Pumpkin

Basil has been having loose stools off and on since I adopted him about three weeks ago. I've read that canned pumpkin can help firm up stools, so I decided to go try it out. However, I couldn't find plain pumpkin ANYWHERE. I decided to get a can of pumpkin pie filling after reading the ingredients (they didn't look so bad, just pumpkin plus sugar and spices) since I was already there and I could do some research once I got home. I figured that if I found a reason why the pie filling is a bad idea, I can just make some pumpkin muffins for my boyfriend and I.

Well, I can't find any info on the subject, aside from just plain old DON'T use it. So.. what exactly is so bad about it? I don't intend on feeding him copious amounts of the stuff, just enough to keep him from having loose stools. And I assumed that the spices are probably what's bad (It didn't say exactly what spices were in there, just "spices.") since the sugar doesn't SEEM like it would be a problem. I mean, dogs eat sugary-sweet peanut butter quite regularly, don't they? And out of everyone I've ever met, only my mom buys natural un-sweetened peanut butter XD And if the sugar IS the problem, as in, it causes a weight problem or something, then I suppose we'll just have to go on a few extra walks! Lol!

So, would you suggest I make those muffins and continue my search for plain pumpkin? Or will the pie filling do for now?

Also, how much do you suppose I should feed to a 17 lb Papillon, if I'm only trying to firm up his stools?