Soft stool

[Bully.Titus]

We got our EB when he was about 3months old and at first he was having diarrhea and super soft stool. It was so bad he was pooping bits of blood. We started working on switching his diet and giving him supplements as well as changing the brand of kibble. It seemed to help but his poop now at 5 months is still soft. It’s not watery but they’re not solid and it’s a pain to pick up Is this normal? Or does it get solid as he gets older?

 

[benny]

His stool should be the consistency of fresh to moderately used playdough. You should be able to pick it up with a plastic bag and place it back down without leaving a bunch behind on the bag. You can imagine drop kicking it without spattering, but it will probably leave a mark.

What are you currently feeding? (and what did you switch from). Millie had soft stool when she was on Orijen

I recommend picking up some canned pumpkin. Make sure it's just pumpkin and not pie filling (it can sometimes be hard to find). Mix a big spoonful into his kibble and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Manydogs]

Good advice from Benny! What food are you feeding @Bully.Titus ?

 

[Cbrugs]

Great advice above. A couple other things to note…feeding too much can also cause soft stool and have you tested for parasites? Giardia and other parasites can cause loose stool as well and it’s not uncommon for puppies to pick one up at a young age. You can bring a stool sample to your vet for a fecal test and ask them to test for parasites.

 

[Bulldog2001]

We got our EB when he was about 3months old and at first he was having diarrhea and super soft stool. It was so bad he was pooping bits of blood. We started working on switching his diet and giving him supplements as well as changing the brand of kibble. It seemed to help but his poop now at 5 months is still soft. It’s not watery but they’re not solid and it’s a pain to pick up Is this normal? Or does it get solid as he gets older?

What food are you currently feeding??

Try adding some pure canned pumpkin to his food. Or try a probiotic for dogs. When my dogs have any digestion issue, I buy the Adored Beast Brand Gut Soothe probiotic, it has slippery elm and gut soothing foods to help with inflammation of his stomach. It works great I always have a jar on hand.

I do not recommend any food OR probiotic from the vet.

I recommend AVOIDING the following brands of food as they are all fillers:

-Purina/Purina Pro Plan
-Hills
-science diet
-Royal Canin
-vet food also should be avoided
-anything from grocery store
-blue Buffalo

Good brands of kibble:
-Carna 4- has probiotics and is synthetic free and is oven baked.
-Natures Logic- has probiotics in it and is synthetic free.
-N&D


what are you feeding him now??

 

[Bully.Titus]

Thank you for those that replied. Titus is on purina pro for puppies. I’ve tried pumpkin purée but he doesn’t seem to touch his food much and will eat around it. So I bought the raw freeze dried pumpkin to add to his food and he will eat that.

I guess I will try switching his kibble and see if that helps.

 

[benny]

Thank you for those that replied. Titus is on purina pro for puppies. I’ve tried pumpkin purée but he doesn’t seem to touch his food much and will eat around it. So I bought the raw freeze dried pumpkin to add to his food and he will eat that.

I guess I will try switching his kibble and see if that helps.

I’m a fan of the proplan puppy food, but it is possible he isn’t processing it well. Freeze dried pumpkin should work - I recommend remoistening it first.

Are you adding anything else to his food? What treats if any is he getting?

When was the last time his stool was checked for parasites (as cbrugs mentioned?)

and is it possible you are feeding too much?

 

[Bully.Titus]

I’m a fan of the proplan puppy food, but it is possible he isn’t processing it well. Freeze dried pumpkin should work - I recommend remoistening it first.

Are you adding anything else to his food? What treats if any is he getting?

When was the last time his stool was checked for parasites (as cbrugs mentioned?)

and is it possible you are feeding too much?

I’m not sure, could him eating his food too fast also cause soft stool? I’ve tried slow feeders but he’s so stubborn he will refuse to eat.

I add chicken broth, his pumpkin supplement, salmon oil, and I actually use a packet of fortiflora a day to help since I had mention he had diarrhea. I’ve even tried the “famous” Bernie’s perfect poop.

I have actually not tested his stool for parasites, I think if nothing helps I will definitely send it in to get it checked. Is there other signs that it can be parasites? He’s had all his deworming done as a puppy but maybe he got sick still?

 

[benny]

It's pretty easy for them to pick up a parasite. I would have the vet check for them to rule it out. You may be fighting a parasite, and there's nothing you're going to stumble on to resolve it.

How much are you feeding per meal, and how many meals per day?

To get down to the bottom of things, I would remove everything from the equation. Starting with tomorrow's breakfast:
- Pre-measure the meals for the day, you will use them for treats. If you have a scale, use it instead of a measuring cup, if not don't worry about it.
- No more treats. If you want to reward him with a treat, do it with a piece of kibble from the next meal.
- No more broth, pumpkin, salmon oil, fortiflora
- Only feed the kibble, moistened with water. Proplan will soak the water up well, so just a little water and let it sit 5-10 minutes before feeding.

Try this for a few days and see if there is any difference. I don't think eating too fast would cause soft stool, but if you want to rule it out, hand feed during these few days.

 

[Bulldog2001]

The first thing I would do is get her off the Purina Pro plan, it’s lots of fillers, try a better quality food(I listed some in my last response), and also I would discontinue the Purina Forti Flora cause it’s the same low quality as their food.

If your wanting to have him on a probiotic for maintenance and preventative after you figure out his diet, then I recommend trying good quality instead of the forti flora(Adored Beast, Four Leaf Rover are good brands I use for my dogs).

He could be sensitive to a ingredient in the dog food though, it could be the chicken or the rice. Try a different high quality food in the list in my last response.

I would discontinue the treats and any extras for now.

Sometimes if they eat too fast, some dogs vomit but I haven’t heard of loose stool from eating too fast.

Also I recommend having him checked for parasites as mentioned by a couple others.


I would first see how he does without the extra things, if a couple days from now, no change, then I would try a high quality food(I would do this even if he wasn’t having any issue, cause it’s much better for the dogs health to be on a better quality food.)

 

[paw7004]

My new puppy had soft stools with blood within a few days after going to a dog class. His Specimen tested negative for Giardia & Coccidia. Vet gave him an antibiotic, started with an “M”, can’t remember the name. Started him on pumpkin, chicken & white rice with his kibble. It didn’t clear after a couple days. Took him to another vet that could get him in. Tested negative again. No new meds. A friend who is a vet tech said to ask for Albon, another antibiotics for parasites. (Not all parasites are worms! Giardia is a parasite.) I took him back, got another neg test, and we’re now at 10 days of bloody stools. She gave me the Albon & 36 hrs later, no more blood and stools firming up like play-doh. Albon is usually for G & C but also other bacteria that can affect the gut, I learned. Why it took me asking for it specifically is baffling…

 

[2BullyMama]

It's pretty easy for them to pick up a parasite. I would have the vet check for them to rule it out. You may be fighting a parasite, and there's nothing you're going to stumble on to resolve it.

How much are you feeding per meal, and how many meals per day?

To get down to the bottom of things, I would remove everything from the equation. Starting with tomorrow's breakfast:
- Pre-measure the meals for the day, you will use them for treats. If you have a scale, use it instead of a measuring cup, if not don't worry about it.
- No more treats. If you want to reward him with a treat, do it with a piece of kibble from the next meal.
- No more broth, pumpkin, salmon oil, fortiflora
- Only feed the kibble, moistened with water. Proplan will soak the water up well, so just a little water and let it sit 5-10 minutes before feeding.

Try this for a few days and see if there is any difference. I don't think eating too fast would cause soft stool, but if you want to rule it out, hand feed during these few days.

Great advice.... measure food and stop all the treating till you know what is causing the issue. But, as was suggested earlier, get his poo tested by the vet, puppies can pick up parasites very easily an it can get worse quickly if not addressed.

 

[Bully.Titus]

Thank you, will be changing his diet and cutting his snacks.

Will also make him a vet appointment to check for parasites! Hoping it’ll clear soon

 

[Cbrugs]

Thank you, will be changing his diet and cutting his snacks.

Will also make him a vet appointment to check for parasites! Hoping it’ll clear soon

You can also try cutting back on amount of food you feed as too much food will also cause soft stool. I don't think you said how much food you are currently feeding.

 

[paw7004]

Thank you, will be changing his diet and cutting his snacks.

Will also make him a vet appointment to check for parasites! Hoping it’ll clear soon

Ask about Giardia and Coccidia. I have learned from some longtime BD owners that the puppies are especially susceptible to these and other amoebic parasites due to immature immunity system. Though Tebow tested negative for the 2 that I mentioned above, there are others that can cause intestinal infections. I'm glad I asked about Albon. It worked. Just because the tests performed at the vets showed negative, both vets were looking for those 2 parasites. It pained me to see little droplets of blood come out with his poo, which was also 'encased' in slime and streaked with blood. This went on for 10 days!!! (BTW, I contracted Giardia from a child when I was a pediatric nurse. It took awhile for it to be diagnosed as the parasites have to be in large quantity to be identified, said the lab tech. Fortunately, my family didn't contract it. A miserable way to lose weight...)