[babyfett]

So my 12 week old French Bulldog Bacon poops a LOT. I mean 5 or 6 times a day. My concern is that at the end of the day, after dinner he has a regular poop and then a few minutes later it's followed by diarrhea. Then in the morning it's solid again and throughout the day it's solid and then come evening, diarrhea. He's otherwise happy and healthy, eating a ton and drinking lots of fluids. And the diarrhea looks normal brown. I didn't know if anyone else found this to be the norm. And I'm wondering if it's the treats I give him throughout the day for training that's making his stools soft?(Wellness Puppy Treats). Otherwise he eats premium food that the breeder recommended. Ideas? Thoughts? He also had an ordeal last Friday night where he ate something toxic and ended up in the ER, but after a couple days bland diet he's back to his normal eating.

 

[Gally]

What premium food do you feed? How much? How many treats does he get a day?

It could possibly be that he is just getting too much food. He might still have residual indigestion from the ER visit as well.

 

[babyfett]

It's PetSmart's premium brand called Simply Nourish. Vet said it was good.

He's getting at least 10-15 treats a day. Little ones.

But yes, before the ER visit his stools were pretty solid so it could also be the GI tract is still a little sensitive. I'll give it a few more days. Next week he goes in for his fourth round of shots and I can ask the vet then.

 

[Gally]

You could talk to your vet about probiotics to get his digestive system back in order. Plain non-fat yogurt with probiotics or pill probiotics could be options to consider.

I'm still wondering if you might be overfeeding slightly. How many cups of food is he getting a day? Even a small increase in food gives our dog diarrhea and loose stools but he's more sensitive than most dogs.

 

[babyfett]

He's about 10.5 pounds and I did recently up his food from 3/4 Cup twice a day to 1 1/4 Cup twice a day. So maybe it's too much too fast? I was just going by what the package said. While he was recovering from the ER visit I was just giving him boiled chicken and boiled white rice and then added some kibble over the next couple of days until it was just kibble and in the process upped him to the higher amount of food. He devours it though. Thanks for all your thoughts so far.

 

[Gally]

That's actually a pretty big increase, especially in one go. It's better to do an increase in small amounts (something like 1/10th of a cup) every couple days until you get it to a level where he is digesting well and growing well while maintaining a good figure.

Don't go by how hungry he seems, my dog would eat the entire bag of dog food in one sitting if I let him but that doesn't mean he needs it. It's better to go by how he looks, puppies tend to be a little pudgy in the tummy area but you should be able to see a waist from above. If he is getting skinny you can up the food and if he's getting too fat then reduce it.

The instructions on the bag are just a general guideline and tend to be on the high side. Every dog is different so you need to adjust the amount to your dogs needs.

 

[babyfett]

Once again great info. Thanks so much. I'll decrease tomorrow and see how it goes. He probably has solid poops in the morning because he isn't eating for 12 hours and then during the day with snacks and dinner he's probably over eating and getting a bit of an upset tummy. Thanks again!

 

[babyfett]

So far it looks like you were right, that I'm over-feeding the dog, or rather upped his food too quickly, as opposed to over time. He had solid poops all day yesterday after cutting back and today he's pooped less so far. I thought maybe the Simply Nourish was a bad brand but it's recommended by that dogfoodadvisor site as a 4-star food so I'll keep it for now. Thanks again.

 

[Gally]

Glad to hear you're having success.

 

[hanksimon]

It takes about 1 - 2 weeks for the GI tract to recover 100%, but I don't think that is the issue. I think that he is eating all kinds of stuff continually throughout the day. So cut out all snacks for a few days, and just feed him 2 - 3 times at his regular meals, only. When his feeding times are regular, his digestion should be regular. As soon as he's back to normal, you can resume the treats.

If you are using the treats for training, use less for now... just a taste rather than a full snack.

 

[NRB]

you can also use your kibble for training treats. Also remember to subtract the amt of kibble you use as training treats from the meals. IE I feed 2.5 cups a day but if I used 1/2 a cup kibble as training treats then I'd withold 1/2 a cup food from the evening meal... since the dog already got the food in training.

Also for a 12 wk old pup I'd be feeding 3 meals a day. So again if 3/4 cup 2x daily then do 1/2 cup 3x a day.

 

[chocolabs]

12 weeks sounds like hes still adjusting to being home as well. It could just be anxiety. Just make sure the dog is getting plenty of water to rehydrate.