Need puppy advice (may be TMI)

[LisaR]

We have a 12 week old Miniature Schnauzer. She is just adorable! I took her to the vet last week for her next set of puppy shots (breeder's vet did the first set). While there, I mentioned that her stools were soft sometimes. They would be fine during one BM and the next one would be soft. We took 8 days to slowly ween her from the breeders food to Innova. Now she is on pure Innova and they are soft every single time. She was given a pill for worms at the vet even though she didn't have worms. They said she should still take the pill. She got half last week and the other half today. She doesn't have diarrhea but it is so soft. I am used to our 7 y/o schnauzer's stools and they aren't anything like this. I started adding a little pumpkin to her Innova yesterday and I think her stools were worse today. She is eating, drinking and playing just fine so she doesn't seem to be sick. The puppy doesn't go back to the vet for another 1.5 weeks. Should I take her in sooner? Any other suggestions?

 

[kirbydog48]

You might want to give her a little plain nonfat yogurt, and make sure it has live active cultures (like Stoneyfield). I'd give her about a tablespoon. You might also want to put her on ground turkey breast and rice, or lean ground beef. Cook it in some water in a pan. The rice helps harden things up. Our lab has a very sensitive stomach, and this has always worked. Maybe there's something in the Innova she can't tolerate?? Our dog had trouble with that brand when he was a pup, and we switched him to Wellness and it's been better.

 

[TwingleMum]

Nothing to contribute but congrats on your pup. Could you post a photo??

 

[kacaju]

I'm guessing the Innova may be too rich for her. What was the breeder feeding?

 

[bairdbeth]

Are you feeding her the wet(canned) or dry? I have had both dogs and cats in the past who would have loose stool on wet food, but when fed just dry food their stools firmed up. At 12 weeks she should be able to handle dry food without mixing in water or some wet food. I have 2 mini schnauzers and they are so much fun!

 

[LisaR]

Thanks everyone. I can't post a pic because I am computer illiterate. DD is out now and she is the one that would help her poor mommy with the *high tech* stuff.

I will switch her over to some chicken and rice tomorrow and see how she does. The breeder was feeding some type of Purina that she claims all breeders use. I thought anything would be better than Purina but this food does not seem to agree with the little one. Our older one has done so well on Innova that we didn't even think about the fact that it may not agree with the puppy.

 

[LisaR]

Are you feeding her the wet(canned) or dry? I have had both dogs and cats in the past who would have loose stool on wet food, but when fed just dry food their stools firmed up. At 12 weeks she should be able to handle dry food without mixing in water or some wet food. I have 2 mini schnauzers and they are so much fun!

Dry only.

 

[MJMouse]

Congrats on the new puppy! I have a schnauzer too... took me a while to find a food that worked for her... She seems to have a corn and or wheat allergy

She was on Iams with the Breeder but vet didn't think she was gaining enough weight so he suggested Science Diet. This made her coat very dull and she didn't like it much. So I switched her to Purina One (not the greatest food... but I didn't know better at the time). The Purina gave her terrible gas and soft stools. I eventually switched her to Nutro Natural Choice. She was on that for years and did very well. I recently switched her over to Wellness Super 5 as she had gotten to a point where she didn't seem to like the nutro anymore (and all the dog food scares spooked me...).

Each dog is different... Perhaps she just needs a different food.

Also... I've always found that a bit of cheese takes care of the loose stool problem... the yogurt is a great idea too!

 

[christiane]

Congratulations on your new puppy! One of my "nephews" is a Minature Schnauzer & he is so lovable.

When you say your puppy didn't have worms, do you mean that you didn't see any or did your vet test for them?

Puppies can get several different parasites. Some are worms but others are protozoa (such as coccidia or giardia). Routine dewormers do not kill protozoa which are very common in puppies. Take a stool sample to the vet & ask them to send it to the lab for testing. Ask for an ova & parasite test with Giardia Elisa. Your vet may want to test it in the clinic, but unless the staff are well-trained they may not see small protozoa, especially giardia.

Diet & parasites are the most common causes of soft stool in puppies, but I wouldn't start playing with the diet until parasites are ruled-out.

 

[LisaR]

Congratulations on your new puppy! One of my "nephews" is a Minature Schnauzer & he is so lovable.

When you say your puppy didn't have worms, do you mean that you didn't see any or did your vet test for them?

Puppies can get several different parasites. Some are worms but others are protozoa (such as coccidia or giardia). Routine dewormers do not kill protozoa which are very common in puppies. Take a stool sample to the vet & ask them to send it to the lab for testing. Ask for an ova & parasite test with Giardia Elisa. Your vet may want to test it in the clinic, but unless the staff are well-trained they may not see small protozoa, especially giardia.

Diet & parasites are the most common causes of soft stool in puppies, but I wouldn't start playing with the diet until parasites are ruled-out.

Both dogs had stool checks. He gave me a pill for the puppy and I *thought* he said he didn't have worms but he still needed to take the pill because sometimes worms don't show up in every sample.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

My dog had lose stools like you described - sometimes fine, and sometimes very soft. My vet tested 4 times with 4 different samples for worms, and nothing ever came up. He finally put my dog on a 5 day deworming cycle - I had to mix a powder in with warm water and his kibble for 5 days. I thought it was a waste of time. Sure enough, the deworming cleared up the stools immediately. Turns out my dog had whipworms; whipworms can only be detected in a stool sample when eggs are present, which is only a few days out of their entire life cycle (which is several weeks long). So unless we were testing on the exact perfect day, nothing would be picked up.

So, I wouldn't rule out parasites. They don't always show up in a sample, and deworming can clear it up, even if you haven't gotten a positive result for worms.

 

[kacaju]

I would try switching her back to the Purina for now. BTW Our breeder feeds Purina too. Purina has a Breeders program so they can get big discounts on the food.
So feed the chicken and rice, switch back to the purina and if that firms up the stools then you know that was it. If you don't want to continue with the Purina then research foods and try a different food.

 

[cherylp3]

my breeder has us use Danactive liquid drink for our puppy

 

[HeatherH]

The canned pumpkin is for CONSTIPATION, I'm not surprised it made her stools softer, that is what it is for.

You've got some good advice on other things to try. Just wanted to let you know for future reference NOT to add the pumpkin unless there is a constipation issue.

 

[EllenFrasier]

My daughter has a dog who has a sensitive digestive system. The only thing that works for her is Buffalo Blue or something like that. Dry food.

 

[luvwinnie]

The canned pumpkin is for CONSTIPATION, I'm not surprised it made her stools softer, that is what it is for.

You've got some good advice on other things to try. Just wanted to let you know for future reference NOT to add the pumpkin unless there is a constipation issue.

Actually, pumpkin can work both ways...don't ask me how...but it does. We've used it in both instances and it works.

 

[luvwinnie]

Here is a really helpful product that has helped our bulldog...I would also suggest trying another food maybe, but not Purina
http://thewholisticpet.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=551&ParentCat=40

 

[daisax]

I agree that pumpkin works both ways -- for constipation AND diarrhea. You just have to not give too much and cause the opposite problem.

I would suggest before you change foods again that you look at the amount you're feeding. Overfeeding can cause diarrhea/loose stools. If you're feeding the same amount of Innova as you did of the Purina, I can just about guarantee you're feeding way too much. Better quality foods need smaller servings.

Also, I'd think about the degree of "soft" you're talking about -- basically if it's formed, it's fine. The cheaper foods (like Purina products) have ingredients in them to make stool hard and compact. That's great for owners, but not particularly great for dogs. It's not necessary and can even be damaging in the long run.

So if you're concerned because your other dog has nice hard little stools, the problem isn't with the puppy, it's with the older dog.

 

[mrsv98]

Our new little rescue pup is having "issues" and the vet just gave us something called Pro-Flora ( I think that is it) and it is basically akin to powdered yogurt, lots of good pro-biotics. I sprinkle it on her breakfast and she seems to like it. She has been on it for 5 days so I can't really tell yet but it can take 14 days to really see results (just like humans).