[Erica L]

Hello I am new to the forum…very first post! We rescued a lab mix about a month ago….she was at the time 12-14 weeks old. She is a very big girl already weighing 28lbs when we got her. She came to us on Kirkland brand Puppy food and we have kept her on that. After about 2 weeks she woke up one morning in the middle of the night whining to go out. I let her out and she had the runs really bad. This was a Saturday…she had diarrhea all weekend (I kept feeding her not realizing she should be fasting) She was her normal rambunctious self and drinking plenty of water. Took her to the vet on Monday she had gained 4 pounds in a week since her parvo shot the week before. He tested her stool and found nothing wrong. Maybe thought it could have been due to her getting her last parvo shot or it could be food. He put her on a tablet for diarrhea for a week and Purina Probiotic (he way overcharged me for it 40 bucks) the diarrhea went away while she was on the medication. About 36 hours after the pill stopped (today) she has diarrhea again in the middle of the night and twice this morning. I took her off her food and am feeding her boiled chicken, white rice, and pure pumpkin with her probiotic. Trying to figure out what could be the problem. I am assuming its the food. Other than the runs she is very happy, playful, and shows no sign of illness. I haven’t had a dog let alone a puppy in over a decade and need some advice. Please help me if you can. I am struggling since my hubby is out of town for 2 weeks and our vet is far away. Plus our toddler is teething. I am super stressed out.

[checker]

Yes, it is probably the food if nothing has been found through the Vetrinary findings. It will be a process of elimination unfortunately finding which food will be ok for her. Is she improving with the chicken,rice and pumpkin you are feeding her? You may want to look up her breed on the internet and see which foods are best for them also. I wish you all the best is finding a solution to this issue. It is not fun! Sincerely,Kimberlee

[theBCnut]

Um, I hate to say this, but you must be way overfeeding her for her to gain 4 lbs in 1 week, and that alone can cause diarrhea. With all dogs, but especially large and giant breed dogs, it is very important for them to have slow even growth. Fast growth means that their joints are forming too fast and not necessarily well, which means hip and elbow dysplasia. Feed her to keep her athletically lean, no extra weight. Keep her on probiotics until she has had normal stools for at least 2 weeks.

You may want to look into a supplement by the Honest Kitchen called Perfect Form. A lot of rescue dogs have had really bad cases of worms that have damaged the gut lining and it may take months for the damage to heal. Perfect Form has some really nice ingredients to soothe irritated intestines and firm up sloppy stools.

Have you looked at the Large and Giant Breed Puppy Nutrition thread?

[Susan]

Hi Erica, get a kibble that has lower fat% then the Kirkland, also look at the ingredients there could be an ingredient thats not agreeing with her, like my boy cant eat potatoes.. I didnt know & started a fish & potatoes kibble he didnt have diarrhea until 1 week later so when the vets said its the food, I thought, he’s been on it for over 1 week it cant be, then 4 months later I did an elimination diet, feed boiled chicken & a little pumkin for 1 week then when poos were great I started to add foods, 1 at a time when I got to boiled potatos he got a real bad rash all over his chest, then the next day was scratching, then that afternoon sloppy poos stated, so I stopped the potato & now I know dont feed potatos…You’ll work it out, I’d feed another kibble with diffferent ingredients to the Kirkland & maybe a lower fat kibble & see how she does….

[Erica L]

I am pretty sure she is not overfed. The bag of food says for her age and weight is 3-4 cups a day. She does 2 cups in the morning and 1 cup at night. I think she was underweight coming from the shelter she was rescued from. She is a tall skinny girl (you can see her ribs)
She isn’t drinking as much water today as she usually does but I think the chicken/rice/pumpkin has helped…she hasn’t needed to go potty since this morning even though that was runny. I just ordered the Perfect Form for her. I have been looking at the large breed puppy feed. Its just very confusing to pick one food out of over 30. I just want her to have great food and for this runny poo to go away. I won’t lie I am overwhelmed right now trying to guess what is best for her.

[theBCnut]

The recommendation is just that-a recommendation, not the amount you must feed. Gaining 4 lbs in one week IS NOT healthy, even for a dog that needs to gain weight, and especially not for a large breed dog. Weight gain should be slow and steady. She may end up needing 3 cups a day, but probably not while she is having diarrhea issues and you may need to build her up to that amount slowly, so her body can get used to having that much nutrition at once. She may need her food in 3 meals at this point so they can be smaller meals. At this age, you should be able to see her last ribs and her hip bones and about 3 vertebra. Don’t worry about her being skinny, that can wait until the stool issue is fixed, as long as she isn’t loosing a bunch more weight.

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