General Question Poop turned soft two weeks ago, but no diet change... problem?

[Damian]

Rosie, our 2 and a half year old rescue, stable and healthy at 42 lbs, has a strange symptom, not sure if it is a real problem. Her normal poops turned soft and runny about two weeks ago. We feed her exactly the same thing all the time, and are pretty careful not to let her get any food from our 1 year old son who does occasionally try to feed her whatever he is eating. But this has been a consistent stool change, which makes it strange.

Normally, she eats 2 heaping half cups of Simply Nourish Limited Ingredient Salmon and Sweet Potato, twice daily. I've added 1/8 c yogurt to this for the last day or two to see if that might help firm up her stool. So far, no effect. I did read elsewhere on this fine forum that some give pumpkin to help firm up stools, and that sounds very close to what she already eats - sweet potato.

The other thought I had, reading what others had encountered, is that perhaps we are overfeeding her a little? A possible, underlying cause of why the same amount of food is now overfeeding: We did recently move to a new house (2 months ago, well before the stool change occurred). That has changed Rosie's exercise habits - she has a yard now, so we have been less diligent in walking her, especially as we have been busy with moving in and the like.

Anyway, she's been a very healthy girl, and this rather sudden and persistent change is a bit of a concern. Any advice is welcome! By the way, this is my first post, but I have benefited from many of the discussions here - thank you in advance.

 

[bullmama]

Hi there! Canned pumpkin for sure, what is in your kibble for sweet potato is processed anyway, canned pumpkin is a super food to help level out stool consistency. It can work either way, help soften or harden.

But the question here is why... The problem is there are many possibilities. Here are a few questions I have and ideas.

You say you moved but a bit prior to the issue. New grounds could have many forgein bacteria that your bully has not built any immunity to, or worse parasites in the grounds. Even a drink from a puddle of water can bring in bad bacteria into the digestive system or parasites. For this, a stool sample needs to be taken to your vet to make sure there is none.

You also mention having a young one, bulldogs are like Hoover vaccuums and they can swallow things that are so dang big you wonder how on earth it could even get in the stomachs without choking. An X-ray is a possible future possibility if the poop does not improve and there is no signs of parasites.

When you say the poops are runny, how runny? Soft serve ice cream or melted ice cream?

Does it resemble kibble mixed with water and put through a blender?

Over feeding is also a possibility, although it does not sound like you are feeding too much....

Colitis is a maybe, but that is usually accompanied with fresh blood and a snotty like substance.

Have you taken a temperature?

First thing I would try so long as there is no fever and your bully is eating and drinking normal would be to cut back the food just a little bit, and add a tbsp of 100% pure canned pumpkin,or put her on bland diet for a few days. If that does not work, then I would see your vet about a stool sample.

Keep us posted





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[cowsmom]

i think she has you covered here and keep us updated and to ebn. hope your pup gets better. :D

 

[2BullyMama]

Desertskybulldogs really gave you great info and advice..... keep us posted on how your baby is doing

 

[Damian]

Thanks so much Lisa / Desertskybulldogs! Good clarifications:

We moved, but only about 4 blocks down the street, so there should not be a dramatic difference in climate and the sorts of plant and animal life that Rosie is running in to. Mostly, she has a yard now, whereas no yard before.

Runny is like soft-serve, not softer than that. Hard to clean up, but still has some shape to it. Yes, kind of looks like kibble and water run through the blender.

I've never taken Rosie's temperature - not sure how to do that or what to look for (I am open to advice and training!)

Alrighty, I'll keep you posted on how the slight food decrease and addition of pumpkin goes. Thanks again for the advice!

-Damian

 

[bullmama]

Thanks so much Lisa / Desertskybulldogs! Good clarifications:

We moved, but only about 4 blocks down the street, so there should not be a dramatic difference in climate and the sorts of plant and animal life that Rosie is running in to. Mostly, she has a yard now, whereas no yard before.

Runny is like soft-serve, not softer than that. Hard to clean up, but still has some shape to it. Yes, kind of looks like kibble and water run through the blender.

I've never taken Rosie's temperature - not sure how to do that or what to look for (I am open to advice and training!)

Alrighty, I'll keep you posted on how the slight food decrease and addition of pumpkin goes. Thanks again for the advice!

-Damian

Please do! To take the temp, just put a digital thermometer in the anus, should be between 99 to 101.


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[Damian]

OK, due to a number of family emergencies, we were only able to start the reduced food/pumpkin diet last night. Our dog sitter (I know, bad timing!) said that the stools had started to firm up a little, so the "wait three weeks" approach also seems to have some slight effect. Anyway, this morning Rosie seemed pretty happy, although that could just be because I am now home. Anyway, I will continue with my keen observation and reporting.... Thanks again everyone.

 

[kazzy220]

My immediate thought was that noe she has a yard to run around in that she may have eaten or drunk something that didn't agree with her. Glad to hear there has been some improvement!!

 

[2BullyMama]

OK, due to a number of family emergencies, we were only able to start the reduced food/pumpkin diet last night. Our dog sitter (I know, bad timing!) said that the stools had started to firm up a little, so the "wait three weeks" approach also seems to have some slight effect. Anyway, this morning Rosie seemed pretty happy, although that could just be because I am now home. Anyway, I will continue with my keen observation and reporting.... Thanks again everyone.

Glad to hear there is improvement.... keep us posted. And, hope all the fmaily is doing well

 

[Damian]

ok, so today's stools were sort of half and half, solid and puddly. I think the pumpkin is helping, but too early to be definitive. In any case, it doesn't look like this is going to be too serious of a problem, which is good news!

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

I missed all of this..but glad there seems to be an improvement..Keep us posted!

 

[bullmama]

ok, so today's stools were sort of half and half, solid and puddly. I think the pumpkin is helping, but too early to be definitive. In any case, it doesn't look like this is going to be too serious of a problem, which is good news!

Good to hear


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[Damian]

Alright, Rosie's been on her slightly reduced diet with a big glob of pumpkin for a while now, and while it seems to have stopped her diarrhea (which had been a problem only briefly), she still has pretty soft poop, and yesterday when I took her to the dog park, where she loves to run and run and always gets a few poops in (which always trend from harder to softer), her last two were basically liquid which is not normal for her. SO - I would say the pumpkin is not a slam-dunk success, although it seems to have helped a little.

BTW, Rosie is pretty small, 40-42 lbs, but we target 42-45 for her (right now, we see her ribs a bit too much). So we're pretty sure we're not overfeeding. She's usually very good about not eating strange things around the house - early on my wife was very good about training Rosie to chew her toys rather than our stuff, and the lesson seems to have stuck. But stray bits of floor food are another story, and it's just impossible to be sure that she hasn't gotten, say, a few stray coffee beans that I might have dropped while grinding the morning brew (I imaging that would do nothing good for her digestion!) or as I mentioned, our one year old does get in the mood to feed her his food from time to time (we usually crate her for her own good when he's feeling like that).

Also, Rosie is farting a lot!

Anyway, we'll have to get her to the vet next week probably, and get checked for parasites to eliminate that as a possibility. >sigh<

 

[Damian]

ok, today we took in a stool sample to the vet; we're concerned about trying any mild diet because Rosie is allergic to grain, so the standard rice-and-chicken sounds like a recipe for cysts between her toes. Will report on outcome.

 

[Damian]

OK, tests were negative - no parasites. The bland diet firmed her up nicely. Apparently (and this surprised me) Rosie is not allergic to rice, so it must just be potatoes that really set her off (she gets these nasty cysts between her toes). Anyway, we're now slowly switching her back. She seems happy!