Really SMELLY Puppy

[Saltire]

Hello, I have a 14 week Black lab called Finn, he is perfect in every way and the light of our life.

However he is so smelly, it can be unbearable at times. He has been checked for parasites and is clear. His stool is mostly soft but solid, if that makes sense. He is currently on Science Diet Large Breed Puppy at the advice of the Vet. When we first got him we had him on Fromm Gold Puppy, but he had really lose stool on that so we changed him to SD. He gets 3/4 cup 3 times a day plus about 1/4 cup training treats and is 27 lbs

Finn is our 3rd lab - so I understand dogs can be farty, but this is out of the norm of anything I have experienced before, think green toxic haze.

The vet suggested Greek yogurt - but I just saw on another thread that the calcium could be bad for him.

Growing up with labs and having 2 myself I have never come across one with a delicate stomach so I have no idea what to do for him. Although to be honest he is perfectly happy its just his people who are complaining.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice you can share.

[Labradorks]

Assuming you changed him from what the breeder fed, that's an awful lot of food changes for a puppy that young, and could be contributing to your issues since he hasn't been on one food long enough to get used to it, causing gastric upset, which can include gas. Assuming you chose a breeder you trust, leaving them on that food for about the first year is always suggested as they know what works for their lines. I'd go back to the food the breeder had him on, give it at least a month, and if he continues to have gas, you can try a probiotic, which does not have to be in the form of yogurt. But, don't go out and do that now or you may not know how the food is working. The first step is to find a food and stick with it.

The food roller coaster, especially with a puppy you are trying to housebreak, is not a ride you want to be on! Trust me.

[SunDance]

The chicken and gluten in that food would have me running to switch...I've had bad experience with chicken with every dog I've tried it with and gluten is a known producer of gas.

But are you positive that the smell is from gas and not possibly anal gland ooze...especially with soft stools. If his glands leak, that could easily be indicative on food intolerance (not impaction). Is "green toxic haze" at all fishy? That would be glands.

[Saltire]

Thanks for the comments.

Labradorks, I agree now I think about it that is a lot of food switches in one so small, I only switched because the vet told me too. I do trust our breeder, Finn is our 3rd puppy from them, so I think I will give them a ring and see what they have to say. The good news is he is house trained and we were very lucky because he never pooped in the house and only ever had a couple pee accidents.

SunDance - yikes I have no idea about anal glands - but no he is not fishy smelling, and he was at the Vet last week and she did an exam and took his temp - so hopefully she would have noticed anything off - but I am also going to ring her and see what she said.

Thanks again - looks like I have some work to do.

[AlexS]

Thanks for the comments.

Labradorks, I agree now I think about it that is a lot of food switches in one so small, I only switched because the vet told me too. I do trust our breeder, Finn is our 3rd puppy from them, so I think I will give them a ring and see what they have to say. The good news is he is house trained and we were very lucky because he never pooped in the house and only ever had a couple pee accidents.

SunDance - yikes I have no idea about anal glands - but no he is not fishy smelling, and he was at the Vet last week and she did an exam and took his temp - so hopefully she would have noticed anything off - but I am also going to ring her and see what she said.

Thanks again - looks like I have some work to do.

Does your vet sell science diet? Because that would probably be the main reason they had you switch. I had a vet try to do that too me once.

[Maxx&Emma]

I agree with the suggestions above and would get your puppy off of Science Diet and back on your breeder recommended food ASAP. I am surprised your breeder did not go over food with you, most are pretty clear on this. Hopefully you are able to straighten this out quickly, good luck!

[JenC]

Unless the breeder was feeding Fromm's, which I kinda doubt, you should put the pup back on its original food. Too many people think it's better to feed the dog a fancy premium food and instead they make the dog sick. Pro Plan puppy or Eukanuba puppy would be my choice. And Science Diet, other than for medical conditions, is pretty much crappy food. I'm curious who the breeder is since I know most of the reputable lab folks in Colorado. PM me if you want.

[Saltire]

Good Morning - no the Vet does not sell Science Diet, but he did recommend it.

The breeder did talk to us about feeding and was supportive of us changing over from the food he had been feeding, because we wanted to use the same food (FORUM) as we had fed this to our other lab's, who were so very healthy and never ever had any digestive issues.

When transitioning Finn we followed the guidelines he provided to the letter.


I am going to the store today to get the original food for Finn and start the process of changing him back to Pro Plan.

Thanks very much for your time and all your support.

[Saltire]

Hi JenC, sorry but I can't figure out how to PM you.

We really like the Kennel we got Finn from, the lines are exactly what my husband was looking for (we wanted an American Lab from Hunting Stock) and Finn is actually a great nephew of our last lab. Who really was the perfect dog for the 15 years we had him.

The breeder treated us well and was really great to work with and even thought Finn is only 15 weeks I am pretty sure he selected the perfect lab for our family.

Anyway I don't mean to gush - but I'm just thrilled with the whole process and was very excited to get a descendant of our much loved Milo.

Now if I could just figure out his food - life would be fantastic for our family.

[JenC]

You need more posts for PMing.