Thank you for the reply! Duncan's diarrhea got so bad and had mucus in it so we had to take him back to the vet even though they kept telling me they had no appointments available for an in room appointment and kept telling me to just keep feeding him boiled chicken and rice etc. once I saw the mucus I knew it was time to take him in and they had a drop off appointment available (drop off around 9 am and pick up after 2pm) which I have always avoided in the past because I work from home and that is why I got a puppy in the first place because I am home enough/have time to take him out and give him lots of attention and exercise and to have him around while I work as a companion and also because he is such a young pup and I don't want him sitting in the back of the vet in a crate all day long with a bunch of other dogs crying/sick dogs etc. and I was scared he would pick up something else or get another pup sick... but that was my only option and since he is 19 weeks now and has all his vaccines for the really bad illnesses, I had to take my chances when his diarrhea became worse and worse He ended up having 2 abnormal bacterias or amounts of bacteria in his stool samples and the vet said it was most likely due to either sniffing another infected dog's poop on the ground or him putting something into his mouth/trying to eat something outside UGH it made me feel so bad for him knowing he was so sick but also I was semi defeated/annoyed because he nonstop tries to stick things in his mouth or try and eat them completely on walks or outside and he is always on a lead or I am right there with him in fenced in area since we live in the city & I am constantly prying his mouth open and taking whatever it is out of his mouth so I have no idea how he could have actually ingested something or had something in his mouth long enough that could get him this sick, but anyways another trip to the vet, 2 antibiotics, special GI food for a week or longer & probiotics.... we will see how this goes and hopefully he is back to 100% soon I hate seeing him not feeling well/being lethargic/having diarrhea He got all the meds and special food last Wednesday so it has almost been a week so starting tonight I am going to slowly mix kibble into the special food to start switching him back over to kibble... the vet said to wait at least 2 days of solid poops before starting to switch him over and it has been a few days of solid-ish poops (not completely solid since the special food is wet food) so I think tonight I will start switching him back over or tomorrow thanks again for the reply!!!
We found out my puppy has worms last week following mucus in her stool (she is 6.5 months and was de-wormed at breeder and when we brought her for first shots again). Don't blame yourself - my vet said they can pick up worms/bacteria so easily...as easily as walking on infected earth, other dogs poop etc and licking their paws once home, so it may have been something almost impossible for you to prevent! We also had to go on a special GI food and it really helped and all is back to normal on kibble.
Thanks so much for this reply, Quinn! It means a lot! It is hard not to blame yourself when you are the sole caregiver and so vigilant about their training/keeping them healthy and then they get terribly sick but I am hoping he is back to 100% very soon How gradually did you reintroduce the kibble/regular food to your pup? Did you start by mixing regular food/kibble in with the special food gradually more and more over the span of a few days? Some websites and posts say do it very gradually over the span of like 5-7 days but they do not really specify how much kibble to put in each time and 5-7 days seems like a very long time! thanks!!!
I felt so awful about everything - I read and research every step of the way to do things right, so to find out she had worms was disheartening (and embarrassing!) but I felt a bit better learning how common it was. We were given 4 cans of GI food, vet instructed to feed one can per day. I know about the gradual feeding and she can be iffy with new foods, so didn't want to go straight back to kibble on day 5. She still gets 3 meals a day, so day 1 we did just can and the following 2 days mixed a slight amount of kibble in each of the 3 meals (1/3 of can per meal and approx 1/2 cup or less kibble)...last day did larger portions of kibble in each meal so dinner was almost fully kibble. She has absolutely no problems the 5th day with all kibble at breakfast. Though she was LOVING the canned food and looked at me like "where is the yummy food??" haha.
Thank you! I added about 1/4 cup of kibble to his special food last night and he has had 2 solid poos since so I added the same amount + a tiny more this morning and will continue to gradually transition him back to his kibble. He never once had any problems with his kibble before so hoping the transition is smooth! I did worry about the same thing you are experiencing and made a joke to my husband that Duncan was going to look at his kibble and say what the heck where is the canned yummy stuff?! Haha unfortunately it needs a prescription and is not for regular use, but I may have to get him some other type of yummy canned food to use for an occasional special treat with dinner or something!
The GI food is meant to be very easy on the tummy so he should be fine - I read that chopped carrots are good for the intestines if your puppy has worms (not sure if it's true) so I have been adding a bit to her meals once she was OK on the kibble, which is hopefully just as yummy as canned food! You might be able to find comparable info for foods that help with bacteria?
Thanks so much for posting the updates on this issue - my 14 week old Hank is having the same trouble and I feed him the same Acana as well. I brought him to vet and he was put on the same antibiotic for a week - stool firmed up and 1 day after finishing the 7 days of Metronidazole he has diarrhea again. Sorry I know this is an old post - but just wondering how much rice and chicken you fed him per meal and how many meals per day? Thanks so much, Kate
We have a 8 week old. She has had diarrhea since we basically got her. The vet thought it was just adjusting to her new surroundings (we got her on Monday) but it has now been almost a week.
Here is something to think about...try reducing kibble. I'm challenged with this as every time I increase my 14 week old labs kibble, she has loose stools. Her first stools are firm, but then if there is a 2nd stool, it's loose. Im going by how she looks than by the guidelines on the bag. Here is the theory...these are pups, their colons that absorb liquid are only so big/long. After we feed them more than they are ready for, the extra comes out as loose stool. This was explained to me 2nd hand so I hope I did it justice. My lab is getting just shy of 1 cup or 1 cup, 3x day of Blue Buffalo chicken and Brown rice Large breed puppy chow. She growing weekly, but when I increase that amount ...it gets messy!
@LynnFischer try adding another small meal...so feeding x4 small meals rather than x3 per day. @KirbyHawk75 it does take a few days for a new puppy to settle in. Is she drinking/eating as normal? Bright and active?
@Beanwood she is still very active but is still having diarreha. She is having it 4-5 times a day. I am going to bring her back to the vet today.
@Beanwood thanks for the 4x/day idea!! With reducing her kibble back she is solid again. When I weigh her this weekend and re-evaluate her food...i will try the 4 smaller meals!
