# Puppy with soft stool



## nynikki

Hi everyone,

I'm new here but I have a long story and I'm hoping someone out there will have some good advice for me. I adopted a 3 month old Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier from a rescue out of state. When she first arrived she had diarrhea and it took some time for the vet to find that she had giardia . She had been treated and tested and retested at least 3 times now, and the giardia appears to have cleared up. 

She's 9 months old now, and still has an issue with soft stool. I have taken her to the vet and they send me home with metrinitizol (sp) which seems to clear her up while she's on the medication, but as soon as it's gone, her stool goes soft again. 

Currently I am feeding her Innova Puppy with a little bit of chicken broth, but that's it. I hardly ever give her treats because I'm always concerned how she will react. I have been feeding her this food for about 4 months now. I'm thinking that I may need to change her food to something with a lower crude protein/fat but if that's true, then I don't know which food.

Any help or advice will be appreciated. 

Thank you,

Nikki


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## MoonStr80

The food could be causing her to have loose stools, I recommend you having her fecals checked, plus add canned pumpkin (no spice & no pie filling) until her stools are cleared up also addition slipper elm

The food could be the caused of loose stools, not a lot of dogs can handle the high protein


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## rosemaryninja

If you're sure it's not a medical issue, it could be a reaction to the Innova. Innova has a very high protein percentage, and not all dogs handle that well. Try switching to something with relatively low protein content -- check out Taste of the Wild or Natural Balance (I think protein levels for both hover around 21-22%) and see whether things clear up. Remember to do a gradual switch of foods so that it's not too tough on her tummy.


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## MoonStr80

Also try the grain free products such as: (click on the links it will take you to the sites)
Go! Natural
Solid Gold
Orijen


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## nynikki

Thanks for the advice. I have had her stool checked 3 times and everything seems to be clear. We've even had the vet take a fecal loop the last 2 times, and still she comes up clear for parasites. I'm convinced at this point it has to be her food. I'm guessing that the protein and fat contents are the culprit. I have tried pumpkin in the past, and while that helped some, it didn't really resolve the issue, and seems to have increased her urgency when she did have to go, so I stopped using that. 

I'm not finding "Taste of the Wild" for puppies online, do they have a puppy formula? 

Are there any other suggestions about what would be a good dog food for a puppy with a sensitive tummy? 

Thanks again for any information you can provide.


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## MoonStr80

I linked you few Grain Free puppy foods for you to try for her, I personally don't like TOTW it is not grain free base


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## nynikki

I should add that when I first got her I kept her on rice and chicken and tried to transition her to Evo. She did not do well with that food at all, so I stepped down to the Innova Puppy which seemed to be a little better (meaning pudding instead of watery poo). I kept thinking she would get used to the food, but 4 months later and still no change.


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## StellaLucyDesi

Hi! It does sound like the food to me...my 3 dogs don't do well on Innova (too rich with multiple proteins) or any high protein/high fat foods. I have had similar problems. Here are some foods that have worked the best for my 3 in the stool department....

1. Eagle Pack Holistic Select - www.eaglepack.com - they do have "some" puppy forumlas. My dogs use the Anchovy, duck, senior formulas. This is what I'm feeding now and has yielded the best results!
2. FROMM 4-star - all flavors - they are all-life-stage formulas (can be used from puppy to senior age) They also have a grain-free. My dogs do okay on this particular grain-free.
3. Avoderm Naturals - by Breeder's Choice - my dogs do well on this, too. They have puppy formulas.
4. Merrick Turducken dry - good food. They have a puppy formula.
5. Wellness Core - grain-free (another one my 3 do well on).
6. Taste of the Wild - this IS a grain-free (the poster above was mistaken). My dogs do well on the Pacific Stream formula. It is lower in protein and fat than their other flavors.

I hope this helps!


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## Bellasmom

Taste of The Wild High Praire Canine Formula is for all life stages. And yes, it IS grain free!


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## jeserf

My 10 month old mastiff also had loose stools for a LONG time (no parasites...I posted about it here if you want to look). 

Anyway, I started feeding her Merrick Puppy Plate when I got her, but was told by my vet to switch to large breed specific puppy food. I had her on Innova Large Breed, and at first it was fine, then terrible. Just always really loose, straining, and clearly she wasn't comfortable when she went. I felt horrible for her! 

Finally, I decided just to try a new food. She now eats California Natural Lamb and Rice (sometimes puppy, sometimes adult, whatever's in stock, but I do notice the stool is more firm with the adult formula). I still have a lot of Innova left, so I put 1/2 a cup of that in with each feeding just so I don't waste it. 

I think with Lucy, it's a fat content and richness thing, because I notice that when she eats rawhide, the loose stool is a result (she loves rawhide, so once a week is fine by me). 

Maybe try a lamb based food (half and half) to see the result?


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## Lexite

Try a different protein, maybe her tummy doesnt like chicken.


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## nynikki

Thanks everyone for the advice, I really appreciate it. It also helps to hear that I'm not the only one with a puppy with these issues.  

I did get a different dog food over the weekend before I received some of your suggestions. I ended up with Canidae lamb and rice it has 5% less protein then her previous food, so hopefully it will work. Unfortunately, so far the switch is making her worse. I feed her 1.5 cups per day and substituted only 1/4 of a cup of the new food and now her poo is very watery. It's hard to say when it has been soft already if this is a really bad reaction or just a mild one. 

Keep the advice and support coming. I was really beginning to think I was just a bad mom. It just nice to know I'm not alone.


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## VikandMont

Hi Nikki,

I have a very similar issue with my 9 month miniature schnauzer. He had giardia several months ago that cleared up with the same drug your dog took. His stool has never since then been hard (but it was never really hard before then either). We tried Orijen, Innova, and Wellness but none of these were great. We're now on Eagle Pack Select Hollistic. His stool is a bit grainier and in my opinion a bit improved. Please keep us updated as to whether you find a food that works. You're definitely not alone in this!!! 

Vikki


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## Lonewolfblue

Also, at 9 months you could probably be changing over to regular dog food and not puppy as well. I currently have all 3 of my dogs on Solid Gold WolfKing, and they are doing really well on it. I recently went through a spell where Petco was completely out and had to go with a different food, Natural Balance Duck and Potato, and Chloe got the runs really bad. Took about a day and Nell started getting the runs as well, and Betty's was just soft. They did well on it before, and I think it was just a shock to the system changing cold turkey like that. But now I returned the NB and got the WolfKing, and will see how it goes. It should clear up. WolfKing is another good brand if you want to try a small bag. Just don't go cold turkey, take a few days and mix it 25-75, then 50-50, then 75-25, then 100%. If the soft stools clear up during the mixing process, you might be able to change over quicker. I think it may be the Inova that's causing the issues, either that or your dog is having a reaction to the chicken in it. WolfKing has Bison and Salmon, and my dogs love it.


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## PeppersPop

I had a similar problem with Pepper... several negative stool tests, improved on Flagyl (metronidazole) but the diarrhea came back after the last dose.

I fed him homemade chicken and rice at home for a month and it helped a little... his stool went from completely liquid to formed but mushy. The vet eventually convinced us to try the prescription Hill's i/d food and within a day, his poop was normal. He ate Hill's for a couple months and is now back to regular food. 

Our vet suggested looking at a senior and weight control dog foods because they tend to be low fat, high fiber, and easy to digest. We ended up with a lamb & rice hypoallergenic food.

One thing I have to say... I know that a lot of people say that Hill's is a poor quality food (has corn and grain) but it was the only thing that helped his diarrhea.

Good luck to you!
Sid 




nynikki said:


> Thanks everyone for the advice, I really appreciate it. It also helps to hear that I'm not the only one with a puppy with these issues.
> 
> I did get a different dog food over the weekend before I received some of your suggestions. I ended up with Canidae lamb and rice it has 5% less protein then her previous food, so hopefully it will work. Unfortunately, so far the switch is making her worse. I feed her 1.5 cups per day and substituted only 1/4 of a cup of the new food and now her poo is very watery. It's hard to say when it has been soft already if this is a really bad reaction or just a mild one.
> 
> Keep the advice and support coming. I was really beginning to think I was just a bad mom. It just nice to know I'm not alone.


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## nynikki

VikandMont said:


> Hi Nikki,
> 
> I have a very similar issue with my 9 month miniature schnauzer. He had giardia several months ago that cleared up with the same drug your dog took. His stool has never since then been hard (but it was never really hard before then either). We tried Orijen, Innova, and Wellness but none of these were great. We're now on Eagle Pack Select Hollistic. His stool is a bit grainier and in my opinion a bit improved. Please keep us updated as to whether you find a food that works. You're definitely not alone in this!!!
> 
> Vikki


Hi Vikki, 

I have been seeing a great improvement feeding my puppy Chloe Canidae Lamb Meal and Rice Formula. The crude protein is 21% and crude fat is 12.5% - the protein alone is 5% less than the Innova puppy food I was feeding her. I'm also wondering if she just has an issue with chicken now. Last night I gave her a few pieces of chicken that I baked here at home, and it made her sick again. It wasn't a lot, just a few pieces broken up into her bowl of dry dog food. I have done the same thing when we have steak for dinner and have not seen her have that kind of reaction. Keep in touch, I would love to know how your puppy does going forward.

Nikki


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## VikandMont

Hi Nikki,

Glad to hear your dog is doing better! Ours just took his last dose of Flagyl today and his stool has been really normal all week. So we'll see what happens in the coming days...

Vikki


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