Hi everybody, first post even though I've been reading for a while.

Our dog Blizzard has been having soft stool / diarrhea lately and this has been going on for about a week. We plan to take him to the vet this weekend (we're busy because of work), but maybe some people here could help.

Some information:

- He is 6 months old, had a fecal test about a month ago and there was no problems

- He is still very hyper and happy. He also drinks a lot and has a voracious appetite. He eats anything he can find. We thought perhaps it was just something that he ate that caused him to have the soft stool/diarrhea, but it's been going on for a week+

- His stool will range from diarrhea to soft / mushy to solid. Just the other day he had a very solid stool, but then 12 hours later he was having soft stool / diarrhea again. I would say it's about 80% softer stool, but every now and then he will have a very solid stool, or a solid stool that's just a TINY bit soft.

- We feed him Innova puppy food, around 3 cups per day (maybe this is too much?)

- The last 12 hours he has had to go to the bathroom almost every 2-3 hours and he pooped or tried to poop every time and it came out very runny. I don't see any worms or blood, but before those 12 hours he had a very solid stool.

I hope someone can help. I also enjoy seeing / reading about all of your huskies!

What kind of treats are you giving him? Peanut butter, pumpkin, & yogurt have been known to loosen stool. I noticed this when we got my puppy peanut butter based training treats and it was making his stool loose.

Another possibility is the food might be too rich for him. He could have a sensitive stomach. How long has he been eating Innova puppy food?

To be honest we just use puppy food as more treats. Like I said he has a voracious appetite so even taking out like 5 kibble bites has him doing tricks and listening in no time.

I heard if they have runny stool you're supposed to feed them yogurt or pumpkin to help make it more solid? I might be wrong. I'm not positive

Pumpkin in really small quantities can firm up stool, but more can loosen it up.

@SaberK - He has been on Innova since about 8 weeks old. He has been fine and having solid stool, up until the last week to week and a half. We did up the amount though throughout the last month. He went from about 2 1/4 cup (recommended on the bag) to about 3 cups (plus whatever we give as treats, although it isn't really more than half a handful per day if even that)

Hmm, might not be the food then. Unless he's still adjusting to the higher amount but after a month that seems unlikely. If I'm wrong, hopefully someone can chime in as it's been so long since Saber was a puppy!

Is there anything else funny about the poo, how about mucus, is it extra smelly, color? Orrr...it could be that he's eating too much? I think I read on some other thread that the bag reccomendations are usually too much..

The last 12 hours he has been pooping every 2-3 hours and has REALLY smelly poop. He still seems normal though.

@Dot - the bag recommendations are TOO much? The bag recommended 2.25 cups and we've been feeding him 3 lately. But even since he was 8 weeks we've been feeding him around 2 to 2.25 cups a day, but just recently increased that amount

Huh. I'm sure your vet will do another fecal. He might have gotten something since last time. I think a bad case of the smellies with no new food is suspicious? And that is a lot of poo.. I am in no way educated on dog health issues, so hopefully someone else will chime in an help out. I just know that usually other members ask for more detail about poo when poop issues arise.
Not sure how close your vet is, but if you stop by and pick up a stool kit, you could proabably get results before the weekend without a full checkup.
Also, like I said, I think I read that on a thread.. Huskies do usually eat less than other breeds, I don't know about when they're puppies.
I hope it passes and it's nothing though, poor guy!

Yes, too much food can cause soft stools. Given that your pup had been on Iams for a while and had been doing fine, the increase may be what's causing the inconsistency. Try backing off on the amount down. If your pup was getting 2.25 cup a day and had been doing OK, try giving only 2.5 cups. If your pup still does OK with that amount, continue with that amount for a few days before adding a little more. If the added amount over the 2.5 cups causes loose stools again, then we have an idea that the increase in food is causing the issue.

If your pup's stool does not go back to being firm at 2.5 cups, go back to the original amount of 2.25 cups. Hopefully this will 'reset' his tummy. If it does, then slowly add more food. Going from 2.25 cups to 3 cups is a lot for a puppy, not to mention the added kibble you are giving for treats.

You can give him about 1.2 tablespoon of plain non-fat yogurt (with live cultures) to help him along. 100% pumpkin in a can is also OK (not pumpkin pie filling!), but too much of this can also cause loose stools. If you're going to give pumpkin, start out with 1/2 tablespoons. (I give my 50 lb female sibe 1 tablespoon of yogurt or pumpkin as treats - once or twice a day).

If the loose stool continues even after backing off the food, let us know - we may need to try a bland diet to 'reset' his tummy, but hopefully, if all tests are negative, the increase in food is the culprit.

I started decreasing it today, hopefully that works. I got home and he still goes out every 2 hours to pee and poop. He only poops a little bit, but it's very runny =/

Give him another day to see if he'll adjust. If not, you may want to try a bland diet for a few days.

Just an update. Blizzard has been having solid poo since yesterday morning. We lowered the amount of food to about 2-2.25 cups per day and it seems to have helped!

Great!
Keep feeding him the same amount for a few days before trying to add a little more if you need to increase his food intake. I would say maybe start off with 1/8 c or so but no more than a 1/4 c if you are going to increase his food. If he does well with the small increase, stay at that amount for a few days again before increasing his food again by the same amount.

So the basic rule here is to go slow. However, I don't think trying to get up to 3 cups a day is necessary - maybe try to get up to 2.5 cups a day and see how does with stool and weight.