Hi

My sister has just bought a pup but his stools are really loose.  He was on iams (fed by breeder) and she has introduced beta to him slowly, he has scrambled egg in morning and at night.  he is fed 4 times a day.  He is happy and playful and not giving any cause for concern but his stools really need firming up.

Should also mention that he is slightly underweight so needs beefing up a bit.  He has been wormed.  She is being careful not to over feed him to put weight on him of course.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I would ask the Vet to check for Campylobactor. Seems to sometimes happen to puppies and there is only one antibiotic that can get rid of it.

Hi labmad,

quite simply if he has loose stools he will lose weight - whether this is through change of diet or possibly over feeding (quantity required may well be very different from one manufacturer to another), if the food is firing through his GI system rather than being slowly digested and nutrients absorbed then it is doing him no good.

I'm not sure of the merits or otherwise of Iams but would be surprised if moving on to Beta was an upgrade ..... that said I must admit I don't understand the fashion for new owners to wish to change away from the diet the breeder has produced a healthy puppy on unless of course said new owner has in depth personal experience of certain foods being less than satisfactory.  Even so, why then buy a puppy from a breeder feeding (in the owners opinion) low grade or unacceptable food?

Pups have enough stress to cope with being parted from dam, littermates and all familiar folks and surroundings without having the added pressure on their delicate systems of travel, change in water and a change of diet - however slowly done.  IMO your sister would have done better to stick with the original diet the pup's system was used to and, as with any growing puppy, slowly increase the quantities per meal.

Was the puppy used to two meals of scrambled egg a day before your sister took it on?  Personally I give very limited egg to dogs of any age (except for those fed raw which enjoy yolk, white & shells) other than as a gentle reintroduction to eating after a period of fasting.

Has your sister contacted the breeder for advice and also has she had the puppy vet checked?

Hopefully there is no serious issue but the breeder should be advised and also the vet.

regards Teri

Can I be perfectly honest with you...

The place she got him from was less than desirable IMO.  She just wants to give the little chap a good home and good life.

Dont shoot the messanger. I was just after a bit of advice to help firm him up.

I have spoken to a well known GSD breeder and she recommended changing food completely to james wellbeloved and giving scrambled egg so with so much conflicting advice its hard to know what is best!

I will recommend she speaks to a vet.

thanks anyway

Hi labmad,

sorry, it wasn't intended to read as a "shoot the messenger" reply :)

As you feel the breeder may be undesirable, I think having the pup vet checked would be the first port of call in case something is amiss which requires medical intervention rather than addressing diet alone.  Fasting a pup for 12 hours (rather than the standard 24 for adults) and then introducing a light diet (boiled chicken or steamed white fish and then bulk out with mashed potato or starchy rice) for the following 36 hours or so will hopefully give this little one's system time to rest itself then your sister could very gradually over a few days introduce her choice of diet while slowly weaning off the home prepared.

As to weight gain hopefully this will naturally address itself when the pup's system and diet are at one but in the meantime it is more important IMO that she looks at the bigger picture of ensuring the pup's good health first rather than trying to bulk it up.

HTH, please update if she does have vet advice.
regards Teri

Thanks teri.

I have told her to ring the vet and see what's what.

Will let you know what happens.

Cheers

In my experience I would think the Beta is making him loose, it is not the most digestible of puppy foods, and my lot tend to wards cast iron guts, and GSD's do seem to tend to need a food that is easily digested and with minimum allergy or loosening effects.

My GSD pup had loose motions from the Beta too (the breeder was feeding him on this food). When I changed him to Arden Grange large breed puppy junior his motions were much better. Re the egg, IMO I wouldnt feed eggs every day.