[bellagirl]

Hi Everyone,
I am new to this, not only the board but lab puppies too,(I've had a Persian Kitty for 17 years...not quite the same).
I've really enjoyed looking through the posts and pictures here. I decided to post my question, as everyone's situation is a little different. We have 2 puppies that are now 4 and 5 months from 2 different breeders. Our older puppy Bella, more often than not, has diarreah. We've had numerous stool samples, and they've specifically checked for giardia and coccidea. Although she did test positive for coccidea at the end of January, the vet prescribed Panacur,then re-tested and said the coccidea was gone. I have let the vet know that Bella keeps having this problem, and she just always says, "Oh, she must be getting into something." That is not possible, as both puppies are strictly indoors, until the youngest puppies shots are complete.
My question is, we had Bella & Bailey on Science Diet Large Breed Puppy, then I read bad things about it online, so we just bought Wellness large breed puppy last night. Now I'm reading that there's too much calcium for puppies in this food and it seems like other people have experienced more diarreah with the Wellness. I am so confused now! I am also wondering if we should have blood work drawn at this point, and could the constant diarreah/loose poo mean she has a serious health problem? The vet says she's healthy, but I'm starting to wonder....Bailey doesn't have the diarreah, and they eat the same food. We don't give any table scraps. Just limited treats.
Any advice/similar experience would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Lisa

 

[zoezoe]

what is the fiber content of the food? i did the SD for zoe and had the same problem. i went through a zillion foods until she went to camp and they fed her eukanuba low residue with a high fiber. when i saw her firm poop i couldn't believe it was my dog. she had to have a 4% or higher. also, are you giving any kind of dairy product like yogurt? zoe couldn't do any diary products as a puppy.
will the vet give you another round of panacur?
welcome to the forum; i'm sure you'll get some other ideas to help work through this.

 

[bellagirl]

Thank you ZoeZoe. The fiber content is 4.5% in the Wellness Super5Mix that we just bought last night, and it was 4% in the Science Diet we were feeding. So the fiber content seems good. We don't give her yogurt either. I wish we had, so we could have something to rule out, but at this point there's not much to rule out...bummer.
Thank you for your suggestions though.
Zoe is too cute by the way!

 

[bellagirl]

Oh, ZoeZoe, I forgot to respond to the 2nd round of Panacur question. You know the vet was weird about giving a 2nd round of it when I suggested it, since she tested negative for the coccidea.
Maybe I'll suggest that again.

 

[sloigo]

How MUCH are the pups fed & how often? 1 cup three times a day, each? Are they free fed? Too much food can also cause loose stools.

 

[Canyon Labradors]

Could the one pup be eating the others food? Do you still have the cat and could the one pup be eating cat food? Do you have kids who could be feeding the dog scraps? Maybe the pup needs a tad less food than you are feeding the other. There are a million factors involved. You could try adding some pumpkin. You could try adding some probiotics. You could try a more simple food for the one pup with the problem.

 

[bellagirl]

We feed them twice a day since we both work. We don't free feed them. Bella gets 4 1/2 cups a day and more if she'll eat it since she's skinnier than I'd like her to be. Since we bought the Wellness and mixed it in, I had to hand feed her today, she won't even eat now. Of course she seemed to like the Wellness when I first brought it home last night because she thought it was a treat out of my hand.

 

[bellagirl]

No, Bella doesn't eat Bailey's food. Yes, I do have the cat, but she doesn't eat the food. However.....as gross as this is...I have to keep the litter box away from her and Bailey because they both try to eat the cat poop! That is very rare though since I keep the litter box far from their area since apparently it's too tempting for them to want to eat. Gag! No kiddos, so no scraps. Do you mean just regular canned pumpkin? Do you know how much to put? I'll have to look up the probiotics, I don't know what that is.
Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[BigBrownDog]

Oh yeah - Labs (and most dogs) will eat cat poop, goose poop, deer poop - you name it. You gotta watch them when you have them out and about or they will scoff down whatever they come across.

I use Pro Plan LBP for my puppy and he is doing well on it. Yours may do fine on Wellness - I have my older Lab on Wellness CORE. It is a great food. It may take some time for your puppy's system to calm down enough for the diarreah to subside. Maybe try a bland boiled ground chicken and rice diet for a few days and gradually add in the new kibble.

If you still have problems after changing to a quality food (Wellness or other) you may want a second vet opinion or try a food with a novel protein like venison or duck.

 

[Coco's pal]

I had similar problems with Coco when she was just 3 months old. The vet checked her out so many times, and never found anything wrong. We came to the conclusion that she just has a sensitive stomach. Her breeder was feeding her Black Gold premium puppy which we couldn't get locally. So we slowly made the switch to Orijen large breed puppy. She started to get diarrhea and some vomiting shortly after the switch over was complete. The vet checked her out and put her AIMS Veterinary Diets Canine Intestinal - Low Residue, which cleared up the problem. We then spent the next 3 months slowly trying different foods until we finally found Solid Gold Bark at the Moon. She has done great on this food and fortunately has had no problems since. Whatever you try, just remember to switch foods SLOWLY, and make sure you never over feed your dog. Good luck figuring this out. I know how frustrating this can be.

 

[sarah]

How quickly did you switch the foods over? Dogs with sensitive stomachs need the switch to be very gradual.

 

[Coco's pal]

I switched even slower then my vet recommended. I spent about 2 weeks minimum to complete the switch over. By the way I love that sig photo of your girl Milly. She looks so much like my Coco

 

[sarah]

I switched even slower then my vet recommended. I spent about 2 weeks minimum to complete the switch over. By the way I love that sig photo of your girl Milly. She looks so much like my Coco

Thanks!!

We have just switched Milly to Innova EVO and spent 2 weeks doing the switch also. There was not even a glimmer of loose stools in the process .... success!

 

[Coco's pal]

Does she have a sensitive stomach as well ?

 

[sarah]

Does she have a sensitive stomach as well ?

When it comes to new foods or certain products (ie: pork!) yes Milly appears to be sensitive. She is not a dog who could hoover down a food item she previously had never tried before without side effects.

As a result her treats are very limited in the types we can give her. Even too much knawing on a raw bone can give her the runs. So we always monitor her carefully.

 

[Coco's pal]

Sounds like she must be Coco's sister! Exactly the same here

 

[MidwestGirl]

Nothing to add, just wanted to say welcome

 

[sarah]

Sounds like she must be Coco's sister! Exactly the same here

hehe!! you have NO idea the trouble I have at our parents homes when it's dinner time and they want to give her steak leftover or something!!

I always tell them.. sure! give it to her.. but do you mind picking up 2 days worth of runny poops for me? They always refrain after that!!

 

[Coco's pal]

 

[bellagirl]

Thank You!