puppies before they leave her house but she isn't the most reputable person in the world in the first place. Hope this all settles down soon. Please keep us informed.
take4roll10
Moderator
My puppy had coccidia when I brought her home too. Although she didn't have loose stool and was treated and her next test was normal.
Her digestive system was fine until about 1 month later.... I wonder if coccidia had anything to do with it. It seems like a lot of our dogs, who had coccidia as a puppies, had bouts of loose stool when they were young.
Her digestive system was fine until about 1 month later.... I wonder if coccidia had anything to do with it. It seems like a lot of our dogs, who had coccidia as a puppies, had bouts of loose stool when they were young.
My puppy had a positive fecal for coccidia at 8 weeks, and after the medication, the fecal was negative for everything. But, I hear some of you saying that one negative fecal doesn't mean a cure. I think, in addition to changing up the food, I will ask for another course of meds.
Shelby's mom
Forums Enthusiast
Our pup had coccidia, giardia, and a third parasite I can't remember and she was dewormed by the breader (in her defense Shelby will eat anything, the yuckier the better)? Talk about loose stools and foul smells. I didn't realize this could affect them for years. I guess that explains why her stools are very foul smelling and softer than our previous pup. She has been testing negative for everything except some parasite that she picked up from the rabbit poo. The vet says it is very common in poo eating dogs. There is no treatment for it and it does not harm the dog or us. I guess it eventually it dies offon its own.
pudding poops solved
Thank you all for your advice! In the end, the vet put Olive on a prescription gastrointestinal bland puppy food (Royal Canin) The first poop in the AM after a dinner of this food solved the problem! She has what I would call 'regular' poops now--they go 'thunk' instead of 'sploosh' when they occur We are going to go through two bags of this and then try reintroducing a non-prescription food. Vet thinks she was just very inflamed from the coccidea infection, even though it was gone. Whatever the reason, cleaning up her rear is much easier now!
Thank you all for your advice! In the end, the vet put Olive on a prescription gastrointestinal bland puppy food (Royal Canin) The first poop in the AM after a dinner of this food solved the problem! She has what I would call 'regular' poops now--they go 'thunk' instead of 'sploosh' when they occur
We are going to go through two bags of this and then try reintroducing a non-prescription food. Vet thinks she was just very inflamed from the coccidea infection, even though it was gone. Whatever the reason, cleaning up her rear is much easier now!