Pup (13.5 wks) with Constant Diarrhea

[leslybgood]

Hi everyone! I just registered today and hope you can help. I have a male black & tan cav that has had loose stools and diarrhea since we got him at 10 weeks old. At that time, he was just finishing up a dewormer.

• He’s energetic and ravenously hungry at all times; but, seems skinny (5 lbs at last weigh-in)
• The firmest his stools have ever been would be the consistency of soft serve.
• He is fed 3x daily about a ¼ cup of boiled chix & rice with Firm Up (dehydrated pumpkin additive) and probiotic (Wellness Belly)
• His kibble is Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach (salmon and rice) and I have slowly started to sprinkle it on top of the chix/rice so he gets enough nutrition

Two stool tests were negative for parasites; a blood test indicated elevated white blood cells. Vet gave me a 3-day dewormer (Panacor) and Metronidazole. He just finished the Metronidazole and there has been no improvement in stool consistency; but it’s slightly less frequent.

TIA for any suggestions you may have.

 

[Karlin]

Hi and welcome to you and your new pup! I'd have been thinking Giardia as that's often the cause of this issue in pups. Sometimes (perhaps even often, in my own experience!) the treatment needs repeating. Was his stool tested for Giardia? They can reinfect really easily if there isn't really strict hygiene in cleaning up stools, regularly bathing the puppy and boil-washing bedding and cleaning hard floors and so on. It can be quite difficult to get rid of. See: https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/infectious-parasitic/giardia-dogs. The fact that his stools improved a bit after Metronidazole does suggest something like Giardia. What does your vet think?

Other ideas: I'd also be wondering about the possibility of food intolerance. Chicken is the most common culprit and it may be that he just cannot handle chicken. I'd also be a bit concerned about using chicken and rice with a puppy for more than a couple of days as it would be a very narrow nutritional profile for what puppies need, and adding a bit of dried food is not going to address that too much. Id also be thinking, alternatively, possibly a probiotic could actually cause upset stomach (personally, I found taking probiotic supplements gave me an upset stomach!).

I'd try taking him entirely off anything with chicken in it or beef and just give the dry food perhaps with a tablespoon of canned pumpkin (assuming you're in the US) but I've used a little mashed sweet potato or butternut squash to good effect too. And also stop the probiotic perhaps. The best approach would be a careful elimination diet item by item. I'd start with the chicken and see if the dry works better for him, and if not, perhaps try another puppy formula dry as adult food is generally not really nutritionally complete for puppies. I fed Wellness puppy food to one of my puppies with a sensitive tummy and it worked fairly well for him, though he kept getting bouts of Giardia. But that finally went away as he matured (see below).

The other angle on this is: sometimes puppies just take a long while to be able to settle into good digestion and have soft stools til around 6-10 months or so. I've had this happen with a cavalier pup and Great Pyrenees. It's incredibly frustrating. The pyr had recurrent Giardia which we had to treat several times and still had soft-serve stools until he was over a year old and he's still prone to cow pats now and then (not ideal with a giant breed with giant poop!). The best dry for him now seems to be a cold-pressed German food and that's what all our dogs get along with some form of wet food. The cavalier pup tested negative for parasites, had various treatments, and just seemed to take his tummy a while to settle. He was much better by 6 months or so.

Some others may have other suggestions!

 

[leslybgood]

Thank you so much for your input. OMG on the Great Pyrenees Poopies, lol! I guess I’ve just been lucky with dogs thus far. We’ve never had a super poopy pup. Good to know this may sort itself out with time.

He’s going to the vet on Monday so I will ask about the Giardia. He tested negative for Giardia but the vet said sometimes if an egg isn’t present in the sample it comes up negative. And, from what you said about how contagious and easily reinfection is… his insatiable appetite has him eating ev-er-y-thing (like poop) and he’s so quick I often can’t catch him in time. He may be reinfecting himself.

I actually gave him just his kibble today and it was like a poop-apocalypse. Not sure if it’s the fact he’s finished the antibiotics…? They seemed to slow down how often he was going.

 

[Karlin]

I actually gave him just his kibble today and it was like a poop-apocalypse. Not sure if it’s the fact he’s finished the antibiotics…? They seemed to slow down how often he was going.

Ohhhhh noooooooo..... I do truly feel your pain on this. I wonder if Nicki at @Cavalier Matters might have some ideas too... it's just that IF the antibiotic worked even a bit, you do kind of suspect there's some sort of infection going on. And of course it could be a combination -- a puppy with a sensitive tummy (where any food changeover causes some initial upset) who also has some other issue like giardia. Did you do three consecutive days of the liquid wormer alongside the antibiotic? We had to do the wormer numerous times on repeat as gradually the Giardia would reappear . It was exhausting. Finn the pyr is about 18 months old now and many times changing a food type or offering a different kind of treat results in a soft serve or cow pat. He just seems to have a sensitive stomach as well as having had the Giardia when younger.

 

[leslybgood]

Ohhhhh noooooooo..... I do truly feel your pain on this. I wonder if Nicki at @Cavalier Matters might have some ideas too... it's just that IF the antibiotic worked even a bit, you do kind of suspect there's some sort of infection going on. And of course it could be a combination -- a puppy with a sensitive tummy (where any food changeover causes some initial upset) who also has some other issue like giardia. Did you do three consecutive days of the liquid wormer alongside the antibiotic? We had to do the wormer numerous times on repeat as gradually the Giardia would reappear . It was exhausting. Finn the pyr is about 18 months old now and many times changing a food type or offering a different kind of treat results in a soft serve or cow pat. He just seems to have a sensitive stomach as well as having had the Giardia when younger.

Yep, 3 doses of dewormer alongside the antibiotics. Thanks, again, for your input.

 

[Cavalier Matters]

Oh gosh this is really difficult. I'm inclined to think recurrent giardia too. Are you in the UK? Feclab offer Giardia testing and are very helpful with advice https://www.feclab.co.uk/faecal-egg-counts/dogs-cats/

I would definitely be avoiding chicken and rice, I do have a recipe for turkey and sweet potato but it's more suitable for adults; puppies with diarhoea for any length of time need veterinary involvement. Is a nutritional consult a possibility? If so, there is a good list here https://rawfedandnerdy.com/professional-directory [although called raw fed, they formulate for cooked meals too].

I know there have been some issues with Purina foods causing GI symptoms so otherwise may be a different kibble?

 

[leslybgood]

Oh gosh this is really difficult. I'm inclined to think recurrent giardia too. Are you in the UK? Feclab offer Giardia testing and are very helpful with advice https://www.feclab.co.uk/faecal-egg-counts/dogs-cats/

I would definitely be avoiding chicken and rice, I do have a recipe for turkey and sweet potato but it's more suitable for adults; puppies with diarhoea for any length of time need veterinary involvement. Is a nutritional consult a possibility? If so, there is a good list here https://rawfedandnerdy.com/professional-directory [although called raw fed, they formulate for cooked meals too].

I know there have been some issues with Purina foods causing GI symptoms so otherwise may be a different kibble?

Thank you for your input I’m in the U.S. He just went for the 4th time to the vet yesterday. They tested him again for parasites (Giardia and Coccidia included in that); gave him two different dewormers, an anti-biotic and a pro-biotic. Poor little guy still has the squirts but hopefully the meds will help

 

[leslybgood]

Just got another “negative” fecal test… ugh.

 

[Buster'sMom]

This happened to our pup. Negative for all the same tests as you, just couldn't process the kibble. For the past 3 years I've made homemade food for him and that solved the problem! We just started with a new vet who wants me to move away from homemade food, just to be sure the pup is getting everything he needs nutritionally. Started with a few types of kibble with no luck...now on Hill's Prescription Z/D and it's working somewhat.

 

[leslybgood]

This happened to our pup. Negative for all the same tests as you, just couldn't process the kibble. For the past 3 years I've made homemade food for him and that solved the problem! We just started with a new vet who wants me to move away from homemade food, just to be sure the pup is getting everything he needs nutritionally. Started with a few types of kibble with no luck...now on Hill's Prescription Z/D and it's working somewhat.

Thanks for your reply. What was in your homemade food?