[jennifer m]

We have a bulldog puppy. We got her from my mom (who is the breeder) when she was 4 months old. The litter was large and my mom did not realize she was reacting to her food until we got her. Here is a little of what we have done. I know it’s a lot of food changes. Nothing has worked. We have had up to 10 poops a day, blood in stool, and diarrhea. I just don’t know what to do.
weened-4mo old: Blue Buffalo
Way too many poops and smelly gas. She also did not like the food
Large Puppy Orijens (went through one large bag before switching)
She loved the food. Better stools but still went 5 times a day. Mom was too concerned about this being too much protein for a bulldog.
Pure Vita Salmon and Pea (went through 2 bags)
She liked it fine. Stools were very soft and she went a lot
Health Extensions
Mom switched her to this while keeping her for a few weeks. Terrible gas and by the time we got her back she had diarrhea.

At this point, we just went to our vet. He said that we have done too many food changes. No parasites or worms. Put her on 5 days of purina probiotics and metronidazole. This did nothing. She went back to vet and he put her on a high energy GI Royal Canine. This is the first time we went to having 3-4 poops a day but they were still soft and she would have blood in them. He also gave her another 7 days of antibiotics.

I decided not to give the antibiotics and immediately took her off of the food. I went back to the natural health food store. She recommended the stella and chewy lamb patties and nutrisource lamb meal and rice. Also added goat’s milk. She does not love the food but loves the patties and goat’s milk. So far the stool is back to solid which I haven’t seen in over a month. However, this morning she has gone 3 times before she even ate breakfast. Could this be just a transition period?

I like the solid stools but I don’t want to be back to a point where she’s going 7-8 times a day.

Mom said the grain free foods were using a lot of peas and this could be an issue. That’s why we are trying the rice formula. The food store also recommended Honest Kitchen raw food.

What should I do? She’s only 8 months now and I am sure she wants to feel better and stay on a good food.

[Kimberly S]

Jennifer M,
My opinion is because she is still a puppy stay away from raw foods. Even full grown, there have been so many recalls on them lately and ALOT have been silent recently!!! That’s just my opinion, I would stick with ONE food and let her system get used to it. I think that is what is causing her GI upset. I have a German Shepard who has a very sensitive GI system and When I change her foods I have to give her system at least a month to adjust to the new food. Like I said, just my opinion. Good luck.

[Susan]

Hi Jennifer,
I have a Staffy with Food Sensitivities Environment Allergies & IBD, I would be making her your own raw diet with human grade meats, no pre-made raw dog food, I went thru animal nutritionist in Australia & we started PAtch on a raw elimination diet to work out what ingredients he is sensitive too…
Dogs have a short digestive tract, their intestinal tract is make to digest a raw diet quickly so if the meat they have eaten is spoiled etc it quickly moves thru their stomach then onto their small bowel onto the large bowel then a small poo, kibbles are high in fiber & some grainfree kibbles are even higher in fiber especially if it has peas, lentils, chickpeas, I have found kibbles that have sweet potatos & potato work the best for Patch, if you do go back to a dry kibble look at “Natural Balance” LTD Sweet Potato & Bison or Natural Balance Potato & Duck formula or look at “Wellness Simple” Turkey & Potato formula..

If you can afford it look for a Holistic Vet in your area.. My boy went down hill last December & now I’m feeding my boy “Frontier Pets” Freeze Dried dehydrated raw thats free range grain free raw diet human ingredients, I started to slowly introduce & give to him at Lunch time only they’re small balls & you add warm water, straight away he started to get better I saw good results like you have seen he also eats “Wellness Core Large Breed dry kibble he isnt large breed dog but this Wellness Core large breed formula is high protein-36%, low/med in fat-13% low in carbs-31% low in Kcals-345Kcals Per cup… & has no lentils or chickpeas…You need to work out what agrees with your dog…or even join a few Raw feeding groups on facebook someone will help you get your dog onto a balanced raw diet with homemade ingredients not a pre-made raw….
Start with 1 meat protein she hasnt eaten before & you blend some green veggies & fruit,I used peeled apple, take out any seeds, broccolli, celery & parsley blended then put in ice cube tray cover with cling wrap & freeze, you add 1-2 spoons of the Veggie/fruit mix 1-2 frozen veggie/fruit ice cubes to 1 cup of meat…I balanced diet with Natural Animal Solution Digestavite Plus powder….

[jennifer m]

Well, she has been on the Nutrisource Lamb Meal and Rice for a few weeks. I bought a small bag. Still having at least 6-8 poops a day. She literally will go about 3 times before she even eats her first bowl of food for the day. I can also tell she does not really like the food.

I tried 2 days of Pure Vida and had less poops so I thought I could possibly transition over, plus she liked the food. Bought a bag, and day 3 was a blow out.

So back on the nutrisource for the time being. At least we are solid on it, but obviously just have not found the right thing.

I am concerned about a raw diet. The holistic vet in the community is known to suggest Honest Kitchen Raw food. She is currently on maternity leave so I may see her when she gets back.

I am beginning to think it may be peas. The foods I have tried have varied by proteins, but the two she has had the most success with contact no peas. It’s been hard to find a good quality food that doesn’t have peas in it.

[anonymous]

“I decided not to give the antibiotics and immediately took her off of the food. I went back to the natural health food store”

In my opinion, that is where you made a mistake. You listen to anonymous strangers, pet supply store employees and who knows who on the internet instead of a veterinary healthcare professional, a veterinarian that has gone to school for over 8 years (as much as an MD) and has examined hundreds of animals?

Seriously, I would take the pup back to the vet that has examined the dog and is trying to help.
I would do exactly as he recommends, no one else. If no results within a reasonable time, consider consulting a internal medicine veterinary specialist.
Good luck.
PS: Hope this helps http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/

[pitlove]

Hi Jennifer-

Yikes, that is a lot of food changes for such a young dog! I really wouldn’t expect you to see too much of a change in stool with that many food changes. It would be almost impossible for her GI system to adjust quick enough for you to see a change back to completely normal.

What does your mother feed the pups when she has a litter?

[Susan]

Hi Jennifer,
I know this is long but something in this post may help your little girl…..

I would go back to see a vet & get another course of the Metronidazole for 21-28 days.
I know the antibiotics don’t seem like they’re working but they are fixing whatever is wrong with your girl intestinal tract. When my boy takes Metronidazole 200mg twice a day every 12 hours with a meal, his poos become very sloppy, he takes the Metronidazole for his stomach to kill that bad bacteria when bacteria starts to take over his stomach again & causes bad acid reflux (Helicobacter-Pylori)….

The Metronidazole should fix her Intestinal tract & I know some of the vet diets don’t have the best ingredients but the vet diets are specially formulated for certain bowel /stomach problems, 1 Gastrointestinal formula has more soluble fiber, (Hills I/d Digestive Care Restore), then other Gastro vet diet (Hills Z/d Ultra) has more insoluble fiber & less soluble fiber, Royal Canine has their Hypoallergenic formula its very low in fiber 1%, this way you work out is it her small bowel or her large bowel that has the problem, her vet should be trying to work this out….You could go back to the same vet practice but see a different vet if there’s a few vets working there, that’s what I did with my boy..

Have you tried adding 1 tablespoon of boiled pumkin with her meals, boiled pumkin freezes really good, cut pumkin up into 1-2 spoon size pieces boil, then freeze them, you can get the ice cube trays & after you have boile the pumkin, mash it all up, then spoon into the ice cube tray, cover with cling warp then freeze & take out the frozen cubed pumkin when you need it….. 1 ice cube thing is = to about 1 spoon, then start adding the pumkin with her meals or just add to 1 of her meals & see are her poos better or worse?? if poos are better & less poo’s then she needs more Soluble fiber in her diet,
Soluble fiber is found in grains like barley, oatmeal, rice, and corn meal and seeds like chia, flax, potatoes, carrots, yams, sweet potatoes, turnips, beets, squash, pumpkins, avocados, bananas, applesauce and mangos.
if her poos become more sloppy after trying the pumkin then she might need a diet with less soluble fiber & more Insoluble fiber, Lentils, Beans, Peas, Legumes, Pinto Beans, Turnips, brown rice, etc but it can become confusing cause these vegetables have both soluble & insoluble fibers in them they’ll just have more of one of the fibers..

Vet diets for intestinal health also have prebiotics to heal the stomach & bowel, have you started giving her a dog probiotic like “Purina Forti Floria” Probiotic yet? give inbetween meals on empty stomach it’s best to take a probiotic, first thing of a morning, inbetween meals or before bed at night when stomach acids are low, I was adding probiotic powder with 10-15mls of water in a bowl, you swirl water around to mix the probiotic powder then let her drink it..

You could ask the vet can you try the “Royal Canine” Select Protein PR-Potato & Rabbit formula or the Royal Canine PV – Potato & Venison formula & get the same matching wet cans as well as the dry formula, or just try the R/C PR or PV wet can food & see how she does on wet can food?? Maybe she can’t handle the dry kibble??
To be so young & to have Intestinal problems it mighten be food related she might have something wrong with her small or her large bowel??
if her poos are sloppy & yellow then it’s her small bowel & if her poos are dark brown look like a cow pattie poo then its her large bowel, a good vet will know where the problem lays, at first Patch had small bowel problems S.I.B.O then after he took the Metronidazole & ate a vet diet for 9 months his small bowel healed & became better then a few years later he had problems with his large bowel…
You could feed the dry kibble R/C PR for breakfast & dinner & the wet can food for lunch cause she is a pup you’d feed 3-4 meals day, with vet diets they are guaranteed money back or exchange for another vet diet & you keep trying the vet diet till you find 1 that agrees with your girl, then you leave her on the same vet diet that seems to be agreeing with her for a good 6 months…Patch was doing really well on the “Eukanuba Intestinal Low Residue” dry kibble, its very low in fiber & worked, we finally found a vet diet that helped him & he was only doing 2 poos, somedays 3 small poos a day, his vet wanted him on the Eukanuba Intestinal Low Residue for 1yr so his intestinal tract could heal properly, then after 9 months he was scratching & his skin smelt real yeasty he was sensitive to the chicken, his poos were good but his skin wasn’t, then I started trying limited ingredient dry pet shop kibbles & if 1 grain free kibble didnt work, I always went back to his Eukanuba Intestinal Vet Diet, I think it’s called IAMS in America, I know ingredients aren’t the best but its a start to make her bowel healthy, I think the Iams have the Kangaroo & Oats, or look at “Rayne Canada” they have Kangaroo, Rabbit & Crocodile wet & dry formula’s
http://www.raynecanada.ca/canine-diets/

Have you tried the Loaf style meats “FreshPets” rolls. I read on DFA a few people have had success with the Fresh Pets rolls..
Just remember when you try something new just do 1 thing at 1 time over 1 week period other wise you will not know what is causing what if she has diarrhea & blood… Bloody poo’s is Colitis.. but she is so young to have these problems, you need a really good vet to work out whats wrong, I have found lady vets seem to be more sympathetic then the men vets…

[K F]

Please- try Halo brand kibble, if you are giving kibble. No recalls EVER; USA-sourced, no GMO’s, no meat sourced from inhumane factory farms, profits go to help other animals in need.
When I adopted my Husky 12 yrs ago, she had all sorts of GI issues…diarrhea, right and left. She had Giardia, which we treated….(make sure that your pup does not have this..) but, she would still react to the foods that I bought her- All organic, with high quality ingredients.
She FINALLY stopped having GI ‘events’ when I switched her to the Halo Spot’s Stew (it used to be called) kibble. Not grain-free…either the Chicken or the Salmon basic kibble. NO ISSUES at all, in the 10 years following.
I ALSO give my Husky a daily serving of human grade, cooked protein- either a can of wild caught salmon, sardines, or tuna in water. Occasionally some roasted turkey slices. I also feed her plenty of veggies, which she loves (frozen broccoli and green beans, and raw carrots..)
I agree with Kimberly, that raw food diets are very risky in that there are recalls every other day for e-coli or salmonella or listeria outbreaks… Why go through that? Particularly with a vulnerable puppy…. Dogs have been bred, over thousands and thousands of years, to be omnivores. They are not still wolves out in the wild, and don’t have the protective antibodies for spoiled or rotted meat anymore. Can people be real, here?
Anyway- best of luck to your baby! 🙂
If in doubt, just ask…”Would I want to eat this?”.. (If its not on the list of human foods that are toxic to dogs…its a great way to gage safely for your dog. 🙂 )

[Johanna J]

I have a 13 year old border collie/whippet cross who has had mushy stools for years. The vet put him on probiotics, but that has not helped. He gets pumpkin on his evening meal, but not in the morning. I suppose I could try adding it to the morning meal as well.

Right now he is on Wellness Core (all 4 of my dogs are on it). The two small dogs, a miniature poodle and a chihuahua/pom have firm stools. The Lab has somewhat soft stools (she gets pumpkin in the evening, too).

Wellness Core is a premium food, but perhaps it’s not the best choice for my two large dogs. Has anyone any suggestions?

[Patricia A]

Jennifer puppies metabolism is faster and will poop more then adult dogs. Initially the for you gave wasn’t right for her. Then with all the sudden changes of course she would have loose stoold.y As long as her stools now are solid and no blood just stick to one food. Stella’s is good. I also give Stella’s to my Chihuahuas. I stick to their chicken toppers with a tiny bit of their kibble. You can also introduce Primal freeze dried with water to hydrate very, very slowly to diet to top her kibble. Only after she is used to Stella’s for awhile. One of my dogs has sensitive stomach but does very well on the Stella’s and Primal turkey/sardine. I’d stay away from the goats milk for now. Keep it simple and consistent and see how she does.
Please don’t put her on strong medications if her stool is normal .
http://www.vetcontact.com/en/art.php?a=572 More side effects then just pooping a lot. Give her time since she’s just a puppy.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 3 months ago by Patricia A.

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