Hi I have 4 week old Labrador puppies that I’ve started to wean but some of them have ended up with really runny poo. Any help would be appreciated thank you
Hi Jinita, what are you feeding them, how much and when were they last wormed? I start mine on raw beef mince mushed into warm goats milk at 21 days. Just a teaspoon each on the first day, building up to three meals after a week then up to four very small meals by 4 weeks. I then move them onto Nutriment weaning paste. The bitch is wormed on the Panacur protocol from day 40 of gestation through to 2 days post whelp, the pups then wormed around 2.5 weeks, 5 weeks, 7 weeks. Prime suspects for runny puppies is feeding them the wrong food, feeding too much food, or worms. Once these are ruled out then I would be more concerned about guiardia or coccidosis and would definitely take a sample to the vet.
I know this post is a few weeks old, but the main cause of runny poos in very young puppies is feeding too much. I have had this experience in one of my first litters and could not figure it out. Had all tests done and all came back negative. I figured out that when I decreased the amount of food, their poos got more solid and formed. It is recommended to feed puppies that age (based on an estimated adult weight of 80 pounds) 3/4 cup to 1 cup of food spread over several meals throughout the day. So with a bit of math, I'm going to use my current litter as an example. .75 cup divided by 3 is .25 cups. There are 12 puppies in the litter so multiply .25 x 12 = each feeding is 3 cups total. Each feeding I do 3 cups of mushed up food mixed with puppy formula. if the problem persists, just soak your kibble in water as the puppy formula may be too rich for them. I have had much success with this formula. Once in a while there will be one puppy with runny poo out of the litter, but that just tells me that puppy is eating faster or pushing a weaker puppy out of the way and eating more. So I separate that puppy from the pack and feed it separately. I divide that .25 cup by 3 for 1 serving for that puppy who is eating separately. It comes to 1/2 OUNCE. (I have a food scale also to get to these smaller amounts of food). It doesn't seem like a whole lot, but their tummies are very small. The mom should be also feeding the pups at this age, so they get their nutrition. They will more than likely cry for a little bit after feeding them as they want more. But they don’t understand that it makes them ill. After their food starts to digest, they will nap or play for a bit then nap. If the whining persists too long, send the mom in there to feed a little. She may be apprehensive or reluctant to do this. SO, make sure that their nails are clipped and filed down. They have teeth now, but the claws compound the pain level of excited nursing puppies. I make sure to clip their nails at least once a week (more often if I notice them getting sharper). I hope this helps!
