Puppy With Sensitive Tummy

[Jerry Kandel]

We finally got a brother for Bailey - his name is Kobe and is four months old. We have had him a few weeks shy of two months - and got him from a reputable breeder and from the same breeder where we got Bailey. Kobe has had continually loose stools - better described as a small mound of mush. We are feeding him Taste of the Wild Grain Free. He is not lethargic - he has doubled his weight in two months (10 lbs to 20 lbs) - but he rarely (read: almost never) has formed stools. We did a stool sample with our vet and it came back negative. Our breeder de-wormed him prior to our getting him. We are at a loss as to what to do to have him have regular hard formed stools. We don't know whether we should change foods (perhaps he is allergic to one of the ingredients in TOTW) - our breeder suggested getting Probiotic Max - she said that she has had good luck using that.  Is anyone familiar with Probiotic max?

Hope someone can help

Thanks

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I believe Woody is a prime example of what Karen said about metro wrecking havoc on the system.  Before doodlekisses, we were giving Woody everything the vet said, RX food, metro until no end, NO probiotic…this was all before DK of course.  

Being on an metro for weeks/months, especially without replenishing the good bacteria is a recipe for disaster…take it from me!

You need to get confirmation on what is going on in his stool..There has to be a reason for having diarrhea.

[Jerry Kandel]

Jill, I totally agree. We go to the vet tomorrow, and will push to learn what is happening; however, for clarification: Kobe does not have diarrhea. It has always been the consistency of mashed potatoes - still, that is far from perfect!

It has come to the point that as much as we have grown to love him and to have him be a great playmate for Bailey (who is 4 years old) - if we can't get to the bottom of this then we are contemplating giving him back to the breeder - either on a temporary or permanent basis. Temporary: to see if she can determine what is wrong with him - permanent: if neither she or our vet can figure things out or if we learn this is something serious.

What would you guys do?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I have a dog with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and I can tell you that there is no health issue in dogs that is more expensive, more frustrating, or more difficult to deal with; not orthopedic issues, not allergies, nothing. It has cost me thousands of dollars to diagnose and many more thousands to treat, and treatment is ongoing. 

I implore you though, do not give him back to the breeder on a temporary basis. From what you have told us, neither she not her vet is competent or informed enough to treat this puppy's GI issues properly. If they give him more metronidazole or feed him that Rx food, they are going to make a temporary problem permanent. Either return him for good, or deal with this as a bacterial overgrowth issue. A limited ingredient diet, either commercial or homemade, and a good probiotic should turn this around. 

[Susan, Coby & Chloe]

Jerry,  I think I remember you -- from about 4 years ago?  I'm sorry to hear of your travails with Kobe and hope you work it out to your benefit soon. We also had a new puppy join our family on Saturday and her name is Coby, pronounced the same as yours, I'm sure.  Combo of Casey, or first dog and Bosco, whom we sadly lost shortly after his lymphoma diagnosis….long sad story.

We fed Bosco My Pet's Preference. It's frozen homemade patties, no grain fillers. I haven't checked to see if it's on the list here but we've been integrating it to Coby's dried IAMS kibble since she's been home to transfer her over. 

Hope all goes well.

[Susan, Coby & Chloe]

My mistake - it's called MY PERFECT PET; we've used Roxy's Blend or Hunter's Blend primarily

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This looks like a wonderful food, but it would cost about $500/month for my 80 lb doodle. 

[Jennifer & Truffle]

For what it's worth, when we brought home our puppy Truffle, he had mushy stools (not diarrhea) from the get-go. He was initially fed a raw diet by the breeder.  We first transitioned him to Merrick puppy food, but his stools were still soft.  After joining DK and reading all of the great advice (thanks, Karen!), we then transitioned Truffle from Merrick to Orijen (he'd been on Merrick a couple of months).  We now give him a daily probiotic chew and frozen pumpkin in a marrow bone when we go out and leave him in his crate.  Since transitioning him to Orijen, his stool has been much, much better.  Could it be that he's not necessarily sick at all (it sounds like your breeder was not sure he had giardia) but just needs a kibble that is better suited to his stomach?

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

 Sorry to keep going back to me, but as a puppy, Woody's poop was constantly loose, and he would bite and lunge at me, bad..i still have the scars on my arms..for months..until we food doodle kisses, and a good trainer.  Dogs take time and effort.  I know that you do care for him, thats why you are here..and honestly..you've done your research, so now, going in to your appointment tomorrow, you already have that much more knowledge.  Wait and see how the fecal comes back…You will get to the bottom of this.  Heres the things to know for tomorrow:

Positive fecal- get Panacur AND probiotic

negative fecal-say NO to the RX food..they will tell you over and over how great it is, still say no..Cook his food for a few days..until things firm up. Then maybe think about switching to a limited ingredient dog food.

Currently..what you feeding? Have you been adding chicken and sweet potatoes? Are you feeding TOTW at all?

Don't give up! You will get through this..we are here for you

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is great advice. I just want to clarify one thing about the probiotics. Do not buy probiotics from the vet unless they have Proviable. Most vets sell Fortiflora, which is an awful Purina product. There is another one the vets sell made by Iams which is not a lot better. 

And, probiotics must not be given within two hours of any antibiotics. 

This puppy should be getting a good probiotic daily. A bacterial overgrowth following metronidazole treatment is very common, and could be causing the soft stool. 

[Jerry Kandel]

Here is my game plan: I have ordered Orijen and will start both Kobe and Bailey on that - while I slowly take away the TOTW food. I figure spread over a week that should sufficient time to acclimate them.  I have also ordered Probiotic Max - which is a very good probiotics. Meanwhile, I'll see what testing (if any) the vet orders when we see her tomorrow. We gave Kobe a little over 1/2 cup of TOTW for dinner and he wound up pooping twice - while each had slight formation - it was still very soft (but definitely not diarrehea).

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Wish you all the best at the vet today! We will be looking forward to the update

[Jerry Kandel]

I have very little news to report: our vet did a stool sample and we'll get the results tomorrow. She is not sure what it is but told me that changing his diet to Orijen and giving him Probiotic Max - that perhaps in a period to a week to ten days - that maybe it will help. If it doesn't then she suggested that we give the puppy back to the breeder and see if she and her vet can find a solution - if they can't then we will have no choice but to ask her to cancel the deal and to give us our money back (it's not the ideal situation because Kobe is now part of our family - but on the other hand we don't want to take care of a sick puppy - especially from a monetary standpoint.