puppy going to the bathroom too much?

Question

My 3 month old border collie/maybe lab mix since we got him has always had watery stool and going alot every day maybe 5x, he has been to the vet and everything for vaccinations and check up. He was underweight when I first got him about 2 weeks ago, he's been slowly gaining though.He was sick too (kennel cough) thats why I thought watery stool then but hes all better from that.
I feed him dry innova for puppies (i have another puppy JRT who's 6 months old and give her the same thing)
At first he wouldn't eat his food but my JRT wouldnt eat it good at first either so i mix 1/10th of a banana in their food, he eats 2 cups a day or a little more. When I stoped the banana his stool was still alot and watery. He goes to the vet in 2 weeks for more vaccines. But do you think he's sick? he doesnt act sick any other way. I heard Innova causes diarrhea is that true?Should I feed something else? THANKS

Answer 1

For any brand of food, there are some dogs that will react poortly to it. However, Innova is a high quality food, with turkey and chicken as meat primary meat sources, so that wouldn't be the first thing I would look at. Certainly, food intolerance is one cause of chronic diarrhea.
Have you tested him for parasites, namely giardia, coccidia, and whipworms? Those can cause the constaant diarrhea. Sometimes you have to do multiple fecal floats, because unless they are in the right part of their life cycle, you can miss them.
These are probably the most common cause of chronic diarrhea. However, there are other conditions that can cause that, including problems with the pancreas, high levels of bacteria in the small intestine, fungal infections, irritable bowel disease, and others.
As I mentioned, you can test for parasites by doing fecal floats. You can also discuss treating for these prophylactically, that is, assume he has them and dose accordingly. Discuss this with your vet.
Food intolerance is determined by putting the dog on an elimination diet. That involves putting them on a food that is not supposed to have any allergens in it. Then you add one thing at a time to find out what causes the problem. It's a pretty slow and tedious process.
There is a blood test that you can do to test for pancreas functioning, called the cobalamin/folate/TLI test. The cobalimn part looks at B12 levels, the folate helps determine if there is an overgrowth of normal gut bacteris, and the TLI tests for enzyme production in the pancreas.
The traditional routine usually looks first for parasites, then tests for food intolerances, then goes on to look at other things. However, based on recent experience with one of my dogs, a young female that started having diarrhea in late spring, I think it's a good idea to go ahead and pay to have the blood work right away. If I had gone that route from the beginning, I would have not lost ground over a couple of months experimenting with food. If nothing else, it can eliminate some possibilites. Again consult with your vet. If it does turn out to be something like EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency), SIBO (Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth), or IBD (Irritable Bowel Disease), there are Yahoo groups that you can join which are a good resource for information and support. At least I know there a group that talks about EPI and SIBO, and I suspect there's an IBD group, too, although I don't know for sure.
Hopefully, this is something simple to deal with, such as whipworms. But, I wouldn't wait two more weeks, if I were you, but try to get your pup to the vet as soon as you can. Chronic diarrhea is never a good thing, and I feel you need to get on it ASAP.
My best wishes, and again, i sincerely hope it's something simple to fix.

Answer 2

Innova can be to rich for some dogs. If it continues I'd switch to something else. I have no personal experienbce with the Innova but I have been told by others that this is a common problem with this food.
I know my golden pup is doing really well on the Canidae so maybe give that a try.

Answer 3

Personally i would call your vet right away Camplobacter (or however you spell it) is really hard on the dog. I live in Montana and couldn't find one vet to treat my dog with it. In the long run i had to resort to the humane society to even have her put down becuase it was destroying her.
It could be any number of things though and i would be calling my vet today to get him in.
It could be alot of things from just an internal parasite to parvovirus (deadly).
And i would reccomend getting a different dog food. If you have ever heard that any dog food has unpleasant side effect i wouldn't use it.
Get a dog food that you can't get at walmart. Once a pet food hits the store shelves they change the formula.
I would even reccomend going to a feed store. The forumlas are pure and meant for a dog not profits.

Answer 4

Pups should not be given shots when they have loose stool, shots stress the immune system and loose stool is already a sign of a stressed system. KC does not cause loose stool. Have him checked for giardia and campylobacter, both are common puppy stool problem causes. Both can be treated and many vets will treat for both with any pup with loose stool. Coccidia they normally have an immunity to by this age.

The food your feeding may be a good food but may be too rich. Put him on boiled, drained chicken mixed with boiled rice to see if the stool firms up. If it does it is food related. Pumpkin (canned not pie filling) is also good to add fiber and firm up stools. If the stool does not firm up in a couple of days you will know you have another issue besides food. If it does firm up slowly wean him back to dog food 10% mixed with his chicken and rice and increase food as long as stool stays firm.

I would consider trying another food but you also want to avoid changing foods too often, that alone can cause loose stool.

Even with good foods, not all dogs do as well on all foods, you may want to go to a single protien/carb food without excess ingredents if it does seem to be food related. You can add new protiens one at a time and watch for his reaction to them.

Canidae is an excellent food but caused loose stool with my doberboy. Each dog is different. I plan to try him on Canidae again when he is older.

ADDED
Feeding too much or too often will make food move through the digestive tract too fast without having time to absorb the moister, make sure you are feeding the correct amount by weight and age and activity level and the correct frequency per day. Sometimes simply going longer between meals gives the last meal time to absorb better.

Answer 5

I'd like to second Goldengal. Did you bring it up with his vet at the time? Try giving the vet a call and explain the situation- including his diet and the changes in his health (kennel cough). The vet may have some additional suggestions regarding alterations to his diet. Do try the Canidae though. I've had great success with it and have heard nothing but good things about it.

Good luck :)

Answer 6

it is possible the food is causing this. my dog get the runs from a lot of brands of dry food and wet and he is 7 yrs.you could give your pup bland food like cooked rice with boiled hamb or skinless chicken,2 parts rice to 1 part meat in small amounts every couple 0f hrs.after a few days try your pup food again and see if the same thing happens, then you will know.worms can cause loose stools too.keep the water bowl full and you can give sports drinks like gatorade to get the minerals back in his system.kaopectade and pepto bismal can help with diarreha and vomiting kao 1 tsp per 10 lb of dog weight and the pepto 1 tsp per 20lbs every 6 hrs for a day or 2. if this doesn't help call your vet. good luck

Answer 7

I feed my dogs Innova. One of them has a softish stool, the other one is fine.

The "watery" stool description concerns me a little. Perhaps you can call your vet and ask if you can bring a stool sample in this week? I'd be worried about dehydration, esp in a 3 month old puppy.

Answer 8

I have hear from lots of people that Innova has caused stomach upset and diarrhea. Maybe he can't handle that particular food. You should try something else and see how he does. Why the banana? How about some canned pumpkin?

Answer 9

Hi...

Unfortunately, breeders and people who have puppies feed them god-knows-what before you receive the animal, and his digestive system could be sensitive or even "tender" because of a diet he had before you got him. Plus medical care, is lax with a lot of breeders.. they just don't care.

My sister got a husky pup who had diarrhea issues for the first year of his life, because he was not fed properly as a puppy by the breeder, and had tons of parasites. Sad but true.

I would say keep your vet informed, and take his or her advice.

all the best!

Answer 10

has the vet checked to see if he has worms or any other intestinal problem? Hook worms etc. I would not vaccinate him if he is still sick and neither should the vet.