Lets talk about POOP!

[GreatWhite]

I have a poop scenario I was hoping some of my fellow Frenchie parents would like to weigh in on:

First a little background for you:
Truman is 5 1/2 months old, we have had him for 5 weeks. I switched his food cold turkey when I got him to Grandma Lucy's freeze dried raw, mixing chicken and pork. He was on some purina garbage food before, so that had to go ASAP. I have 2 other dogs on the exact same diet. Truman had Giardia a few weeks ago, was on 7 days of panacur and now has a clean fecal.

His poop is pretty inconsistent, sometimes he has perfect poops and sometimes he has loose poops (before, during, & after giardia). He doesn't have watery, mucusy diarrhea, its just little on the soft side.The only thing that is consistent is that his poop is always "grainy" like he is eating chia seeds or sesame seeds behind my back. The food he gets fed doesn't have seeds in it but it does have carrot pieces and those are coming out completely undigested. My other 2 dogs poop looks nothing like his. didn't want to get too graphic up in here so I didn't include a photo, if anyone thinks a photo can help I will post it, I just didn't want to gross everyone out too much. There is nothing about his poop that inhibits his life, I just want to make sure there isn't some underlying issue I may not have enough experience to identify.

I've been doing a little reading on a couple of possible gastrointestinal issues. He doesn't have any other symptoms, he eats well, drinks well, no vomiting, no weakness or lethargy, no weight loss, no pain, and no bloody stool.

The only matching "symptom" he has is farting, which really isn't too bad, my other 2 have done much worse lol.

Input/experiences/opinions are greatly appreciated! oo:

 

[Cbrugs]

You can try a probiotic.

 

[GreatWhite]

like just plain yogurt or is there something specifically for dogs?

 

[Joeturbo26]

Has he ever had worms? Also, what breed are the other two? That food has cranberry and blueberry in it which have seeds! If the Frenchie is making smaller poops maybe the poop to seed ratio is greater and you're more likely to see them? I dunno just taking a stab at it! Hahaha

 

[Cbrugs]

like just plain yogurt or is there something specifically for dogs?

Some people use plain yogurt. There is also kefir as well as probiotics for dogs.

It's also possible that he can have an intolerance to an ingredient in the food or that he is eating too much.

 

[GreatWhite]

Some people use plain yogurt. There is also kefir as well as probiotics for dogs.

It's also possible that he can have an intolerance to an ingredient in the food or that he is eating too much.

hm, good point, I'll test that out.

 

[mhuinker]

You can try a probiotic.

Definitely try the Probiotic. I use a powder, which I find at Tractor Supply (horse section). Also might want to try pumpkin (100% pure). That usually helps my Leo's poop, who also has inconsistant stools....... starts out firm like it should be, then gets thinner and softer (not runny, just soft).

 

[blushy]

My pup had giardia and Coccidia. A year of clean fecal exams and he's still on and off. I'm pretty sure it just ruined him forever and we just wipe his butt with a baby wipe after every time he poops. He's been on 3 different foods, and he can't have anything besides chicken because it's all too rich for his digestive system.

I only mention this because 9 times out of 10 his poop looks grainy and seedy, and dry Fromm kibble isn't grainy and/or seedy to my knowledge. Haha.

We get probiotics from the vet, they're really expensive though. $25 a tube that lasts a week. But if he gets loose stool , one dose of the probiotics fixes that instantly. So we usually have it on hand for bouts of diarrhea.


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[Jakeyjake]

I would try a probiotic and if that doesn't help I would do another round of Panacur and add flagyl to see if that helps. Giardia can be tricky to treat.

 

[GreatWhite]

Is Sweet potato a viable replacement for pumpkin?

 

[davidh]

Usually soft poop is an indication of too much food. Try cutting back on his food just a little to see of that makes his poop a little harder.

 

[Genebean]

All of this information is great. We had problems when we got our Buddy from the breeder. Not the best place and we really think that we did a bit of saving this Royal Frenchnel. After two bouts of Giardia he was doing great for several months. Now, as he turns one year old, he started with loose stools again. Our vet recommended "Digestive Care ID" dry and wet food. It is prescription only. We also feed him boiled chicken ( small amount ) with one meal a day. He isn't showing signs of any other issue, and the vet thinks that he is in good health other than this issue. We cut back on food, which made a positive difference in the past, but now it is back to loose stools, only going two to three times a day. Any suggestions?

 

[GraciesMom]

A couple of thoughts. First, coccidia can be very difficult to treat and doesn’t always show up on a fecal float test so Truman may not be out of the woods yet. Secondly, I’ve heard quite a few Frenchie owners comment on chicken allergies. I applaud you for using a raw food option but perhaps trying one without chicken, like a beef based one, might help.

 

[Honeys Owners]

All of this information is great. We had problems when we got our Buddy from the breeder. Not the best place and we really think that we did a bit of saving this Royal Frenchnel. After two bouts of Giardia he was doing great for several months. Now, as he turns one year old, he started with loose stools again. Our vet recommended "Digestive Care ID" dry and wet food. It is prescription only. We also feed him boiled chicken ( small amount ) with one meal a day. He isn't showing signs of any other issue, and the vet thinks that he is in good health other than this issue. We cut back on food, which made a positive difference in the past, but now it is back to loose stools, only going two to three times a day. Any suggestions?

None of the big companies' dog foods are healthy long term, since they have a lot of carbohydrates. Perhaps you can try an air dried food ( eg. OnlyNatural Pet Maxmeat ) or a dehydrated raw food ( eg. Honest Kitchen, Spot Farm, OnlyNatural EasyRaw, Grandma Lucy's ) or a frozen raw dog food. Add a probiotic such as milk kefir, live sauerkraut, or a doggie probiotic ( eg. Probiotic Miracle ). As mentioned you can add canned pumpkin to thicken stools.

Have dog retested or even retreated for parasites as mentioned previously. For giardia it would be metronidazole plus panacur, for coccidia it would be a sulfa antibiotic such as sulfadimethoxine. Make sure you clean all toys, beddings and surroundings thoroughly in case there are cysts around.

 

[Genebean]

Hi all. We have a one year old Royal Frenchnel. That said, we really don't know what all is made up of this mix breed. The Breeder would NOT tell us. Anyway, he has had Giardia twice, once from the Breeder, and now he is having soft poop again. We have been to the vet and he is parasite free and he is happy, alert and loving every day. We have him on Digestive care, ID. Which is prescription food. We also feed him boiled Chicken breast. He still has soft poop. We cut back on his food and it worked for about four months then all of a sudden we are back to soft stool. He only goes twice, maybe three times a day, but it is soft. We have read that Pumpkin is good to try. We give him probiotics every other day and we work hard to make sure that he doesn't eat the leaves that have fallen. He wants to eat everything.. Just a normal puppy. Ha. any suggestions?