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dancer14 asked in PetsDogs · 7 years ago

Puppy has runny stools?

Hey everyone, I have a five month old purebread chocolate lab puppy. He has had runny stools for four or so days now. Before you get really upset at me, I contacted the vet and they said as long as there is no blood in the stools, and he is still eating/drinking/playing then he is fine. They told me that I'll know if he is sick because he will be acting really abnormal. This is all the truth, he drinks enough water, he eats all his food, and he could chase his tail all day long.

The runny stools started the day after I gave him a bone to gnaw on. I wasn't too worried about that because I have given him those bones a few times before. (They aren't rawhide.. they are actual bones). His food is VERY good food, its about 60 dollars a bag so I would hope its healthy! No grains or other fillers. It's pioneer brand food, it's mostly protein. Our other dog is eating the same food and her stools are fine.

I read online that sometimes they just need to clear their stomachs so let them eat a good amount for one meal and wait a full 24 hours before feeding again (usually he eats three times a day). This worked for a couple stool passings, the first one was loose but the two after that were normal. Once we started to feed him again the next day though they were runny again.

I have recently increased the amount of food I am giving him. I did recently increase the amount of food he gets, could this change in diet be enough to make his stomach upset?

1 Answer

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  • Anonymous
    7 years ago

    A sudden increase in food could have been the cause, but if I were you I would get a second opinion from another vet. Four days of runny stools should be enough for a vet to want to check over a puppy and at least give you some suggestions such as putting him on a bland diet for a few days.

    Letting a puppy 'clear his stomach' by eating one large meal is not a wise idea. Bigger portions than the dog can handle are often the cause of diarrhoea. You would be better off splitting the food up into more meals. It may also be an indication that you are feeding too much. Most commercial pet foods will encourage you to feed more than your dog needs because a) they don't want to encourage you to underfeed and b) the more you feed, the more often you have to fork out for another bag of food. Perhaps try cutting back to the amount you fed before.

    If the problem persists and you don't find any health problems, it may be that this particular food isn't suited to her. As great as a food it may be, some dogs just do better on different foods - either a different protein source, a different proportion of meat:veg, or even a raw or vegetarian diet depending on what the dog thrives on. Once you've exhausted all other options, you may have to try changing her diet.

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