[afauth]

I posted a thread a while back about my 6 month golden who had pooping issues. He is on 3 cups of Blue Buffalo LBP food/day. A lot of the treats we give him are also the more natural ones (Zuke's,etc). He will do a 1st poop and it is solid, then he either a) stays in the squat position and walks and goes a little more or b) just goes some more (without the walking) and the 2nd time more comes out and it is soft like soft serve ice cream (sorry for the visual . last time everyone here suggested getting a fecal test done, we did that and everything is normal. So.....my question is, could he be allergic to something in BB or is this maybe just normal for him? How do I even begin to know what he's allergic to? I've heard that maybe a grain-free like TOTW would be good as some can be allergic to grains. BB has brown rice, barely and oats. I hate to switch his food again bc we just got done with the transition to BB from Iams. he's been on BB about 6/7 weeks. First two ingreds of BB are deboned chicken and chicken meal. Any thoughts or suggestions are welcomed!! Thanks.

 

[Oaklys Dad]

As you can read here many of us have tried several different dogs foods before we found the right one for our dogs. I personally tried several premium dog foods and always had loose stool problems. I am currently have the boys on Purina One with tablespoon of pumpkin mixed it. So far it is working well. Good luck to you.

 

[BeauShel]

That sounds like alot of food and too much food can cause the soft stools. Cut back on the food and add some pumpkin to see if it helps.

 

[hmsalazar]

Hey, i have the same problem with Lucky (10 months). He poop one time ok, and a little bit later also some ice cream (jaja), and this have been for several months. He is in proplan but did the same on Blue Buffalo, also the tests are Ok (no giardia test, did you?). Pumpink only help for a couple of days. He was eating 6 cups and now only 4 1/2 cups and also didnt fix it. Maybe an alergy to chicken? Blue dont have corn so its not that and i dont think is rice. He did get antibiotics for a skin pyoderma, so any soft tissue bacteria should be dead. I will start giving him the new formula Authority dry food from Petsmart, its also chicken but i'll tell you if it works. Please post any changes.

 

[hotel4dogs]

A lot of vets will treat for giardia and/or coccidia even though the tests are negative. You'd be surprised how many times the tests are false negative for one or both of those things.
My vet would probably do a 10 day course of 1000 mg twice a day of metronidazole in this situation. It works for a surprising number of dogs.

 

[Tahnee GR]

A lot of vets will treat for giardia and/or coccidia even though the tests are negative. You'd be surprised how many times the tests are false negative for one or both of those things.
My vet would probably do a 10 day course of 1000 mg twice a day of metronidazole in this situation. It works for a surprising number of dogs.

What she said

 

[afauth]

Hmm. Ok, I guess I'm still a little confused at what to do. I didn't think I was feeding too much bc I'm doing LESS than the minimum amount required on the package. It says 3 1/2-4 1/2c for his size and age. I'm feeding 3 cups plus he gets treats or a kong when we are at work during the day. I can feel his ribs and hips but not see them. he's 6 months old and 53lbs, very long and tall. I put some pumpkin in his food this morning it usually helps for a day or two then I would need to more. I will call my vet and ask if they looked for giardia and coccidia (I don't even know what those are!ha) and see if they think trying an antibiotic would be beneficial.

Thanks for all your help! I'll let you know what happens. He loves the BB so maybe the antibiotic may get out whatever is in there.

 

[hotel4dogs]

even if they looked for giardia and coccidia, which they normally do, they often don't find them if they're there in low levels.
You could very sweetly ask your vet if there would be any harm in treating with a course of metronidazole and seeing what happens. Most vets will agree to it, in my experience.

 

[hmsalazar]

even if they looked for giardia and coccidia, which they normally do, they often don't find them if they're there in low levels.
You could very sweetly ask your vet if there would be any harm in treating with a course of metronidazole and seeing what happens. Most vets will agree to it, in my experience.

what about fenbendazole instead metronidazole, do it works?

 

[hotel4dogs]

I'm sorry, I don't know the answer to that. My vet uses metronidazole, and it's what I've seen boarded dogs come in with, too.

what about fenbendazole instead metronidazole, do it works?

 

[tippykayak]

Metronidazole is sort of the standard treatment for giardia or suspected giardia. I believe fenbendazole is effective but is frequently a second choice. I think it's safer for pregnant females, though my memory may be shoddy on that.

 

[Garfield]

I'm thinking your dog could possibly have a gluten intolerance (some grains in BB are notorious for dogs with that issue - please remind, did he have these problems on the Iams?). I'd first try what other folks here have suggested (be sure to also talk to your vet about a source of non-dairy probiotic supplement whenever antibiotics are used) and, if none of that solves the problem, try a food with only rice or potatoes as the sole carbs and see if that should improve the situation.

 

[hmsalazar]

Any updates?

 

[afauth]

I started using the pumpkin again and the poo was fine but now he's back to the walking squats. First part is hard, second part is soft. So I called my vet today to see if they tested for those two things mentioned above, they said yes. I said is there a chance maybe the levels were low and it didn't show up? they said no. I asked if we could possibly do an antibiotic just to see if it works.........waiting for the vet to call me back. He's on Blue Buffalo LB Puppy. Anything in particular that Goldens have allergies to? I don't know what to do. Any other food suggestions? My options for dog food shopping are Tractor Supply & PetSmart/PetCo. I've been told Golden puppies shouldn't be on a grain-free until 18 months old. HELP!

Here's the ingredient list:

Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal (natural source of Glucosamine), Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Whole Potatoes, Tomato Pomace (natural source of Lycopene), Oatmeal, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Natural Tocopherols), Natural Chicken Flavor, Whole Carrots, Whole Sweet Potatoes, Blueberries, Cranberries, Flaxseed, Barley Grass, Dried Parsley, Alfalfa Meal, Kelp Meal, Taurine, L-Carnitine, L-Lysine, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Turmeric, Garlic, Sunflower Oil (natural source of Omega 6 Fatty Acids), Herring Oil (natural source of Omega 3 Fatty Acids), Dried Chicory Root, Black Malted Barley, Oil of Rosemary, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Beta Carotene, Calcium Ascorbate (source of Vitamin C), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin (Vitamin B3), Calcium Pantothenate (Vitamin B5), Riboflavin (Vitamin B2), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B6), Thiamine Mononitrate (Vitamin B1), Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Zinc Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Zinc), Iron Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Iron), Copper Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Copper), Manganese Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Manganese), Potassium Amino Acid Complex (source of Chelated Potassium), Cobalt Proteinate (source of Chelated Cobalt), Potassium Chloride, Sodium Selenite, Salt, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bacillus subtilis, Bifidobacterium thermophilum, Bifidobacterium longum, Enterococcus faecium.

 

[tippykayak]

So I called my vet today to see if they tested for those two things mentioned above, they said yes. I said is there a chance maybe the levels were low and it didn't show up? they said no.

If your vet said that he tested for giardia and there was no chance of a false negative, then your vet is totally out of sync with the established literature. I'd be very concerned that he wasn't careful and up-to-date.

 

[Penny & Maggie's Mom]

Make sure you're getting your info from your VET not the receptionist answering the phone too !!!

 

[afauth]

Garfield~ he didn't have these problems on Iams but he was going A LOT and it was softer than it is now on the BB.

Penny~I did talk to the person answering the phone but he said the vet would call me back so hopefully I get to talk one-on-one with the vet. Maybe they'll do a re-test or maybe he'll just let me try the antibiotic.

Someone (not on here) also suggested he may be constipated??? That doesn't seem right if he's able to get out quite a bit. Or to check for hemrroids. ??? I guess if the vet won't do a re-test or give antibiotics then all I can do is switch food and see if it clears up. I'm soooo confused! I feel bad watching him, I would think it's an uncomfortable feeling. ??????????????????

 

[Tailer'sFolks]

Tailer had issues with soft poops off n on for the first 18 months! Milk Bone Biscuits, Lamb, and Fish just did him in! Stopping the treats at the bank and training tid-bits of lamb helped us out. Good Luck!

 

[Garfield]

Garfield~ he didn't have these problems on Iams but he was going A LOT and it was softer than it is now on the BB.

Penny~I did talk to the person answering the phone but he said the vet would call me back so hopefully I get to talk one-on-one with the vet. Maybe they'll do a re-test or maybe he'll just let me try the antibiotic.

Someone (not on here) also suggested he may be constipated??? That doesn't seem right if he's able to get out quite a bit. Or to check for hemrroids. ??? I guess if the vet won't do a re-test or give antibiotics then all I can do is switch food and see if it clears up. I'm soooo confused! I feel bad watching him, I would think it's an uncomfortable feeling. ??????????????????

You might first consider switching vets if they won't test/treat...my gut is this is some kind of intestinal parasite. If you do decide to switch food (which I'd advise against doing at the same time as antibiotics if that should pan out), at the risk of sounding like a Naturapet spokesman, their California Natural Chicken & Rice formulas (both puppy and adult) are as easy on the stomach as they come (and gluten free).

 

[hotel4dogs]

I agree with everyone who is saying this....your vet should be much more in tune with how common it is for false negatives when testing for giardia/coccidia. Hopefully when you talk directly to the vet, you'll get more help.

You might first consider switching vets if they won't test/treat...my gut is this is some kind of intestinal parasite. If you do decide to switch food (which I'd advise against doing at the same time as antibiotics if that should pan out), at the risk of sounding like a Naturapet spokesman, their California Natural Chicken & Rice formulas (both puppy and adult) are as easy on the stomach as they come (and gluten free).