Hi all. Ok 14 month old Lab started having soft poos about 5 days ago. Previous to this, her poos were nice and solid. To begin with, she would have a soft poo on her walk which would then be followed up by a couple of smaller poos that were quite runny and difficult to pick up. After a couple of days of this, we switched her food to a mix of rice, sweet potato and cooked chicken. Her poo has mostly firmed up a bit and is easier to pick up, although she still occasionally has a 2nd softer poo which is runnier. I have been doing some research into what could be the cause of this, and saw the page on thelabradorsite about Giardia. https://www.thelabradorsite.com/giardia-in-dogs/ Symptoms include diarrhoea. But is Indy experiencing diarrhoea? She still poos at her normal times (morning walk and evening walk) and it's not completely liquid/runny like it would be in a human. She's not running to the door and crying to go outside every hour. She's just having a few soft poos. We've recently spent a small fortune on healing an ear infection, and we're just wondering whether this requires another trip to the vet or whether we should just keep her on her blander diet a while longer and keep and eye on her? Thanks for your help.
Thank you for the detail! Great chart btw!!! If she looks a good weight, I do wonder if you are feeding a wee bit too much. Rice and Sweet potato contain a lot of fibre. Or split her meals into three, so offer a small lunch. If she has recently had a course of antibiotics with her ear infection, you could add a good probiotic to her meals. I always have a pot of Protexin- Pro-Fibre in the cupboard. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Protexin-P...1533035018&sr=8-3&keywords=probiotic+for+dogs I would be considering switching to a dog food which doesn't contain chicken...this is just a thought as food intolerances often pop up as gunky ears and loose stools. Good one to discuss with your vet though. Other good proteins are lamb, venison and fish being more novel. Chicken and beef being common proteins, are known to be the worst offenders!
Thank you for your quick reply! I don't think it could have anything to do with her food as her poos have been completely normal for the last 7 months we've had her on her current diet. We've got her booked in to the vets tomorrow, and I'll take a look at the Protexin
My friend's cavaliers had giardia a while back and there was a lot of diarrhoea (not just soft poo) all the time and vomiting also. They would have been 6-7 on the chart.
Hi @IndytheLab - great poo chart by the way - we could have done with this a few weeks ago to diagnose that things weren't right with our little one! She's just getting over a bout of colitis brought on by Giardia, and her poos were consistently a 5 before we knew there was anything the matter (we'd known nothing else since we picked her up at 8 weeks so assumed it was all normal puppy poo), and then they became a consistent 6 as she more obviously became poorly and started straining. If you're worried, just pop to your vets and have a chat with them - they're best to advise. You can have Giardia tests done to put your mind at rest with a poo sample if you choose to. Our little one is much better now and we are just waiting for the all clear. Good luck with sorting your little one's tummy out x I swear I've never talked about poo as much as I do now I'm a puppy owner
Thanks for all your suggestions and advice guys @LoopyLuna my partner and I have 5 minute discussions about puppy poop every day haha
Yes, we have equally romantic conversations I actually cried at the vets when she did her first ever normal poo in the consulting room - it was the most beautiful poo I'd ever seen My other half still laughs about it. The vet just thought I was mad!
Just a thought but could she be scrumping apples or pears or other fruit. My youngest is having softer poops at the moment but he's pinching and eating fruit off the trees everytime he goes in the garden.
When we collected our pup at 9 weeks old, we also found ourselves dogsitting a King Charles Cavalier the same week. They spent most of the week playing together and drinking from each other's water bowls. Within the week, they both had the runs, the Cavalier had it really bad, no 7 on the scale above. I took them both to the vets and they were given various medication, including treatment for suspected Giardia. We don't know if our pup brought it home from the breeder, or if the Cav picked it up on one of the walks.
Yes! My pup steals carrots at daycare and gives himself soft poos. He also ate some flowering plants in the daycare garden, which also gave him soft poo. It's a wonder he's welcome back! We too have long discussions about poo.
Hi all! We took Indy to the vets today. She has a case of collitis so is thankfully nothing too serious. Thank you all for your help
