Loose Stool

[basilboy7]

I've had my puppy for a week now (last Friday). Since then he's had a loose stool.. it still forms but when he goes it makes a spitting sound and when I pick it up it won't hold it's form. Is this normal for puppies at 8 weeks? Is he just adjusting? He's eating all of his food at times of feeding and drinks lots of water. I am feeding him the dry food the breeder said he was being fed (Ol' Roy Puppy Complete) I plan on transitioning him to the Hills dry food from the vet after I get the vets approval. I put in a little hot water into his food to make it softer and I mix about a tsp of wet puppy food which has helped his appetite. He wouldn't eat the food just dry as is and had a hard time chewing it. Is the way I'm feeding the problem? I feed twice a day so far but with his growing appetite I was thinking of feeding three times as I've heard this is better when they are younger. He is fed at 6:30am and 5:30pm. I might feed him a third time at 1:30pm.

[Kipawa]

You can try a little canned, unsweetened pumpkin. It often helps loose stools.

[basilboy7]

Thank you! I'll try it.

[LewieFitz]

Where did you get your little one? Has he been checked by a vet? Some puppies can come to you with giardia picked up from any infected dog (even one met at a dog park). It clears up easily with antibiotics from the vet. If the loose stool continues, please see a vet.

[basilboy7]

I got him from a breeder. We have an appointment booked for his vaccinations and a full exam on July 23rd. How long should I wait for it to clear up before I make an appointment sooner?

[tanza]

You might consider taking a stool sample in to check for worms before the scheduled check up. Had the breeder had him to the Vet before you got him? And you might also consider a better quality food once the problem is cleared up. Old Roy is not the best quality. There are lots of discussion here about food if you seach the archives

[basilboy7]

I know it's not a good food which is why I plan to transition him to the food my vet sells which was recommended to me by a friend who's a vet tech. I am feeding him Ol' Roy right now as that was what the breeder was feeding and didn't want everything for him to change. I plan to begin the transition after the vet visit on the 23rd. I will call the vet on Monday to see if I can bring a stool sample in to have it tested. Thanks for your help.

[tanza]

Did the breeder give you any Vet visit records?

[Patty]

Please let us know how you get on at the vets.

[basilboy7]

No vet visit records but records of vaccinations.

[listeme]

I definitely would still be feeding three times a day at his age. I tend to do that for quite a while, probably longer than a lot of folks do, but I've had good luck with it.

[deschroedter]

We have had two B pups that came up with Giardia, the first we did not realize what was happening and she was passing blood before we woke up to the fact something bad was occuring. With the second one the first sign of a small tiny blood smear I had him at the vet and it cleared up faster than the first, so I would get that checked quickly and with some vets you have to ask for them to test for it specically. My dogs love sweet potatoes. I will buy when on sale, bake, cool and then cut into slices, freeze and then place in bags in freezer and lay some out at noon to serve with threir supper, they do love them this way.

[basilboy7]

There hasn't been any blood. Did they have loose stools before?

[Patty M]

Hi Basil Boy…
First, welcome to the forum! I hope you can find great information to help you.

Is your dog AKC registered? To me, it's a little different to have a basenji born later than November-December, as the breed normally only gives birth at the end of the year... this is the norm, and not the rule, but I wondered if you have papers?

As for the stool stuff, the brand you mentioned is only sold at Sams/Walmart. I hope you upgrade to a better food~ anything that starts with "protein meal"...

[basilboy7]

@Patty:

Hi Basil Boy…
First, welcome to the forum! I hope you can find great information to help you.

Is your dog AKC registered? To me, it's a little different to have a basenji born later than November-December, as the breed normally only gives birth at the end of the year... this is the norm, and not the rule, but I wondered if you have papers?

As for the stool stuff, the brand you mentioned is only sold at Sams/Walmart. I hope you upgrade to a better food~ anything that starts with "protein meal"...

I am going to transition him to a dry food from the vet… the Hills formula for puppies. I'm waiting for my vet appointment on the 23rd to check with the vet on this to make sure I transition properly so don't worry about the food I'm feeding him... it will change.

I don't know what AKC is... I just have a paper that says what breed the father and mother are... one of them being a basenji. There's no official documentation. I've only ever had mutts so I don't know about papers. I thought those papers were important for show dogs and such to show their quality of breed/gene? Are they important for other reasons? The breeder did say that the litter was an accident as she usually only breeds pure breeds and not the crosses.

[tanza]

If you are talking about Hill's "Science Diet" that is not the greatest of foods either, at least not in my opinion. And just because a Vet recommends it, doesn't really mean it is a good food. Most Vets during their education get less then one day learning about food and food sources.
I don't like Science Diet because one of the main food sources is corn, which IMO has no value to a diet at all. It is really just a filler. I would urge you to search the forums for the many discussions about foods

[YodelDogs]

Loose stool can be caused by many things including giardia, coccidia, a virus, or the inability to tolerate certain foods or ingredients.

I would not wait 3 weeks to change his food. If it is the food that is making him sick then he will be miserable for 3 weeks and house-training will be extremely difficult. I would throw out the Ol' Roy and feed him the new food. Since he already has loose stool, a fast transition is not going to cause any problems that aren't already there. You can add 1/4 cup of cooked brown rice or a spoonful of canned pumpkin to his food plus a spoonful of yogurt. The rice or pumpkin can help solidify the stool and the yogurt helps get live enzymes back into his stomach.

[deschroedter]

@basilboy7:

There hasn't been any blood. Did they have loose stools before?

She started having loose stools and since we had changed dog food for her, I had put it down to that. But when I saw blood I really paniced. Now if loose stools go on form more than 2 days, we are at the vets. But you can take a stool sample in for tests without the dog, at least with my vet I can, and then if they find something you can go in right away. With Kell that small smear of blood was the first sign, we caught it before the loose stools started. good luck.

[basilboy7]

I've looked at the list of top foods from the food section, however I found that most of the foods are only sold in the U.S. and won't ship to Canada. Does anyone know of a natural dry food that is sold in Canada or atleast ships to Canada? Thank you for all your help I will try to find a good food to give ASAP and will monitor his BMs

[Moth]

I would wean him of the Ol'Roy asap it is a lousy food. I also would probably not feed Hills (personal choice) as it is more corn than it is meat.

If there are no vet visits I would at least take a stool sample in to your vet to have them check it for parasites.