Loose Stools

[kobesdad]

Hi There, hope you are all great?  My beautiful pup Kobe is 5 months old and I have had him since he was 9 weeks old.  His stools have been a bit of a challenge and I can't figure it out.  He goes in the morning and they are fine and dry and firm.  Though as the day progresses they kind of get softer and mushier.  I haven't changed his diet as he is on hypoallergenic food and treats as we thought he might have a wheat grain allergy.  We have tried pro kolin which kind of helped.  Now we are trying yumove digestive tablets for about 10 days and I have seen a subtle improvement but the stools are still not 100%.  His flatulance is also not very present.   He is a highly excitable puppy and also he is really teething at present too so not sure if this has anything to do with it. I have called my vet and they say as it isn't watery diarreah he should be ok.   Is there anything anyone could recommend to get things how they really should be.

[russ-g]

Hi There, hope you are all great?  My beautiful pup Kobe is 5 months old and I have had him since he was 9 weeks old.  His stools have been a bit of a challenge and I can't figure it out.  He goes in the morning and they are fine and dry and firm.  Though as the day progresses they kind of get softer and mushier.  I haven't changed his diet as he is on hypoallergenic food and treats as we thought he might have a wheat grain allergy.  We have tried pro kolin which kind of helped.  Now we are trying yumove digestive tablets for about 10 days and I have seen a subtle improvement but the stools are still not 100%.  His flatulance is also not very present.   He is a highly excitable puppy and also he is really teething at present too so not sure if this has anything to do with it. I have called my vet and they say as it isn't watery diarreah he should be ok.   Is there anything anyone could recommend to get things how they really should be.

The symptoms you've described are exactly what our pup went through a few weeks ago. We did two things and I'm not sure which fixed it:

- Firstly he was diagnosed with Giardia by the vet. The vet prescribed an antibiotic which did not solve the problem. We also could find no evidence that what had been prescribed would even resolve Giardia, so we then self-prescribed Panacur and gave him 3 doses.
- Secondly, and at the same time, we changed his food from Wainrights (which appears to be very low quality) to Royal Canin cocker puppy.

Within a few days all was well and has been ever since. No more soft poos, no more stink farts. Also now has a lovely shiny coat.

If you do want to test for Giardia it is MUCH cheaper to use an online service to do it yourself. The vet charged us £130.

Cheers

Russ

[Jaysmumagain]

Hi and welcome, firstly cockers are prone to tummy/bowel problems, it is very hit and miss of what it might be, it can be diet - not worming regularly, allergies, sometime gut parasites (as Russ G mentions) or pancreatitis which has lots of info on line.   

My boy is 15 next month and I can honestly relate to your experience with Kobe.  I use Dorwest Herbs tree bark daily on my boy and for years it helped, if he had a decline and I needed to get a quick intervention it was white fish and boiled rice for a few days with Yudigest powders ( use powder for week only as directed).  I think the daily Yudigest tablets may well work like the Dorwest bark powder but the Yudigest has probiotics in - I give my boy dessert spook plain bio yogurt mixed with the powder.

For my boy a low fat and rice base has always been best - it really is trial and error.

I do hope others will tell you their tips, but I would get him checked out if it does not settle - he is a young boy and a vet may suggest a specialist food and it is better to get him on the right track.

[Mudmagnets]

Branston who is 8 years also suffers from tummy/bowel problems and has done for quite a while.

He went for an ultrasound scan on Monday as he has lost quite a lot of weight and is suffering from malabsorbtion (he is not getting the nutriment from his food),  he is also on Yumove Digestive care & a B12 supplement daily. I am also now feeding him four times a day to see if little and often is best.

I think as your pup is very young it would deffo be a good idea to get him vet checked, because as has been mentioned, it could be one of many reasons with different remedies.

[kobesdad]

The symptoms you've described are exactly what our pup went through a few weeks ago. We did two things and I'm not sure which fixed it:

- Firstly he was diagnosed with Giardia by the vet. The vet prescribed an antibiotic which did not solve the problem. We also could find no evidence that what had been prescribed would even resolve Giardia, so we then self-prescribed Panacur and gave him 3 doses.
- Secondly, and at the same time, we changed his food from Wainrights (which appears to be very low quality) to Royal Canin cocker puppy.

Within a few days all was well and has been ever since. No more soft poos, no more stink farts. Also now has a lovely shiny coat.

If you do want to test for Giardia it is MUCH cheaper to use an online service to do it yourself. The vet charged us £130.

Cheers

Russ

Hi Russ,

Thank you so much for your response over my pups Kobe's loose stools.  Do you mind if I ask you about the Panacur?  Did you give your pup 3 doses over 3 days?  Did it make things watery for a few days?   When I got Kobe he was on Pedigree Chum puppy much to my hearts dismay.  We have weaned him off that now and he is on Ava's Puppy Food there is definitely an improvement there but its still not right.  So thanks to your advice will probably switch to Royal Canin too but was just curious about the Panacur.

Thanks a million in advance for your advice.

Mark

[russ-g]

Thank you so much for your response over my pups Kobe's loose stools.  Do you mind if I ask you about the Panacur?  Did you give your pup 3 doses over 3 days?  Did it make things watery for a few days?   When I got Kobe he was on Pedigree Chum puppy much to my hearts dismay.  We have weaned him off that now and he is on Ava's Puppy Food there is definitely an improvement there but its still not right.  So thanks to your advice will probably switch to Royal Canin too but was just curious about the Panacur.

Yes 3 doses, once per day for 3 days according to the instructions. You adjust the dose based on the weight of the puppy. No it didn't make things watery at all, but it was a couple of days before we noticed an improvement. By day 4 everything was perfect.

Stanley has a habit of eating slugs, so I suspect we'll be doing panacur again in the not too distant future!

[kobesdad]

Thank you so much Russ I ordered some earlier on! You have been really helpful and I think our situations are very similar (so glad Stanley is doing so well too).  Fingers crossed mine does 🤞🏻 Thanks again.   

Best wishes
Mark