Puppy diet/upset stomach

[Knackered]

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Morning.
My labradoodle pup, 3months plus keeps getting an upset stomach. Hes been on james well beloved dry food from day one. Vet gave me
Prokolin to give him and go on bland diet. After no poos for 24hrs we had one solid poo a day then I introduced his food again but he got diarrhoea again. Vet suggested i bought in his normal food too soon and quick so back on bland, prokolin. All well again. After longer period of bland food i started introducing dry food again (different brand as suggest by vet) but smaller amount and over longer period. But his first poo today is going soft again. And I’m worried hes gonna get diarrhoea again. He’s fine in himself, still putting on weight thou to me he feels skinny. All up to date with vacations, worming, flea treatment etc. Next step stool sample and blood tests which i accept just costly as his insurance won’t cover this as it started during the first 14 of his cover. Grrr any suggestions? I have got sone tablets (from pet shop)to firm up puppy stools but don’t want to give it yet incase thats just covering up a problem.

 

[Knackered]

Morning.
My labradoodle pup, 3months plus keeps getting an upset stomach. Hes been on james well beloved dry food from day one. Vet gave me
Prokolin to give him and go on bland diet. After no poos for 24hrs we had one solid poo a day then I introduced his food again but he got diarrhoea again. Vet suggested i bought in his normal food too soon and quick so back on bland, prokolin. All well again. After longer period of bland food i started introducing dry food again (different brand as suggest by vet) but smaller amount and over longer period. But his first poo today is going soft again. And I’m worried hes gonna get diarrhoea again. He’s fine in himself, still putting on weight thou to me he feels skinny. All up to date with vacations, worming, flea treatment etc. Next step stool sample and blood tests which i accept just costly as his insurance won’t cover this as it started during the first 14 of his cover. Grrr any suggestions? I have got sone tablets (from pet shop)to firm up puppy stools but don’t want to give it yet incase thats just covering up a problem.

P.s. he was fine on food for first 3 weeks of being with us

 

[Caro Perry]

What bland food are you giving him and is he OK on that?

Which dry food are you using? A good quality grain free one or one that has grains in it? Many dogs have difficulty digesting grain

Has he been wormed recently?

 

[Knackered]

Chicken,rice and potato as he wouldn’t eat the rice on own. He was fine on that if anything getting too solid. He’s now on eukanuba puppy dry food, but only 25% rest is still the bland diet. And yes he has been wormed.

 

[JoanneF]

What have his stools been tested for, and what were the results? And do his littermates have any problems? It would be worth checking to see if the breeder has heard anything.

I also agree with trying to move towards a grain free food. Eukanuba isn't as great as the advertising would have you believe, also a surprising number of dogs struggle with chicken so a fish based diet is sometimes helpful (for the bland part of his diet you could try some white fish first to see how he does).

When his tummy is more settled have a look at www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

It is an independent dog food comparison website which scores all types of foods (dry, raw, wet) on a scale of 0 to 5. You can set filters for your dog's weight, age etc and choose to view only the foods scoring, say, 4 and above. Then you can show them listed according to daily feeding cost so you can see what gives you best value for money.

Meantime some low fat, natural live yoghurt might help to rebalance the gut flora too.

 

[JudyN]

It could be an ingredient in the food causing this, but I'd want to get stool and blood tests done before fiddling around with different foods. When you say diahorrea, what is the consistency of his poos? Are they puddles, pancakes, pick-upable but soft and messy? How many times a day does he poo?

Also, would you be prepared to try a raw food diet if that was right for him? (My dog didn't do well on any kibble but was transformed when we changed to raw, but of course that doesn't apply to every dog.)

 

[Knackered]

Just been to vets for a weigh in. He’s not gaining weight as he was and vet concerned. But said try him on grain free and see how he is at end of week. If stomach gets bad again, (cow pat to runny poos) then to bring him in for blood test for liver shunt. Ruled out infection as poos solid on bland diet. So no need for stool sample test

 

[Knackered]

Just been to vets for a weigh in. He’s not gaining weight as he was and vet concerned. But said try him on grain free and see how he is at end of week. If stomach gets bad again, (cow pat to runny poos) then to bring him in for blood test for liver shunt. Ruled out infection as poos solid on bland diet. So no need for stool sample test

Now on Core puppy grain free dry food

 

[JudyN]

Now on Core puppy grain free dry food

That scores 4.3 out of 5 on the All About Dog Food site @JoanneF mentioned, so is pretty good. I do hope his tummy settles soon and he starts to gain weight.

If he continues to have problems and no medical cause can be found, do bear in mind that vets receive limited nutrition training and what they do get tends to come from commercial dog food companies, so they can have a tendency to keep recommending 'prescription' dog food - as you know your dog is OK on chicken, rice & potatoes, it would certainly be worth considering a home-prepared diet where you could start him on the bland diet and then 'tweak' it to add in more nutrition and produce the right consistency poos. But for now, of course, your vet is the best person to advise you.

 

[Knackered]

Thanks, I just hope its a diet problem and not a liver shunt.

 

[Caro Perry]

Thanks, I just hope its a diet problem and not a liver shunt.

Try not to worry about it too much at the moment. Easier said than done I know as Harri was also suspected of having a liver shunt. I googled it and worried myself sick until we got the all clear.

Fingers crossed it's just his diet - are you going to phase the new food in? I gave Harri a mix of chicken and sweet potato when a new food gave him a dodgy tummy. He loved it - he won't eat rice.

 

[Knackered]

Thanks. Started phasing in his new food today, luckily only started yesterday so just doing the same amount again today. I hope this gets sorted.

 

[Violet Turner]

Would you ever consider a raw diet? This means your puppy would be having a full natural diet. Here is a link about starting your puppy on a raw diet - https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/starting-puppy-on-raw-diet/
@excuseme , @JudyN @Caro Perry feed raw I think from previous threads, they could help with raw feeding

 

[Knackered]

Would you ever consider a raw diet? This means your puppy would be having a full natural diet. Here is a link about starting your puppy on a raw diet - https://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/starting-puppy-on-raw-diet/
@excuseme , @JudyN @Caro Perry feed raw I think from previous threads, they could help with raw feeding

Thanks. I did this with my last dog but admit i want more dog time less preparing food time. Plus I don’t have a great deal of storage in my fridge/freezer. But if all else fails i will consider it again.

 

[Violet Turner]

Okay

 

[millymojo1]

I would suggest a raw diet too. This is the only thing that doesn’t make my dog runny. Preparation is simple - raw meat/bone and smartbarf as a supplement. This can be pre mixed in a batch and will keep in the fridge for a week. You can also get complete raw too.

 

[Knackered]

We think we’ve cracked it. No grain including rice. Touch wood it stays good.

 

[Knackered]

We think we’ve cracked it. No grain including rice. Touch wood it stays good.

Thanks everyone

 

[JudyN]

Brilliant - long may it last

 

[Caro Perry]

Excellent news!