Hi there i desperately need help,im not new to puppy ownership,ive always had a lab they are a total joy BUT i now have a gorgeous Lab puppy Louie he is 6 months and every thing is going to plan bar feeding,he has never ever had a normal poo its always loose,firmed up slightly for a few days around 4 months,zero changes to diet,i use his kibble as training treats no human food at all,gulps his food so bought slow feeder,same time he had few firmer stools. Up to this point i fed him hills science plan large breed puppy,if i tweak at all the amount he eats we are back to really really loose and he goes crazy in his behaviour totally nuts,he is a calm well behaved normal pup at other times,so to the present,changed him on to husse valp after reading up but now he has loose stools and vomits it up,ive been slowly making the change over weeks,sorry this is so long but im at my wits end,it is spoiling my joy in my puppy. Id appreciate any advice. Thank you
Would you consider raw feeding him? I struggled with one of mine for 18 months before trying him on raw. Within 3 days his tummy was fine and has been ever since. I know raw feeding isn't for everyone, but it is certainly worth a try with digestive issues.
Hi thanks for your reply,have no idea about feeding raw but i shall do some investiating,ive just starved him for 12hrs and fed him scrambled egg and chicken for now,im willing to try anything as its really getting us both down,such a mess to clean up and he,s not thriving as he should.
Hi Glenda, That sounds really stressful, I'm sorry to hear you are having a tough time with feeding him. We've got some information on feeding puppies here that might be helpful - https://www.thelabradorsite.com/feeding-your-labrador-puppy/ But it sounds like it might be worth having a chat with your vet too, to see if it could be an intolerance to something? The behavior thing could be a red herring, as puppies can be scatty on and off I do hope you find a solution soon, let us know how he gets along!
Hi thanks for reply,i do feel maybe a trip to vet just to rule anything out,re behaviour yes scatty is the norm.lol but i find it a different attitude like a child on fizzy drinks going hyper and is always apparent just after i have upped his food,not explaining it very well but its diffrent from the usual behaviour changes with age and training. Ill arange a trip to vet and get back with an update
Fingers crossed they'll be able to shed some light on it! Lots of dogs have sensitive stomaches, so hopefully it's something that a limited ingredient dog food can sort out for him
Something i forgot to mention which i feel may be indicative of something not quite right,his stools are absolutely foul smelling and his frequent gas can literally empty the house,
It sounds like your pup may have allergies of some sort, possibly something in his kibble. I would book a vet appt to discuss.
Hi my first lab was exactly the same. We struggled on changing foods for2 years and having "ice cream" poos,she was always poorly and vomiting. Our vet was reluctant to do tests for intolerance or allergies but finally did and we discovered she had intolerance for beef, dairy and pork! She also had compylabacter! Which took a long time to clear as it has been left a long time to multiply. So I would really advise a visit to your vet and insist he look into your pups problems. Good luck
Ah ive recently put him back up to 3 times sure helped a bit,he has been his happy content self past few days on chicken rice and eggs ,but no poop at all going to reintroduce kibble slowly tomorrow see reaction,if no improvement vet visit a certainy ,and indicitive of allergy i feel. I shall update as soon as, thanks
Not sure what others think about doing this but I added a couple tsp of pumpkin puree raw and this also helped while her tummy was adjusting, firmed it up more.
So, all these symptoms sound to me like he has picked up some bacteria - like coccidia, campylobacter, giardia... As a first stop thing to try before seeing the vet, I would recommend giving him Panacur 10% (fenbendazole) - which is effective against giardia as well as worms. It is non-prescription and you can get it online from pet pharmacies (or probably pick some up from your vet's reception without an appointment) and it's a very popular puppy wormer. Give it at the giardia dosage, which is a lower amount for 3-5 days - it's on the data info sheet that comes with it. If that doesn't work, then see the vet. Panacur is often something the vet will try anyway, as it's not an AB so is a good so you've basically skipped out a step if you let them know you've already done that.
Thanks for that Jo,strangly i always used panacur equine guard on any horses who had unknown history and wouldnt put on weight worked a treat,will definitely try that,he is wormed monthly but as you say normal worming could be missing something.
Our girl Meg suffered with soft stool. After experimenting with eliminating foods we came to the conclusion she was intolerant to beef. It's a hit and miss thing to try, we were lucky & hit on it first guess. Shame really, as roast beef is my go to basic training treats! She's fine now we've cut out all beef (or products containing "meat derivatives").
Willow was the same we changed her food to butchers tripe loaf and she has stopped having horrendous wind and she now has firm stools easy to pick up. She was on James Welbeloved and isms before that not sure if it's something in the dried foods that upsets her stomach. She had expolive diarrhea at one point.
Our 4 month yellow lab puppy has had diarrhea for 8 days. The vet has ruled out parasites. She is acting normally and does not have any other symptoms of any kind. My last item on the elimination process is the food which all my other dogs are fine with. We are feeding her Orijen large puppy kibble, Blue Buffalo grain free canned puppy (beef) and Wellness Core puppy grain free (chicken) I have been told the grain free could be too strong for her.