[Winniesdad]

My 7 month old Redbone Coonhound has lose stools. It's not diarrhea just pretty loose. More pile of crap than piece of crap.

She started on a horrid corn based sorta Ol' Roy food before we bought her. She had loose stools. We switched her to Wellness Just for Puppy. She had loose stools. We switched her to Haven Naturals. She has loose stools. She's been wormed (she had both round worm and whip worms). She still has loose stools.

She's happy, energetic, eats well, and is putting on weight. Her coat is gorgeous but she still has...well you get the idea.

Should I be worried?

My vet does have her on a long term worming program where she will get three doses a month for three months. Beyond that she says the problem is that Im not feeding her Hills Science Diet. I'm looking for a new vet.

Basic question then is: Is there something I should do or if she looks healthy and acts healthy should I just quit worrying?

 

[rannmiller]

Beyond that she says the problem is that Im not feeding her Hills Science Diet. I'm looking for a new vet.

Haha that's awesome, I love you already!

How long did you keep her on each food before you changed her? Puppies need time and transition before their digestive systems can become acclimated to their new foods. If you didn't have her on each one long enough, maybe that was the problem.

Also, is it possible that the long term worming meds may also be irritating her system causing loose stools?

My roommate's dog had really loose stools when he was younger, the only food she's found that's worked best for him so far was Orijen, but even that took about a week and a half before the poop firmed up. Now she reports it is nice and firm.

I have my dogs on a raw diet and their poops are about as solid as a brick and very small.

 

[RawFedDogs]

She's happy, energetic, eats well, and is putting on weight. Her coat is gorgeous but .....

I think that tells you all you need to know. I also think the meds may be a cause as well as not leaving her on one food long enough. I think the first thing I would try is to feed smaller meals. Too much volume in one meal can cause loose stools. If you are feeding two meals a day, try going back to 3 smaller meals.

 

[ChattyCathy]

I agree w/Rannmiller. The meds could be causing a problem and if you're not doing so you have to transition the puppy slowly from one food to the other. One of my dogs has the same problem and depending on what I feed her it will go away. Right now we are using Wellness Core and she goes back and forth with the loose stools on it. May try Origen soon. I'm pretty sure they have puppy food too. Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[Winniesdad]

Thanks for all the replies!

Someone suggested putting a small amount of pumpkin in her food. I remember we used to do that for our English Setter Worthy, when he got constipated. Apparently it works for both constipation and loose stools. Were trying that. We put just a small amount into her evening meal last night. Her morning stool looked a little better so maybe that's the ticket.

As for her rotation I changed food after about 3 months. Is that too quick? I did mix the foods together during the transition.

 

[rannmiller]

The problem with pumpkin is that it only masks the symptoms of what's really going on rather than fixing the problem.

As far switching the food goes, it sounds like she's pretty healthy aside from the loose stools. Maybe you could do a boiled chicken and brown rice thing for her for a few days to calm her stomach down, then try mixing some of the kibble in with it after a couple of days. I'd also say try Orijen because it's got more meat in it than most of those other foods so that should also help firm her up.

 

[clockcycle]

The problem with pumpkin is that it only masks the symptoms of what's really going on rather than fixing the problem.

As far switching the food goes, it sounds like she's pretty healthy aside from the loose stools. Maybe you could do a boiled chicken and brown rice thing for her for a few days to calm her stomach down, then try mixing some of the kibble in with it after a couple of days. I'd also say try Orijen because it's got more meat in it than most of those other foods so that should also help firm her up.

+1 on rannmiller's suggestion (boiled chicken brown rice pumpkin garlic parsley mix in my case), I did this for my pup and she showed instant results.

 

[claybuster]

A redbone coonhound....nice! Watched a Disney movie with my kids about the redbones. Does that dog hunt. You got a handful to say the least for a few years, a dog that wants to tear it up outside with some running and exercise.

I think, sometimes by the nature of the dog that wants to do that, let off some steam but possibly not amble time, can be energetic to the point the get excited which can make stools loose.

There are two ways to firm stools. Keep going with high carb high fiber diets
is one way, or the better option for dogs to form stools more naturally without all the fiber. They only way to do that (without fiber) is a lot more meat and fat in the diet, ingredients that naturally move more slowly though digestion. That is the better way.

I like ramillers idea of starting with some rice and chicken if you want to try home prepared, but I would opt for white rice over brown myself.

 

[RawFedDogs]

There are two ways to firm stools. Keep going with high carb high fiber diets is one way, or the better option for dogs to form stools more naturally without all the fiber.

Carbs loosen stools. Back when I first started feeding raw, I fed a BARF diet. I had one day a week for veggie day. The day after veggie day was always diarrhea day.

They only way to do that (without fiber) is a lot more meat and fat in the diet, ingredients that naturally move more slowly though digestion. That is the better way.

For a dog on a prey model raw diet, bone is the stool firmer ... the constipator if you will. Anytime a raw fed dog gets soft stools, just up the bone content of his food.

 

[Winniesdad]

A redbone coonhound....nice! Watched a Disney movie with my kids about the redbones. Does that dog hunt. You got a handful to say the least for a few years, a dog that wants to tear it up outside with some running and exercise.

I think, sometimes by the nature of the dog that wants to do that, let off some steam but possibly not amble time, can be energetic to the point the get excited which can make stools loose.

Yeah she's quite a handful! I'm lucky enough to live near a huge forest with meadows, and river so we get out there for about an hour a day and she just has a ball. She's kind of a natural hunter, she gives the yip bark when she's on the trail and the distinctive BaROOOO when she has something treed. She tends to "tree" birds and then get a bit confused when I get there and the birds are gone.

You could be right about the excitement thing. Her stools are a bit firmer in the yard and looser on the trail, especially if she goes right before we get to the forest.

We may plink a few squirrels but her main job will be a tracker and a family pet. She will start tracking training in the spring. We have two autistic kids and living in sort of a rural area I would like to be able to start looking immediately if they ever get lost rather than wait for a search to mobilize.

The raccoons up here in Minnesota grow pretty big and mean and I don't think I would hunt em with just one dog. I'm not by any means an experienced hunter although I do enjoy grouse hunting every once in a while. An experienced coon hunter told me that if I hunt coons up here with one dog I better get used to stichin her up alot

 

[claybuster]

The movie is called "Where the Red Fern Grows", a Disney movie about a youngster and his Redbone Coonhound.

Sounds like they got some big raccoons up there in Minnesota, go with other people though I guess with dogs and they'll work together. Nice to have good area to run right outside your door. I have to drive about 15 min to let my dog blast.

The loose stools maybe just excitement. When my dog knows we're heading off to hunt birds, she's literally shaking. She'll poop and pee as soon as she gets out of the car .

There are only two ways to firm them up. High fiber diets (which tend to be high carb as well), or let the dogs body form stools more naturally with diets rich in meat and fats. I feel meat and fat is the far better approach, but probably won't get that out of a kibble. So, you're looking at beet pulp or tomato pumice, flaxseed, etc., and hope that it does the trick for you.