Loose Poops

[bloss344]

I've had Leah for 3 weeks, and when she first came her poops weren't great, formed but not really firm. She was on Supercoat Puppy and I'd already decided to change her over to Eagle Pack Large Breed Puppy when she settled in. Because her poops weren't great anyway, I started the transition over really slowly.

There was no improvement, just loose pudding type poops, starting to get pretty watery, so I took her to the vet just in case. He didn't think it was anything to worry about, but gave us Flagyl for 10 days just in case it was Giardia or Coccidiiosis. I also had her on chicken and rice for 3 days during that time and then added in the Eagle Pack really slowly, just a few bits at a time. Her poops never were the firm small poops I've heard about with the Eagle Pack and now that she is off the Flagyl, [finished them Wed am] she's doing fairly largish quite soft poops. I wouldn't call it diarrhea, and it's only 3 or 4 times a day which is pretty normal for a puppy according to the vet.

I'm beginning to get a bad feeling the Eagle Pack isn't agreeing with her. Apart from the poop problem she's bright, hungry, eating all her food, and energetic.

Any suggestions, hints, tips?

[Miranda]

This happened to me, my two youngsters had exactly the same reaction, in their case I found that neither can tolerate corn. Try switching her to the Eagle Pack Holistic Large Breed Puppy which doesn't contain any corn. Some of the Nutro varieties are also corn free.

[bloss344]

Thanks Miranda, makes sense. It's amazing how many puppy foods contain corn. Bob can't tolerate anything with corn, he gets yeasty ears. Sounds like a plan for us.

[Miranda]

In addition to the loose poo mine were also losing condition on the EP Large Breed Puppy so I switched them to EP Power. Of course the Power contains even more corn than the Large Breed Puppy variety and they got even worse, even their energy levels were dropping and I was starting to panic thinking that they may have a major GI problem or something like that. Anyway after reading all the good reports of Nutro on DOL I bought a bag of the Lamb and Rice and saw an immediate improvement. Needless to say that I no longer feed any dry food that contains corn

[bloss344]

Miranda: I've just got a reply back from EP, and there is no Holistic Large Breed Puppy available until the end of the year. He did suggest however the adult Duck or Lamb Holistic food which would be ok for a large breed puppy. I've just emailed back to confirm that she would be getting all the nutrients she needs.

Of course I can't find the receipt for the bag of EP I have to return it. Damn, damn, damn.

[Miranda]

Bloss K9 & Katz Kitchen have it advertised on their website. Maybe give Judith a ring and see if they still have it in stock, she also does free delivery in metropolitan Melbourne.

[goldielover]

I sometimes wonder if there is a phenomena that concerns pups and loose bowels around 10 - 12 weeks of age. Every pup i've ever had seems to suffer from it despite what food i have fed. Anyone else find that?

[CavsRcute]

Is the puppy still having chicken? I found that it was the culprit for my Cavalier's soft poops. She now only has red meat and if she has dry it is EP lamb and rice

[bloss344]

The Eagle Pack rep has been great with info. He did say some of the Holistic Adult foods would be suitable for a large breed puppy, but also suggested a product they have called Holistic Solution which is a powder of digestive enzymes. probiotics and other stuffused for upset tummies. I did buy their Holistic Transition when I bought the bag of EP, and used that without result which he found unusual, and felt it perhaps wasn't food related.

He also suggested leaving Leah on the LB puppy at this stage as some dogs take longer than 2 weeks for their tummies to settle after changing to EP.

So at this stage I'm continuing as we've been doing.

GoldieLover: Wondered that myself. They are growing so fast, becoming active etc, surely it affects their tummies. Leah is so active, healthy and growing well, so there can't be too much wrong. She's also got such a good appetite. I believe that's pretty normal for a Goldie.

CavsRcute: I'm only giving a small amount of chicken for training treats now. Might look to using something else.

Miranda: Thanks for the heads up about K9 kitchen, I'll keep them in mind.

[Tangwyn]

Hi,

My Flatcoat pup had constant diarrhoea on EP Large Breed Puppy as well as Royal Canin Large Breed Puppy. Switched him to EP Holistic Chicken and Rice and he has been good ever since. Also found that his feet and pasterns have improved heaps

[bloss344]

Hi,

My Flatcoat pup had constant diarrhoea on EP Large Breed Puppy as well as Royal Canin Large Breed Puppy. Switched him to EP Holistic Chicken and Rice and he has been good ever since. Also found that his feet and pasterns have improved heaps

Do you mean the adult food? How old was he Tangwyn?

[Tangwyn]

Hi again,

Yep, I put him on the adult food. He was 4 months old. When I looked at the calcium content of the puppy and adult versions of Eagle Pack they were the same or very, very close. Went through the nutrient breakup and really couldn't see much difference. He's 6 months old now, growing really well, great bone and, as I said, his pasterns and feet are excellent. I was freaking out as from about 9 weeks old his feet went flat like snow shoes and he had awful collapsing pasterns. I was really disappointed as I had him on the food that was most recommended for large breed pups etc.

Check out his front feet in this pic...

And then in this pic one bag of adult EP Holistic Chicken & Rice later...

He went Baby Puppy in Show 3 weeks ago when I was having doubts a few weeks prior that he would ever make it into the show ring at all.

Oh, and as I said, diarrhoea gone as long as I don't give him anything too rich on top of the dry food like lamb brisket. Also, I never liked the look of the funny white spots that appeared in his poo when he was on EP Puppy Large Breed. Not sure what they were but have heard other people make the same comment...

Edited May 20, 2007 by Tangwyn

[bloss344]

Beautiful boy Tangwyn. I can see what you mean about the feet.

I've been wondering about those white spots too, thought it might be undigested grain of some sort. Hmm, it's sounding more and more like it would be good to change Leah's food.

[Poodle wrangler]

Yep, I put him on the adult food. He was 4 months old. When I looked at the calcium content of the puppy and adult versions of Eagle Pack they were the same or very, very close. Went through the nutrient breakup and really couldn't see much difference. He's 6 months old now, growing really well, great bone and, as I said, his pasterns and feet are excellent. I was freaking out as from about 9 weeks old his feet went flat like snow shoes and he had awful collapsing pasterns. I was really disappointed as I had him on the food that was most recommended for large breed pups etc.

I noticed that about the puppy foods, too. I can get a freebie bag of 1.5-3kg dog food from Purina One, but the puppy food only comes in 1.5kg bags. Totally inconvenient size for a large dog. When I looked at the nutrition panel- yeah, minimal difference, so might try the adult version. Pup is 5 months and also gets pet mince, chicken necks/ wings/ frames, some bones and Livamol mixed into food.

Lovely boy, Tangwen.

bloss, was going to suggest you get a refund as most superpremium brands do that even if your dog just doesn't like the food. Why can you never find receipts when you need them? .

ETA: I had my pup largely on Supercoat with the kind of stools you describe. Stools improved greatly when reduced kibble to only about 50% diet- the rest pet mince, chicken wings/ backs/ necks, meaty bones etc. Firmer, smaller poos. Visited parents and took dogs and less fresh, more kibble --> bigger fluffy poos.

Edited May 21, 2007 by Poodle wrangler

[Flaves]

Hi Bloss.

I put Hunta my Hamilton on EP Holistic Chicken. i spoke to Ian and phillipa at 4 Paws in keilor Park and they suggested it. it is very close to the Large breed pup and is greqt for them.

They have great poos, although they already did with the NUTRO.

I only changed due to them going off it. I think they needed a change.

They are looking great, tehy have been on it a week.

My only complaint is the stinky farts!

Hopefully that settles down.

[dallmatt1]

try a tablespoon of bran mixed in his food this should solve the

problem .

[bloss344]

Just wanted to update.

Leah's poops progressively got worse and she also started to feel a little too boney for my liking, so I went back to boiled lean chicken and rice for a couple of days and then got some EP Holistic Chicken Meal and Rice. Her poops started to firm up on the chicken and rice and improved with the slow introduction of the EP. All went well until last weekend when the cow pats started again. Then I realised I'd had her vaccinated on Saturday, so have just monitored her during the week without changing her diet. All is good now, it took a few days but we have normal poos again. Looks like we are on a winner here.

The only thing I gave her on Sunday that was different was a smoked lamb bone which I guess could have caused it too. The EP puppy formula she was on was lamb based so perhaps she has a lamb intolerance. I'll wait a while before I test it out again.

Thanks everyone for your recommendations.