I feel like the only time I am able to get on this forum is when I have a question But, you all have given me such great advice!! SO Teddy is 13 weeks old now and doing really well. We have had a couple of issues behaviorally, but it must be him just testing the waters, because he gets over it FAST. But, the soft stool has been ongoing, pretty much since we've had him. The vet has run test after test and they have all come back negative. He is perfectly healthy in every other aspect. He drinks like a camel and would eat constantly if we let him...lol. We could tell when we brought him home, that he is going to be a BIG boy. We took him in for an office visit last week and he had gained 6 pounds in a week and a half! He is 20lbs now. The breeder had him on Diamond, which I had never heard of, when we brought him home we put him on Blue, at that time is was full blown diarrhea. We took him to the vet who ran tests (Ghiarrdia (sp?) worms...I can't remember what all) and they were all fine. She put him on meds (don't remember the name, sorry) for the diarrhea and told us Blue was probably too hard on his tummy and had us switch to Science Diet large puppy. His stool got firmer but was still maybe pudding texture. I searched online and found that pumpkin helps, so we have been mixing about a T into his food at each feeding (3/4 C 2 x's day + 1C 1x day) It has firmed up his stool perfectly. They are completely normal like that. But if we take away the pumpkin they go right back soft. SO this morning I did a search on here and this is the advice I found:


What typically suggest for a bland diet for a pup that is having tummy issues, would be to go to a neutral protein and one source of fiber, eggs and a veggie (green beans, green peas, blanched carrots). Since I found it hard to keep scrambled eggs from sticking to a pan (since you do not want to add any oil in case that could also cause soft stool), hard boiled eggs are a good way to cook it plain.

I fed my 50 lb female Sibe 3-4 hard boiled eggs and 1 cup of blanched chopped carrots, 3x a day, when she was having tummy issues.

For you pup, you might try 2-3 eggs and 1/2 c veggie, 3x a day, or if you can only feed twice a day, I'd go with 3 eggs and 1/2 c veggie, 2x a day. You should see an improvement in his stool within 24-36 hours. If you do, you will want to keep him on a bland diet for at least 3 days. This should give him time to settle his tummy.

Once his tummy settles, you will want to SLOWLY add a kibble back into his diet. This mix should be no more than 25% kibble and 75% bland diet to start. If he still does well on this mix, keep him at this ratio for another 3-4 days to keep his tummy settled. The next increase would be 50/50 of kibble to bland diet for another 3-4 days. If at any point he starts to go soft, go back to the last ratio he did well on for a couple of more days. If he still goes soft with the added amount of kibble, you know something in that brand does not agree with his tummy.

I would suggest you try grain free foods also to start. I believe Blue Buffalo has a puppy grain free formula if you want to stay with a puppy food.

Does this sound right? How much would be recommended for a 20 lb puppy? And what kibble would you recommend? Taste of the wild seems to be a popular choice on this forum. Does that work well with sensitive tummies?

Thanks for reading this LONG post and for any advice!

I remember that post you found, and I think it was Claudia who posted it. She's very knowledgeable about this kind of stuff, so I trust her opinions and posts. I don't remember the size of the pup from that post, but for your pup, I would go ahead with the recommendation but start with 2 eggs and some veggie. If you do the math, it's about 1 egg per 12-15lbs of weight, but since your pup is young and still growing, he needs more.

I have personally used TOTW and my pups did really well on it. I currently use Earthborn and don't have any complaints. Other popular brands include: Orijen, Acana, Costco's generic brand (merrick). There's a post on here, probably under nutrition, about what people are feeding their pups.

It's more than likely the science diet causing the issues. If you check out dogfoodadvisor.com it has just about every food you can think of. I would suggest a 4 or 5 star food to pick. Also over feeding can cause loose stools. It's really trial and error to figure out what amount/food type works best for your pup. Hang in there. Lucian had the same problem, it took quite a while for me to get him to where he is now. Too many treats can also cause runny poop. I found that out the hard way during potty training. I switched to carrots, he loves them, and they don't give him any tummy issues. Good luck!

Just thought I'd put this out there since I had the same problem with Selena...ever since I have switched her from BBW puppy to Wellness Core puppy her stools have firmed up! Also I agree with the feeding too much food will give the pup the mushy poos...I wouldn't recommend over 3 cups a day for a pup (I also switched potty training treats to her kibble in the mean time while getting her stools back to normal). Hang in there

****DOG FOOD ALERT ****DOG FOOD ALERT****
**DOES YOUR DOG EAT BLUE BUFFALO?**
Complaints are piling in about diarrhea, vomiting, seizures since the company was sold. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/blue_buffalo.html

** DOES YOUR DOG EAT NUTRO/NUTRO NATURAL?**
Complaints are piling in about diarrhea, vomiting, seizures since the company has changed their formula.
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/pets/nutro.html

Jennifer,
Yes, that would be my post you quoted. And I wound recommend the same for your pup if he is having some tummy issues. 2-3 eggs are OK to start.

Pumpkin can help, but it is sometimes just a 'bandaid' so you don't find out what the real cause. Putting him on a bland diet of a neutral protein source and one veggie (so only 2 ingredients) eliminates a lot. I typically do not recommend rice as Sibes are often times sensitive to grains.

You should see a big improvement in stool consistency within 24 hours of putting him on a bland diet.

Thank you all for your input! I will run to the store this evening and stock up on eggs and veggies. He loves carrots, so that's what I'm thinking. Are canned ok?

Lilyzmom wrote:

Thank you all for your input! I will run to the store this evening and stock up on eggs and veggies. He loves carrots, so that's what I'm thinking. Are canned ok?

Just make sure to get no salt and they should be fine.

Hi Jennifer
My first husky Darwin, from the day we got him for about 3-4 months after had literally liquid diarrhea. Went to the vet, ran tons of test, was put on different medications, one because they thought he had Giardia, something else because they thought he just had inflammed internal organs. We were in there at least once a week. We had Darwin over nighted once too to have him put on an IV to get fluids back into his system since his gums were extremely tacky and he was sluggish. The vet did blood work and everything came back negative. The vet said we more than likely were going to have to go and do surgery because his intestines were probably looped or something along those lines. During this 3-4 month period he would get good solid poops for a day or two and then it would be back to a mess. We tried hypo allergenic food and everything. Being new pet owners, and not being super aware of dog foods, it turned out he was sensitive to some type of grain. Once we got him on a grain free diet, we had good solid firm poops. 1500 dollars later, me and my boyfriend found our solution by moving him to a grain free food. If you're not already feeding some type of grain free diet, it may be something you want to try for your pup. It definitely worked for Darwin.

Like others suggested, feed something bland for the next couple days to get their tummy all settled and maybe look into a grain free diet.

Hii,

yes I went through this and ended up getting Natural Balance Limited Diet (sweet potatoes and fish) had my puppy on this food for about 3-4 weeks and his stool has been perfect.