Help with puppy loose stools?

[621mum]

My puppy (1/2 lab, 1/2 ?) is about 14 weeks old. She is on Wellness puppy food (at this point she is getting a little over 2/3 cup, 3x a day). She has always (since we brought her home at 8 weeks) had loose stools. They said that she had a bout of diarrhea at the shelter, but that it had cleared up. We aren't giving her anything but her puppy food and, at most 1-2 small biscuits per day. We were letting her chew cornstarch bones, but stopped that too. Stopping the cornstarch helped some. Now she has firmer (though I wouldn't say totally firm) in the morning and they are increasingly looser across the day. I asked the vet if she thought we should change foods, but she said no and suggested testing for worms and parasites again (negative)... Do you have any thoughts? She is otherwise healthy and active. The later day stools are hard to clean up, which is a pain, but that is ok as long as it isn't hurting her any.

[calgal]

Is that the brand she was being fed at the shelter? Sounds to me like it isn't agreeing with her. Not sure what's in it....maybe too much meal & grains.
I'm not big on any dog food, BUT the three I would off hand have to recommend is INNOVA, CHICKEN SOUP and IAMS. I don't think I would even introduce a new food a little at a time at this point. The one dog food you can switch over without any problem is INNOVA. It's one of the best. My two Yorkies came from a show home that feeds strickly IAMS, but when I get them I not only have that down for free feed, but INNOVA and CHICKEN SOUP as well. I also cook breakfast and dinner for them. They have never had a problem with their bowels over the sudden change, which in my opinion just goes to show you that the premium brands are best.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Wellness can be known to be a "rich" food for pups and some simply do not do well stool wise on it until older. This also may be a food that has something in it that she is allergic to. Difficult at best to tell unless you take her off of it for a bit.

How long ago was she last seen at the vets? If its been more than 3 or four days I'd recommend recontacting the vet and advising him or her that the pup still has the problem. I wouldn't recommend changing to another food right off the bat no matter how good the food is and wouldn't be surprised if your vet advises a few days of boiled hamburger and rice first. jmo

[621mum]

Thanks for the replies.
Calgal - she was on Purina Puppy at the shelter. So, over the course of about 2 weeks we switched her. Wellness is one of the top rated brands (comparable to Innova etc.) with low grains, all human grade ingredients etc. It's a good food. But, I know that she still may not be dealing with it well.

Crossfire - She saw the vet on Friday. At that point, she suggested checking again for parasites/worms and if that was negative waiting a while to see if things cleared up. I think that because it isn't really diarrhea, just not firm stools, she isn't very concerned. Nonetheless, I am thinking about a food change (gradual of course). Naturally, I just got 30 pounds of Wellness

[mistyd5770]

How is your puppy doing today? I would have her checked again for worms and parasites just to be sure. Sometimes they don't show up on the first testing. I would not let it go on for too long though. Good luck!

[Codykins]

I had this issue as well. I went through many foods over the last 9 months (gradually introducing). What finally worked was boild chop meat and rice for a whole week, putting his belly back in shape and adding new food Flint River Ranch.. he is doing better - stools harder and poops less. It's early to tell, but I think I have it licked - finally. You may have to switch food often until you find something, start eliminating out the grains that is what typically they are having trouble with. My Vet just automatically dewormed and de- paricited my dog without testing, it dosen't hurt.

[621mum]

She seems to be doing generally better. We still have an off day here and there, but I think part of that is the amount of grass she chews! She's been worm tested 3 times now, so I feel pretty good that it isn't that.

[Sheltiemama]

Just to ease her try giving her a couple of teaspoons of plain pumpkin mixed in her food. It will help firm things up a bit. Please be sure its the plain pumpkin and not the spiced stuff that you make pies out of.

[Kade]

Winston has had loose-ish stools for a week; I took him to the vet and he's on antibiotics for a bacterial issue that probably stems from eating, you know, anything he can get.

Pumpkin definitely seems to help firm things up for Winston; plus, he LOVES it!

[621mum]

I have a can of pumpkin on hand for the next bout. Thanks for the advice! I'm sure she will love it; she isn't too picky. LOL