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  1. #1
    Puppy
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    Wellness Large Bone Puppy Dry Food and loose stools

    My puppy is now almost 5 months old and has been having loose stools/diarrhea recently, but honestly since we brought him home at 8 weeks old, his stool has never been consistently "normal". I am wondering if there is something in the Wellness that disagrees with his gut. He also has had very smelly gas on/off the whole 3 months he has been with us. He had come from a home where he ate a Purina dry food. I have wanted to transition him off of the Wellness for a while now partly because it is costs an arm and a leg. We were steered to buy this food by the Pet Store because it is for large bone dogs. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what could be going with my puppy? He is healthy in every other way and is a proper weight etc.

    Any suggestions for a different food to try?

    Thank you,

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Maxx&Emma's Avatar
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    Changing food multiple times with a young puppy is not the best idea but I do understand your concern. If the Wellness is not working perhaps you could try Pro Plan, (not the shredded variety), since the puppy was on a Purina product from the beginning. An adult fprmula is fine at this age. Many breeders feed and recommend Pro Plan and it works well for them. I would definitely not recommend starting the food rollercoaster at this age.
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  3. #3
    House Broken piccadilly's Avatar
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    I too would recommend pro plan.

  4. #4
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    I would put the dog on Pro Plan Sport 30/20

  5. #5
    Puppy ~~KK~~'s Avatar
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    We went from Fromms to Pro Plan thinking it may help the loose stools. Only thing that has helped was a complete switch to Royal Canin Hypoallergenic HP (prescription). Zero treats, zero anything except that food. Finally firm stools.

  6. #6
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ~~KK~~ View Post
    We went from Fromms to Pro Plan thinking it may help the loose stools. Only thing that has helped was a complete switch to Royal Canin Hypoallergenic HP (prescription). Zero treats, zero anything except that food. Finally firm stools.
    But going to a prescription food is not normal, it's LAST RESORT. Most dogs can handle any treats and need a food that's just plain middle of the road. Most folks can keep a dog happy (especially if it had normal stools at the breeders) by going back to that same food and making sure they aren't feeding too much.

  7. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to JenC For This Useful Post:

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  8. #7
    Senior Dog Charlotte K.'s Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by JenC View Post
    But going to a prescription food is not normal, it's LAST RESORT. Most dogs can handle any treats and need a food that's just plain middle of the road. Most folks can keep a dog happy (especially if it had normal stools at the breeders) by going back to that same food and making sure they aren't feeding too much.
    I agree with Jen. You may also wish to have him wormed with Panacur or other form of that wormer if he has not been wormed in the last couple months to tackle any last puppy worms and giardia, even if a stool sample was negative. You did take a stool sample to the vet recently if he has this recurring issue, didn't you?

  9. #8
    House Broken happy_blackbird's Avatar
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    Soft poop & itchy skin

    I'm really late to this thread, but we've had some similar issues with Ellie, who is now 20 weeks old, so I'm curious if anything ended up helping the OP's puppy's poop (I have become someone who talks about my dog's poop seemingly non-stop)!

    Ellie came to us eating Purina ProPlan Large Breed Puppy and seemed to be doing just fine (though she was still sipping on mamma as we were walking towards the car). Then, at a trainers suggestion, we gave her a bully stick and rawhide chew at 10 weeks to help with crate training and her gut went to hell. Repeated bouts of diarrhea, soft serve or pencil poops, straining with no poop at all. She would get some relief after a round of flagyl and a bland, home cooked diet, but after making the transition back to kibble, the runs would begin all over again (this time with intense itching, too boot!). We added Forti-Flora (woah, the gas was horrendous), then a different pro-biotic (no change), then a round of tylan powder (worked with the poop, but then Ellie would vomit bile at about 4am). We switched her to Orijen Large Breed Puppy and her poop got softer and the straining increased (as did the itching). We've tried adding pumpkin (made the runs worse), psyllium powder (gave her a terribly uncomfortable gassy belly), yogurt (which she loves, but, again, increases the runny poop). We tried adding fish oil to help cut down on the itching, but the straining became much worse. We tried a spell where we decreased her over all food intake, which actually did help firm up her poop, but she didn't gain any weight that week and we became alarmed.

    I contacted UC Davis about getting a homemade diet created for her (this was wonderful for our last lab), but they don't recommend home cooking till 1 year of age and unless Ellie develops a true food allergy to commercial food, they won't see us till then. Our vet now has Ellie on a temporary exclusion diet of Royal Canin venison and potato kibble to see if it was the chicken or fish protein sources that were irritating her system. The third ingredient on the list, however, is soy (hydrolyzed, but soy nonetheless) and that displeases me greatly. Along with the RC food, we have been giving Ellie Pro-Pectalin gel once a day and she does now have a single, perfect poop in the morning (yay!), but it gets softer and softer as the day goes on, turning to cow splats by the end of the day. Her itching has improved, but has not ameliorated.

    I know changing a puppy's food is challenging to begin with, so I am hesitant to start fiddling again, but I would like to get her off the RC kibble as soon as possible (their potato and rabbit food worked well for our last girl's severe allergy issues before I switched to home cooking, but the quality was inconsistent-we would get a rotten bag now and again or the kibble would suddenly be an entirely different color or odor). My questions are:

    1. Has anyone else had this kind of consistent puppy gut issue and found a good food to finally normalize the poops?

    2. Has anyone else had loose poops and itchy skin simultaneously?

    3. Did anyone else have loose stool on the Orijen, but then find a food afterwards that gave firm stools? If so, what?

    4. Has anyone used Honest Kitchen's "Perfect Form" supplement with any success?

    Thanks, in advance for everyone's input! You guys have been awesome to get to know as we weave our way through Ellie's puppyhood!

  10. #9
    Senior Dog Tanya's Avatar
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    have you eliminated all treats and bones/chews?

    how much of each food did you feed? (per day) and in how many meals?

    is she possibly eating things in teh yard or on walks?

    Have you completely elliminate the potential for worms and something like giardia?

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  12. #10
    Real Retriever Laura's Avatar
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    I think you might be better off copying and pasting your issue into your own new thread, because some people might not even open this one if they don't have much knowledge about Wellness LB puppy food.
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