Hey so my puppy will be 3 months on the 14th and I have had him on wellness core puppy since I got him at 8 wks. Everyone here says that wellness was great for forming up their dog’s poop, but Keir’s has been runny and very rarely does he have a firm poop.
I feed him 1 cup a day 3 times a day, so I don’t think he overheard especially when he wallows it in 30 seconds and acts as if he hasn’t eaten any time he sees me with some kind of bag (whether it’s food or not). Could he possible be reacting to the chicken as I’ve had sibes that were intolerant before? I find it to be weird the way he poops as well. He does the squat thing but spins the whole time as he sniffs. Reminds me of a helicopter impersonation.
Also, he seems to never want to poop. He pees all the time but if I take him out he refuses to go (to the point of pulling away and whining) even if I take him on a nice walk. He just waits until we’re inside and does his helicopter thing. Before I buy another bag, I want to know if this is a food issue. The vet said he looks fine and is on track weight wise (16lbs).
Any advice?

Hi Lexie, it could be the chicken, it could also be the high protein. Some puppies just don't do well with high protein along with high fat, then mysteriously around a year old they do better. Do you have other kibble brand in mind? I was going to suggest higher fiber, but see that it already is at a good %. Have you tried some can pure pumpkin? Not the pie filling type, a tablespoon once or twice a day may help. I would also get a stool sample, giardia, coccidea, and certain worms can cause loose stools as well.

MiyasMomma wrote:

Hi Lexie, it could be the chicken, it could also be the high protein. Some puppies just don't do well with high protein along with high fat, then mysteriously around a year old they do better. Do you have other kibble brand in mind? I was going to suggest higher fiber, but see that it already is at a good %. Have you tried some can pure pumpkin? Not the pie filling type, a tablespoon once or twice a day may help. I would also get a stool sample, giardia, coccidea, and certain worms can cause loose stools as well.

Thanks for your reply! I was thinking TOTW since other brands that I've read that where recommended here aren't as easy for me to get to right now (currently no working car) but I can also just have one shipped and purchase offline. Is there one you recommend?
I haven't tried pumpkin but I will do so today. And he has an appointment Tuesday that I will be taking a same to, hopefully (if he goes before we get there that day).

Lexie, I have and currently feed TOTW, both of my girls have done well on it, I would try the pacific Stream puppy, that way you can eliminate chicken as a possible issue, it is slightly lower in protein and fat, and the same fiber amount, and about the same quality as the Wellness. Do a slow transition, and give it at least 4-8 weeks for adjustments, it may take that long to clear your pups system to really know if the food will agree with him or not. My husky mix girl is similar to your boy, she tends to helicopter too, only outside she does that when she is not feeling well, not so much now as an adult, but did that often when she was younger and I was feeding her a less quality kibble, she had soft poops. So it maybe similar with your boy, I am guessing it's because the softer poops do not express their anal glands well. So firming up the poops should stop him from doing that.

With every dog, when it comes to food tolerances it is a game of trial and error. What one dog does great on another will not, it is not a breed thing, it is an individual thing. What was your pup eating before you brought him home and did he have firm stool on it? If he did well on it and had firm stool I am always a fan of getting back to something one knows works even if it's a lower quality food. At the end of the day, what agrees with your dog best is better than something that doesn't sit well with him.

I am assuming here that you and your vet have ruled out any parasites that could cause the runs. If the Wellness Core Puppy is not agreeing with him then I would not continue to buy more of it. And when it comes to trial and error diets (or elimination diets) I personally prefer to start out with limited ingredient diets that have very few ingredients and a totally novel, single protein to help make the trial and error process move a little quicker.

My little girl didn't quite have the issues your pup does, no helicoptering, for example, but she did have issues with her food/poop. I sought advice here, got the carbs/protein/fiber advice, changed her food a few times and the problem never really got solved. I finally did as Val mentions, with buying a limited ingredient, single protein food and she's been good ever since. I don't know how difficult it is for you to get the Acana brand, but that is what I ended up going with. Acana has a line called "singles"...singles is for the single meat source. Both my dogs eat it, and love it. And no more runny poop issues.

With the canned pumpkin, it's good for getting a firmer poop, and you want that in a young puppy because you don't want them to become dehydrated, but it's masking the problem and not really fixing it.

I know you said you don't think he's being over fed, and it doesn't sound like it really, but is he getting much in the way of treats and stuff during the day in addition to the food? Too many treats, or treats that are rich can also give them the runny poop, I believe that was part of my little girls problem as well, certain treats I gave her were just too rich I think.

And, just one more thing when both my dogs were puppies, both had runny poop. I was also giving them bottled water instead of water from the tap. I stopped the bottled water and the runny poop stopped as well. I posed the question of bottled water versus tap water on here awhile back and it seemed I wasn't the only one that noticed bottled water was somehow related to runny poop, atleast in *some* dogs so that MAY be another thing for you to consider, if it relates to you at all.
Good luck to you!

Sorry I'm replying so late! The forum wasn't really working on my phone becuase I hadn't updated it and the system wasn't compatible with my browser

But I have read through the replies as seriously appreciate all the help and information that has been given!

MiyasMomma wrote:

Lexie, I have and currently feed TOTW, both of my girls have done well on it, I would try the pacific Stream puppy, that way you can eliminate chicken as a possible issue, it is slightly lower in protein and fat, and the same fiber amount, and about the same quality as the Wellness. Do a slow transition, and give it at least 4-8 weeks for adjustments, it may take that long to clear your pups system to really know if the food will agree with him or not.

I grabbed TOTW and it seemed to firm him up almost instantly and he seems to be enjoying the taste, but my vet wants me to do a hard switch because of how soft it was getting though I don't think I like that very much as I know how hard it is on a dog's system.

Huskyluv wrote:

With every dog, when it comes to food tolerances it is a game of trial and error. What one dog does great on another will not, it is not a breed thing, it is an individual thing. What was your pup eating before you brought him home and did he have firm stool on it? If he did well on it and had firm stool I am always a fan of getting back to something one knows works even if it's a lower quality food. At the end of the day, what agrees with your dog best is better than something that doesn't sit well with him.

I am assuming here that you and your vet have ruled out any parasites that could cause the runs. If the Wellness Core Puppy is not agreeing with him then I would not continue to buy more of it. And when it comes to trial and error diets (or elimination diets) I personally prefer to start out with limited ingredient diets that have very few ingredients and a totally novel, single protein to help make the trial and error process move a little quicker.

I'm well aware of the trial and error, and how it's an individual thing but I hate the idea of switching him too many times. His last food was a bit hard on him as well, even though the breeder had switched his food (no other pup had issues) and it was firming his poop and he seemed to be getting better according to them, but it was still soft and because Wellness basically did the same thing we, as well as his vet, are sure that he is reacting to the chicken. Are there any limited ingredient foods you recommend? I haven't ( to my knowledge) heard of any.

We did rule out parasites, but I have requested that he get a more in-depth testing done just in case because he was accidentally breed (mom went into a silent heat and got caught when their rooms were being cleaned and the male escaped his crate).

Artic_Wind wrote:

With the canned pumpkin, it's good for getting a firmer poop, and you want that in a young puppy because you don't want them to become dehydrated, but it's masking the problem and not really fixing it.

I know you said you don't think he's being over fed, and it doesn't sound like it really, but is he getting much in the way of treats and stuff during the day in addition to the food? Too many treats, or treats that are rich can also give them the runny poop, I believe that was part of my little girls problem as well, certain treats I gave her were just too rich I think.

And, just one more thing Wink when both my dogs were puppies, both had runny poop. I was also giving them bottled water instead of water from the tap. I stopped the bottled water and the runny poop stopped as well. I posed the question of bottled water versus tap water on here awhile back and it seemed I wasn't the only one that noticed bottled water was somehow related to runny poop, atleast in *some* dogs so that MAY be another thing for you to consider, if it relates to you at all.
Good luck to you!

I agree. I don't want to mask it, I want to solve it. Acana isn't easily in reach but again, I don't mind have it shipped if it's the best for him. I will definitely look into it so thank you for the suggestion! As for treats, he's not big on them. He'll take about 5 a day but he prefers play as a reward instead of treats, which I find weird for a dog that wants to eat so much. And puppy is like us, we use good ol' tap water but I didn't know that could be an issue so I will definitely keep that in mind when we travel and camp around, so thanks again for that bit of information!

Lexie, if you are feeding TOTW Pacific Stream puppy, there is 0 chicken in it, only fish proteins, and if he is doing well, another switch may cause more tummy upset. Since you hard switched you could ask the vet for a couple of weeks worth of probiotics or continue pumpkin for a couple of weeks and then slowly just feed kibble. If he is doing fine on TOTW alone awesome I do know that TOTW is putting out 4 new flavors that will be limited ingredient, which can give you opportunity to rotate proteins, and be able to see what he does best on, it is coming out this month.Tractor Supply just came out with their line, which will be pretty much identical to TOTW, it will be suitable to feed puppies, at least the trout flavor since I have a bag and just looked. It can get frustrating, but if he is firming up then you are going in the right direction.

MiyasMomma wrote:

Lexie, if you are feeding TOTW Pacific Stream puppy, there is 0 chicken in it, only fish proteins, and if he is doing well, another switch may cause more tummy upset. Since you hard switched you could ask the vet for a couple of weeks worth of probiotics or continue pumpkin for a couple of weeks and then slowly just feed kibble. If he is doing fine on TOTW alone awesome I do know that TOTW is putting out 4 new flavors that will be limited ingredient, which can give you opportunity to rotate proteins, and be able to see what he does best on, it is coming out this month.Tractor Supply just came out with their line, which will be pretty much identical to TOTW, it will be suitable to feed puppies, at least the trout flavor since I have a bag and just looked. It can get frustrating, but if he is firming up then you are going in the right direction.

I didn't hard switch him. His vet wants me to, but I don't. And because he has firmed up with the addition to TOTW, I may try those limited ones if I can get my hands on them. Should I still had pumpkin if I'm slowly transitioning him, though?

If he is firm without I would just not use pumpkin, if he is still a little loose then yes until he is all switched to TOTW. I agree you don't want pumpkin forever, but if it's helping to firm up then it's fine to add. I would keep him on TOTW until over 6 months, get him regular, and then by that time the new flavors should be out and you can try. I have never done much of a transition, maybe a few days where I add in both, for new flavors within the TOTW line. If chicken is the culprit, then only the pacific stream has no chicken. The new line I believe all 4 flavors have no chicken, just 1 protein, and no potatoes, so it is a true limited ingredient kibble. I had originally looked for a limited ingredient for my gsd, she too is allergic to chicken, and well, most limited ingredient foods are not very limited, or totally out of my budget, or very difficult to get. i also liked the fact that I could switch right over to the limited ingredient with out a transition.