4 month old puppy diarrhea and pulling out hair

[Rurarura]

My 4 month old pup started to have diarrhea well over a week ago now he's also started pulling out his hair (can tell as Rurapup is a non-shedding breed). I called the vet last week and they were not overly concerned, but I am. Rurapup is fed Acana puppy junior, though we recently swapped from normal to large breed. In addition, pup had a dentastix for the first time which seems to have coincided with the diarrhea, but surely he would have recovered by now.

He eats cooked meats (plain chicken, beef or turkey) and sometimes has cheese or sachets of James Wellbeloved. These are all things that he's eaten before though. Any Acana feeders had similar issues? I'm really at my wit's end. Will take him to the vet tomorrow. Perhaps he just has mites? But would that cause diarrhea?

[Lichtie]

It sounds like he has an infection. Is the hair pulling around the feet and the legs?
If it was me I would put him on boiled chicken and white rice and get him in to the vets to be safe.

[pigsDOfly]

Sorry if I'm not reading this right but it sounds like you're feeding him an awful lot of different things, he's very young. Perhaps his stomach is just not coping with all the various food stuff.

When you changed over the food from normal to large breed did you do it slowly over at least week or so?

Agree with Litchie get him onto plain boiled chicken with a little rice for a few days and see if it settles.

If the chewing is around the feet that can also be an indication of some sort of allergy.

[adaline]

Why is getting so many different brands of food? He's only young and that's a lot of different foods for his digestive system to process! Dentastix are also full of rubbish and not a good idea for any dog, let alone a young pup.

I think you need to give him plain food - either chicken and rice or go back to the food he had originally - the Acana puppy stuff and JUST give him that. No treats, no dentastix, no cheese, no random tidbit - just that, and see if it firms things up.

If it does, I would say he's probably allergic to one of the ingredients in the new food, or in the Dentastix. Lots of dogs are intolerant to grain and such and can't eat cheap supermarket foods as a result (dentastix fall under that category - raw carrot or raw bones are much better for their teeth).

[Rurarura]

He doesn't eat as many varieties of food as it might sound. He eats kibble, and gets cooked plain meats either as treats or Kong filling. It's no different imo from buying training treats. I do agree that dentastix are bad, only bought them on a whim as I thought he might like to chew it whilst teething. He's always had plain chicken, turkey, sausage and cheese (since I've had him), all which were slowly introduced to his diet. That's why I'm not sure the level of variety is causing it. I'll check the ingredient list of Acana puppy and compare it to Acana large puppy. Maybe the new stuff is just too rich for him. Seeing a vet tomorrow, will update when I know more

[adaline]

That's why I'm not sure the level of variety is causing it.

I'm not referring to the meat and cheese so much, but why is getting Acana as well as James Wellbeloved? Lots of dogs can't tolerate two different brands on the go at once unless they're weaned properly onto both.

Also, when you switched from Acana Puppy to the Large Breed food, did you do it slowly or just switch suddenly?

[Raindancer411]

When mine get an upset tummy, I give them prokolin (cheaper on amazon or pets at home than vets)

If you have changed food from puppy to large breed, did you do it gradually as you are guided to on the packets?

[Rurarura]

Suddenly, as I assumed it was very similar (mistake I now realise). I do think it might be the large breed food, or it could be the increased amount, I'm not sure.

It's been at least 3 weeks since he swapped onto that though. I've fed him rice/plain chicken for a few days, cut out the James Wellbeloved (I use the sachets as long fillers, he's always tolerated them before) and lowered his daily food intake a little.

He's still having diarrhea and I'm finding Tufts of hair everywhere. I'm planning to buy a bag of his old food to see if that helps. He's perfectly happy and energetic in every other way. It's frustrating and worrying I just want him to be happy and healthy.

[adaline]

I would imagine he's allergic to one of the ingredients in the new food. Switch back to the old Puppy stuff and give it a while for his stomach to re-adjust, then go back to the new stuff very slowly. It should take 7-10 days to switch between foods.

[Wolfiefan]

Has he seen a vet recently? Been flea treated? Fur could be flea allergy.
You need to change food slowly. Feed one dried if you are feeding dried. Change slowly. In a kong? Soak dried food, stuff and freeze.
Sausage and cheese and meat etc? Really not needed on top of a complete meal. I would cut that out. Sausage upsets my girl’s stomach quite drastically.
What breed?