I have a 10wk old Border Collie pup and the food the breeder gave me doesn't seem to be suiting him. His poo has been sloppy since I got him a week ago, I know change of environment can upset their tummies for a day or two, but its been a week now and this morning their was a spot of blood in his poo.He is otherwise lively and healthy, not been sick isn't drinking excessively, gum colour ok. Should i just give him some chicken and rice and if he's ok change his food. Could the food be too rich for him, it's a chicken and rice hypoallergenic puppy food.

There could be several reasons for loose bowels at this age, has he just been wormed? Personally I'd take him to the vet if there's a spot of blood in it, they lose condition so easily at this age. If the vet establishes he doesn't have gastroenteritis or colitis or anything medical then yes I'd gradually change him over to something else. Even if it's a good quality food he's on not all foods suit all dogs.

When you're choosing a new food to try choose one that you an get hold of easily, that suits your pocket and that you like (or can live with) the ingredients. Generally a higher meat content and less fillers (rice, maize, potato etc) will produce smaller, firmer poos.

The food is 30%chicken and 26%rice but chicken oil is the 3rd ingredient listed. I wonder if it's too rich.is there any particular pup food you would recomend.he was last wormed 2 weeks ago.

It's not likely to be too rich for him, more likely his stomach doesn't like one of the ingredients, maybe the high rice percentage? Nip along to your local pet shop and see what's available, choose a puppy food you can afford with a high meat content.

You could get a zillion food recommendations on here but if the food isn't readily available to you it's pointless. Personally I use applaws which is grain free, 80% chicken, or chicken and lamb, and I add raw meat and bones. Petsathome do their own grain free range which is pretty good too.

With previous dogs I've used probably every main stream food supplier, pedigree, royal canin, eukanuba, proplan etc etc and my dogs were always fit and healthy, wining in the show ring and also racing or doing agility so I am not a food evangelist, dogs are adaptable and scavengers. Now, (partly for my own conscience) I feed the best I can, my dogs look great but so do dogs that eat far cheaper food - so basically, choose a food you like the look of and try it.

Thanks will get him checked by vet and have a look for different food.

It could also be as simple as that you are overfeeding him (as in ecah meal, not in total) -that easily causes stomach upsets in young pups. Is he on four small meals a day?

Take a sample of his stool to your vet and have him check for GIARDIA.   I bought one, at 4 months, with stool output like this and horror, a fecal showed not only roundworm ova (his 'reputable' breeder swore he'd been wormed) but Giardia.   I KNOW I didn't have it on this property and as he came to us in a February with the ground frozen, apart from the fact there was never 'standing water' lying around in any case, he could only have had this on arrival.   I had my other hound tested and she was clear.

Could be his food isn't suiting and of course a change of home is stressful (plus sometimes 'new' water can affect dogs too ) but before you do switch (and this has to be done gradually over at least a week in any case), I'd need to rule out some internal parasite causing all that.   I'd suggest a good quality diet that is basically chicken and rice shouldn't produce nasty stools.   Was he doing this back with his breeder I wonder?

Meanwhile pick up regularly - and use basic hygiene (wash hands) as Giardia can affect humans.

I have emailed his breeder for advice,she hasn't got back to me yet. On her information sheet she gave me it did say she gave her dogs chicken wings,so I'm begining to wonder has he had more wings than complete food.

RAW chicken wings are excellent, good for cleaning teeth and the high bone content firms up poos, too many and they get constipated. I wonder if that food never agreed with him but a chicken wing a day compensated?

Marianne also makes a good point - is he on 4 small meals?

yes he is on four meals a day, it crossed my mind if the chicken wings were hiding the fact the food doesn't agree with him. I've done him some home made chicken and rice to ease his tummy then gradually add a different puppy food and chicken wings. the food he's on smells very oily and so do his poos. there is a lot of oil in the food, chicken oil is the third ingredient then it also has sunflower oil,and whole linseed as well.

yes he is on four meals a day, it crossed my mind if the chicken wings were hiding the fact the food doesn't agree with him. I've done him some home made chicken and rice to ease his tummy then gradually add a different puppy food and chicken wings. the food he's on smells very oily and so do his poos. there is a lot of oil in the food, chicken oil is the third ingredient then it also has sunflower oil,and whole linseed as well.

Raw chicken wings will definately help his poos, also if you can manage it, green tripe which has so much natural good bacteria this can help with loose/soft poos too.
Applaws is quiet safe with puppies, the filler is beet ( a vegetable ). I have used Applaws along with raw chicken wings and tripe to rear puppies and never had any tummy problems.
Most of our pet stores these days have a freezer where frozen raw meat can be purchased and Applaws is also easy to buy off the shelves. If you can't get a bag of puppy Applaws the adult is just fine!

Always thought that strange water may cause this problem in newly homed pups, and, of course, each home has its own variety of bugs and nasties even if we would rather not think about it.

> also if you can manage it, green tripe which has so much natural good bacteria this can help with loose/soft poos too.

Oh yes, green tripe is excellent and most dogs love it.

> Applaws is quiet safe with puppies, the filler is beet ( a vegetable ).

I always think the good thing about Applaws is it doesn't need fillers with such a high meat content It's 75% chicken, 7% potato starch, 6% peas, poultry oil 3% and then beet pulp, poultry gravy, whole egg, salmon oil etc

their was a spot of blood in his poo

You NEED to get him to a vet as an emergency IMMEDIATLY - those symptons are the common indicators of 'Hemorrhagic gastroenteritis', his body is to small to take it & he could die within days at his age....there is no more usfull info I can give other than get in the car now & go, if you have no car then get a cab!....to be honest, dont be to optimistic at this late  stage, to much time has already past for dog that age.
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thanks for all your help and advise, puppy is now fine, I gave him boiled chicken and rice with a little bit of a different puppy food, and he is like a bat out of hell racing around the lawn. Clearly the puppy food supplied by his breeder wasn't suiting him.

> thanks for all your help and advise, puppy is now fine

Great to hear

d similar problem with my 1st Border pup put him on Wainwrights with a spoon of Chappie  original no problems now. We have cut out all wheat based food as this seemed to be the cause of his runs