Hi. Hanna is now 7 months and has been eating First Mate Chicken and Blueberries for All life stages since September. All was going good firm stools and she was doing really well on it. Then recently all of a sudden her stools started getting runny. So we put her on a bland diet for a bit until her stools looked good then started her back on the food. It would be good for about 3 days then she would get really runny stools pretty much liquid. Then back on the bland diet to firm it back up...it looks good...then back on the food...3 days later same thing really runny poop.
I'm assuming it must take 3 days for the food to get all the way through her and give her problems? It's just strange because she was doing so well on it and then it just gradually started upsetting her. We've cut out all treats and don't feed her anything else trying to figure this out. Anyone else ever have this problem? Should we try another food?
It's possible she is eating too much kibble. You can try feeding her a little less and mixing in a spoonful of canned pumpkin (pure pumpkin, not pie filling) with her food. I have done that with Jax before when he has loose stool and it helps. I have also started giving Jax a probiotic once a day which seems to be helping with his digestion as well.
Hi. Thanks for replying. We've only got her back up to 1/4 cup twice a day mixed with rice and pumpkin when the runny stools come back. Before she started having issues and was doing well we were feeding her 1/2cup twice a day with pumpkin and some yogurt during the day. I would blame this on a health issue but it just seems so strange that her stools firm right back up on the bland diet and then turn runny on the food. Really seems like a food issue.
You can try switching foods to see if that helps. Just make sure you do a gradual change over a 7-10 day period.
When coming off the bland food how long should you mix bland food and kibble..what's the procedure there..same with changing food...
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Not sure about bland food but when changing kibble, you would mix 75% old with 25% new for 2-3 days, then 50% new with 50% old for 2-3 days and then 75% new with 25% old for the last 2-3 days.
I found this info online...Originally Posted by Cbrugs
"OK, a bland diet should usually be started after fasting for 24 hours to give the dogs tummy time to emtpy out, and give the "bad" bacteria in there time to die off with no food to multiply in, but if it's only an issue of changing food types and not actual sickness you should be right starting bland immediately.
A 22 lbs dog should eat about 3/4 lb of bland diet per day - usually split over several meals. Its a good idea to throw a boiled egg and some plain non-fat yoghurt into the mix of food as well, helps with protein (egg) and gets some good bacteria (yoghurt) going in the gut.
As a rule, once the dog starts eating the bland diet, and has normal looking poo's and no vomiting you can slowly begin to phase the normal food back in. Start by mixing 1/3 normal and 2/3 bland for one day, then the next day or even two go 2/3 normal & 1/3 bland, finally finish off on day 4 by feeding normal diet (with whatever is left from the bland diet). Your dog should be fine after this.
Try this recipe to vary the one you have:
Bland Diet for Dogs
1/2 lb sauteed lean ground beef (fat drained)
2 cups cooked white rice
1 hard-cooked egg, finely chopped
1 cup plain non-fat yoghurt or cottage cheese
mix together all ingredients. This yields about 2 lbs. (enough for about 2-3 days for a 20lb dog) Feed in 6-8 evenly divided doses every 3-4 hours. Some dogs tend to eat their food quickly so only give the piggy ones only a tablespoon or so at a time."
I think I will give this a try and go from there. Thanks!
Since there has never been an issue before, maybe she has a parasite, coccidia or giardia. Otherwise the only thought is a bad bag of the food or maybe some new treats. How long were you into the bag of food before you started having problems?
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From the gang in Arizona!
We weren't far into it and we even switched the bag for another one. Wouldn't she have the same symptoms on bland food if it was a parasite?
I don't think so, I've heard of dogs not even having any runny poo at all. Rice is not nutrient dense so it's mainly waste, which is why it gives firm poop (I think). I would have a fecal done if changing foods doesn't work, just to rule out anything intestinal, especially coccidia or giardia, since it's so contagious. They usually pick these up from drinking or playing in a puddle or fountain, watering hole, ect.
The good thing is that the poop does get solid on bland, if it didn't then an obstruction could be a possibility.
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From the gang in Arizona!
I'm thinking a bad bag of food, but it wouldn't hurt to get checked out by a vet to rule out a parasite,
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@bullmama is correct about not all dogs having runny, loose stool with a parasite. Jax has had giardia twice and the first time he had no signs whatsoever. We just so happened to be getting a fecal test done. The 2nd time his stool was loose and really slimy. It would probably be a good idea to get him tested just to rule that out.
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