I got about 16 weeks ago a very cute american yellow male puppy. He was on Purina One and I transition him off of that and put him on innova for large breeds he was doing great then it took a turn for the worst. really bad tummy problems, we are talking the worst, I had to take off work to stay home and he was in a crate you should have seen the messes. All the tests for bugs have all come back negative I since have put him on Heath Wise another food buy the same company Natura. But all they foods after the meds that doctor has given me cyder still goes back to having really bad tummy problems. please can anyone help me figure out what to feed him, i am having so much trouble with this problem.

How long was he on solely the innova before he had problems? Did your vet specifically test for giardia?

First off, STOP switching foods!! If he is currently having diarrea, fast for 24 hrs and then give boiled chicken and rice for a day. If alls well, start adding his food back in. If the diarrea comes back, I'd ask the dr to test and/or treat for giardia. Good luck.

All tests came back negative? What did they test for? What meds did the vet put Cyder on and for what reason?

I have not been changing the food as often as it sounds, when he came home for about four weeks on the innova and then I slowly moved him off that food because I was told it might be to rich, so I put him on a chicken and brown rice diet in a dry dog food. But every test has come back negative and now the docter thinks the only way to figure out what is wrong is to use a scope, what if that comes back negative?

I am not the best with all the science names, but the normal stool test were done and sent to the lab. And the just as a percaution they put him on at differnt times, three types of meds just incase the test came back that he did have on of these bugs. He was great on the meds, solid stools all the time. But 24 hours passed and the meds were done being given he went back to loose stools. I have given him flosses to chew on and milk bone dog biscuts with his food but now I am a little scared. I love this little guy and I hate to see him having this problem. Last night was bad, he would cry in his crate with he HAD to go out and we would take him out. I was very pround that he could hold it.

Sorry your dog isn't feeling well. Unfortunately having a dog is going to make you become an semi-expert in veterinary care. You will need to remember to ask the vet what they tested for and know what meds your dog was given.

Many vets don't test for ghiardia or do their own in-lab test which often doesn't find the problem. Many vets assume it's one thing and just give antibiotics without knowing what the real problem was.

Why did you switch off Innova? You said someone said it might be too rich...was that before or after the pup started having the runs? How long did you have the pup before you moved off Purina One? How long did you have the pup home before the runs started?

Coccidia is another common problem. Sometimes it doesn't rear it's head until the pup comes home and gets stressed in it's new environment. Sometimes vets don't diagnose that right either.

Try not giving those Milk Bone Treats. First of all.

If you read about giardia and coccidae sometimes the fecal flotation misses a positive because of the life cycle of the organism . It sounds like a Vet Visit and another Fecal test.

The first step for any dog owner is having a good Vet you can trust.

The next is knowing the drill.. All puppies get diarrhea on occasion .
24 hours of fasting with water available to drink.
Then cook up rice and hamburger (or Chicken) 90 % rice. Small portions at first three times a day for three days, on the forth day just a few kibble mixed in . then add a little more kibble each day for a week. The rice binds up the dogs gut giving the lining time to heal . Giving a pro biotic after all this is good to get the flora in the gut having good bacteria to prevent issues in the future.

If your dog is caring a parasite your Vet should prescribe the appropriate medicine to get rid of it.

But your dog needs to be seen to rule out any other causes of illness.

Cyder has had the runs since we brought him home, his ghiardea test, coccido and worms test all came back negative. So I have no clue if the food is to rich, all I do know is he loves to eat he loves his flosses, and he is a happy hyper puppie. But he is not taking any of the water out of the food as it goes though the large intestant. I comes out very much watery and mucus like, I just do not know what to feed him, so he is getting the right nutrients and how to make this stop. could it be he is allergic to somthing? or is it a bug that i can not see or something worse.

what are you feeding him ??

He's on Healthwise now.

If this has been going on since you brought the pup home....
1) have you talked to the breeder?
2) get second opinion from another vet

Start putting the pup on a bland diet of the chicken or beef and rice and see if that fixes any of the problems.

Look on your last receipt from the vet, what medication did he give you?? Vets often prescribe metronidizole for stomach/digestion problems, and it might help it a bit, but often doesn't cure the problem.

If this were me, I would find new vet and have them specifically test for ghiardia and coccidia and then go from there...

...I have given him flosses to chew on and milk bone dog biscuts with his food ...


I don't know what "flosses" are but if they are a food or are swallowed, I would stop giving them and the milk bone dog biscuits. Only feed dog food right now unless you need to feed a homemade bland diet (rice & beef or chicken) or canned pumpkin to firm his stools. No table scraps please. Over-feeding can cause loose stools too. Has your puppy ever had a firm stool while not on medication? If so, what was he eating then? Are you feeding him 3 x's/day?

No he has never had solid stools, only when he is on the medication. And flosses is the ankle tendent of a cow kind of the same material as a bully bone. I have stopped every thing and never have given him any other food. I have heard about the pumpkin because it is a form of fiber. I have him eating Heath Wise and he loves it but labs love everything. And the doctor now wants me to put fiber medication like mucilax in his food. I just am soon out of food an unsure what to feed him. I think the bland diet sounds great but what if it does not work and how much do I feed him of the chicken and rice?

Many dog foods have way to many ingredients in them and it only takes one to set off a sensitive stomach. When a dog is having digestive problems I usually suggest a simple food like California Naturals L&R which has about 4 ingredients in it. It's made by Natura the same makers of Innova, EVO, Healthwise and some others. California Naturals also make a puppy food. Make any food changes gradually over a weeks time and feed 3 smaller meals instead of just one. I hope this simple food will work for you.

A home cooked bland diet is meant as a temporary measure to help your dog recover from a bad bout of diarrhea or stomach upset and is not for long term use. I would start with 1/2 cup servings at first and see how it goes. If his poop is firming up, try a little more the next day. If chicken and rice doesn't do the trick, try boiling hamburger and adding it to rice instead. Eventually you can start adding a little dog food to the rice mixture to get him back on dog food.

You can also try adding a tbsp. of canned pumpkin (not pie filling) to his regular food, this is similar to what your vet wants you to try.

Make sure your puppy isn't eating anything that he's not supposed to (supervise).

Good Luck and welcome to the board. I hope your baby feels better soon.

Was he OK on the purina one? If so maybe put him back on that, at least for a bit?