# Puppy Nightime Diarrhea and Food



## oliversmom (Jan 18, 2008)

I know this question has been asked before and I've looked at all the responses that I can find but am also looking for further suggestions and thoughts... So, thank you in advance for responses. 

We have a 19-week old puppy name Mowat. He's a rescue so a mix of lab-husky and possibly pointer and maybe even some Rhodesian Ridgeback. He had his first round of shots and de-worming late at 16 weeks. Boosters are scheduled for this Tuesday. 

He seems healthy: energetic (!!!), always hungry. His stools have alternated between soft and firm so I've been attempting to pull back on the treats (training) and p.b./banana Kongs when they seem too soft. 

The past two nights he's had diarrhea in his crate but has been fine during the day. It seems this is a mystery for other dog owners as well so my specific questions are the following:

If it's his food (President's Choice Nutrition First Puppy Food), do I need to do the slow switch or should I switch him right away? 

Should we avoid ALL treats, including rawhide (which he loves and gives those crazy teeth something to do) for a little while? 

Yesterday I fed him his normal kibble, mixed with plain rice, and no treats except for a couple rawhide swizzle sticks (a mistake, maybe) but he still had night-time accidents which were luckily caught in time. 

This morning I've started with about 1.5 cups of plain rice and a 1/2 cup of plain chicken. Is that good or what is a recommended diet for "cleansing the system", so to speak??? 

Thank you all! These puppy up-and-downs can be a little bit overwhelming!


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

I'm not a dog experienced person, but my new pup had been having diarrhea for a few days (I figured it was stress from changing homes, but turns out he has whipworms). Anyway, after googling, and looking on here I found that adding canned pumpkin to a bland meat/rice mixture would help to firm up the poops. 

The recipe I used was 1 lb of boiled lean ground meat, rinsed to remove as much fat as possible (lean ground beef, chicken, or turkey), 2 cups of cooked rice, and 1 cup of canned 100% pumpkin (no added sugar or spices, just puréed pumpkin). Mix that all up well and let it cool some before you feed it. Extra can go in the fridge for later. This firmed up his movements dramatically, while we are waiting for the worming to kick in.

I've seen posts on here, where some ppl just give their dog a spoonful of puréed pumpkin occasionally to help. It's the high fiber of the pumpkin that helps. I think sweet potatoes will do the same thing, and I know that's what my mom mixes into her geriatric dog's food to help with gastrointestinal issues.

This is only treating the symptoms of loose stool of course, and not the cause. So if its ongoing I'd guess the cause needs to be determined.


----------



## oliversmom (Jan 18, 2008)

Thanks so much for this, Spazmelda. My only concern is that during the day (at least yesterday!), his stools were so firm that I worried he was swinging between diarrhea and constipation.... It's weird.


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

Hmm, I know when I was reading, trying to figure out what to feed him, I read that alternating diarrhea and constipation could be a sign of an intestinal blockage. Like I said though, I am very inexperienced with dogs and puppies. This is the first dog I've had since I was a child and back then I did not really have any responsibilities except to play with the dogs. So I will shut up and let the more experienced people read and answer! It could be just one of those weird pet things that resolves without ever determining the cause.


----------



## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

I've mixed about a quarter of a probiotic capsule into my dogs food for a few days when his poops are less than ideal. It seems to help. Have you had a fecal exam recently just to rule out any parasites?


----------



## Hambonez (Mar 17, 2012)

Spazmelda said:


> Hmm, I know when I was reading, trying to figure out what to feed him, I read that alternating diarrhea and constipation could be a sign of an intestinal blockage. Like I said though, I am very inexperienced with dogs and puppies. This is the first dog I've had since I was a child and back then I did not really have any responsibilities except to play with the dogs. So I will shut up and let the more experienced people read and answer! It could be just one of those weird pet things that resolves without ever determining the cause.


You are right -- alternating diarrhea and constipation can indicate a blockage, but with dogs, always look at the big picture too. A blockage is also often accompanied by vomiting, anorexia, lethargy, or acting sick. Generally if a dog is constipated or has diarrhea and is otherwise acting 100% normal, eating and drinking, big dumb and happy, then it's probably nothing too serious. Just as an example, in the year that we've had our dog, once he had a stomach bug and had horrific diarrhea, and spent an entire night puking and having diarrhea, and the next morning wouldn't go near food or water, and was really just slow and droopy. We went to the vet, they xrayed him to make sure he hadn't swallowed anything, and gave him some meds to calm his belly. He got better in a few days, but when he was sick there was no question! Then there was another time he had bad diarrhea - fortunately he was older and very well housebroken and just ran to the door and rang his bell over, and over, and over to go out. Earlier that day, that cat had opened up the cat food bin and man, Hamilton was out of my sight for a minute, and he was in there hoovering down cat kibbles. The entire time he had the runs he was happy as a clam, still hungry, absolutely delighted that we gave him chicken and rice. Really, he saw no downside to the situation, he got to cat food AND then got chicken AND got to go out a ton! But the difference was very clear when he was SICK and needed medical attention, and when he was paying for his pleasures. (We paid too! Cat food is now stored high on a shelf)


----------



## Spazmelda (Jan 27, 2013)

Hambonez said:


> You are right -- alternating diarrhea and constipation can indicate a blockage, but with dogs, always look at the big picture too. A blockage is also often accompanied by vomiting, anorexia, lethargy, or acting sick. Generally if a dog is constipated or has diarrhea and is otherwise acting 100% normal, eating and drinking, big dumb and happy, then it's probably nothing too serious.


Right, and I hesitated to post that because I didn't think it was likely.

We did have a ferret that got an intestinal blockage and her symptoms were exactly as you posted. She did have constipation, and whatever did come out was runny and diarrhea like. She was also very lethargic and vomiting. It ended up that she had swallowed a little bit of a cat toy that we had not realized was made out of leather. She had to have surgery to remove it. Anyway, the other symptoms are something to look out for, but I agree it's likely to be something else.


----------



## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

I think it is the variety of things that he's eating. How long has he had the problem?
1. Cut out ALL treats, ALL bananas, and ALL rawhide. It can take 3-7 days for his system to clear if they're a problem. 
2. Every time you change food, you have the chance of starting the diarrhea cycle again. 
3. Has he eaten President's Choice Nutrition First Puppy Food without problems, how long?
4. If you've already switched to rice and boiled chicken, also add about a tablespoon of pumpkin with each meal. nothing else...
5. If needed, you can put this combination in a Kong, and freeze if you like. He can also chew a hard rubber bone.
6. Whatever you do, try to keep it up consistently for about 3 days, and see if there are changes...


----------



## oliversmom (Jan 18, 2008)

Thanks everyone, for your comments and thoughts. 

We are confident it isn't a bowel block, as my mom has had that terrible experience a few times so I know the symptoms: vomiting, bloating, etc., which Mowat hasn't had. But this is still concerning, of course. And the mystery does continue... 

He had diarrhea through the night Thursday (when we didn't realize it until the morning: AWFUL FOR HIM!) and Friday, Saturday night he was fine because we let him sleep outside of his crate b'c he fell asleep on top of it, which he likes to do, gated into the kitchen, and we left him there (my husband slept nearby in case of problems). He was FINE through that night even though he had not pooped at all on the Saturday. 

Yesterday he drove us crazy with his adolescent puppy-ness (meaning, LOTS of energy!), pooped once in the morning, and then not at all until he got the squirts at 9 pm. Out two more times before 11 pm and I slept on the couch beside his crate because he's a very quiet dog and doesn't seem to know to bark to let us know that he needs to go out. At 2:30 am he clawed frantically at his crate to be let out, had a little bit of diarrhea, and since then hasn't had a poo. 

Yesterday I tried integrating kibble into the rice and pumpkin (yes, a mistake, I realize) and noticed undigested kibble in his poo through the night which I thought was odd... Thoughts?

He does seem tired today but maybe because we're back to Monday and the weekend (when my husband is home and his routine is off) is over. Plus all these crazy nights are wearing on him I'm sure. He's extra-cuddly too. 

This morning I gave him a half cup of brown rice, a couple tablespoons of pumpkin, and half a cup of white chicken. He usually gets lunch so I'm not sure if I should feed him the same amount for lunch and dinner or stick to only two meals of the same quantity... Thoughts on that? 

I'm cutting out EVERYTHING now but the plain food (he did have the kibble and a couple treats yesterday to invite him into his new, larger crate) and will try to stick with that for three days. To answer you further, hanksimon, he's been eating the PC food for about two weeks. We slowly switched him over from Kibbles 'n Bits when we got him from the rescue. Am thinking of getting him on Orijen once this all resolves itself.... Can I switch him from chicken/rice straight to Orijen pending the results of these three days??? 

Have a vet appointment tomorrow... 

Any thoughts/opinions on this situation or the questions posted above, as always, SO appreciated... ! Thanks!


----------



## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

1. I only give my 65 lb lab mix 1 tbspn of pumpkin with each meal. More won't hurt, but not sure it'll help.
2. When you switch foods, switch gradually over a week, regardless of the feed. Dogs have a certain mix of internal bacteria that matches their food. You change slowly to give the mix of bacteria a chance to change and adapt. Otherwise the dog gets diarrhea, b/c the existing mix isn't the best for digestion of the new feed.


----------



## oliversmom (Jan 18, 2008)

Great. Thanks. Will give him less pumpkin. Does the food switching mean I should switch him from chicken and rice to Orijen, b'c he will have been on chicken and rice a few days by then. Also, does the bacteria thing mean it's not a good idea to give dogs a lot of different foods (like you said: he's been getting a whole bunch of stuff - pb and bananas, two different kinds of treats, raw hide, as well as his regular kibble...). 

I should mention too that we've given him Pepto-Bismal a couple times: last night and Saturday night. Didn't really seem to help last night tho... 

Thanks!


----------



## hanksimon (Mar 18, 2009)

1. Food switching is important now b/c the dog isn't 100%. Ditto for no variety... now. I'm not sure that bananas help dogs ?
2. On the other hand, my Lab-GSD mix (and maybe most Labs) is a goat, and does eat a variety of food, and I'm not real careful when I switch his food... I change feed every 3 - 4 months. He was on Purina Beyond, he's currently on 4Health Salmon/Potato, and I may switch him to Costco Salmon and Sweet Potato in March. I think the bacteria adjust to the food. However, when he's been sick for a week, I keep everything very consistent.


----------



## oliversmom (Jan 18, 2008)

UPDATE: I've had Mowat strictly on the brown rice/boiled chicken/pumpkin diet for two days now and he is doing better. Hasn't woken up for two nights now. His poop was a bit soft still this morning so I think I'll do today and tomorrow on the same diet and then try introducing some kibble. Switching him to Orijen, which is about the only high-end food we can get in the northern town I live in. Anyone have thoughts as to how much kibble I should give him to start? He's been getting about 2.5 cups of rice per day, 2 of chicken and a TBSP of pumpkin... Thanks.


----------

