# Mushy Poo... forever?



## Jaebird82 (Jun 13, 2010)

9lb Boston Terrier is about 4 months old and has never consistently had a good firm poop. Breeder had him on Purina Puppy, but I switched him to Nutro Natural dry kibble for puppies pretty much right away. I think we may have switched him over a little too fast, but his poop was immediately a little firmer for a few days before it became watery again.

I did a little more research on the food and decided it was too pricey for what it was -- much better foods out there. To calm his stomach, we put him on boiled chicken and white rice; his poop got better for a few days, but inevitably started to turn into mush again. After a little more due diligence, he's now on Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul. We phased the chicken and rice out over three weeks or so lessening the amount of rice and chicken day by day. We feed him about three times a day, about half a cup each serving. For lunch I sometimes feed him a little less than half a cup.

We don't have a lot of grass around, so he ends up pooping all over the sidewalk and as you can imagine or experienced, it's not a fun clean up. I constantly wish I had a hose in my pocket. Should I switch foods again? Grain free? Give it more time?


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## hub3 (Jul 10, 2010)

I'd say it's just a matter of finding a good match w/the food. Some dogs do great on some, some don't. He's been on 3 different foods and is only 4 months old so I wouldn't expect him to be quite regular yet. I feed a brand called Innova (Evo) and usually have some stomach upset in the first week with foster dogs, but it clears up after that. 

With a 4 month old puppy, I'd have a fecal done asap if you haven't in the past month. Puppies require several fecal tests as they are extremely prone to worms, and it can take several tests to detect all worms present.

If the fecal is clear, pick a food and stick with it. You can try adding canned pumpkin (100%pure pumpkin, not the pumpkin pie mix) to his food or try some pro-pectalin tablets to help firm him up if it's causing irritation.

I think Boston's are prone to irritable bowel, yes? Maybe ask your pet supply store what food they recommend for sensitive stomachs. Good luck!


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## Laurelin (Nov 2, 2006)

I agree it's a matter of finding the right food for your dog. My dad's dog, Beau, has battled sensitive tummy all his life. He was really good the time he was on raw but my dad can't keep up with a raw diet. We tried a multitude of kibbles before finding one that works for him. He's on Holistic Selects right now, and also does well on Blue buffalo and Fromms. Grain Free weems to be too rich for him.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

I think you're feeding him way, way too much. 1/2 cup PER serving, 3 times a day?! That's like 1.5 cups of food for a 9lb puppy! My pup weighs 9lb and only gets 1/2 cup per day. You should decrease the amount of food you're feeding him as a first step. If I were you, I'd feed him only maybe 3/4 cup per day at most. You could just eliminate one meal altogether and only feed 1/2 cup am and 1/2 cup pm. See if his stool firms up. If it doesn't, cut down to 3/4 cup.

Alot of the time, I find, there's not so much that's wrong with the food, just the amount you feed. If he's been on so many types of food and ALL of them have resulted in mushy poop, I'm almost 100% sure that it's because he's just being fed way too much.

My dog's tummy can be pretty sensitive. Some days when I overfeed him, I can see the effects right away--soft stool for at least a couple of days. When I see this I cut back and his poop goes right back to normal.


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## Jacksons Mom (Mar 12, 2010)

lucidity said:


> I think you're feeding him way, way too much. 1/2 cup PER serving, 3 times a day?! That's like 1.5 cups of food for a 9lb puppy! My pup weighs 9lb and only gets 1/2 cup per day. You should decrease the amount of food you're feeding him as a first step. If I were you, I'd feed him only maybe 3/4 cup per day at most. You could just eliminate one meal altogether and only feed 1/2 cup am and 1/2 cup pm. See if his stool firms up. If it doesn't, cut down to 3/4 cup.
> 
> Alot of the time, I find, there's not so much that's wrong with the food, just the amount you feed. If he's been on so many types of food and ALL of them have resulted in mushy poop, I'm almost 100% sure that it's because he's just being fed way too much.
> 
> My dog's tummy can be pretty sensitive. Some days when I overfeed him, I can see the effects right away--soft stool for at least a couple of days. When I see this I cut back and his poop goes right back to normal.



I definitely agree with this


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## Jaebird82 (Jun 13, 2010)

Thanks for the replies guys. I figured it was a bit much, but keep in mind my dog is very active and he's a puppy. How old is your dog lucidity? He never stops running and he's going on long walks. He's constantly wanting to run on his walks, so naturally he gets a little more after burning all those calories. I'm feeding him less than my vet recommended and the bag says he should have about 1 1/4 cups to 2 cups a day. He is very skinny.. in fact today I passed a couple and I heard "Oh he's so cute. Look how skinny he is." I will definitely put him down to two meals a day, but not quite yet. I think he's still too young to skip a meal. Another thing is that sometimes he won't eat all his food so we put the food up when he stops eating. Anyway, I'll cut it down a little more and see what happens. Thanks guys.


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## luv2byte (Oct 21, 2009)

If you haven't already have him tested for giardia & coccidia, super common in puppies.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

The bag ALWAYS, ALWAYS overestimates the amount you need to feed. ALWAYS. If I fed what the bag recommends, my dog would be fat. And yes, he does have TONNES of exercise as well. He gets walked 4-5 times a day, and play sessions in between. He also spends 9 hours running around and playing with other dogs at daycare a couple of times a week. He's one now, but I've always fed him way less than the recommended amount anyway. 

Keep in mind that puppies are ALWAYS skinny. It's because they're constantly growing. It's a very VERY bad idea to overfeed puppies. It's always better to have a leaner dog than an overweight one!

Here's a guideline: When my pup was 4 months old, I switched him onto EVO, which was about 480kcal/cup. He got less than 1/2 cup per day, and he weighed about 5.5lbs then. He's always been fed around 1/2 cup, no matter what food I've given him. 

Once you're on this forum longer, you'll notice that most of the members here feed their dogs a lot less than what the bag recommends and their dogs do great. Lots of people tend to overfeed their dogs, and as a result, you see so many overweight dogs these days. That's probably why everyone's telling you your dog looks skinny. The norm these days is for dogs to look pudgy!

Also, does your vet actually know what food you're feeding and the kcals that's in it? If not, I would be certain that his estimate is grossly inaccurate. Different foods are different in richness, protein level, etc. Keep in mind that crap food like Iams, Eukanuba, Pedigree, you'll be feeding something like TWICE the amount you'd feed with a quality food. Here's an example: my pup was on Eukanuba at 3 months old and was eating ONE whole cup of food a day. Once I switched him on to California Natural, he barely got 2/3 cups per day and was doing absolutely great.


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## JonnyNutro (Mar 29, 2010)

All puppies are different as to their nutritional requirements. Sometimes I feed less than "the bag" recommends and sometimes I feed more, depending on breed, activity level, age, rate of metabolism, health, and on and on.... There are a lot of factors involved. I, too, prefer to see puppies on the lean side, but I am also aware of others who prefer to have their puppies a little on the other side of lean (extra weight / baby fat). Their reasoning is sound. During the growth process, if the body doesn't have what it needs, it will rob what it needs from other body parts (organs and bones). Therefor it is better to provide too much nutrition than not enough. So, they keep their puppies on the plump side just to make sure they are getting everything they need for growth. 

I know you are having your dog tested for worms. That test should include all parasites and it probably does. Giardia is one of those parasites which cause weight loss which, in a puppy, may mean little to no weight gain and mushy to watery poo. It is certainly worth checking out. Make sure you are washing your hands and cleaning up after your dog very well as humans as well as other pets can become infected with Giardia. It's larvae are spread through a hard-shelled cyst expelled in feces. It can survive for months outside the body. The only thing which can kill this in your yard is a hard freeze. Depending on the climate where you live, it can be very difficult to eradicate. Having a parasite involved can cause you to overfeed your dog because you are not just feeding your dog, you are feeding the parasite(s) as well (and the dog then remains too thin).

I do believe this is probably more about a parasite and not about what brand or recipe of food you are feeding. Let us know what the tests show.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Wouldn't a parasite cause really nasty poo? I think this is overfeeding too. Super simple to check, just cut back for a couple days. If the poop improves you have your answer. It wouldn't improve if it were parasites, would it?


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## Jaebird82 (Jun 13, 2010)

Thanks for the info. He has his last shot coming up in a few days so I'll have him tested. He's been on worm prevention medication, so I don't know if that takes care of parasites -- we'll have his poop tested again. How often as a puppy should he have his poop tested? Chicken Soup has has 348 kcal per cup. I do know the bag recommends more than what he should be eating and take what the vet says with a grain of salt, which is why I've been feeding him less than he recommended. I really don't think I overfeed my dog, but I'm going to cut back a little. This morning his poop was ok, but not great. Anytime I can pick it up without it smearing everywhere, it makes me happy. 

As I said, he doesn't always eat all his food. Breed: Boston Terrier; muscular stocky dogs with a great deal of muscle. He's less stocky, more wiry, big paws, long legs and pretty good muscle tone. Forgot to mention that I saw his dad and was definitely on the skinny side. Thanks for all the help.. gonna cut back his food, get some tests, and take it from there.


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## luv2byte (Oct 21, 2009)

Coccidia and giardia are as common as a kidnergardner with head lice - it happens. Just take stool sample in to you vet, make sure poop is <8hr old and first morning poop is ideal but not required. You can drop off poop without an appt usually.

Here is some info:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1622&aid=727
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2102&aid=739


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## theyogachick (Aug 2, 2009)

If he isn't eating all his food, he probably isn't hungry. I have this problem with Gracie, and I was worrying about it, but I decided she will eat when she is hungry. And I agree that the bag isn't always right. At one point the bag said Gracie should have 3 cups a day, and I could barely get her to eat two. She just wan't into it. Now at 5 months she is getting about 2 cups a day...and she is an active, growing, gangly girl.

I also had problems with loose stool in my puppy until about two weeks ago (she just turned 5 months old). I couldn't seem to find the right food for her. How long has he been on Chicken Soup? Sometimes it takes some time for the poo to firm up after a dog food switch. And as someone said earlier, he has been on quite a few foods in his short months, so his system needs to adjust.

She is on Wellness and she finally has firm poo!

Good luck (and get the fecal tests done...we did when the problem first arose.)


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## Reiko89 (Jul 2, 2010)

I looked at a food calculator for you (http://www.goldendoodles.com/care/food_calculator.htm check again if you want) and it said for a 4-to-12 month old dog at 9 pounds needs at most 1 cup of a food (daily) that provides 348 kcals per cup. I know Peanut, my dog, who is 2 and 14 pounds eats only 1/2 cup of his food (Canidae) per day.


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## JonnyNutro (Mar 29, 2010)

I ran all seven of my dogs through this calculator and not one of them is correct. I believe I would take the info from this calculator with a grain of salt. As I said previously, ALL DOGS ARE DIFFERENT. Through observation, one needs to come up with the optimal amount to feed their dog, not by what "the bag says", or what anyone says, or what a calculator says, but by observation of each dog in your care.


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## Reiko89 (Jul 2, 2010)

But the fact of the matter is, the bag AND the calculator are to be used as GUIDELINES, it's not 100% set in stone that you MUST use the amounts listed, even if it was wrong on all your dogs, it's still closer to an acceptable amount for the OP's puppy than the amount she was giving.


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## SheB (Jul 12, 2010)

I was feeding my pup Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul, and he constantly had mushy poop. I did some research and found that it was a common problem with this food so I changed him over to Canidae All Life Stages. Within 4 days his poop was solid and he's doing great on the new food!


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## Jaebird82 (Jun 13, 2010)

SheB said:


> I was feeding my pup Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul, and he constantly had mushy poop. I did some research and found that it was a common problem with this food so I changed him over to Canidae All Life Stages. Within 4 days his poop was solid and he's doing great on the new food!


Good to know. Bag is getting low, but I think I'm going to try it one more time. I've cut down his food to about one cup a day, so I'm hoping this helps.


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