[Barktasticbentlee]

Hi my pup Bentlee is a lab/pit mix and is about 5 months old. About a week ago he started having watery diarrhea. Other than that he acted normal. Eating and drinking as usual. I took him to the vet and after fecal tests for parasites he recommended Purina RN. Before this he was eating Wellness complete puppy and had seemed to being doing fine. Stool was soft some times but never diarrhea. Since feeding the EN he has had firmer stool but I have also eliminated all his treats and chews in order to narrow down what he might be sensitive too. I was thinking of trying a lid dog food, such as Wellness lid or natural balance. I'm open to all suggestions and help. Thanks.

 

[3GSD4IPO]

Stop feeding puppy food. Puppy food is often too rich.
Feed an all life stages food instead.
I feed raw now, but I think Wellness makes decent dog food. I think Lamb and Barley would be a good choice.

I don't like grain free since most companies went to a pea base. The peas boost the crude protein on the package but protein from peas is less digestible to the dog.

 

[LeoRose]

Giardia and coccidia can cause loose, watery stools. Giardia in particular can be very hard to diagnose.

Another cause of soft stools in puppies is simply over feeding. If you decide to put him back to what he was eating, try feeding about half a cup or so less, and see if the loose stools go away.

I'm not that big a fan of grain-free diets, and I've never had a dog who did well on a lamb-based kibble. One study showed that, of the most common protein sources in commercial dog food, lamb had the lowest digestibility rate.

 

[Barktasticbentlee]

Giardia and coccidia can cause loose, watery stools. Giardia in particular can be very hard to diagnose.

Another cause of soft stools in puppies is simply over feeding. If you decide to put him back to what he was eating, try feeding about half a cup or so less, and see if the loose stools go away.

I'm not that big a fan of grain-free diets, and I've never had a dog who did well on a lamb-based kibble. One study showed that, of the most common protein sources in commercial dog food, lamb had the lowest digestibility rate.

I had also thought of Giardia. But doesn't that usually present with greenish stool. I had mentioned that as well to the vet as my pup and I go to the lake often and he had previously drank water in puddles by the shore. I'm curious as to why the vet dud not prescribe a antibiotic in case it was a bacterial infection or possibly a protozon.

I have thought about switching to "Natural Balance" but I am not a huge fan of grain-free diets as well. Most lid foods I've found have been grain free but the natural balance was the closet in protein/fat/fiber content as the EN.
Thanks for your help

 

[DaySleepers]

I wouldn't jump to him having food sensitivities right away, there's a lot of reasons a dog could be having watery stool without any parasites showing up on a fecal. Aside from what LeoRose mentioned, there's also viral stomach bugs dogs can get, same as humans, and the possibility of eating something outside that upset his stomach. I have had a dog get a nasty bout of watery diarrhea before (we suspect viral but never found the cause) and like you used a prescription diet for a while to help his gut heal. Afterwards, we were able to transition him back to eating his old food with no issue.

Vets are often reluctant to prescribe antibiotics unless they're able to positively identify that an issue is caused by something antibiotics would work on, or when nothing else has worked. This is both because over-use of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance and because antibiotics are actually quite hard on the body, especially the digestive tract. All those beneficial bacteria that live in the guts get wiped out, so it's actually extremely common for antibiotics to cause diarrhea! So it makes a lot of sense that they're avoiding prescribing it here, when they're not sure it'll work and may even make his symptoms worse.

 

[Barktasticbentlee]

I had also thought of Giardia. But doesn't that usually present with greenish stool. I had mentioned that as well to the vet as my pup and I go to the lake often and he had previously drank water in puddles by the shore. I'm curious as to why the vet dud not prescribe a antibiotic in case it was a bacterial infection or possibly a protozon.

I have thought about switching to "Natural Balance" but I am not a huge fan of grain-free diets as well. Most lid foods I've found have been grain free but the natural balance was the closet in protein/fat/fiber content as the EN.
Thanks for your help

Also I forgot I had also looked into just 6 by

I wouldn't jump to him having food sensitivities right away, there's a lot of reasons a dog could be having watery stool without any parasites showing up on a fecal. Aside from what LeoRose mentioned, there's also viral stomach bugs dogs can get, same as humans, and the possibility of eating something outside that upset his stomach. I have had a dog get a nasty bout of watery diarrhea before (we suspect viral but never found the cause) and like you used a prescription diet for a while to help his gut heal. Afterwards, we were able to transition him back to eating his old food with no issue.

Vets are often reluctant to prescribe antibiotics unless they're able to positively identify that an issue is caused by something antibiotics would work on, or when nothing else has worked. This is both because over-use of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic resistance and because antibiotics are actually quite hard on the body, especially the digestive tract. All those beneficial bacteria that live in the guts get wiped out, so it's actually extremely common for antibiotics to cause diarrhea! So it makes a lot of sense that they're avoiding prescribing it here, when they're not sure it'll work and may even make his symptoms worse.

Thanks, that makes a lot of sense, over use of antibiotics has made a lot of illness for us humans harder to treat now. The past 2 days I have mixed a little of his old food, Wellness Puppy, in with the remaining cans of the EN the vet had given me, I've also been giving him a prebiotic I had bought myself. So far everything has been good. I know food sensitivities are a lot less common than people tend to think. If I can find a lid food that is not grain free I think I'm still going to try it as I don't think that it can hurt. Looking back I honestly think it was 1 of 3 things:
1) a stomach bug
2) new treats I tried (Pet Botanics) brand
I've since gone back to blueberries, strawberries & cherrios
3) allowed him to eat too much of a Bully stick which either had bacteria in it or was just too rich for his young age

Thank all of you for your help.

 

[LeoRose]

Bully sticks can definitely cause loose stools. While they are rather low in fat, they are high in calories, ranging from 9 to 22 calories per inch.

 

[Barktasticbentlee]

Bully sticks can definitely cause loose stools. While they are rather low in fat, they are high in calories, ranging from 9 to 22 calories per inch.

When looking for an alternative food to EN what should I mainly be looking for, a lower protein,fat or fiber content.
I've found a Natural Balance lid formula I believe it's their bison which is very very close to the Purina EN except that it has more fiber, having 5% rather than 2% in the EN. There are a few other small differences one being sunflower oil vs coconut oil. I however, have no idea how much of a difference that makes,lol.
All in all I can tell my pup is feeling much better and I can actually pick up his poop with a poop bag. If I have to continue to feed him the EN I will find a way
Of topic but do you happen to have pet insurance and if so which company did you choose?
Thanks