Diarrhea

[Tait & Finn]

My little Finn is 4 months today. He's had diarrhea for the last couple days. Poops start firm in the am and get softer as the day goes on. He eats grass, worms, dirt, you name it, when we are out. Not with my permission, of course. Is there anyone else out there with the same problem and any thing I can give him to firm things up? Thanks.

[SK & Hudson]

What is Finn's food routine? Some treats that may help his digestion and are yummy frozen in a Kong are non-fat/plain yogurt, banana, and mashed sweet potato. Some folks say that if a puppy is eating grass, they might be trying to help with underlying nausea or seeking out nutrients. This is why it would be interesting to examine what type of food you are feeding Finn. When Hudson had an upset yummy and inconsistent stools, I switched her to Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream for Puppies...which is grain-free...and it made a fast and positive effect on her stools, nausea, and she stopped eating grass. It would also be a good idea to get Finn's stool sampled at the vet if possible.

[Brody and Valor]

We had the same problem with Brody when he was about that age. Turned out to be the kind of food that we were feeding him, he can't have chicken. What kind of food do you feed him? We ended up switching to Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet Bison and sweet potato..problem solved. But while we were trying to figure out what it was, we gave Brody a pumpkin and rice mixture that firmed up his stool until we took him to the vet. The vet ended up giving him "flagel" I think its called and that completely fixed the problem until we switched his food. 

[SK & Hudson]

Hudson LOVES the Natural Balance Limited Ingredient treats...particularly the duck+potato yellow bag and the bison+sweet potato red bag. Now when someone at a pet store offers Hudson a generic treat (that usually has grains), I end up handing them some of her own grain-free Taste of the Wild (they don't sell treats) or Natural Balance treats to give her.

[Tait & Finn]

Finn doesn't get treats. His "treats" are just pieces of his food. I feed him Natural Balance Alpha Dog Grain Free. We will be at the vet tomorrow for his final flu shot so I'll ask when there. I used to give him plain yogurt in his food but he had diarrhea then so the vet thought he might be lactose intolerant. When I stopped the yogurt, things firmed up but now soft has returned. Maybe I'll try some frozen bananas in his Kong.

[Sharae & Winston]

100% canned pumpkin. You can put it in his food or as a treat in his Kong (even frozen). It has been a staple in my pups diet pretty much since we've had him because of his GI issues. One heaping tablespoon a day is probably perfect for his size. Don't go overboard or you will get the opposite effect...more dia lol

[Tait & Finn]

Hooray for solid poops!! 2 so far today. Gonna get some pumpkin and keep it on hand though. :)

[Judith and Griffin]

Yay!  I hope he's all cleared up now :-)

[Tait & Finn]

There are still times during the day when it's very soft but firm other times. I just don't know if I should change his food. Just bought a 25lb bag of Natural Balance Alpha Dog grain-free. So I guess I have time to decide about changing.

[Kristine and Luna]

I had the same problem about 2 weeks ago. Luna is now 13 weeks old and she was also pooping from soft to watery. She seamed fine otherwise. Her appetite never changed nor did anything else really. I took her to vet and he said she had some type of bacteria, no worms or anything. He said that when puppies have diarrhea you must take them immediately. Anyways he gave her a bunch of stuff including 2 types of antibiotics, probiotics and vitamins. (total of $314.00) i think it was a bit over kill and maybe he saw dollar signs in my eyes.. who knows but i am proud to report her poop did get much much better lol
Good luck

[Tait & Finn]

It continues. So today I took some liquid poop to the vet. He tested positive for Giardia. So we start two different drugs. She said I should see a dramatic difference within 48 hours. Fingers crossed.