# Puppy - Soft/Runny Poo



## MeowPurr

I've had my puppy for nearly 2 weeks now (2 weeks this Monday) and since he's been here his poo has never been 'firm'. It's different from one day to the next, but never firm. One day it can be just like someone's squirted chocolate icing with one of those tubes to decorate cakes. Sometimes it's just really soft and I can't scoop it without it squishing into the concrete or pooper scooper. He tends to do one pile of poop, then he walks around a bit and does another pile (I swear, for a 2 lb puppy he doesn't half poop a lot! and I don't just mean 5 times a day, I also mean the quantity in each pile), and even though all of his poop is soft, I notice that the last bit of his poop is always the most softest, like mustard texture (just to state it's not mustard in colour lol).

He's due to be wormed today and the last time he was wormed was 2 weeks ago. Of course, I assumed when I first got him perhaps his poop was soft/runny because of the worming prior to coming home with me, seeing as he'd been wormed about 2 days before I collected him. I also put it down to moving to a new home, but he's been here 2 weeks and all seems absolutely fine in every other department but the poops don't seem to be getting any better.

I feed him on what the breeder fed their dogs/pups on and I am kind of hoping it's the food that's not agreeing with him and so I will try changing him onto another food (gradually). What are peoples recommendations on dry dog food? I've heard James Wellbeloved, Wainwrights and Burns is good... What are your thoughts on those brands, or could you maybe suggest a few? 

I think I am going to get him booked into the vets for next week as I never got him checked over when I brought him home. Maybe I should take a poo sample with me? I have his 4 weeks free insurance although I've never made a claim on my pet insurance so have no idea what I am doing.

Other than that, has anyone else had a similar experience and if so how did things turn out?


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## Muggins

I'd say that a check-up at the vet is your best bet - and it's a good idea to take a sample with you.

Worming really shouldn't do that to your pup - it usually passes unnoticed with modern wormers.

Eukanuba is not the best food  The others that you mention are all good, and I'd like to add Fish4Dogs to the mix. Tilly always had a tendency to soft stools on Burns but now on Fish4Dogs she's just right. Make the change slowly, mixing more and more of the new food into the old one.


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## Guest

I'd change his food to start with - Eukanuba isn't great as you know. There are lots of good foods - Wainwrights, Barking Heads, Fish4Dogs, Acana, Orijin, Arden Grange, etc.

Also is it possible you're overfeeding him? While I don't think this is the sole problem it could be a contributing factor and can account for the end of the poop being very runny.

A check up at the vet is probably a good idea too.

Good luck


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## MeowPurr

Thank you both for your replies. I'll ring on Monday and see if I can get him seen next week. Greatful for the food suggestions as I really haven't a clue on what's good and what isn't, so I'll look into a different food for sure and change gradually as suggested. 

I wouldn't say I'm overfeeding him and I think he tells me I am underfeeding him! He screams when its his dinner times . I am feeding him slightly under what the guideline on his food bag states, as I have read before that they tend to suggest more than is needed.


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## 912142

Have you tried him on raw? If you give him a couple of hammered down chicken wings or some raw chicken meat that should clear the soft poo situation.

I have to say though I am surprised that you managed to take a pup home so young as 6 weeks and really you should have taken him to the vet certainly within 48 hours to be checked over.


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## MeowPurr

912142 said:


> Have you tried him on raw? If you give him a couple of hammered down chicken wings or some raw chicken meat that should clear the soft poo situation.


I haven't tried him on raw, he's just eating a dry food diet. Unfortunately I haven't got any meat in right now but he'll definitely be seeing a vet asap next week and I'll be taking along a poop sample incase.



912142 said:


> I have to say though I am surprised that you managed to take a pup home so young as 6 weeks and really you should have taken him to the vet certainly within 48 hours to be checked over.


I'm not sure why you're thinking he was 6 weeks old, but he was 7 weeks and 5 days old when I collected him.


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## MeowPurr

I bought Burns Mini Bites on Sunday, so hopefully that will be better for him.

I also gave him 1ml of Pro-Kolin+ about an hour ago and just now he started to retch and was 'sick' (he brought up undigested food). Not sure if it's not agreed with him or what. He's fine in himself though, lively, playing, drinking eating etc. Maybe I shouldn't give him anymore of the Pro-Kolin :huh:.


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## missmoomoo

I really wouldn't be self medicating him at the moment... He to me seems like he has left the breeder early as he must be a small breed pup at 2lb so only 1kg I always thought that the general rule of thumb was that they stayed in situ till 12 weeks...  anyway sometimes the change of water can cause soft stools aswell. I would be getting the pup to the vets with a poop sample (as fresh as possible) so they can run tests as there could be parasites such as coccidia or gardia (usually they are quite poorly with this though) Hope all goes well and keep us updated on how he does


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## Mumbles

We brought our puppy home at 8 weeks, i think that is generally the norm, but don't quote me on it.

Our puppy had soft poo for ages, initially he had worms so got him treated for that, then he refused to eat and threw up went to vets and they gave him antibiotics as he had some infection, then his food didn't seem to agree with him so we changed it to something else, took as a long while to sort him completely out, i think it was a combination of all above and that he has a sensitive belly, we have ended up with him on Purina Pro Plan as so far that is only food that he hasn't bill ill on.

So definitely good idea to go to vets, though he does still get runny poo at weekends every now and then, so believe that may be over excitement of us being there all day and slightly longer walks.


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## MeowPurr

I phoned my vets first thing yesterday and the receptionist asked me for a detailed explanation of his symptoms. She phoned me back after speaking to the vet and told me to buy the Pro-Kolin+ and give him 1ml once or twice a day for 3 days and if his symptoms don't get any better to definitely bring him in.

Even though he is a small breed, most of the breeders who breed these let them go at 8 weeks old. Out of about 10 I have spoken to, only 2 prefered to wait until 10-12 weeks old. He's doing absolutely fine, just the runny poos which seem to have been a lot better yesterday and today, but I'm still keeping a close eye on him. Yesterday he only did 2 and today 1 so far and no runny splatters, prior to that he was going about 5+ times a day.

So I'll keep a close eye for the next couple of days and if things go back down again with regards to the consistency of his stools then I'll be phoning the vets Thursday morning as they suggested. Of course, if I think things are going too bad I'll phone them up tomorrow! I'll update to let everyone know what's happening. Thanks again for your help.


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## Paddy Paws

Prokolin +  is great for this sort of thing. I would however make sure that you keep in close contact with your vet and ensure that you feed your puppy a diet that suits and the correct amounts. Soft runny poo can often be dietary but you must never take a chance with one so young. Things can change quickly and dehydration is dangerous. Your puppy will need a good check over and you will need to take advise on worming and vaccination too so perhaps a trip to your vet soon would be a good idea.


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## MeowPurr

Paddy Paws said:


> Soft runny poo can often be dietary but you must never take a chance with one so young. Things can change quickly and dehydration is dangerous. Your puppy will need a good check over and you will need to take advise on worming and vaccination too so perhaps a trip to your vet soon would be a good idea.


Oh definitely, I understand about the dangers of runny poo/dehydration and that we have to be very careful. At the moment I am going by what my vet has suggested, the receptionist told me that he would have just given him the pro-kolin if I made an appointment anyway. If his stools go bad again I'll be booking him in to be seen this week and taking along a sample. He will be going to the vet regardless next week (even if I have to take him this week for his stool issues) because I want to ask about his vaccinations and the lepto vaccine.

Even though I'll listen, I don't always agree with vets dietary advice. They aren't expert nutritionists and most of the time they recommend you buy the product that they sell in reception (Hills)... But either way I wont buy something they recommend just because they make profit out of it .


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## 912142

MeowPurr said:


> I haven't tried him on raw, he's just eating a dry food diet. Unfortunately I haven't got any meat in right now but he'll definitely be seeing a vet asap next week and I'll be taking along a poop sample incase.
> 
> *I'm not sure why you're thinking he was 6 weeks old, but he was 7 weeks and 5 days old when I collected him.[/*QUOTE]
> 
> Yes you are right I don't know where I got that from - must have been too tired when I was reading the post! Sorry.


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## MeowPurr

I just wanted to update this thread as I said I would.

The lil guy is doing fine now. His stools are firm, no longer runny and he's going 2 (sometimes 3) times per day instead of 5+ times! I did take him to the vets with the poop sample, the sample results came back fine and because of that my vet said it was more than likely the food causing his stools to be the way they were.

So thanks to Burns my pups stools are now normal. I'm so happy because I was worrying there was something serious wrong. But while I am here I would just like to say it's not only made his poops better, there are other changes that I have noticed since being on Burns, even if just for a short time. When he was eating the other food his fur had an odd odour, he was scratching/itching a lot, he was always hungry etc... and now he's the total opposite. At the time when he was doing/had all the above I just thought it was normal, I mean some dogs fur does pong and dogs can itch even without fleas ,pups can be hyper etc etc, but now since being on Burns the change is brilliant and I am able to compare the differences.

Anyway, me and him are happy campers! and I would like to thank everyone again for your replies.


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## Goblin

When it comes to food you may like a site like Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost although it's american based and I am not sure what foods are available in the UK.


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## MeowPurr

I just wanted to also mention, I realise Burns isn't the the 'best' food out there but it's a lot better than some others out there in my opinion and the change so far has been very good. I'm not sure if I will keep him on Burns, I might look into Orijen but I have read small dogs don't do so well with the high level of protein? and it's recommended more for adult/large breed dogs and me having a dog that's going to weigh about 6 lb fully grown I'm not sure that's a good idea. But for now everything seems ok, so we'll see. The last thing I want to do is keep switching up his food.



Goblin said:


> When it comes to food you may like a site like Dog Food Reviews - Main Index - Powered by ReviewPost although it's american based and I am not sure what foods are available in the UK.


Thank you for the link I'm now going to check it out.


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## Roselle

I'd just like to throw my own experience into the pot -eugh, that sounds wrong! hmy: I mean my Doodle's problems! He is 2 years old now but when we brought him home, he was just the same. I tried all the different hypo allergenic dry foods as we had been flogged 3 tons of Royal Canin by the breeder and it really did not agree with him. Neither did any of the others and I despaired :crying:. Then, my husband was telling a colleague about it all and it turns out that she had the same problem with her collie pup. Eventually, she found the tins of *Butchers Tripe Meat Loaf* and they worked a treat so, in desperation, I tried it. It worked!  For the first time, the stools were firm. It has to be the Loaf as the Jelly and Gravy leave him a bit 'soft'. Nowadays, I add bits of fresh veg and he is fine with a drink of milk.

When Bertie went for his booster/check up, the vet, who knows of Bertie's problem, said he was in tip top condition. I agree that vets are not always clued up on nutrition because, in the early days, one young vet advised me to give Bertie pasta until his tum settled. His worst allergy is wheat and it makes him vomit so this was not good advice.

So, if you're looking for a change from Burns, maybe you could try it? Hope this helps :smile5:


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## oliversmum

My Goldie was the same when we first had him.He had a wheat allergy,put him on Burns kibble and then the adult ,never had any problems since.


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