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7 week puppy with diarrhea

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Phillips

Member
The wife and I picked up Mac, our EM puppy, last Saturday (11-9-13). He was just over 6 weeks at the time, earlier than I would have liked but the situation didn't allow him to stay any longer. According to the breeder he was eating kibble, softened with water, and mom had weened the pups.

I can confirm he was eating kibble, he was in the middle of eating when we arrived to pick him up.

We were unable to get the food they were feeding Mac so we had to switch kibble cold turkey. He's now eating Wellness large breed puppy formula. He really hasn't taken to the dry kibble and wasn't eating near the suggested 1 1/2 cups per day. We tried to encourage him by softening with water, which helped a little but not much. So we then we decided to encourage him more with a little canned dog food. The first canned/kibble mixed feeding was last night (11-11-13). The canned food has really helped. He ate all of breakfast and lunch, and part of dinner today.

Today Mac has watery diarrhea. Since we brought him home his stools have looked soft, not quite cow patties, but soft. Late last night it looked like he was in cow pattie mode and now it runs out like water.

Do you think it's because the sudden changes in diet? It changed when we brought him home, then again slightly (2 times) because he wasn't really eating. Then add onto the stress of changing homes and families.

The day we picked him up we went to the vet and had him checked out. They double checked his vaccinations (breeder gave him first shots) and then Mac got dewormer (we did not know if the breeder did this or not). Vet gave Mac a clean bill of health.

He seems really lazy. The breeder said he was a lazy pup. When he's not sleeping he seems to be plenty playfull though so it doesn't really seem to be affecting him much.

Just concerned and looking for advise. how long should we wait until we change his diet again, or see the vet?
 
P

Phillips

Member
That's my worry too. I've been at work all day but my wife is a stay at home mom and she says Mac has been drinking plently of water throughout the day. In addition Mac isn't showing signs of dehydration... at least not yet
 
angelbears

angelbears

Well-Known Member
A puppy that young can dehydrate very quickly. I would check on him through out the night. If he has any watery poops through out the night I would be getting very concerned. While changing the food and the stress of being away from the litter may have very well caused the diarrhea, you still have to worry about dehydration until you are getting firmer poops.
 
P

Phillips

Member
Will do. He's been very good about waking us up when he needs to go out at night since we are crate training him and he doesn't want to go in his bed.
 
Sadies Mom

Sadies Mom

Well-Known Member
Put him on a bland diet for a few days and then slowly add the kibble back in. That are a few different kinds of bland you can give him. I prefer cooked ground turkey and canned pumpkin (not pie filling) or peeled boiled sweet potatoes. And like Angelbears said, watch for dehydration. You said the vet gave him dewormer, that can sometimes also cause diarrhea. Did they just give him a broad spectrum dewormer, or did the check a stool sample? If they did not check his stool, I would bring in a sample for them to check.
 
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musicdeb

Well-Known Member
Poor pup~ I agree, it was the switch to the new food without a slow transition and leaving the pack. When adding the pumpkin, be careful with how much you give the pup because too much can cause diarrhea.

Be sure the pup is drinking, pottying and playing as usual. If not, take to the vet immediately.

Sounds like too much going on with the pup at one time. Leaving pack, changing food and deworming. The pup is stressed.

DogAware.com Health: Digestive Disorders in Dogs
 
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robert

Well-Known Member
1 cup of white rice mix with chicken 3 times a day for about a week lots clean water

************************************************************************************

GOOD TO KNOW :
-NO STAIRS TILL 10-12 MONTH OLD!!!!!!!!!!
- NO BONES TILL 7 MONTH OLD ( only ground bones would be good)
-TOYS MUST BE BIGGER THAN PUPPY'S HEAD!!!!!!!!!!!
-KEEP PUPPY QUIET AFTER FEEDING TIME.-NEVER LET HIM/HER PLAY UNTIL HE IT TOTALLY EXHAUSTED!!!!!!!!!
-DO NOT LET HIM/HER PLAY WITH AN OTHER DOGS, UNTIL 2D VACCINATION AND 12 DAYS AFTER
-SEND US SOME PICS :)
 
Robtouw

Robtouw

Well-Known Member
Beware of canned pumpkin, with a young pup that is having stomach issues it can elevate the diarrhea. Anytime you change food regardless of age, stop feeding the processed feed and instead give 1 cup white rice mixed with boiled meat. I use boiled hamburger because chicken can cause sensitivities. Give your pup the mixture for all feeding for about two days. Once his stool has begun to firm up, start adding your new food choice little by little to the mixture. Over the course of a week, change the ratio of rice/mix to feed until you are on just kibble.

White rice is a must have in your pantry. The sticky starch in the rice helps absorb excess stomach acid and helps get the flora back on track. Anytime your pup has soft poop, it is a great additive to his food that can help. I promise that you will have more issues with diarrhea. It comes with the pup, they explore with their mouths and will eat things that are interesting!
 
P

Phillips

Member
Thanks everyone!

Mac's stool looked a little firmer this morning, but he finished off with some diarrhea. Hopefully we are on the mend. We are going to wait to see what is next one looks like and take action form there. If it continues to get better on it's own great! If not will be calling the vet and/or changing his diet.

Sadies mom: The vet did not check his stool. just gave him what I assume was a broad spectrum dewormer

Robert thanks for the tips. Why no stairs though? We have 3 relatively small steps out our back door to get to ground level. We've been letting Mac navigating those stairs and he's doing quite well. But if there is health risk involved we'll carry him up and down.
 
P

Phillips

Member
Can anyone suggest a portion size if we go strictly rice and a meat protien? We're leaning towards elk from last year's hunting season since we have a bunch and it is (well, was) wild.

The Wellness kibble is chicken based and I want to rule out a chicken sensitivity.

I Just weighed him, he's 13.2 lbs. (7 weeks old to the day). That's a 1.7 lb increase over his weight on Saturday at the vet so that's a good sign, he's still gaining weight.
 
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musicdeb

Well-Known Member
I usually do 1/2 rice, 1/2 meat (boiled chicken, beef or turkey). I also add a probiotic to help with digestion.

I guess elk would be ok. Is elk rich? The reason to boil the meat is to remove the fat from the meat. Can you boil elk?
 
P

Phillips

Member
elk cooks much the same way that beef does and it is very lean. How much all together would you give him per feeding? (we've been feeding him 3x/day) Thanks again for all the help folks!

P9030029.jpg
 
Sadies Mom

Sadies Mom

Well-Known Member
Phillips said:
Thanks everyone!

Sadies mom: The vet did not check his stool. just gave him what I assume was a broad spectrum dewormer.
Click to expand...

If they did not check the stool, I would insist they do so. There are some parasites that the broad spectrum de wormer does not kill off, like giardia and coccidia. But the de-wormer it self could cause diarrhea as well.
 
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Phillips

Member
Mac gets 1/2 cup of kibble plus a good spoon full of canned food (just enough to coat the kibble) for each feeding (3x daily). Sometimes he finishes it, other times he leaves a small amount
 
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M & M

Well-Known Member
Carry him up & down the stairs because it is too much on his growing joints/bones/ligaments..... I raised two male EM's & carried them up & down the three steps on back porch & in/out of truck seemed like forever..... Kept their jumping down to a minimum, off furniture etc..... You will be happier & so will your pup when you don't have hip or joint issues later on in life or he gets hurt.... They grow so fast & are heavy dogs but not all parts grow at the same time.... & when my boyz went through their poop a thon, I did venison with rice & they were fine with it 1/2 & 1/2 but they also did fine with lean ground beef..... They did the best on all RAW diet......
 
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