i have a puppy, recently i changed his food he now has diarrhea containing blood and was sick, read on?

Question

should i change back to the old food or continue with the new?

Answer 1

When you change a dogs diet especially a puppies it causes intestinal problems. You should switch back to the old food and start to mix in the new food gradually. Start with a 20-80 mix with 80% old 20% new and in a few days up it to a 30-70 split and so forth. Remember when he is old enough to change to adult food to do that the same way to. He will be fine it just upsets his stomach like if you eat healthy for a long time and than eat a big greasy pizza. It will shock your system.

Answer 2

First, I don't know how old your puppy is or how big it is, so I urge you to CALL the vet. A very small or young puppy can get seriously dehydrated quickly and this can be dangerous.

Next, the food could be the problem, but it depends on how you switched his food. If you swapped food A for food B in one move, then yes. The food could be the problem.

To make the transition easier you need to mix some of food B with food A for a few days---say 80% A and 20%B, and then make it 60/40 for a few days, then 50/50, 40/60, 20/80 until you are at 100% of food B.

That way the pup gets a chance to adjust.

The thing with dogs is that their digestive system is "hotter" than a human's----things go through faster. When this fast system gets speeded up by a sudden change in food it can be hard for it to slow itself down again. The constant straining to go potty leads to some bloody stool.

Just changing back to the other food might help, but if his insides are going extra fast it may not.

This is all based on the change in food being the problem. There could be other problems, such as the dog eating something it shouldn't or just plain being sick.

Call the vet and talk with them. They may not even need to see the puppy. If you suddenly changed foods and they think this is the problem, then they may ask you to feed the pup a very specific diet to help his digestive system slow down. Or feed him only a small bit of food at a time.

When my dog was a few months old he was given a small "puppy rawhide" thing that caused a similar problem. I freaked when I saw bloody diarrhea in the snow. Thoughts of parvo and other fatal illnesses ran through my head. A call to the vet, some special food with some yogurt on top and a couple of says later and he was fine.

Call and tell them how he is doing. They will want to know how often he poops and pees and the last time he has done these things. BTW just having loose stool doesn't equal diarrhea. There is also a frequency component which is why they will want to know if he's going every hour, every three hours, etc....but much of this will be based on the age and size of the pup.

DO not start giving him gatorade, pedialyte or anything like that without an okay from the vet. These human-made drinks may not be appropriate for him.

Ask the vet if they recommend a good dog first aid/health book. Many of these books have sections where you can look up symptoms and they rate whether they require an immediate call to the vet, a call if the dog doesn't improve, issues to watch for, etc. Or ask the breeder if they recommend a book or even ask here.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Changing a dogs food needs to be done gradually or else it can cause stomach distress (and diarrhea) and you have found out.

Diarrhea that lasts more than 24 hours can cause dehydration, which is dangerous. Call the vet, ask them if they want the dog put on a bland diet or if they want food withheld for a day to give the stomach a chance to settle. They can also prescribe Pepto, the amount is given by weight of the dog.

They might want a bland diet of boiled rice and boiled chopped meat or rice and cottage cheese, fed in small amounts throughout the day. This also gives the stomach a chance to heal.

I wouldn't change food again right now. If you do change, what you need to do is substitute some new food with the old food, until it is all changed over to new food. For example, if you normall feed 1 cup, you'd feed 3/4 c of the old food with 1/4 cup of the new food, then 1/2 and 1/2, then 1/4 and 3/4 etc.

Bloody stool could only be because the bowels are irritated.

Call the vet anyway, just to double check.

Answer 4

Anytime you change the food you are feeding a puppy or kitten, you need to do it across time. You start by adding ~25% of the new food to the old. Feed this combination for a week or so to make sure there's not digestive problems. Then increase to a 50/50 mix, then 75/25 mix, then 100% new.

If your puppy has not had a fecal sample checked, you need to do that. Puppies commonly have intestinal parasites such as hookworms or roundworms. These can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

Also, make sure your puppy has begun his vaccinations for DHPP (distemper/parvo)

Answer 5

It does sound like an irritated digestive tract. If it wasn't a puppy,I'd say feed a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice for a day or two and go back to the old food. Since this is a puppy,I think a vet visit may be in order.

Answer 6

Although it is not a good idea to change foods, especially with a puppy; your puppies illness may not be caused by this change.
I would seek medical attention for him right away. He could have anything from IBS to Parvo. I lost a puppy to Parvo and it broke my heart.
I had two puppies with Parvo at the same time. One died quickly at the Vets office; the other one I brought home "to die".
I refused to give up easily, and started giving him home made chicken broth, which I kept simmering on the stove, with vitamins desolved in it. He was too weak to even eat, and I had to gently feed him every hour to two hours, using a turkey baster. Within a few days I was able to add some rice to the broth and gently give it to him with a spoon.
It took him about 2 weeks, but he did pull out of it and grew to be quite healthy. He lived to be 13 yrs. old.
If you cannot afford the Veteranarian, I highly suggest the chicken broth/vitamin supplement approach.
Good luck to you and your puppy.

Answer 7

It's common for dogs to get diarrhea when you change the food, it will last for a couple of days, until the system gets use to it. Th Blood is another thing, it could be worms, have your vet checked him out.

Answer 8

Call your vet, when they change food they are going to have diarrhea but I am not to sure about the blood...def. call your vet!

Answer 9

yes put him back on the other stuff if a animal like s the food dont ever change it if they dont talk to ur vet and get ur dog checked out he mite have a parrisite or worms i hope i helped

Answer 10

It sounds like your puppy has parvo, get it to a vet but quick.