Hi, I have a 10 week black lab pup, he's been with us for just over a week. Feeding him exactly as breeder recommended, but he seems to be only passing looses stools most of the day? Feeding him 50-75g kibble x3 meals per day (mixed with plenty of water). Sometimes doesn't eat much or any of his meal. Seems fine in himself otherwise; sleeping plenty interspersed with playful periods. Any advice?
Hi Sue and welcome to the forum. Congratulations on your new pup As you probably know, upset tums are pretty common in the first week or two, but one thing that often helps immediately is to feed smaller meals. So I would start by dividing the puppy's daily ration into four or even five, smaller portions. It is easier for him to digest that way. I don't usually put puppies onto three meals a day until they are at least twelve weeks old. I hope this helps - if not, or if the loose stools get looser or more frequent, it's a good idea to pop him into the vet to make sure he hasn't picked up an infection.
Buddy had 2 doses of the runs in our first week, he was even sick once, perfectly fine though. We’ve put it down to different treats but could’ve been anything I guess, including settling in. We feed him raw so when he doesn’t have the runs his poos are perfectly solid. This might be worth looking into if there is nothing else going on? But probably not for now until he is well settled in.
It is very common for puppies to get the runs around the time they move to their new homes. There is a lot of stress involved in this change for them, which probably affects the immune system - and they are also being exposed to new bacteria in their new homes than at the breeder's. Have you wormed him yet? If not, I'd suggest worming with Panacur because it is a very common and gentle wormer but is also effective against giardia. If you do try some Panacur, use the giardia dosage (which is half the regular dose but for 3 days). Other things you can try before heading to the vet, which are all non-prescription and very commonly used by doggie folk (I have all this in our dog first aid box at all times! Slippery Elm - look this one up on Amazon, it binds poop and helps cover the intestine with a lining of mucous so it doesn't get irritated Pumpkin Powder - it adds bulk to the stool and fibre, to help bind it - you don't need to buy it specially for dogs, just any pumpkin powder will do. Add 2 tablespoons of it per meal and you can mix with water or stir into wet or raw. Kaolin - you can get this from Amazon or online chemists - helps bind the stool and the clay also helps remove toxins. FortiFlora probiotics - helps add more of the good guys to combat the bad guys You don't say which kibble you are feeding, or whether you have changed from what the breeder was feeding....which could cause an upset. Many kibbles are poor quality, so you may want to feed something bland and simple until you have the digestive issues sorted, and wet foods are more easily digestible than dry - something like NatureDiet fish and rice or chicken and rice. (If you're in the UK.) He could also have a food intolerance, but it's probably too soon to think about that at this point. I would be concerned (for food motivation purposes if nothing else) if a puppy of mine were not eating much or any of their meal. Make sure you are removing the food immediately he refuses it - don't leave it out for him to go back to. It could be a sign he is unwell (inappetence is a symptom of many digestive upsets and bugs), but if it doesn't improve once you've fixed the poop, then you've got lots of work to do in developing food motivation so you can train him. If it continues, go to the vet...
Thanks everyone, Lots of advice that I can try, certainly smaller and more frequent feeding in the first instance. I was only following advice from the breeder. He was having Hero dry kibble and some Hero wet food. I'd like to change him to something different eventually, but need to resolve the pooping issue first. Is wet food generally better than dry for a puppy? Cheers, Sue.
Wet or dry are equally fine - the moisture content itself makes no difference, the quality of the food is more important. (When a dog has an upset stomach, then wet is probably more digestible - but not necessarily better at other times.) I feed a raw complete (Nutriment), although it has taken me a while to come around to this (like - years!!) and but there is now research which convinces me raw is best.
