11 week old golden doodle has greenish soft stool

[Rob Pearlman]

Hi,

Mark, an 11 week old golden doodle has had inconsistent and loose stool for about a week now. Other than that he seems to be on top of the world.

His stool was firm and a deep brown color when we first got him, about 2 weeks later his stool got kind of greenish and mucousy. Sometimes it's quite loose (almost liquidy) and sometimes it's just a little bit soft. It's also very smelly.

His energy level is still very high, he spends most of his time running, jumping, or sleeping. He is also still very hungry and happy to eat.  Since his loose stool started we stopped feeding him training treats and have been giving him just his usual puppy food (Royal Canin MaxiPuppy).

He's had his first round of vaccinations and we're off to the vet on thursday for his second set. We'll just ask the vet then I expect, but any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks so much.

Rob, Dayna, and Mark.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Is the vet close?  Get out a baggie, spoon in some green poo, and take it to the vet now.  Then on Thursday, you can follow up.  The sooner the better.

You don't have to have the pup with you today, to drop off the poo.  Good Luck, but I would get it done sooner, than later this week.

Perhaps it is some vegetable ( I doubt it).  I once had green poo when my 40th birthday cake had black icing  :)   Aren't you glad I shared?  It could be anything from food, to worms, to parasites.  The word 'loose' also does not sound too good :(

A simple stool sample, drop off, sounds needed-ASAP

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd be willing to bet next month's SS check that your puppy has giardia. As Joanne said, get several stool specimens to the vet ASAP. Several, because the giardia cysts are not present in every sample. If he's positive for giardia, tell the vet you want panacur, not just metronidazole. Giardia can be very tough to get rid of, so start taking extra precautions with clean-up now, just in case.

[Rob Pearlman]

Thanks so much for the advice! I'm going to take samples to the vet first thing tomorrow morning.  We weren't sure what was going on because he still seems so peppy.  I'll report back once we know what's going on.

Thanks again.

Rob, Dayna, and Mark

[Jen and Annie]

Yes, make sure to clean up the poo piles as best you can.  As Karen mentioned, if he steps in a pile he could become reinfected, starting a vicious cycle.  I'm curious to see what you find out. 

I was going to ask whether you changed his food from what the breeder was feeding him... but Karen's willing to bet her SS check, so I'm guessing she's seen these symptoms before...

Since he had firm and 'normal' stool when you got him - I guess its possible he picked up the nasties while out on a walk or something..  At any rate, I hope you are able to find out soon and get that puppy all fixed up ! 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

A dog can come home from the breeder with giardia and not test positive for it or start to show any signs of it for two weeks. It extremely, extremely contagious, and can be really hard to get rid of. Even the places in the yard that it touches have to be bleached, or the dog can get reinfected. And it's zoonotic, people can get it, too, so you have to wear gloves to clean it up. And you have to clean them well after they go, or they can contaminate their bedding, your carpets, etc.

 

[Ginny Nightingale]

Love his white paws!! Very cute--glad you are doing the stool sample thing tomorrow--you got some very good advice.

[Rob Pearlman]

Yeah he's a delight! He's got white on his head and tummy too. 

[Lynda Kamrath]

Green sounds problematic to me.  That is usually a sign of some sort of infection.  Yep, take a sample to the vet right away. He will probably want to keep the dog.

[Rob Pearlman]

Mark is doing just fine, thanks for all your advice.

His stool samples came back clean and the vet gave him a thorough examination. She said it was probably a stomach virus or he ate something that didn't agree with him.  His stool is pretty much back to normal and he got his vaccines. He's only 12 weeks old and he's already 20 lbs!

Thanks so much

Rob, Dayna, and Mark.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Glad to hear that he doesn't have parasites. I hope he continues to do well.

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

Rob, my experience with Giardia has been that the stool can have periods of being fine and just when you think you are in the clear, you've got runny watery, explosive diarrhea again. Not every stool sample will show positive for giardia. So just a heads up that if it happens again, ask for your vet to treat for giardia. The MEDS won't hurt him, but giardia isn't fun for anyone.