Hello,

My name is Kayla, my boyfriend and I just recently brought home a husky He was 8 weeks old when we picked him up from the breeder and we've had him for 4 weeks now. He is such an awesome dog and we love him so much already. I actually decided to register because we are having some issues with him. Since we picked him up from the breeder he has had an issue with diarrhea. At first we thought it had to do with being wormed, shots and change of environment but we are still having the problem. I brought him to the vet almost 2 weeks ago and he told me that it was a virus and prescribed him an antibiotic. Since we have been giving him the antibiotic we have not noticed any change in his bowel movements. I called the vet back and he told me not to worry about it :/ I might be over reacting but I did not like that he didn't really seem concerned about him so I am taking him this afternoon to see a different vet. Does anyone know how long a virus can last in puppies or if maybe it could be his food upsetting his stomach? As of now we are feeding him purina puppy chow, which is what the breeder told us to feed him. Other than the diarrhea he isn't acting sick. I'm sorry if this is posted in the wrong location..I've never used a forum but I am in desperate need of some advice. Thanks everyone!! --Kayla

You can try feeding him chicken and rice which is good for upset husky tummies you will find that a lot of owners do that when their pups get upset stomachs but if its something more serious he definitely needs meds. I would also switch his food to a grain free diet that would probably help. Try searching dogfoodadvisor.com for some good 4 and 5 star puppy food that are grain free. He is precious!!

But if you switch be sure to do it gradually or you really will have some diarrhea!

What a gorgeous pup <3 He will bring lots of joy for sure. Keep on exploring the forum and I hope to see you around posting more pics!Definitely look into some other food options and if you decide to switch do it gradually, huskies do have really sensitive stomachs. Most will suggest raw, if its possible for you. Grain free diets are highly suggested as most huskies have sensitivity to grain, Blue Buffalo Wilderness is an option but I personally feed mine Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. I had a lot of issues with Yuki when I first got her with diarrhea, but since shes been TOTW there hasn't been a problem. Also, don't 'settle' with a vet, find a vet you're comfortable with! Your vet is your sole dependence when your pup is sick and when you have questions, you should be able to ask him anything and trust his answer. Good luck with everything, I'm sure others will have more advice for you soon. Welcome to the forum!

Try giving him some pumpkin filling (like for pumpkin pie but minue all the spices), that usually helps firm up stool. Also, I'm confused why he would give an antibiotic for a virus, as that would just upset his GI tract more and not have any affect on the virus (viruses are like our colds, they don't have any medication to cure the common cold).

Puppy chow isn't a good food. Lucian was on it from the breeder as well, and got taken off of it. I feed Lucian Earthborn Holistic puppy vantage. It's a much better food, and it's not real highly priced. If he already has diarrhea then it shouldn't be a problem just switching him right over to the new food. The puppy chow could be causing it in the first place.

It very well could be the Purina that's upsetting his tummy, it's a very low quality food and we had the same issues when Ghost was that age (our breeder also told us to feed that). We tried a higher quality but still grain inclusive food, and we still had tummy issues. Instead of chicken and rice, try scrambled eggs, carrots, and green beans. He may have grain issues, in which case after his tummy settles down you'll need to go with a grain free formula. There are several out there, and we have loads of threads on them here. But seriously, try the scrambled eggs. When Ghost was that age and we did it with her, I was feeding 3 eggs 4 times a day, along with about a half cup of green beans and carrots with each meal.

In the meantime, check out www.dogfoodadvisor.com and check out some higher quality food. Good luck!

I'm still confused why so many breeders feed Purina when its such a bad food? You'd think they would have more sense than that..

Thank you all for the replies! Just got back from vet #2 and I am beyond happy that I didn't settle for the first. Jax has hook worms and giardia He sent us home with medicine to give him for the next five days and also suggested switching his food to blue buffalo. Thank you again for your input..I'm so happy I found this forum!

Poor baby. At least now you found a better vet, and know what's causing the problems. Lucian had Coccidia when I got him from the breeder, took two rounds of treatment over the course of two months to get rid of it. Hopefully you will start to see improvement soon!

Thank you, i'm hoping so too. Glad Lucian is better

I don't understand why they feed Puppy Chow either. My breeder had Yukon on that and the vet even said it was fine as long as they do well on it. The first thing I did was change his food. Although it is about 1/10th of the price I think it is worth it!

jschrader wrote:

I don't understand why they feed Puppy Chow either. My breeder had Yukon on that and the vet even said it was fine as long as they do well on it. The first thing I did was change his food. Although it is about 1/10th of the price I think it is worth it!

I agree. I know he's filling up on things that are good for him. Not fillers that just make him feel full, and do nothing for him. I'd rather pay for things his body needs than waste he's just going to poop out!

I'm glad I know about the differences in dog food now. Wish I knew years ago with my other dogs. I thought dog food, was dog food. I was totally wrong, lol.

Keyda81 wrote:

jschrader wrote:

I don't understand why they feed Puppy Chow either. My breeder had Yukon on that and the vet even said it was fine as long as they do well on it. The first thing I did was change his food. Although it is about 1/10th of the price I think it is worth it!

I agree. I know he's filling up on things that are good for him. Not fillers that just make him feel full, and do nothing for him. I'd rather pay for things his body needs than waste he's just going to poop out!

I'm glad I know about the differences in dog food now. Wish I knew years ago with my other dogs. I thought dog food, was dog food. I was totally wrong, lol.

Cloud was constantly sick when I first got him because my dad is an extreme advocate of pedigree and was secretly feeding Cloud 'little champions' puppy food behind my back. And of course my dad wouldn't listen to anything I said when I tried to tell him what I was feeding him (Blue Buffalo at the time) was way better. So glad I don't live with him anymore XD

My breeder had Anna on 4Health Puppy and she constantly had diarrhea. Jax is very handsome, hopefully he will be feeling better soon! They feed puppy chow because it is cheap and they "think" it is good food.