Pooping Problems (long)

[Miss Monty]

We have had our puppy, Monty, for about a week now. The first poop she took while with us was solid/normal looking, since then she has had loose stool/diarrhea. I am hoping she is still getting used to us and her new enviorment. I am feeding her the same puppy chow the breeder did, and I am using a bit of warm water to soften it up a bit before I feed her (like the breeder did). She is crate training, and likes the crate. We let her out every 2 hours at night, and the longest she is alone during the day is 4-5 hours. Everytime she poops its loose, day or night. Any advice/tips/suggestions are greatly appreciated.


Monty's Dad

 

[courtney323]

Miss Monty -

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I am feeding her the same puppy chow the breeder did, and I am using a bit of warm water to soften it up a bit before I feed her (like the breeder did).

I would get her onto a better quality food as soon as possible. www.boxerworld.com/feeding has some great information on choosing a good quality dog food (as well as what to avoid).

Purina Puppy Chow is probably one of the lowest quality foods out there. The high grain content, sketchy ingredients and cheap fillers could be doing a number on her little belly.

If you do a search on "premium kibbles" you will find that this has been covered in the past, and there are lots of suggestions

 

[Miss Monty]

Pooping Problems

We are feeding her Purina Puppy Chow, which I though was good. However I will check out what else is suggested.

 

[sgbtab]

look for a high quality kibble where the first ingredients are not grain.

 

[courtney323]

Sorry for the confusion, I was referring to Purina Puppy Chow

Here are the ingredients:

Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, brewers rice, soybean meal, beef tallow preserved with mixed-tocopherols (source of Vitamin E), pearled barley, dicalcium phosphate, calcium carbonate, animal digest, salt, egg product, potassium chloride, L-Lysine monohydrochloride, zinc proteinate, choline chloride, DL-Methionine, vitamin supplements (E, A, B 12, D 3), manganese proteinate, ferrous sulfate, copper proteinate, added color (Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 2), niacin, brewers dried yeast, calcium pantothenate, garlic oil, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin supplement, calcium iodate, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of Vitamin K activity), folic acid, biotin, sodium selenite.
0-4001

As you can see, 4 out of the 5 first ingredients are grains (and the first ingredient is corn!). The only meat source is chicken "by product", which is highly undesirable. From the same link I posted above,

The AAFCO definition of “chicken by-products” for example is “ground, rendered, clean parts of the carcass of slaughtered chicken, such as necks, feet, undeveloped eggs and intestines, exclusive of feathers, except in such amounts as might occur unavoidable in good processing practice.”

 

[Miss Monty]

Time for new food

Wow, I had no idea! I am going out after work and getting a new food for her. Should I mix the two and slowly change to the new one, or just straight change to the new food?

 

[courtney323]

Definitely mix the two foods

The transition should take a week or 2, to minimize the risk of upsetting her tummy any further.

Good luck - let us know how she does!

 

[Miss Monty]

Well, I went out and got my Monty some Solid Gold and mixed it in with her old food. She took right too it and ate it all up with no problems. Its only been one feeding, so hopefully we are on the right track.

 

[Miss Monty]

Turns out Monty has a hook worm and that is causing the "bad poop". The Doc gave her some meds for it and things should clear up soon. She is also taking very well to the Solid Gold and we have succesfully weaned her to it from the other food she was eating.

 

[SABoxerfan]

Don't go out in the yard where she poops barefooted . . . I just read in "Boxers for Dummies" that the hookworms get into the soil and can enter your body through your feet (UGH).