Diarrhea after swiping other food

[Sarah Kuiper]

We've been camping with our little guy the last week and the last day of the trip I accidentally left his food out and a raccoon got to it. We were on our way home that day so it wasn't the biggest problem but we were also camping with my parents and their golden retriever whom is fed Purina (yes I've talked to them about this - but he's 8 years old and super healthy so they don't see the issue).

Well Roomba was hungry while packing up and while we were distracted got into the Purina. (puppy parent fail). He was fine the whole trip home but seemed a little more cuddly that night, but  fed him his normal dinner. He didn't poop at all which was weird. In the morning (yesterday) he had lots of diarrhea. He probably went 4 or 5 times. I fed him his normal breakfast thinking he maybe "got it out of his system". I got home from work and the poor guy had gone in his kennel, something he had never done before :( Lots of poop soup. After a forced bath more poop soup. He still seemed hungry and playful so I gave him a slightly smaller dinner and more poop today. 

Is there anything I can do to help him? Is this still the result of the Purina or should I be worried about something else at this point?

Also, any suggestions on weather I should kennel him while at work today? I felt horrible finding him like that but the benefit was that it wasn't all over my house. He usually likes his kennel 

[Deborah Brown]

I would guess it is not the food but something he picked up from drinking the water or eating something tainted by the wildlife.  Leptospirosis comes to mind.  There is a vaccination but not all dogs get it.  I would take him to the vet for check.

[Laura and Angus]

The suggestion I've seen on here is bland diet (no regular puppy food or treats) like boiled chicken and rice for the next few meals until you have regular poops. If the diarrhea continues, though, I'd probably get to the vet today or tomorrow just to get some testing done. I'm not sure what you normally do with your puppy when you're at work, but we always have our pup in the crate when we're out of the house (we can't trust him otherwise). Good luck! Hope your baby is feeling better soon!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think it could certainly be from the Purina food. All that garbage and fillers on an immature digestive system could certainly cause diarrhea, and it can take 48 hours for the effects to pass. If so, he should be back to normal in a day or two on his regular diet. It's also possible that he ingested something else that you didn't catch.

You could try the bland diet Laura suggested. I prefer sweet potatoes instead of rice, especially for dogs on grain-free diets. Use a 50/50 mixture. You'll need to feed about twice what you do with kibble, as the homemade diet has only 200 calories per cup. You could also try giving him a couple of tablespoons of plain unflavored nonfat yogurt 2-3x a day.

If the diarrhea doesn't get a LOT better in the next day or so, I'd see the vet. I doubt very much that it's lepto, because that makes a dog really sick, but it's possible. Most of the diseases you worry about from drinking contaminated water outdoors have an incubation period, so unless he picked it up at the very beginning of your trip, it's doubtful it would be showing up already. With giardia, it's 10-14 days. I don't know what the incubation period is for lepto.

I'd definitely kennel him.

[Laura and Angus]

Thanks for sharing the serving amounts for bland diet. I always wonder when I see this suggestion! Thanks for sharing! We give our pup plain (nonfat) greek yogurt with fruit in it as an occasional snack in the evening before bed. He definitely enjoys that as a small treat!

[Diane, Hurley and Sidney]

Could be from the Purina or maybe the water or a combo of both. When Hurley gets the runs I start him on plain white rice, cooked mashed sweet potato, mashed up banana with a little chicken broth. Sometimes I add chopped up boiled chicken. And sometime I have added a little peptobizmo (sp). Make sure he is drinking his water as you want to avoid his possibly getting dehydrated.

All that being said, if it persists after a couple of days of a bland diet and he isn't his playful self I suggest you take him to the vet.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Diane, a diet of rice, sweet potato, and banana is pure carbohydrate, mostly starch, and contains almost no usable protein at all. Even if fed for only a few days, this would not provide enough nutrients, especially for a growing puppy. Most commercial chicken broths also contain onions, which are toxic for dogs. I'd suggest substituting the boiled chicken for the rice and using a little of the cooking water from the chicken in place of the broth. 

Your point about making sure he is drinking water is well taken. When dogs have diarrhea, they get dehydrated very quickly, especially puppies.

[Laura and Angus]

Good point about the water! Our pup was not (and still is not) good at drinking water. Even at 1 year old, he gets very very hot and doesn't drink when he comes in from walks...I usually have to make him have some water to avoid him overheating. I read somewhere that puppies are not good at regulating water, which has definitely been our experience.

[Sarah Kuiper]

Thank you everyone for your comments! I ended up calling the vet after the first comment (i may have freaked out a bit because he hasn't had the lepto shot) They agree it is most likely the purina! If he starts vomiting or becomes more lethargic I am to take him in. They also did suggest a homemade bland diet of boiled chicken and rice 50/50 along with 1 TBS of pepto bismal 2x a day. (only 1 day of pepto) They also had me semi-fast him today and not feed him until 8pm tonight (the chicken and rice) to give his system a break. I did add 2 tsp of pumpkin to his dinner even tho the vet didn't mention that. 

My instructions are to continue the bland diet until the weekend and if I see improvement (SLOWLY) reintroduce kibble. If I don't see improvement by the weekend I am to bring him in. I do worry about water because he also isn't a big drinker. Thank goodness we don't live down south! 

[Deborah Brown]

I'm sorry if I scared you but glad you checked with your vet.  That is always the better choice than taking internet advice.  ;)  I always worry about what my doodles get into when they are one with nature, so to speak.

Hope Roomba is feeling better!

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Sarah ~ how is Roomba doing?  Is he feeling better?

[Sarah Kuiper]

Thanks for asking! Much better! We've moved from puddles to pudding and now semi solid! Ive started him back on kibble too and things seem to still be going in the right direction. He ended up getting his bum buzz trimmed and now he seems to appreciate the lack of daily baths scrubbing his butt. Overall seems happy! It seems like the Purina was the culprit.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

It sounds like things are looking up!  Good news.