Upset puppy tummy

[Wotsitsareafterme]

So dpup is about 10 weeks. He came with iams in his puppy pack plus minced beef. Breeder was feeding him iams for 2 meals and the mince for one. He didn't poo for ages but the first one was firm - tmi I know but bear with me. We have had degrees on runny poo since then. I went straight for giving him rice and this helped initially but the iams is still causing runs. He is super well in himself so wondering if it's settling in issues...
I have just bought him a pack of Turkey and had that chopped up with some rice and thought it was extra delicious but my question is how long do I carry on with the rice? I think the iams is too rich for him. With my other dog I fed her greyhound food from the feed merchant - anything else was too rich and gave her the runs. But this is cocker so I'm not sure but if I want something less rich what do you suggest?

We are at the vets on Friday so obviously I will consult him but in the meantime any ideas?

[daisydotandgertie]

I'm not sure from your post how long he's been squitty.

What is the situation with worming? When was he last done and how frequently has he been wormed?

Sounds like you've done a fair bit of chopping and changing with food which won't be helping.

Have you been feeding him just rice until today?

[Wotsitsareafterme]

Squitty on and off a week now. I didn't want to ditch the iams he came with straight away seemed a bit too much change but maybe I should have. At the moment he's having the rice and Turkey at tea time and iams otherwise but he doesn't eat very much of it and leaves loads.

No other symptoms he looks amazing!

[daisydotandgertie]

And worming? Where is he with that?

[StarsInTheNightSky]

I have often found that, providing a vet has checked nothing else is wrong, a dessert spoon of instant mashed potato (made with just water) mixed in with the chicken and rice really works wonders. It was recommended to me by a vet years ago.

[NotKissingTipsyX]

You've my sympathy op , one of ours was like this at first ,complete liquid with him it turned out to be gluten with so a change to Millie's wolfheart sorted him out .

Assuming all worming etc is up to date & pup hasn't got to anything it shouldn't then you could add a little canned pumpkin or some sweet potatoes with natural bio yoghurt to the rice & protein you are feeding , it's great for binding .

Are you weighing pups food ?
Runny poop can also be a sign of over feeding .

A good thing to have to hand for times like these is prokolin or canikur , they are probiotic pastes that put the good bacteria back in the gut .

[nmg85]

Our cocker puppy came on Iams, minced chicken, tripe & a pedigree wet food. Over 3 weeks we slowly reduced this down to just dry food. We found Iams just didn't suit her so we changed pretty quickly. I have heard people call Iams rocket fuel as supposedly it can cause behaviour issues, to be fair ours is still as mad as a box of frogs though :-) Ours now has Canagan and is okay 90% of the time.

[nellieellie]

If you feed kibble, the grain free is preferable. Dogs can't digest grains so this will often cause all sorts of problems. Iams puppy food has wheat, maize, sorghum, all cheap fillers, as well as beet pulp and yeast. You could try a quality grain free like Orijen, Canagan, or Millie Wolfheart (I think). Or, go raw, you can get commercially prepared frozen food like Nutriment and Natural Instinct. My pup had loose stools until we put him on raw, whatever kibble we tried. Now tiny, firm, almost scent less poops, lovely!

[Wotsitsareafterme]

So much helpful advice thank you. Is kibble just dry dog food?
The iams rocket fuel comment rings very true!
Worming up to date and moving on to local vet pet plan subscription type thing working on Friday. No weight loss etc he is a solid barrel

I think the food weighing I need to get my head around as he rarely asks for food and never seems ravenous he's quite polite really.

The breeder gave me some bakers wet individual portions you know sealed with foil. He thought that was very tasty but good lord bad digested effect! Never again.

The crazy liquid poo is where we are at with somewhat improvement on the rice and protein. I've cooked a load of rice and meat and portioned it and put the iams away - I'm getting nowhere with that!

[nmg85]

Definitely wean puppy off Iams and on to a grain free food. My puppy loves Canagan it is about £60 for 12kg which lasts us about 2 months now from memory. We use the chicken one every day and she has the game one occasionally for a little variety or for training etc. Our puppy sometimes wolfs her food down and other times is indifferent about it but we don't change the amount. We actually give slightly higher then the recommended amount as she doesn't put on weight at all as very active.

My husband actually tried the canagan... its that natural. He said it wasn't bad!

Yes kibble is just dry food.

[Wotsitsareafterme]

Hi all, horrendous liquid poo before the vet but vet said he was fine and in rude health. Wormer given.
Vet said I would need to trial few dry foods and give that probiotic mentioned on here if it doesn't improve but to worry as no cause for concern

[daisydotandgertie]

How heavy is he and how much are you feeding?

I wonder if he's getting more food than he can process and that's causing the runny bum. Puppies aren't usually solid little barrels tbh.

[Wotsitsareafterme]

He was I think 6 and a bit kg at the vets yesterday.
Yesterday I forgot to defrost the chicken in time so he had 3 meals of about 2/3 rice and the rest iams - huge poo improvement! It's hard to judge whether it's just taken him 2.5 weeks to settle in but that's dramatic from liquid poo. Sigh.
Now he's been weighed I will weigh out his food correctly and see how it goes this is a minefield this puppy business - the greyhound I had was fine until she ate a Xmas cake we didn't realise she could reach!

[daisydotandgertie]

Most puppies get the squits more than once, but it's worth remembering that too much food can cause liquid poo; and of course even a change in water from the breeders to your house can do it too.

If he were mine, I'd put him back on four meals a day (what breed is he?), and reduce the quantity fed.

Iams isn't the best food, and I would want to get him off it, so I'd start changing him to something else. I have lots of Labradors and feed Simpsons Premium. It's a well priced, good quality food which has produced some fabulous litters and is maintaining lovely adults.

[Wotsitsareafterme]

Show cocker. I'm not sure about the 4 meals he doesn't want 3. I was thinking of dropping to 2 already but I could try the much smaller meals.

[daisydotandgertie]

I think much smaller, more frequent meals might fix all his problems.

At 10 weeks mine would definitely still be on 4 meals a day - their tummies can't process large quantities of food at that age, and the end result of too much food is always awful liquid poo.

Did your breeder not give you feeding information? How much to give and when? And how much to increase the food by as he grows?

Also, for interest really, I've been over my weight charts for my labrador pups - historically, mine tend to reach 6kg approaching 12ish weeks, so I have concerns that your show cocker has put on a lot of weight quite quickly. If he's not showing signs of hunger at each meal, then really, really reduce the quantity you're feeding. It'll give his gut a chance to actually process the food he's eating rather than flinging it all out his back end as fast as it goes in.

How much are you offering at each meal?