Cronic Diarrhea with my puppy - need help

hello everyone,
I'm new to this forum, so I really appreciate any advise you all can offer. I got my 1st dog, a Cavalier puppy from a reputable show-dog breeder in my area. He was 16 weeks old at the time and was fed adult Eukanuba formula. He looked skinny when I got him. He is now 6 months old and he has diarrhea on and off - all the time. I long ago quit the Eukanuba and tried different holistic dry foods (with no results) and finally switched to the home-made diet of 1 protein (chicken or beef), 1 carb and veggies. For no apparent reason at all, Charlie would break in very loose and frequent stools. I blame it on him picking up stuff off the grass sometimes, but other times I really cannot see anything that would cause it. I've tried raw diet too, with the same results: he would have good firm poops and all of a suddent they will become loose. The Vets I took him to do not know what to think, they put him on antibiotics after ruling out the parasites. Oh, he did have Giardia one time but that was cured, while the cronic diarreah is still there. I give him enzimes and probiotics, I read books on nutrition, I'm doing everything I can... but I'm SO frustrated. Any suggestions?
Many thanks
Charlie's Mom

Hi, I'm sorry you are struggling to settle your pup's tummy. I had a similar problem with my girl when she was younger, she had frequent bouts of colitis, her tum is still sensitive, but on the whole she does ok now. I'm no expert, but I can tell you how I dealt with it. White grilled or baked chichen chopped up and mixed with boiled white rice, and once the poops are firming up, start adding a good quality kibble (perhaps Royal Canin or James Welbeloved) Keep them on this diet for a couple of weeks, in fact, if it suits your pup, stick to chicken or plain white fish and kibble long term.
The things that set my girl off are veggies (an occasional tiny amount might be ok) She has absolutely no dairy, it's very bad news for her. I'm very careful about the treats that she has and introduce a particular one very carefully so that I can identify what may upset her. Salt free rice cakes are good from health food shops. As she has got older, she's now ok with the occasional Wainwright's biscuit, a small piece of dried tripe, and various treats from fish4dogs. She's almost two years old now, and I can ocasionally get away with a tiny bit of cooked red meat and she does love it, but it's not part of her regular diet. I would avoid any of the attractive looking treats that places like Pets At Home sell, I learned that the hard way when Phoebe was little. It is a shame, I know, when your dog has to have a limited diet, but it does pay off because as their gut matures, you can afford to try the odd new thing, it's just a case of getting their tum to settle in the early months so they can gain weight and become more robust. You are very welcome to PM if you think I can help with any other info, I just remember how difficult it was with Phoebe and would hate to see anyone else struggling the same way.
Hope you can get things to settle down soon

Again with Jake (my problem child), he had bowel problems for probably the first 18 months to two years of his life. And it would come out of nowhere. A single protein source limited ingredient diet is a great way to start. I know that Wellness makes a couple of good ones and ones with unusual protein sources. They also make a food called "Core" that is limited ingredients and very good. When Jake was having his issues I put him on Ca Natural Chicken and Rice. He did well but still had occasional problems. Both of mine have been on raw for two years and we've not had anymore problems. I do think it may have been that he just outgrew the problem since he can now have treats that would have set him off before. Also, add a probiotic and a digestive enzyme. That may also help.

I feel your pain- my youngest had on and off diarrhea (and twice they struck on road trips...IN the car!) and I am so paranoid now about what goes in his mouth. I attributed it to the high protein I was feeding him as a pup...but I don't really know what sets it off. Stress sometimes and maybe diet as well. I feed him kibble and rotate brands and have concentrated on formulas in the 24-32% protein range and it seems to work okay. I recently read somewhere that it is normal for a dog's poop to be solid and then more soft and then solid again, like a cycle. I have seen this with all of mine. When you say yours has diarrhea, is it runny/ watery or is it just soft? I don't think I would worry about soft poops, but if they are runny I would worry as well.

I can relate to what you are dealing with as my Jato went through the same thing as a puppy. The vet always gave him meds. and it still wasn't a normal poop, so I began treating him myself. I stopped all chicken (make sure there is no chicken fat as well) and switched him to Lamb based food. I used Wellness 5 Lamb, and wow he cleared up in a short time. Just be patient when weaning them onto the new food over a week or two. I have recently switched both dogs to California Natural Herrring & Sweet Potato, and they both are doing great on that. They have a very limited amount of ingredients which is better when they have an upset. They also make Lamb treats that I give to them sparingly- otherwise I just use pieces of their kibble to train and reward. Good luck, and keep us updated.

Please do NOT feed your puppy a homemade diet unless you are working with a reputable nutritionist. Judging from what you say, you're pup will have a severe calcium deficiency unless you are adding it. He's also likely deficient in other nutrients. I'm not trying to come off too harshly, but nutrition is SO important in a growing puppy. I would hate to see him suffer bone/joint problems or any others from malnutrition.

Also - it sounds like you are switching around his food an awful lot. You've only had him 2 months but you mention him being on at least 4 different foods. All of the food switching could be causing the diarrhea.

I would either look up a canine nutritionist to help you formulate an appropriate balanced diet if you would prefer continuing the home-made meals, or switch to a limited ingredient canned or kibble food and stick with it at least a month (assuming your pup seems to be doing no worse than before) to see how he does overall. Good luck!

ETA: I missed that he had giardia. A lot of intestinal bugs are hard to get rid of and can appear to be "gone" only to flare again. I wonder if he needs to be retreated? We had a horrible bout of campy with two dogs and myself that took months to get rid of

We had this problem for ages and then switched to Chappie tinned food, high in fiber. If he does ever get a flare up, I give him probiotics and smaller portions fed three times a day.

Your dog may have a bacteria and I would suggest asking the vet to do tests on his stools. Maybe the Giardia is back or never went completely. Did they test after the treatment to see if the Giardia had gone?

Chicken and rice didn't help us and gave Dylan constipation, not enough fiber.

For a second there thought it was me who started this thread. My Poppy had severe diarahoe for 12 weeks. Take eveyones advise and ask the vet to run blood test and pooh tests. She may have an infection. Poppy is 6 months but the size of a 3 mth puppy. She has camplybacter which she is being treated for, but that may take time to clear.
Is there blood aswell?