Hi everyone. I’m looking for suggestions for my 11-week-old Golden Retriever. He weighs 20 pounds, and is a healthy weight- can feel ribs and see a waist. Our vet says that he looks great, and if we weren’t reporting problems she would think him completely healthy. He came from the breeder at 8 weeks with Iams puppy food for small/toy breeds (!) and we immediately started switching him to Fromm Large Breed Puppy. His stools immediately got soft, with frequent diarrhea and a few incidences of bloody diarrhea. Our vet thought it was stress and treated with metronidazole, which showed temporary improvement but never really got his stool firm. A couple days ago I saw what I thought looked like worms in 2 bowel movements: rice-like, segmented, pale yellow, and profuse! Unfortunately, I didn’t think of saving a sample for the vet until after I’d disposed of it, and the later samples I took in tested negative. Based on my description, and the fact that he has already had Heartgard, they are assuming tapeworm, though at 11 weeks old I’m not sure where he would have gotten them. We visited him weekly from 8 days old, and his mom and litter mates never had fleas, and he’s never been off-leash to eat a rodent! So as of yesterday we are back on metronidazole, plus panacur dewormer, and he’s eating Purina prescription diet EN, which is almost entirely rice and corn, with just 23% protein and 10% fat. Only 18 hours after the switch, his stools are completely firmed up. Obviously we can’t keep him on this long-term, though. The vet said after 5 days we should start to transition back to regular food, and suggested perhaps something with fewer protein sources since the Fromm’s has duck, chicken, fish and lamb. So, in your much-respected opinions, should I give the Fromm’s a second chance, or go to another new thing? I want to stick with one of Hound Dog Mom’s recommended kibbles, but am of rather limited means. The breeder had recommended TOTW, but I would really prefer to avoid anything from Diamond. If environment might suggest another problem, we are in upstate New York. Thanks so much!
