Puppy pooh question...

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

...yeah, you read it right. :o ...and this is a serious question. We brought the new pup home two weeks ago Sunday, he was eight weeks old. Already had first shots, went to our vet for checkup/boosters and such the following Monday or Tuesday.

We oberved the puppy do his doody at the breeder's...tetxbook poop. Very nice, firm, etc. Monday afternoon, a bit loose...after shots...so I really thought nothing of it. Tuesday mid-morning LOML sees diarrhea, mucous and a bit of blood. :eek: Next poop is still a bit loose, but 'formed'. No mucous, no blood. After that, very good poop. Next morning, first poop is good...second poop diarrhea. Third poop good...and so it goes, with no discernible pattern.

That Friday the vet gave me a can of special food and 2ccs of Albon a day for at least a week. Still no change in the poop...or in other words, no discernible pattern.

Puppy appears happy and playful, eats well, and despite what we assume to be some digestive problems gained quite a bit of weight the first five days here (from 2.2 to 2.8 pounds). We did change the food from standard Purina Puppy (breeder) to Purina ProPlan on day one, and he had the canned vet food for three days. Initial Parvo snap-test was negative, tho they say it may take a couple weeks to show up...so I guess that doesn't really mean anything....and the 'profuse diarrhea' sympton is absent.

Would anyone like to offer a theory as to why the 'no pattern', or share a similar puppy story? As you might suspect, we've become rather attached to the little fella. Even the Cocker lets him sit by her now...the true test of acceptance into the family. :)

Worried DoggieDaddy :(

[Cecil Arnold]

Sometime the stress of new people/places/dogs can cause something like that, but at two weeks the pup should be getting past it. I've seen similar show up in adopted dogs, usually the vet can do something.

[Michael Gabbay]

Kirk - Also make sure the pup is getting a lot of water do he does not dehydrate. Is he only eating the dog food? Any snacks? How is his sleeping area? Any stress may show up as the runs.

Good luck, Mike

[Joe Pelonio]

Dogs and especially puppies do have a hard time adjusting to different food, so much so that it's recommended to introduce it a little at a time, added to what they are used to eating. Any vomitting? Our Golden had a lot of trouble when a pup with worms, but that also causes vomitting. Is
the little guy acting sick? They can also get messed up by eating a foreign
object, again our Golden at age 2 ate a sewing pin, that caused not only
diarrhea but he had a warm nose and just laid around. That one cost over $3,000 for surgery to remove the pin and part of his intestine. If the vet suggests an xray do it soon, better not to wait until more damage is done. They told us it's common for dogs to get obstructed by eating rocks.

[Lee DeRaud]

The firm-in-the-morning, loose-later-in-the-day sounds like he's getting a lot of exercise (a good thing): the activity is pushing the food through his digestive tract faster than at night, so less liquid gets absorbed. If he's playful and active, it's extremely unlikely he's getting dehydrated.

(I've heard of the same thing happening to people when they take up jogging.:eek: )

But Bogey (my previous dog) never had firm stools on any version of Purina food: vet said the fat content was way too high. He (and now Ozzy) did a lot better on S/D lamb-and-rice.

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

Thanks for the responses. He gets plenty of water, and yeah, he's a busy pup. :eek: No vomiting. He may very well have eaten/swallowed a piece of broken tile grout (!!) that might explain the early blood.

I've put the big dog food outside for now because the little one will climb up the bowl to get into it (adjustable bowl on the highest setting!). For now anyway, he hasn't figured out how to climb out the doggie door.

Next shot booster is the 27th...as long as he's eating and acting like a puppy we're just gonna watch him until then.

KC

[Tom A Walker]

As others said, pups can have pretty delicate digestive systems just like human babies can. Any changes to their diet have to be pretty gradual. Any sudden changes can result in a mess!

Even with our grown dog we still change her food over a period of a couple of weeks to get her system adjusted slowly. As long as he's eating and drinking plenty, I wouldn't worry about it.

[tod evans]

kirk, as you know pups will eat anything and everything that`ll fit in their jaws...there`s no telling short of constant observation how many rocks/sticks/pieces of plastic toys ect. he`s ingesting when you aren`t looking? i`d say if the little guy`s still running, jumping and acting like a pup he`ll be fine....02 tod

[Robert Mickley]

I would have to attribute part of it to diet myself, oh though after two weeks he should be over it. I've never had a pup yet in any of my litters go back and forth. The only time I have had any come back complaining of the runs it was due to a sudden shift in diet and usually feeding cheap dog food. I send all my pups home with 10 pounds of dog food, with the recommendation to keep feeding the same and if they are going to change brands to do it over at least a two week period.


personally I think Purina products are over rated. I've had my best luck on Diamond, and yes I know we had a bad food scare a while back. Read your ingredients, corn should be as far down the list as possible.

I feed the pups the Large breed lamb and rice and corn is sixth on the ingredient list. My adult dogs get the Beef Meal & Rice formula which has no corn in it. Both my labs are active dogs and are fit and healthy on just 3 cups of food each, a day.

[Jerry Olexa]

Your pup is adjusting to a new way of life. As my vet told me: they are like people. They get stressed. They don't like change, etc. I agree, 2 weeks you'll be allright... Enjoy the dog (s) :) :)

[Curt Fuller]

Like everyone else has said, puppies need time to adjust to new diets, new stress, and all the excitement of being loved so much. But a couple warning signs to watch for are blood in the poop and if their colon seems to be extending out, like their insides are coming out. If either occurs it's time for a trip to the vet.

Also, at just 10 weeks a puppy needs lots of rest and sleep. Sometimes they get over loved and played with so much that it causes stress and the squirts. They're just like people babies and they need their nap time.

I've always fed my Goldens Iams but any good quality food like that should be ok if you keep them on it consistently.

[Larry Klaaren]

Is this the same puppy that was described in an earlier thread as the runt of the litter? That could be a very significant detail. There are a couple of malabsorption issues that could be coming into play as the pup moves to a higher protein diet.

I'm thinking of the King Cavalier. Was that you? I don't want to alarm you, but it's sometimes an issue. I can elaborate in a pm or in this thread if this is that puppy.

Larry

[Kirk (KC) Constable]

That it is...and thanks for the offer. PM sent...

For others that may be interested, the 'bad poop' is improving the last 36 hours or so.

KC

[Robert Mickley]

Well hopefully its over in a few more days KC. I hate to see any animal sick.