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| I have an eight week old Newfoundland puppy who is having pooping problems. Her poop is usually really soupy, or maybe soft serve ice cream type if I'm lucky.
I took her to the vet and they ran poop tests, etc, but didn't find anything. They figured it was best to put her on the prescription I/D canned and hard food.. Start with the canned stuff for a few days, then work in hard food slowly. When she is on the canned I/D, her poops are normal poops. It's seems like the minute I add the hard food along with the canned, her poop gets mushy again. I just don't understand! Has anyone had this problem? Her appetite is great, and besides the loose stool, she is a happy, healthy puppy. I am just baffled that canned food equals firm poop, and hard kibble equals mushy poop. Any suggestions would be wonderful!!! Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I would suspect she is having a reaction to whatever grain or preservative or "crap" that is in dry dog food. IMHO, prescription dog food is just as "crappy" (pardon the pun) as Old Roy! Most vets are not very knowledgable in the area of nutrition, unless it is a special study or interest of their's, and often just promote the prescription diets they carry cause they are in the business. I am a advocate for real food diets for dogs and would suggest you try a high quality dog food if you are going to go with dog food. Personally, I would have this little girl on real food ASAP. Newfies are a fast developing large breed that requires the right balance of nutrients to support this growth. IMHO, I would look up a few reputable breeders on the net and send them an email. Most breeders are more than happy to share their expertise on their breed. :) Hope this helps. Ginny |
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- Posted by trancegemini_wa (My Page) on Sun, Dec 11, 11 at 4:53
| It sounds like something in the id kibble does not agree with her, and it could be a food sensitivity or allergy to an ingredient. sometimes it is just a case of trial and error to find a food that does agree with her, try some different high quality kibbles and introduce them slowly (check the ingredients for comparison). There's no point continuing the id, it's irritating her stomach and she won't get proper nutrition from anything that causes diarrhea. ps. any food that you buy and she can't tolerate can be donated to a dog shelter so it doesn't go to waste :) |
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| i agree with ginny, these Rx foods that vets sell is akin to getting the cheapest walmart kibble you can find at very inflated prices. it's all junk, pure and simple. you might think about trying a limited ingredient kibble. there are several really good ones out there...Taste of the Wild, Natural Balance, etc. they can be hard to find sometimes but it really sounds like your pup has an intolerance to much of what you find in cheap kibble (or canned), especially corn, wheat, flax. something else you can do is add a probiotic. you can use something like culturelle (sold in the human section at walmart). oftentimes, a good probiotic given daily will set things right. |
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| You may want to try Wellness. It's not cheap, but it's grain-free. I'm afraid of many brands as they are made in China, and had recalls. I would slowly try to add the DRY Wellness, more and more until you feed the puppy just Wellness, like over 7 days... I would do 90% canned I/D and 10% Wellness the first day. Then I would do 80/20%. Then 70/30%...etc. You have to allow a few days to completely switch over, or they'll get diarrhea. Probiotics are a good try. Sometimes puppies grow out of the digestive problems. Example: Mine burps a lot after eating. My Vet says that that it's something to do with the esophagus and she'll grow out of it. Mine, at first, seemed to get a loose stool if I just gave her a piece of boiled chicken! Now she seems ok. She's 7 months old. If switching over to a grain free diet doesn't work, you may want to ask your Vet to put your puppy on a course of Flagyl... |
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- Posted by lukkiirish (My Page) on Sun, Dec 11, 11 at 14:41
| I did a lot of food research when we got our puppy in September and what you may be experiencing is she's getting way too many fillers and not enough good fiber. By that I mean brown rice or oatmeal. Using the higher end foods like Wellness, Blue Buffalo or Natures Balance is wise but also has some draw backs that need to be considered too. First they have a lot more calories and with larger dogs (we got a lab) feeding them so many calories in the beginning can contribute to a more rapid growth pattern which can promote Hip Dysplasia. Secondly, sometimes the higher end foods are just too rich for the puppies/dogs stomach and they can't keep it down. That happened when we first tried Wellness with our puppy. She was weened with IAMS so I started mixing a little of the Wellness in with Iams and she would throw up only the Wellness. I changed it to Blue Buffalo Lamb and Oatmeal and she did fine but to keep her calorie intake in check, I didn't ween her off of the Iams entirely, but split the portion with half of each and it's worked like a charm. I would not feed your puppy soft food. I used to date a vet and he told me once that while there may be some cases where it's necessary, for the most part soft food is nothing but a bad habit for younger dogs. |
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| Your dog just has a sensitive stomach. Try switching around dog foods. Are you sure it isn't getting into any trash etc.. |
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| switching foods is fine but keep in mind, it should be done slowly over a period of a a week to 10 days. also, give the new food a month before you decide it isn't working. switching foods every few days or couple of weeks will do more harm than good! |
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- Posted by cyrastar21 (My Page) on Sun, Dec 11, 11 at 22:49
| Thanks so much everybody!! I was thinking about the grain intolerance, but my vet suggested to do the I/D. I just thought it was baffling that she would have no problem with the soft, and then have issues with the kibble. My older Newfie is on blue buffalo, so I'll get some puppy formula for her and slowly introduce it. I know she's not getting into trash, or eating libertys poop( my big newf) so that's out. I was worried that with the I/D she wouldnt get the nutrition that she needs, especially right now as she grows. Again, I appreciate all the input!! |
Here is a link that might be useful: My Newfies
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| Beautiful girls!!!! Bit of a Newf fan here so I can say that in all honesty! Landseers are my favorites as I am sort of partial to black and white having bi black shelties.....but they are all beautiful!!! I used to have Saints and believe me I know what it is like to have these gentle giants around!! Lots of luck with your girls and lots of puppy kisses from my pack. ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Ginny |
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- Posted by pamghatten (My Page) on Mon, Dec 12, 11 at 12:56
| Beautiful girls, is right! Looks like fun! |
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