Hi everyone, I have another new pup, this time a blue sable GSD called Sioux, she is 11 weeks old now and is absolutley gorgeous, problem is, her tummy has given her and me nothing but bother since I got her!
She was fed with the litter on anything but puppy food, and I have been trying to wean her onto Beta puppy as that is what my other lot got with no problems, but she has had constant off/on diarrohea, its been a case of - fish/rice for a few days, stools firm up, a cupful of Beta puppy, stools turn soft, then diarrohea if I persist with the Beta. This has been going on for weeks, she has lost weight and its getting me down. When I mentioned it to the vet when she had her jabs he said its common in puppies and not to worry about it!
What can I do, I bought Treebarks powder but I understand that it takes a while to work, Sioux really needs to start eating good and putting on weight now.

Hi bear, if the fish and rice suits her then I would return to it for a week or so til her tummy is better, and look into diets of chicken/lamb/fish and rice diets. Together with a good vit/min supplement she should grow well enough on that. It doesn't sound like there is any point in continuing with the Beta, it is obviously upsetting her tummy. Perhaps someone else can suggest a complete diet based on rice.

Bear- sorry I can't help with your problem I'm afraid:( But can I just ask how you pronounce 'Sioux'?

Stacey x x x

Hi,
My confirmed favourite for runny tums is now natural Bio yoghurt - at least one desertspoon full. It's cured many a runny tum here lately. It puts the gut flora back into the intestines.

I'd get off Beta, it made mine 'windy'. Burns is a complete, very natural and has a puppy formula. I have my litter on Nutro and their stools are like firm sausages (Sorry folks to be so blunt!), very easy to clean up. More expensive foods do tend to have better quality ingredients and this is where I think the cheaper foods fail.

I think 'Sioux' is pronounced 'Sue'.
Hope this is of help? :)

Nutro is good. Holly, 6mth old ECS, is thriving on it and is a lot less windy that she used to be.

Fiona
x x x

Hi guys, I would be willing to change her onto a more expensive, hypo allergenic type diet, but am worried about the protein levels in these foods, e.g Burns is really low protein percentage and I know that puppies need to be on at least 27%
Also, Nutro is VERY expensive and can't quite afford that with having three other dogs and five cats to feed!!
P.S - Sioux is pronounced soo.

HI, as your pup is a GSD and therefore a "late maturer " as opposed to small breed dogs, I would have thought that 27% protein would be plenty for a dog of this type. You want large breed puppies to grow slowly and they shouldn't be "forced". My Westies are more or less mature by 14 months, but have probably reached adult height by 10-12 months and do need a highish (28-32%) protein diet to make their full potential, size wise. The bigger the breed the slower they should be grown.

Thanks Westie Lover you've just answered my question with out me even asking:D Someone said something along the lines of protein levels led to hyper activity in GSD's, this worried me a touch as the protein level in Euk is 26.6%- but obviously that doesn't matter to us- it's about right:)

Stacey x x x