Poop and stomach problem?

[Cynthia Whitfield]

Boy, I wanted to add my discussion here after Karen told me how to do it, but for some reason, could not find the add a discussion button -- looking in the wrong place!  So here we are over a week after I posted about Kenyon and his frequent, soft stools.  He eats the recommended about of Orijen and would eat more if he could!  His stools are way more frequent than Simba's when he was that age. 

In fact, I never knew a dog to poop so often.  He has no diarrhea anymore, but poops 6 to 7 times a day, sometimes soft, and sometimes just normal poops, neither hard nor soft. I haven't tried the Arcana yet.  My husband got some canned food which was recommended by the new trainer. It is called Weruva. I haven't started it yet.  What do you think of the frequent stools? The canned food?  Trainer didn't think he needed to be seen. Does that sound right?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

How old is Kenyon, what does he weigh, and how much Orijen are you feeding him, how often? (I am assuming it's Orijen Puppy.) That info might help us pinpoint the problem. 

What else is he getting in the way of treats, chews, etc? 

It's a mistake to take food advice from trainers and groomers, unless they have some formal educational background in nutrition. Working with dogs doesn;t make anyone an expert on food. :) Weruva is an okay brand, but I don;t think canned food is the answer to Kenyon's stool issues. 

If he doesn't have diarrhea, I agree that he probably doesn't need to be seen. If I remember correctly, you switched him to Orijen a bit too soon after bringing him home and it may just be that he needs more time to adjust. 

[Cynthia Whitfield]

Yes, you are right Karen, I switched too soon He is getting one cup and a half in two or three times a day. He is just now (two days) getting a  few small pieces of Fopper's dog treats for training, which includes whole wheat flour, rolled oats, canola oil, peanut flour and dried brewer's yeast. The treats don't seem to make any difference as far as the poop issue is concerned.

So, you don't recommend adding canned food?  Do you have any ideas about why an almost 12 week old puppy would need to poop so often?  I don't know his weight. I will find that out when he does for the 12 week shots.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

According to the Orijen Puppy feeding guidelines, he would need to weigh about 16 lbs and have an expected adult weight of about 45 lbs to require a cup and a half a day of the kibble. If this is not the case, you're feeding too much.

I would also not use those treats, or any treats that consist mainly of wheat and grains. There's no point to feeding a high quality grain free kibble and then using treats whose first two ingredients are wheat and oats, lol. 

Canned food in itself is not going to improve stool volume or consistency. I really have no idea why Kenyon is going so frequently. It's possible that the food just doesn;t agree with him; maybe a formula with lower fat or higher fiber might help. A good probiotic might help too. You mention that he doesn;t have diarrhea "anymore". Did he have a fecal done previously, and/or was he treated with any meds for diarrhea?

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I just went back and re-read this post:

Comment by Cynthia Whitfield on October 11, 2016 at 1:00pmDelete Comment

"I am not sure how to publish this just in the food group.  Am I doing it right?  We have a new puppy, Kenjon, who is 10 weeks old.  We are feeding him Orjen puppy. I realize I made a mistake by adding the Orjen too soon when I checked the guidelines.I thought I remembered them, but should have checked to be sure.

But also, he wasn't eating much of the breeder food, but loves the Orijen. He was completely on it within a week.  The problem is he is having a lot of stools, some of them just soft, and occasionally diarrhea. He had diarrhea last night.  Two night ago he got ahold of my son's mini football and ate several good bites of the rubberish stuffing inside.  I hope this is already out of his system.  He seems happy and comfortable. Is there another food you generally recommend to people who have dogs that have a hard time with Orijen?"

I do think that the rubber might have caused an irritation in the gut; once that happens, especially in such a young pup, it can take some time for it to get back to normal. It's even possible that some small bits of the rubber remain in the GI tract; that can happen, too. 

You might try giving him a good probiotic like Proviable and see if things improve. For treats, I would use PureBites Chicken, or pieces of plain boiled white meat chicken. Nothing else. 

[Cynthia Whitfield]

Thanks Karen. I feel much more confident now. I'll get the Proviable tomorrow, and tonight I'll give hime some yogurt with his food. I will also get the pure bites chicken.  Thank you so much for your response.