# Puppies with loose stool



## zetti

Hello! I have two puppies, a Siberian Husky (4 months) and a German Shepherd (4 months on the 14th). 

When we got them, the Pet Store had them on Royal Canin. We eventually weened them onto Blue Buffalo because it had such great reviews, but they started getting loose stool. When I mean loose, I mean it was like water! Then, I asked a vet and she suggested mixing a lower grade dog food with the Blue Buffalo. It sort of worked, but their stool was still soft. Then, my dad bought two huge bags of Innova because it also had good reviews. He didn't even ween them off of the Blue Buffalo, so that was a big mistake. I tried mixing rice into their current food, but their stool is still loose.

It seems that their stomachs aren't fond of natural, holistic dog food, and my dad refuses to get them low-grade dog foods. Can someone please suggest a dog food that could bind my puppys' stool? I was looking at Natural Balance, but I would like further input. 

Thanks!


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## DJEtzel

zetti said:


> Hello! I have two puppies, a Siberian Husky (4 months) and a German Shepherd (4 months on the 14th).
> 
> When we got them, the Pet Store had them on Royal Canin. We eventually weened them onto Blue Buffalo because it had such great reviews, but they started getting loose stool. When I mean loose, I mean it was like water! Then, I asked a vet and she suggested mixing a lower grade dog food with the Blue Buffalo. It sort of worked, but their stool was still soft. Then, my dad bought two huge bags of Innova because it also had good reviews. He didn't even ween them off of the Blue Buffalo, so that was a big mistake. I tried mixing rice into their current food, but their stool is still loose.
> 
> It seems that their stomachs aren't fond of natural, holistic dog food, and my dad refuses to get them low-grade dog foods. Can someone please suggest a dog food that could bind my puppys' stool? I was looking at Natural Balance, but I would like further input.
> 
> Thanks!


The BB and Innova may be too rich for them depending on the protein levels and types. Also, over feeding can cause very runny stool. How much are you feeding each puppy a day?

Both should be on a large breed puppy food ideally, or an adult food with a low calcium level (below 1.5%). Solid Gold Wolf Cub was great for my growing German Shepherd and did not have as much protein to cause rich, runny stools. Orijen also makes a LBP food, many Natural Balances will also work if the calcium is low enough, and Wellness too. You may have to try a few before you find something that works great, and one that works great for one puppy may not work great for the other. 

Have worms and giardia or coccidia been ruled out as medical reasons for the loose stool?


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## Abbylynn

Providing there is no medical issue for their stool .......

I cannot suggest the food ... but you need to add some plain pumpkin , NOT PIE MIX, to regulate their stool. I would give a couple of big heaping tablespoons of it to them. Let them eat it by itself. See what happens with their next stool. Give more pumpkin if needed to help firm it up. I have had to do this before.

Whenever changing foods it should be done gradually.......no matter what brand you are switching to.


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## zetti

*DJEtzel, *
I know both BB and Innova were for large breed puppies, but I didn't know about the protein levels. On the Innova, we feed them 3 cups a day, which is what the bag instructed.

Thanks for the information about the calcium levels, I didn't know that. I'll suggest those dog foods to my dad. 

Yes, the vet tested both of them and the tests came back negative.

*Abbylynn,*
There isn't, we checked. 

Yes! That was my next plan of action actually. Thank you!

Yes, I know it should done gradually . . . but my dad doesn't like to listen. XP Trust me, he will listen next time!


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## hanksimon

Bunch of random issues:
1. If you switch foods quickly, the result can be diarrhea for as long as 2 weeks.
2. Normally, you switch incrementally over about a week to allow the appropriate intestinal bacteria to grow.
3. I switched my adult Lab from Purina to a high quality brand, and it was too rich for him, so I switched back to Purina.
4. If the Vet verifies that there are no parasites, boiled chicken, rice, and a teaspoon (tablespoon for an adult) of plain, pureed, canned pumpkin with NO added ingredients provides a soothing, bland diet that should clear up minor diarrhea in a week or less.

How about put them back on Royal Canin ?


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## zetti

*hanksimon,*
1. Wow, that long? I didn't know it lasted that long.
2. Alright, thank you.
3. I read online that boiled chicken and pumpkin could help, so I'm definitely going to try that next.

I suggested that to my dad (he's the one who buys the dog food), but he felt it wasn't good enough because it only got 2 stars on some website he saw . . . 
He also read that lower-grade dog foods have ingredients in them that can give your dog cancer, so that is why he religiously stays away from lower-grade dog foods even though their loose stool can cause them problems too. 

What do you all think about that (the lower-grade food potentially causing cancer)?


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## Abbylynn

I, for one am not educated on the cancer issue yet? 

I just wanted to say that your avatar is really cute!


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## zetti

*Abbylynn,*
Neither am I. It's just something my dad brought up after reading something online. I'm not even sure if it's true.

Thank you!  It's the magic of photo editing, haha.


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## Kathyy

Pumpkin worked great for Sassy and Max when they were recovering from upset tummies. Tastes great too.

If parasites have been ruled out try cutting back on the food. Especially if it is a 'rich' food which usually means yummy high protein and fat, it is higher in calories per cup and just plain more digestible so dogs need less than the bag reads to feed. My adult dogs ate about half the amount shown on the bags to maintain a lean healthy weight.

It isn't easy cutting back on the food. The only kibble I failed at was EVO when it first came out. I needed to feed Max less than I was but it just didn't look like enough food to keep a bird alive! Only because of the digital scale can I feed Max his raw food - otherwise I overfeed him consistently and he will have soft stool if I overfeed him.

For right now try the pumpkin mixed in. I have also read that you can transition quickly by feeding less just at first. If you feed 1 cup per meal, only give 1/2 a cup per meal. In a couple days increase by a couple tablespoons until you are at the amount that the dog needs. Maybe try pumpkin and cutting back at the same time?


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## DJEtzel

zetti said:


> *Abbylynn,*
> Neither am I. It's just something my dad brought up after reading something online. I'm not even sure if it's true.
> 
> Thank you!  It's the magic of photo editing, haha.


There are certain preservatives only found in low quality foods that have been known to attribute to cancer from what I've read. I stay away from them for that reason mostly.


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## WheatenDaneMom

Zetti that pic is great!


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## zetti

*Kathyy,*
Yes, I will cut back on their food as well as try the pumpkin. 
I was just picking up the yard today and saw that there were a few piles of hard stool, so hopefully the rice is working! I'll still try the pumpkin and cutting back though.

*DJEtzel,*
Ah alright, thanks for the input! 

*WheatenDaneMom, *
Thank you!


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## Jacksons Mom

I've always heard mixed things about BB - half the time it seems to cause some kind of GI upset, other times it works perfect for dogs. It seems to be either hit or miss. 


Maybe try something simpler? Wellness Simple Solutions, Cali Natural, etc. I've been pleased with Fromm - have seen a lot of GSD owners happy with it too.


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## PackMomma

There's been a lot of good suggestions here already, so I can't offer much - but your dogs are beautiful!

The only thing I could offer though is perhaps watch what and how much treatsyou are giving them while you are switching foods, and trying to find a food that works. When my puppy was young and I was doing lots of training he always had the runs because of all the treats.

A breeder I purchased my Shiba from strongly encourages using NOW! Puppy Food, occasionally her pups always got diarrhea or loose stools and when she started using this brand, she said it worked quite well for keeping puppy stools just "right" lol. It is a very good quality food, so your Dad shouldn't have any issues with it. Or, you could mention to your Dad about feeding a raw diet, if cost is not an issue and he prefers higher quality.... in my opinion, nothing beats the quality of raw food. I fed my pup a %100 raw diet until he was 5 months old, then I gradually introduced some kibble into the diet to help with the costs. So my dogs eat kibble in the morning, and a raw at night (mixing them or feeding too close together can definitely cause severe digestive upsets)

Its odd - every siberian husky I've known has always had stool issues, i'm not sure if they are naturally sensitive to certain things, but I do know that Siberians tend to require less food than most dogs their size, and have a smaller appetite, so maybe over-feeding could be a possible issue too. 

The pumpkin thing is something I also did until 4 or 5 months old - I mixed it in with the raw food.

Either way, good luck and I hope you find something that works for you pups! Keep us posted


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## TerrierDaddy

I would definitely recommend Natural Balance. We rescued a Boston Terrier mix puppy this summer and he also had some diarrhea when we first got him. We started him off right away on Natural Balance Ultra, which our other dogs ate as puppies and now eat as adults. The diarrhea cleared up almost immediately. I'd recommend trying this food for your puppy as it's a natural pet food option and it has a very balanced blend of ingredients (the first three ingredients are chicken, brown rice and lamb meal). Natural Balance makes a lot of formulas, including a limited ingredient line that helps with allergies called L.I.D., which is great for puppies as well and I would recommend one of these formulas if you think your dog may have an allergy and you want fewer ingredients.


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