Ok, I am a little but worried. Since we brought Rolo home at 8 weeks his poops have been on the runny side, week 1 we put it down to stress and changing his treats without realising, then thought I was overfeeding him this went on for a few weeks. Took him to the vets who gave medication for 5 days which made no difference. He has been on eukanuba with the breeder and I have continued, I was at Pets at home buying more food and decided to ask for advice in wether he should have large or medium breed. She asked was his poops ok so I told her this long winded story I have just given you all and she advised that Eukanuba could be too strong for his tummy. So I bought a small bag of eukanuba and a small bag of wainwrights, I am mixing his food 50/50. He seems to like the new food but on his morning stroll his poop was like water! Is this to be expected when changing foods or am I doing it wrong? I wish I could get to the bottom of it all. I thought I had when the vet prescribed medication but she didn't have a sample of his poop so it was just an educated guess. Kris and a sloppy Rolo!
Re: Is this to be expected? I think 50:50 is too much - I mean that's probably too fast a change over to new food. Maybe take about 10 days to make the switch. So it's a faff, and it's best to know why you are changing. By "too rich" did she mean too much protein? Or too much fat? So is the Wainwrights something that reduces whatever it is you are trying to reduce? If you really think it's the food, and want to change fast, you mght ask your vet about an appropriate food that you can do this with. I had trouble with Charlie and we swapped in a single day to a Royal Canin formulation which cleared things up immediately - he is still on it, but only because I haven't bothered changing again.
Re: Is this to be expected? I guess they are all different and sometimes its a bit of trail and error. Meg has been on Eukanuba Large breed puppy since 8 weeks and till is at 9m. She has always had perfect poos on it ! I think a switch of 50/50 maybe too quick. When I moved Meg over from the food her breeder had her on I did it gradually over a week. She came with sloppy poos and firmed up over that first week. You will find what but it can be a challenge sometimes. Hope things settle soon
Re: Is this to be expected? She thinks too rich! The wainwrights has no allergens apparently. His trumps really stink too they can clear a room . So I need to do 70/30? slow the process down. My argument at the shop was if she thinks the food is upsetting him why even do a wean?
Re: Is this to be expected? The term "too rich" usually means too high in fat. So are you switching to a food lower in fat? At least compare the ingredient list between the too foods - if the Wainrights doesn't suit him, you need to know what you changed so you can try something else next time. Or are you now switching to a special low allergen food? You can do the entire thing by trial and error, but there is an awful lot of potential dog foods to work through that way. New foods upset a dog's tummy. That's why you change slowly - slowly enough not to make things worse, I guess, so try 10% or something like that. Unless you are changing to a special food which contains nothing that will typically upset a dog's tummy. In which case it will say that on the packet. Royal Canin 21 is one such food, but there are others. I don't know if Wainwrights make one and that is what you are switching too?
Re: Is this to be expected? Poor Rolo and poor you! Hope you get an answer soon. Just a grannies-and-eggs comment from me.... if he is having really runny poos, do make sure he is drinking enough water so he doesn't dehydrate. (Do you mix water with his kibble? If so I'm sure he'll be getting enough.)
Re: Is this to be expected? Sympathies Kris.....I had all this in spades when Dexter was younger ( we are having an upset today too that I can't attribute to anything he's eaten,I've just boiled up a big pan of rice ) Dexter arrived at 5 months on Euknauba ...I changed him to RC Junior over 10 days .....he was dreadful ,like how you describe ,totally watery squirts...the vet got me to change over to RC Gastro intestinal puppy,he was still dreadfully upset but Dexter had the complication of Giardia so eventually after 2 courses of antibiotics....he settled down and I could change him to RC gastro adult at the appropriate age...I'd like to have him on a fish based food but having gone through months of upsets tummies I'm sticking with what works.....mostly,today will just be a blip,he's generally below par at the mo :'(
Re: Is this to be expected? I must say, I think a lot of the pups with really runny poops end up responding to wormers, or have something like giardia. Or is it me just thinking that? What did the vet give the 5 days of treatment FOR, Kris?
Re: Is this to be expected? hmmm - tempted to go straight back to the vet then, if it's no better after treatment. I don't think it's something that will go away on its own or with a change in food. Although there are other with more experience of Giardia than I have who might comment.
Re: Is this to be expected? Kris, I don't think watery squirts are a normal reaction to a change in food - seems too extreme. My puppy had very soft stools for weeks after I got her home, and we tried meds for giardia, changing foods, multiple stool checks (all negative!), but the only thing that stopped it was a course of treatment for intestinal parasites. I used SafeGuard (fenbendazole), which clears up rounds, tapes, whips, and hooks. Did the trick beautifully and we've had no problems since (been about 4 months). By the way, some dogs require more than one course of treatment for giardia, so that's also a possibility. The watery squirts are pretty typical of giardia, so I'd check with your vet again.
Re: Is this to be expected? Sara had pretty soft poos when we brought her home. Took a stool sample into the vet. it took 2 courses of treatment for campylobacter, which is a pretty common parasite here. She's been fine ever since.
Re: Is this to be expected? He only had 1 episode of the watery squits yesterday all others were very soft but not watery as such. I'm going to call the vets today maybe like some of you have said he needs another course of the medication. I think it was called paracure?
Re: Is this to be expected? Also, a bit like humans, having the squits often can upset the good bacteria in the gut. I give mine pro-fibre. I use the full amout on the tub for a few days if they've been squitty - then a small pinch on every meal, all the time, to keep the balance right. Both always have good, firm poos http://www.amazon.co.uk/Protexin-Pro-Fibre-Dogs-500-g/dp/B00BEXP5MA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416211923&sr=8-1&keywords=pro+fibre
Re: Is this to be expected? I would definitely speak with your vet. Some pups struggle with their tums - Harley had soft poo which led onto other issues that was due to a wheat allergy. My vets helped sort out her tummy and we rarely have a problem now
Re: Is this to be expected? Definitely talk to your vet, in case it is something like giardia, but I have to echo the other comments about worming. Willow was soft for a while, then I gave her some Drontal and she firmed up immediately. When was he last wormed?
Re: Is this to be expected? I use advocate monthly. The vet advised that brand so we have been using that.
Re: Is this to be expected? Let us know how you get on talking to the vet. I definitely think you need to pursue longer treatment or alternative treatment here - have you had a stool sample sent? If not, might be worth taking one in? If its soft/squishy/watery I know its not easy to get, but more likely to yield a positive result than the firmer more "normal" looking ones.
Re: Is this to be expected? If vet rules out anything I would look at ingredients in the food many dogs cannot tolerate gluten, Elsie didn't firm up until we cut all gluten out of her life.
Re: Is this to be expected? Cant really add anything , except to echo the poo sample requirement , poor love, hope he gets better soon
