Diarrhea

[Julie & Wrigley]

I have a 5 month labradoodle, Wrigley. I have been posting/reading the food group here for a few days now because he constantly has diarrhea and/or loose poop.

He was eating NutroMax puppy until we switched him to Blue Buffalo. His poops got better but then he stopped eating the BB (I think he didn't like the taste) so we bought some vita gravy to put on it. His diarrhea came back worse after those days so I figured it was the gravy.

From the forums here I am not trying to slowly switch him to Orijen large puppy so he has no soy, corn, wheat, grains etc. We started this on Tuesday night. I bought some pumpkin to help the process but of course he doesn't like it. So I tried light plain greek yogurt and he loves it. But today he's had diarrhea about 5 times in the past few hours. We have some ID food and puppy pepto so we gave him some of each.

I have taken him to the vet previously when this happens and they said he didn't have a paraiste and just must have an irritable/sensitive stomach.

I'm tempted to take him to the vet tomorrow for them to tell me it's not a parasite, but based on his happiness/activity level I have to believe my gut that he is fine and it's all related to food.

Has anyone had similar issues with their doodle (almost constant loose poop and/or diarrhea)? Any words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Stop the Greek yogurt. It may be very tasty, but it is extremely high in fat, and fat is one major cause of diarrhea. Give him plain unflavored low-fat yogurt.
Lots and lots of people here have had similar issues with their doodles. As I mentioned in one of your other discussions on this topic, an inordinate number of doodle puppies come home with giardia & coccidia, and it seems to take forever to get their digestive systems back to normal. A pretty fair number have IBS, too.
However, happiness and activity have nothing to do with giardia. I've seen many very active, happy playful puppies with raging giardia. Get another culture done.
Do not use the i/d prescription food. Once you start down that path, it's going to be even harder to get his digestive system regulated, and it is pure garbage. It is not a medicine, it has no therapeutic properties, it is just predigested garbage. You need to get him on a plain kibble diet with nothing except some yogurt and pumpkin added. Switching foods in itself can cause diarrhea. Orijen is a great food, but it is also a very nutritonally complex food, and a dog with a sensitive stomach or food intolerances may need a simpler formula. Which BB formula were you feeding? They do have a grain-free formula. He might do better with a very simple formula like Wellness Simple Solutions or Natural Balance. But he has now had diarrhea on three different foods...Nutro, BB, and now Orijen. I think we have to look beyond food at this point. It is just not normal for a healthy puppy to constantly have diarrhea, and I know you said he had it even while he was still on the Nutro food from the breeder. So he either has an infection, he has IBS, or he is getting something else in the way of treats that is upsetting his stomach.

[Julie & Wrigley]

I feel like an idiot/bad mom since I thought I bought fat free greek yogurt, but apparently I didnt :/ I also thought I bought unsalted butter for the turkey but I bought salted - guess it was an off day. I tried pumpkin 3 days ago and he wouldn't eat it (I think I have the only dog who doesn't like it). I'll buy some fat free plain yogurt tomorrow and try that. If it doesn't get better tomorrow we'll go to the vet but I'm leaning towards thinking I poisoned him with fat today :(

I also will avoid the ID food. He was eating BB chicken and rice puppy. I figure I'll give the Orijen a chance (with the right yogurt) and see what happens. The very helpful man at PetPeople said he thought it would be better than Nature's Choice but they have a 50% return policy so I can give this a shot for a couple of weeks...

Thanks for your help/suggestions!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Do not feel like an idiot! You are trying to do your best. I agree with giving the Orijen a chance, with a little plain yogurt. Eliminate all treats, rawhides, etc. while you're transitioning.
My guy doesn't like pumpkin, either, but her doesn't like any kind of fruit or vegetables. Some dogs will eat it mixed with their food, and I had a foster who would only eat it from my hand!
BB is a much better food than Nutro Natural Choice. All Nutro formulas, including their Ultra Holistic, contains menadione, which is a form of synthetic vitamin K which is thought to be very dangerous.
Give it a few days and let us know how it goes.

[Adrianne Matzkin]

Julie - don't feel like a bad DM or an idiot!
Only an 'idiot' wouldn't reach out for help. That is why you joined the DK family - to ask and to learn and to share what you have learned.
We all make mistakes. I made one of the biggest with Samantha until my DK family opened mu eyes - I got Samantha from a pet store - your mistake of Greek yogurt is nothing compared to me walking into that store.

Just just have to find ways to get him to eat the pumpkin. Try freezing some of that yogurt mixed with a little pumpkin and giving him an 'ice cream' treat. I don't know if homey will upset his stomach but I add a smidge of it into my 'ice cream' to entice them to eat it.

I agree with Karen - get another stool test done. It can't hurt and you will be sure.
Keep us posted on how Wrigley is doing.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Five episodes of diarrhea in just a few hours is really a lot. I have a dog with IBS and he had consistently "runny" stools before we switched his food, but he never had that type of frequency (from the IBS). I'd be sure to keep him well hydrated, and I would talk to the Vet again. Please don't feel like a "bad Mom"...I can't tell you how many "mistakes" I made before Guinness was finally diagnosed with IBS.

[KC]

Oh that's good to hear. Milo has soft stools, but he only poops twice a day, morning and evening, so reading your comment alerted me to the fact that more frequent stools are a red flag.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Julie, I have no answers just lots of sympathy. Owen tested negative for giardia but when I let his breeder know he had diarrhea for weeks she had her vet call in a prescription for giardia. He's on his last day of the medication. I am hoping this will make the difference. Owen is just as fiesty and fun as can be but his poops were pudding! On the medication they are well formed. We'll see. Hoping the best for you and Wrigley.

[Julie & Wrigley]

Thanks everyone. He didn't really get better overnight so we're going to the vet at 4pm today. Hopefully they can at least tell me that he's not sick and then we can move forward. Thanks for all the help/support and I'll update you after the appointment.

[Christine & Shelby]

Hi Julie.... so sorry to hear that Wrigley has been having poop issues. When Shelby was a pup, I had quite a few trips to the vet for runny poop (usually more cow patty, soft serve like). I was lucky that Shelby loved pumpkin... I would giver her a big scoop before every meal as an appetizer! She came from the breeder eating Origen. I had slowly transitioned her to Wellness. Upon consultation with our vet - she believed both foods to be too high in protein for her system and suggested we transition to another food. She offered some suggestions and we chose Eukenuba puppy. During this transition I stopped all treats, rawhides,etc. To see how she responded to the food alone. I would train with kibble as much as possible.... it was hard but after a week, I was able to slowly add treats, chews etc. back in one at a time. The Eukenuba was great.... for a while - then she refused to eat it. I finally after reading lots in the food group transitioned her to another food - Fromm Puppy Gold.... jackpot! She loved it, ate well..... nice poop! She hasn't had any problems since. It did take a while to find the right combination - but I am happy we kept trying. She just had a very sensitive system and we finally found a food she could tolerate.

I hope you find the right food for Wrigley really soon. I remember how stressful it was for me.... it was also frustrating with no parasite or anything to pinpoint as the cause. Hang in there.... and keep us updated!

[Julie & Wrigley]

Thanks Christine. It's reassuring to hear that so many other people (unfortunately) go through the same problem. My boyfriend and I are going crazy with frustration/stress since nothing we seem to do is working right now. Hopefully we get some advice/help at the vet later. We have only been eating Orijen (about a handful) in his Blue Buffalo food since Tuesday night so it's too soon to tell if it was the food or the yogurt that was doing it to him. I just tried giving him some of the nonfat yogurt I bought and he was mildly interested and hasn't eaten his food yet today. We made him a scrambled egg and he scarfed that down so I have to believe he's hungry and just doesn't want his food...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's not necessarily true that he's hungry and just doesn't want his food. Even a dog who is very ill can be tempted to eat if you give them something appealing enough. A normal dog will not starve himself. If he's hungry enough, he'll eat. If you teach him that holding out long enough will net him some special food, he will never eat his regular meals. Most dogs love Orijen, and if he learns there's nothing else coming, he'll eat it eventually.

[Julie & Wrigley]

I'm sticking to the "he'll eat eventually" plan and leaving his food down all day for him.

Do you know anything (good or bad) about Vita Gravy?