Hi all, loving the forum so far, really helpful. I have a 20wk black lab called Ludo. First time he had a soft stool I rushed him straight to the vet and they treated for giardia, but didn't blood test or anything. I think I was a bit previous and it cleared up straight away. The vet said to stick with his normal food as that would help do something with bacteria. This week he had soft, mucus stool one day, so I gave him chicken and rice then the next day he didn't go for hours, so I'm wondering if it's more likely to be constipation than diarrhoea? Friday was all back to normal, this morning fine, then this afternoon a softer stool again. As he's a bit all over the place, I've bought tinned pumpkin, cooked up chicken and rice, but I am nervous of giving him too much fibre if he's already loose or constipating him more with chicken and/or rice. He seems totally fine in himself, I don't want to pay £175 for an out of hours vet trip when he hasn't had more than two loose stools in a row - obviously keeping an eye on him over the weekend. Thanks in advance for any reassurance or advice!
After a puppy has had a runny poo, their intestines are going to be more cleared out than usual so it will take longer for the next poo to come along! That doesn't mean he's constipated. Hard, solid stools and a lot of straining to get them out, is what constipated looks like... Pumpkin is a good choice, it won't make him constipated - I don't know how to dose tinned pumpkin, but I add a tablespoon of pumpkin powder to food twice a day. If the loose poos don't stop, before you go to the vet, try some Panacur 10% worming med - which is also effective against giardia - and is non-prescription. You can order it online from a pet pharmacy and it should be in every dog owner's medicine box. Look at the leaflet it comes with, for the giardia dosage. You can also try Slippery Elm and probiotics - FortiFlora, and Dr Mercola's canine probiotics are good, plus a splash of kefir on the food. (You say they treated for giardia, but not what with - if they gave antibiotics, that will have nuked his young and immature microbiome - leaving it susceptible to an overgrowth of bad bacteria again. You need to replenish the microbiome after any antibiotic use.) If that doesn't work, then go back to the vet. It's not a blood test they would do, it's a stool sample...
Thanks so much for responding Jo, this is really helpful and I'll put it all on my shopping list! I think it was Panacur the vet gave me - or similar - not an antibiotic, and that was last time he was ill a few months ago. This time he's been untreated and I've just modified his diet. Then he was sick today so I did pop him into the vet and they checked him over - for free, I think they know I'm good for business even if they don't charge every time They're not worried and he's been better on chicken and rice today. Hoping he'll be gradually back on usual diet from the weekend.
