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Poopy Puppy Problems

FlynnsMom

Member
Hello All,

Flynn has been having some serious poopy problems. When I first brought him home Feb 14, 2013 he developed diarrhea within 24hrs. We brought him to the vet ASAP, they tested him for everything under the sun, and it all came back negative. They gave him anti-biotics, pro-biotics, and then we dewormed him about a week later. He was absolutely fine from Feb 22nd 2013 or so until March 22nd, when the diarhhea started again. We went back to the vet on March 25th, because the diarrhea got extremely liquidy and became an "urgent" issue every couple of hours (all day, all night - poor baby). The vet again tested him for everything under the sun, gave him the anti-biotice and pro-biotics, and suggested the Hills Diet for sensitive stomaches (I think it is the I/D, but I cannot remember). I didn't want to feed it to him, but gave it to him for one day to see if it made a difference... and instead of making him better, it made him vomit, so we stopped immediately and slowly started feeding him his normal food again. We feed him Blue Buffalo Wilderness for puppies, dry only.

He was fine again until Wednesday night (Apr 3rd) when the stool started becoming loose again. As of last night, he is back to liquid, with some larger loose stools in between.

Other than the "poopy problem" and some extra tears/tear staining, he is acting completely normal. He is eating and drinking fine; he is active and happy; he runs around, then cuddles - all of his usual behaviours.

Also, I should mention that the stool is normal in colour (there is definitely no blood and it never looks dark or tarry).

I really don't want to bring him back to the vet again, because I have found that they just try to bandaid the problem, without actually figuring out what is wrong (because to them, there is "nothing wrong").

Flynn will be 5months old next weekend, and this is the 3rd time I have had this problem in under 2 months. I am now at a complete loss, and other than pumpkin, rice, etc to soothe his tummy, I have NO IDEA what to do or how to help him :(

Has anyone has similar problems, or can make a suggestion? I am starting to think that this sounds more like food allergies... but I have no idea.

Here is a link to the ingredients of the food he is on, if that helps:

https://www.bluebuffalo.com/dog-food/wilderness-puppy
 
I am guessing your vet is treating your pup for coccidia. This is usually treated with antibiotics. Your pup may have giardia that isn't showing on the test. My rottweiler had giardia for a long time because his tests came back negative. He finally was treated with flagyl, but when his symptoms came back he was given panacur (one week on, one week off then for 3-5 days). It was a few years ago so I don't remember the exact number of days on the third week. Giardia symptoms are similiar to coccidia but difference in treatment.

Also, the food you are feeding could be too rich for your puppy. Personally I would switch foods to a midgrade food and see if it makes a difference. If not I would treat for giardia.
 
I think the protein content is very high at 36%.
Overfeeding them on a rich food could cause symptoms like you describe.
If he's behaving normally and isn't vomiting,try getting his tummy settled again and gradually change to a lower grade food,maybe lamb and rice based and at 5 months,maybe take him off the puppy food and onto a junior or adult kibble.Once he's settled,I'd worm him again.
It doesn't sound like he's a fussy eater.
Sins
 
I would starve him for 24 hours, then start him on small meals of home made chicken and rice
or some fish and rice. I would not feed kibble to him at all for a number of days then introduce very slowly if
this is the diet you want to follow.

Nanette
 
Thanks :)

The exact meds they keep putting him on are Metronidazole and Acute Care Paste (Panacure). The vets are not actually telling me what they are treating him for, which is driving me bonkers!!! He tested negative for all parasites, which should include coccidia and giardia, I would think. The explaination for the anti-biotics were that "if there is something going on, this should fix it".

The vague answers are killing me!!! I have an epileptic cat, so I am used to specific tests with specific answers.

As much as I would love to keep Flynn on a home cooked meal diet, I dont believe that any of my family and friend pet sitters would be willing to medicate my cat twice/day, and make home cooked meals for Flynn, so I would like to try to keep him on a good quality dog food.

I grabbed some pumpkin for him, and I am looking at new dog foods - is 26% protein more ideal?
 
First you obviously need a new vet.....You should NEVER leave the vet feeling annoyed because of vague answers to your concerns. Just my opinion.......

The metronidazole is THE wonder drug for clearing up doggie runny poop so it should help a lot. Fletcher went thur a bit of this when I first got him. Same thing no "reason". But I do think so of it is normal puppy, teething can cause runnier eyes and yucky poop. And since Flynn is pretty happy normal wild little man I would guess its something like that. I feed canned pumpkin when Feltcher's tummy isn't right, he loves it and I think its a great idea to just feed Flynn pumpkin for a day or so until you get the poop issue under control. Fletcher has been on Wellness Core adult kibble since I got him switched off the puppy Wellness he came home on. Personally, I'm not into the whole "puppy" food thing. Honestly it could be one of the "extras for puppy additives" upsetting his tummy (just a thought).
 
First you obviously need a new vet.....You should NEVER leave the vet feeling annoyed because of vague answers to your concerns. Just my opinion.......

I sure do! I have already informed the clinic that Flynn is NEVER to see Dr Atwood again... Unfortunately when I brought him in the last time, she was the only vet in, as they were closing up for the evening. His next appointment is with Dr B (the only vet I let care of Tinkerbell, my epileptic kitty love), and hopefully I can get better answers from him. Flynn has an appointment on the 13th, so *fingers crossed*

Thanks again for all the wonderful suggestions :)
 
Thanks :)

The exact meds they keep putting him on are Metronidazole and Acute Care Paste (Panacure).

Metronidazole is treatment for coccidia, panacur is a worming med that can be used as treatment for giardia. Try the food change I think that may be the easiest fix right now. Also overfeeding a puppy can cause loose stools. It is hard to figure out stomach problems. If the diet change doesn't work after a month I would look into food allergies. I have a dog with sensitive stomach I feed a midgrade food with 23% protein. I have tried to upgrade his food throughout his life and it always caused expolsive diahhrea. He also can't have any human treats. But I have also noticed if I overfeed him he gets loose stools....so it is a balance act. My other dogs can eat anything and be fine.
 
Metronidazole will kill Giardia. Giardia is kind of a funny bug, it is not a bacteria, but actually what's called a "protozoan". Even with multiple tests it can go undetected as it tends to occur in blooms so if your vet doesn't happen to get the lucky sample they can miss it.

It is very worrying that your vet doesn't feel the need to explain things to you, that is really one of the worst things a vet (or a doctor) can do. You are the only one who will be giving your pet round the clock care, you should know what is being given, in what dose, how frequently, for what reasons, what potential side effects to look out for, and what indicates a worsening that would require another call to the vet.

I would switch his food slowly to something else, and start giving probiotics with every meal. These can generally be purchased at the pharmacy or in health stores. Alternatively a small amount of low-fat unflavored yogurt can be used.

One problem with continuing to treat with drugs is that removing even a parasite from the intestines requires killing off quite a bit of beneficial bacteria, this leaves the gut empty, and vulnerable to colonization by another parasite. Providing pro-biotics can help to keep the gut populated with good bacteria. Anti-biotics have a half-life of around 1 hour in the body which means that you shouldn't give the pro-biotic at the same time as the anti-biotic, but a few hours later when the anti-biotic is essentially gone.

I can understand your problem, Guinness had a very sensitive stomach as a puppy. Funnily, moving to Belgium was the only thing that really seemed to provide a lasting solution, so I do think at least in his case it was the microbes in the environment that influenced him so much. I say that, but meanwhile, he got a trip to the emergency vet on Saturday (16 minutes after the regular vet closed!) for "hemorrhagic gastroenteritis", which is every bit as bad as it sounds.
 
Oh my, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis does sound scary!

We finally managed to conquer the diarrhea with 24hrs of no food, followed by pumpkin and some home cooked small meals. We also picked up some probiotics from the pet store, and are slowly starting him on a new food. We got the Natural Balance LID, Sweet Potato and Venison formula. He seems to be doing great on it so far (although with almost no teeth right now, it seems a little difficult for him to chew). In the few days that he has been on this new food, I have noticed his coat is getting softer and shinier, his eyes are much less goopy, and his dandruff is almost all gone.

Our next challenge will be slowly and safely getting his weight up, without irritating his tummy. He was a perfect, lower end of normal weight before, but now we can see his little puppy ribs :( Even our obedience class trainer commented on it today. *sigh*
 
When I got Bosco, he had similar issues, and after many trips back/forth to vet he was diagnosed with giardia and treated with pancur. It did solve the problem, but it took about 2 weeks. Don't be surprised if the diarrhea returns (I hope it doesn't!), but giardia is difficult to get rid of and hard to detect. I hope you are walking him outside your yard, as giardia (if that is the culprit) can start breeding in your yard.

Bosco is now about 1.5 years, but I definitely know that he has a sensitive tummy. Took us a bit to find a good food for him, and I am very careful with treats. Keep us posted. I remember those initial weeks with Bosco very well, and the worry that went along with it.
 
First you obviously need a new vet.....You should NEVER leave the vet feeling annoyed because of vague answers to your concerns. Just my opinion.......

The metronidazole is THE wonder drug for clearing up doggie runny poop so it should help a lot. Fletcher went thur a bit of this when I first got him. Same thing no "reason". But I do think so of it is normal puppy, teething can cause runnier eyes and yucky poop.

TOTALLY agree with this. Lady had the worst tummy from 4 months - 9 months. She is finally on a great 'run' (pun intended, heehee) of not having the 'runs' for about 3 months now! I think the metronidazole is what did it. We received the same medication for her diarrhea (can't remember what it's called) each time until we saw another vet in our practice who prescribed this. After finishing metronidazole she has not had diarrhea again! She was getting it at least once or twice a month, so this was a relief!

I think some puppies just have weak tummies. I also think variety is a very good thing. I was almost TOO careful about what I fed her in the beginning, to the point where I only gave her the normal twice a day Wellness kibble and some peanut butter every now and then. Now she gets (sparingly) plain greek yogurt, carrots, boiled chicken breast and peanut butter and bacon organic treats - Love these, my brother discovered them and he is a bigger nut than I am about what kind of treats/food you feed your baby...they're shaped like mail men and cats
:badgrin:. I do believe the variety, reaching a year and the metronidazole all helped her tummy become a bit stronger. I'm sure your baby will be fine :)
 
Thanks again! The diarrhea has been quite worrisome...

We live in a condo, so we don't have our own yard for him to poop in - we just takes walks around the block and to the nearby park (extemely careful not to encounter other dog poops).

The first diarrhea incident was likely parasites, but I dont think the other ones have been, honestly. After my most recent post about the poop being good again, we had another diarrhea occurance... And then it hit me... Puppy obedience classes!!! Every diarhhea occurance started right after class. I took a look at the treats we use for training, and although they are a good quality, natural soft beef jerky, they are the ONLY thing I have ever fed him with beef in it! This time, we just took him out as often as he needed, continued to feed him his normal food accompanied by an ice cube of frozen pumpkin twice/day, and it cleared up in 2 days.

This being said, I have contacted the manufacturer of the treats to make sure there are no recalls on their products, and informed them of the problem, just in case it is the treat itself and not the protein source... You can never be too careful!

i just can't believe it took me so long to make the connection.... I was so worried about parasites and food quality that I didn't even think about the treats.... Mom fail.
 
Sounds like you may have spotted the problem. Not a mom fail! These things can take a while to put together!! :) Patterns can be really hard to spot.

Some puppies can be especially sensitive about new foods and especially, treats. It can just be the change in food or the richness of the treats or some ingredient in them. Often this kind of issue vanishes when pups reach adulthood. (I have always found kittens and puppies often have on-off diarrhea problems that eventually go away by themselves...).

Maybe try something like small pieces of freeze dried liver? This is tolerated well. Or tiny bits of cubed chicken? these kinds of things tend to upset tummies less. Beef BTW is one of the common meat ingredients that some dogs can have allergies or food intolerances too. If I give raw minced beef, my dogs often have runnier stools for some reason.
 
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