# Puppy with diarrhea, need puppy food suggestions!



## 17tobyracing

My wife and I unfortunately lost our two adult dogs this past July, one to cancer and the other to a stroke. We just recently purchased a Yellow Lab puppy (he's a "Dudley"). He is currently 9 1/2 weeks old and weighs 18 1/2 pounds. We have had him for approximately 2 1/2 weeks. The breeder was feeding him Purina Dog Chow Complete & Balanced. After doing much research, we gradually switched him over to Blue Buffalo Puppy "Life Protection Formula with LifeSource Bits" (Natural Chicken and Brown Rice Recipe). We are feeding him 3 cups per day, one cup per feeding. During the transition from the Purina Dog Chow to Blue Buffalo Puppy, his stools became soft (pudding consistency). We have tried adding 100% pumpkin puree to his food (1 teaspoon at each feeding), but it hasn't seemed to make a difference. We have had his stool checked by our vet for parasites and the tests have come back negative. 

We are wondering if the Blue Buffalo Puppy could be too rich for his digestive system? What non-prescription puppy foods are best for puppies who may have sensitive stomachs? Any other suggestions and/or information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

R & M


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## 17tobyracing

The puppies stool has now progressed from pudding consistency to full-blown diarrhea. My wife and I are now feeding him rice & boiled chicken in the hopes that it will help bind him up. If this does not clear in a day, it will be another trip to our vet. 

We are still looking for suggestions for a non-prescription puppy food for one with a sensitive stomach. Thanks.


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## kathylcsw

Have you tried cutting back how much you are feeding? Soemtimes overfeeding can cause diarrhea. Maybe try 3/4 cup per feeding and see if he maintains growth at that amount.You can also add some canned pumpkin to his diet. Not pie filling but just plain canned pumpkin. Hope you get it all straightened out soon.


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## 17tobyracing

kathylcsw said:


> Have you tried cutting back how much you are feeding? Soemtimes overfeeding can cause diarrhea. Maybe try 3/4 cup per feeding and see if he maintains growth at that amount.You can also add some canned pumpkin to his diet. Not pie filling but just plain canned pumpkin. Hope you get it all straightened out soon.


Thanks so much for your reply...

We have tried the canned pumpkin and it didn't seem to make any difference. We will stick with the rice & chicken until his stool firms up. Once this has taken place, we will try your suggestion of decreasing portion sizes. Thanks again!


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## 17tobyracing

Ok, we put the puppy on boiled rice for a day (3 feedings - 1 cup per). It helped bind him up and he began passing firm stools. Yesterday we started feeding him 1/2 cup boiled rice with 1/4 cup of the Blue Buffalo Puppy Food, 3X per day. Fingers-crossed, his stool has remained firm. Our plan is to continue this for a day or two more. If his stool remains firm, we will move to feeding him straight Puppy Food. However, we will decrease feeding the former amount of 1 cup 3X a day to 3/4 cup 3X a day. Hopefully the decrease in food volume will correct the issue and we won't have to make a food change. Wish us luck...


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## 17tobyracing

Update: It seems that any increase above 1/4 cup of Blue Buffalo per feeding gives Milo loose stool or diarrhea :frusty:. I picked up a bag of Taste of the Wild (smoked salmon & grain free). We will slowly switch him over to this food and see how he does. He is also now receiving a daily dose of ProBios to help aid digestion.


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## SookiesMom

I have the same issue with my new chocolate lab puppy! He is 6 months and since we got him it has been a struggle! We tried the breeders food " puppy chow", but that was a no go. Then wellness, that too gave him loose stools. We then tried natures receipe lamb and rice, thinking that chicken might be the culprit. He is still currently eating it but still loose stool. We did the whole diarrhea routine, we always switch Very slowly and even make sure his treats are of high quality but still nothing seems to help long term. All of his lab work is fine so I am in the same boat you are. I'm trying to research puppy food for sensitive stomachs. I'm considering Solid Golds wolfcub. Bison is the first listed meat source followed by ocean fish meal. It has the lower protein for his steady growth and pumpkin in the mix too! I feed Solid Gold to my Morkie Sookie (just a wee bit) and she loves it and is in great shape! Hopefully this will work! Good luck and I'll follow you to inform myself too!!


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## HORSEandHOUND

did they check for giardia? I ask because I could have written your story with my pup (even same food!) and it turned out to not be an issue with the food, but a coincidence that the symptoms started at the same time as the food change.


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## Charis

For loose stools/diarrhea we feed brown rice, pumpkin and yogurt. They already get yogurt at every meal anyway which helps significantly with loose stool - in fact I can tell the next morning if hubbie didn't feed any yogurt by the girls' loose stools. Just a few more ideas...


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## jeffsrealm

My latest lab puppy had same issue, I switched to natural choice lamb and rice as well and they got a lot better. Chicken and labs tend to not mix well. Some get a long fine but more often than not when a lab has health issues going away from chicken helps. However one of the things that really helped and helps with all my labs is FortiFlora. I will give you a link to it on amazon but you should be able to pick up at the pet store as well.

http://www.amazon.com/FortiFlora-Ca...0NNW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320763053&sr=8-1

FortiFlora is simply a Yogurt specifically designed for dogs. It comes in a box of 30 packs in powdered form. You add one pack a day every day to one meal for a week. This helps restore the intestinal flora. Then I simply do once a week for all my dogs. Helps keep them regular. You can do yogurt as well but I find this works better as it is specifically designed for dogs. It is also a beef flavor, my dogs love it added to their food.

Also, like others said make sure vet checks for diseases. It is fall and leaves and all kinds of junk is hitting the ground and a puppy, especially a lab puppy will put anything in it's mouth.

Oh yeah and treats. I know we all love to give them treats. Make sure he is not eating fatty treats. Like with liver and salmon and things like that.


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## jeffsrealm

Oh and congratz on getting a lab, I love labs.

Another thing I forgot. Loose stools at his age could be caused by water. You may want to try bottled water for a while as well and gradually introduce your water back in. If the breeder was on well water, out in the country and your puppy switched to city water, then all the chemicals and stuff in city water can cause some issues while he adjusts. Even different city water can have different levels of chemicals in it which can cause the runs in a puppy. The runs in a puppy is no fun for either you or the puppy. I am surprised though the vet didn't suggest a lot of this.


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## WheatenDaneMom

I think it was wise to move over to the salmon... the chicken may not do too well for your particular pup. Congrats, I hope his stools continue to improve a bit


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## 17tobyracing

Thank you to everyone who took time to respond. The feedback and info is greatly appreciated. The transition from Blue Buffalo to Taste of the Wild smoked salmon is going well. No issues to report thus far.

Just going to cover a few suggestions/points made in the last posts:

Giardia - yes, this has been ruled out by our vet, who did several tests on stool samples to make sure the issue was not caused by intestinal disease or parasites.

Rice - we have been using as the main stool binder and has worked wonders.

Pumpkin - we did try a 100% pumpkin puree, but it did not help.

Yogurt - we just started adding ProBiotics to the puppies food to aid digestion and improve intestinal health.

Water - the puppy did come from a breeder that did use well water. We are on city water. We will try using bottled water.

Treats - puppy is currently getting no treats. 

*Thanks again!!!*


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## jane's mom

I am going to be watching this thread because I'm going through the same thing. 

After going through diarrhea and gas with our 4 month old black lab the vet recommended putting her on Purina EN to give her tummy a rest (and see if it was something more than a food sensitivity). She has been on it for about 2 weeks and the stools have firmed up, so we know now that it isn't a parasite or something else. 

We plan on keeping her on for another two weeks and then gradually re-introducing her to a puppy food. I am kind of hoping that the problem will be solved when we go back. However, my husband accidentally gave her the old puppy food (Purina Pro Plan Shredded Chicken and Rice) for lunch and it caused her to have a loose stool this evening. I am not sure if it is something in the food or the fact that we gave her a "full dose" of something new.

Anyways, please keep us (me) updated as it sounds like we are in the same boat!


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## 17tobyracing

Milo turned 11 weeks old yesterday. All is good with his digestive issues :clap2: (keeping our fingers crossed). We are continuing to wean him off of the Blue Buffalo, over to Taste of the Wild (Pacific Stream Canine Formula - Smoked Salmon). His feeding schedule is as follows:

Morning - 1/2 cup Taste of the Wild, 1/4 cup Blue Buffalo Puppy, 1/4 cup rice, 1 teaspoon ProBiotics ( http://www.probios.com/ ) 

Afternoon - 1/2 cup Taste of the Wild, 1/4 cup Blue Buffalo Puppy, 1/4 cup rice

Evening - 1/2 cup Taste of the Wild, 1/4 cup Blue Buffalo Puppy, 1/4 cup rice

Our plan is to wean him completely off of the Blue Buffalo, feeding him 3/4 cup of Taste of the Wild with 1/4 cup of rice. We will continue with the rice for an additional week, until feedings are then straight Taste of the Wild. 

Thanks again for all of your feedback!


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## 17tobyracing

We have weaned Milo completely off of the Blue Buffalo. All of his 3 feedings now consist of 3/4 cup Taste of the Wild (salmon) and 1/4 cup of rice. He is still receiving teaspoon of ProBios in the morning. Everything still looks good!


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## jeffsrealm

17tobyracing said:


> We have weaned Milo completely off of the Blue Buffalo. All of his 3 feedings now consist of 3/4 cup Taste of the Wild (salmon) and 1/4 cup of rice. He is still receiving teaspoon of ProBios in the morning. Everything still looks good!


Congratz, keep us posted, it is good info. Sounds like a few people watching this thread and can help someone in the future I am sure.


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## RandomMusing

17tobyracing said:


> Milo turned 11 weeks old yesterday. All is good with his digestive issues :clap2: (keeping our fingers crossed). We are continuing to wean him off of the Blue Buffalo, over to Taste of the Wild (Pacific Stream Canine Formula - Smoked Salmon). His feeding schedule is as follows:
> 
> Morning - 1/2 cup Taste of the Wild, 1/4 cup Blue Buffalo Puppy, 1/4 cup rice, 1 teaspoon ProBiotics ( http://www.probios.com/ )
> 
> Afternoon - 1/2 cup Taste of the Wild, 1/4 cup Blue Buffalo Puppy, 1/4 cup rice
> 
> Evening - 1/2 cup Taste of the Wild, 1/4 cup Blue Buffalo Puppy, 1/4 cup rice
> 
> Our plan is to wean him completely off of the Blue Buffalo, feeding him 3/4 cup of Taste of the Wild with 1/4 cup of rice. We will continue with the rice for an additional week, until feedings are then straight Taste of the Wild.
> 
> Thanks again for all of your feedback!


Good news! This same thing happened to me with Blue Buffalo puppy and Wellness puppy. Both my girls (5 months) are now on TOTW Pacific Stream with NO potty issues. I plan on rotating flavors of TOTW after they are done with this bag just to give them some variety.

By the way, if you write to TOTW and ask for samples they'll send you very generous sample bags.


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## 17tobyracing

RandomMusing said:


> Good news! This same thing happened to me with Blue Buffalo puppy and Wellness puppy. Both my girls (5 months) are now on TOTW Pacific Stream with NO potty issues. I plan on rotating flavors of TOTW after they are done with this bag just to give them some variety.
> 
> By the way, if you write to TOTW and ask for samples they'll send you very generous sample bags.


That is great news! Our pup is now being fed 100% TOTW (smoked salmon). We are currently giving him 1 cup per feeding, 3X per day. He is still receiving 1 teaspoon of the ProBiotics in the morning. He is having no digestive issues with the TOTW.


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## CMCMom29

I am going through a similar situation with my lab mixes. I've not tried the pumpkin yet. We've been feeding them Diamond Naturals Large Breed Food Lamb & Rice, but it's not agreeing with them. Today I bought Professional brand Puppy Food (http://www.professionalpetfood.com/), also made by Diamond. Their customer service was great today, BTW. I started also giving them a serving tablespoon of plain yogurt every other day. I hope this food works out. I shudder to think that we might have to go to TOTW. 

The vet at Diamond told me that this is pretty common in labs, especially if breeding quality is in question (as in my case).


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## RandomMusing

CMCMom29 said:


> I shudder to think that we might have to go to TOTW.


How come? Totw is an amazing food!


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## Pepy311

Did your vet have an Elisa test done? Geradia is. Dry hard to find with a normal fecal. My pup came from the rescue with Lots and lots of geradia seen on the side. Then she still had the runs after treatment. I did another fecal and the normal fecal test done showed no parasites BUT the Elisa test came back positive. So we are doing another round of panacure. 

So I would have a Elisa Test done if not done yet.

I just switched to TOTW and so far so good. It's quality food that will not make you go broke.


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## 17tobyracing

RandomMusing said:


> How come? Totw is an amazing food!


I think CMCMom29 is/was feeding food from Diamond Pet Foods. I would imagine that a switch to TOTW would be a cost increase.

Update on "Milo"... He is now 14 weeks old and weighs in at 31 lbs. He is still getting TOTW (continues to get 1 teaspoon of ProBiotics with his morning feeding) with no issues. He is now receiving 1 1/2 cups of food 3X per day. Weight gain and growth has been outstanding. He has lots of puppy energy and his coat looks/feels fantastic. It is amazing how excited we get when our puppy has a firm bowel movements!


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## luvmyboyz

From what I understand, TOTW is ALMOST as great a quality kibble as Orijen....but for waaaay cheaper (unless you live in Canada like me  )....even if it's more expensive than Diamond Pet Foods...it's FAR superior, and you feed much less, so paying a little more is easy to justify when you look at it like that. I think Diamond Pet Foods even makes TOTW foods??? <-- I'll have to double check that one...I'm not 100%.

Just wanted to add to this thread that Blue Buffalo looks good on paper, and I don't believe it to be a bad food...but I've heard of WAY more people that had upset dog tummies because of it than any good coming of it. Just to pass that on


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## Louisexx

If your dog has diarrhea, you should reduce the feeding. Change food is not the only way
and change food too often will irritate your dog's intestines and stomach
you can try reduce feeding to 2 1/2 cups per day


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## wolflake

I know this is an older post, but are you using the Puppy Formula TOTW or regular formula.


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## georgiapeach

To the OP, keep an eye on your pup's weight - you're feeding him a lot of food (4.5 c./day). You should be able to feel his ribs and backbone through a very thin layer of fat. You don't want your pup to grow too fast, esp. a larger breed like your lab, b/c it can cause joint problems in the future. With a quality food like TOTW, you can feed less b/c it's very nutrient dense.

I'm so glad to hear that his poo issues have been resolved!


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## 17tobyracing

wolflake said:


> I know this is an older post, but are you using the Puppy Formula TOTW or regular formula.


We originally were feeding Milo regular formula, which was labeled as an "all life stages" food. Once labeling changed, we switched him to ToTW Puppy Formula, with no issues. He is no longer getting pro-biotics on a daily basis, only if needed.


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## 17tobyracing

georgiapeach said:


> To the OP, keep an eye on your pup's weight - you're feeding him a lot of food (4.5 c./day). You should be able to feel his ribs and backbone through a very thin layer of fat. You don't want your pup to grow too fast, esp. a larger breed like your lab, b/c it can cause joint problems in the future. With a quality food like TOTW, you can feed less b/c it's very nutrient dense.
> 
> I'm so glad to hear that his poo issues have been resolved!


Thank you for the feedback. Milo's daily food intake has been cut back for sometime now and he is within the breed standard height and is weight proportionate.

Poo issues are still good too!


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## boxerguy

I know this thread is old but it's still relevant... I just want to thank 17tobyracing for posting this isssue...

We have a boxer puppy with the EXACT same issue, we kept thinking his loose stool was some new treat every week but now we think it's the Blue Buffalo puppy food, it's great food on paper so I really didn't think that was the problem. Then we took him to the vet because he ate a lot of dirt and got sick, he's completely free of parasites etc and the Rx canned puppy food made his stool nice and solid (lol). As soon as we put him back on Blue buffalo the diarrhea returned.

We will be following in your footsteps and slowly switching him over, we will also be adding rice and probiotic as well and I will post our results. Thank you everyone for the help


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