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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Advice for 10 week old lab puppy

41 replies

lardass88 · 03/12/2023 08:58

So we've had sweet lily for just a week , crate training her , she has a upset tummy so we rang the vets and they said to change her food to a better one ( breeder sent her home with a bag but it's quite low brand ) so we've got the hills puppy food for her, her poo is still runny but I guess she needs adjusting to it. She's really good at letting us know when she needs the loo, she will wait by the patio doors.
Routine is feed, out for a wee/poo, play then back in the crate , and so on. At night she's taken out for a toilet and then put in her crate , my son is sleeping downstairs with her ( she's his dog ,he is in his 20's) at the moment and is getting up with her during the night and she's happy to go back to get Crate to go back to sleep, she may grumble a bit but eventually settles.
The issue is with her bad belly when she's in her crate it's hard to tell if she needs the loo or if she just wants to come out , she's had a few accidents in the crate during the night, I'm looking for advice how other owners have crate trained their puppies, and how long should someone sleep downstairs with her ? It's my turn tonight to sleep downstairs to give my son a break ( he's like a single dad at the moment haha ) and I'm a bit anxious to be honest. She's such a good girl x obligatory photo enclosed....

Advice for 10 week old lab puppy
OP posts:
Happysecondtimeround · 03/12/2023 09:26

Try cooked chicken and boiled rice for a few days to settle her tummy, then gradually introduce her new food.

IvysMum12 · 03/12/2023 09:29

I would definitely not recommend Hills.
What does your Vet say?
Your puppy is adorable.

Milliemoos5 · 03/12/2023 09:31

When you change dog food you must always introduce it gradually otherwise it pretty much invariably causes a bad tummy. Agree with PP about some chicken and Rice for a couple of days. She’s a beauty!

Original poster
lardass88 · 03/12/2023 09:33

We've been giving her rice and chicken with a little bit of her new kibble. The vet recommended hills 🤦🏼‍♀️

OP posts:
Milliemoos5 · 03/12/2023 09:35

I’d also take her to the vet to have a full check up if she’s had a bad tummy for a week since you got her. Lots of puppies who are poorly bred (not saying she is, but just your comment about the low quality food the breeder was giving her makes me think that it’s possible it wasn’t a top breeder potentially) can come with various illnesses which can be catastrophic..so may be a good idea to get her checked out

Milliemoos5 · 03/12/2023 09:37

Yes the vet always recommends Hills but it’s one of the worst brands out there, nutrients wise. Most vets seem make commission on selling Hills at their practices

NorthCliffs · 03/12/2023 10:15

We're in the throes of a 9 month old male labrador's twatty teenage behaviour. Thank you for reminding me he was cute once! 🙂

Original poster
lardass88 · 03/12/2023 10:22

The vet didn't seem too worried when we spoke to her, but I will be taking her in next week if it doesn't improve. I'm putting her back on to boiled rice and chicken - would you advise to leave the kibble out of the equation untill her tummy is settled?
Also how long should she be in her crate for?

OP posts:
Mindymomo · 03/12/2023 10:24

If you can get hold of plain tinned pumpkin to add to chicken and rice, that’s what I did when my puppy had diarrhoea, it helps firm up 💩. Keep to this at least 2 days after diarrhoea has stopped. With regards to letting puppy out at night, you should do this until you are confident that puppy is sleeping through. I fed last meal no later than 5 pm and just a couple of biscuits before bed, this helped with needing to go out during the night. We never slept downstairs with ours, he slept in crate from day 1 but our room is directly above crate so we could hear if he was awake. I think it took around 3/4 weeks before he slept through without needing to go out.

Meceme · 03/12/2023 10:27

The cuteness sucks you in.
Hang in there @NorthCliffs my boy was a twat between 9 -18 months. Hes now just 2 and a different dog. Persevere and it eventually clicks (most days).
They're cute in the beginning to make up for the stress and worry @lardass88.
If shes having accidents in her crate, she needs to go out more often until she gets over her poorly tummy. Incidentally, chicken always makes our labs tummy upset so it could be that.

Advice for 10 week old lab puppy
SoddingWeddings · 03/12/2023 10:27

Hills is a terrible dog food. Have a look at https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk/ to find a far better quality one.

Has the pup been wormed? Has he had a vet check since you got him? Was it a decent breeder?

AllAboutDogFood.co.uk

The UK's number 1 dog food advice site. Independent dog food reviews, feeding guide, ingredients glossary, retailer locator and much much more!

https://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

Mindymomo · 03/12/2023 10:27

Also, Has she had first set of vaccinations as this can cause a bad stomach after. No kibble until better, just plain rice and chicken with pumpkin if you can, or plain fish with rice, small portions throughout the day.

Original poster
lardass88 · 03/12/2023 10:33

Thank everyone for the advice. Yes she's up to date with all vaccinations, has been wormed and flead.
As I said I'll be taking her to the vets next week for a proper once over.

OP posts:
Original poster
lardass88 · 03/12/2023 10:41

Also thanks for the link for the good food- will be definitely changing it. The Orijan one looks good with a high meat content

OP posts:
vivisector · 03/12/2023 10:47

You need to introduce the food really gradually. Dont just keep swapping it, thinking that will improve her upset stomach. My lab also had a really sensitive tummy which she grew out of to a certain degree. I found that a salmon/fish based food helped her

Original poster
lardass88 · 03/12/2023 10:53

vivisector · 03/12/2023 10:47

You need to introduce the food really gradually. Dont just keep swapping it, thinking that will improve her upset stomach. My lab also had a really sensitive tummy which she grew out of to a certain degree. I found that a salmon/fish based food helped her

I meant I'd introduce that when her tummy is better, and of course gradually, how much would you recommend giving her? A few bits? Mixed in with the rice and chicken? Will also try fish thank you Smile

OP posts:
Lougle · 03/12/2023 10:53

She's very sweet! We use https://www.jollyes.co.uk/lifestage-grain-free-puppy-salmon-with-haddock-10kg.html for our lab puppy. It gives her a lovely coat and perfect poos.

Build crate training gradually - lots of praise and treats for going in, then when they're confident going in, shut the door for a second, treat, three seconds, treat, etc., to build it up.

Lifestage Grain Free Puppy, Salmon With Haddock, 10Kg

Lifestage GF Salmon with Haddock Puppy Food 10Kg is developed to be gentle and healthy on your puppy's digestive system while still maintaining a balanced meal.

https://www.jollyes.co.uk/lifestage-grain-free-puppy-salmon-with-haddock-10kg.html

KnackeredBack · 03/12/2023 11:05

You could also try the veterinary hypoallergenic dog food (we use Royal Canin, but there are others. It needs to be properly hypoallergenic though to get rid of the allergens in the processing). We went through countless brands, plus raw with ours and eventually had bloods done - allergies to loads of foods. Since swapping to this though, he's been great, but it took about 2 years to identify and I wish I'd just put him on that in the first place!

miniegg3 · 03/12/2023 11:08

Milliemoos5 · 03/12/2023 09:35

I’d also take her to the vet to have a full check up if she’s had a bad tummy for a week since you got her. Lots of puppies who are poorly bred (not saying she is, but just your comment about the low quality food the breeder was giving her makes me think that it’s possible it wasn’t a top breeder potentially) can come with various illnesses which can be catastrophic..so may be a good idea to get her checked out

Edited

Yep, mine came with parvo 😪 but I'd imagine she would be showing worse symptoms after having her a week. My boy went downhill from day 2, bad diarrhoea then not eating or drinking, really lethargic

Original poster
lardass88 · 03/12/2023 11:11

Oh no! Other than the loose poo she's fine in herself, playful, alert, etc

OP posts:
Ylvamoon · 03/12/2023 11:13

@lardass88 So your puppy is 10 weeks old I gess you had her for 2 weeks max.
She's still settling in and you should not charge her food in the first few months.

However, as you have already changed, I would gradually change back to the breeders food. That's what she knows. You can swap for better at 20 - 24 weeks.

The loose poo can be a multitude of things from stress over a virus or something she's eaten in the garden.

Keep an eye on her. I would go vet if she stops eating/ drinking, appears listless or its going on for 3+ days.

Sleeping beside crate. I would let her out when she gets up. But, no eye contact, no talking no fuss. Thake her to the toilet area and just say good girl wee/ poop/ toilet once she's done the business.

Good luck, the early days are like having a baby all over again. But unlike humans, dogs grow up faster!

vivisector · 03/12/2023 11:14

@lardass88 from memory, there should be guidance on dog food bags about introducing gradually. If not online. Start slowly say 80% normal food, 20% new food first day, see how she responds, then up it slowly over the course of a week or so.

Any food with meat meal in ingredients is poor quality imo and would go straight through my lab. Always read ingredients list on back carefully and avoid meat meal

Original poster
lardass88 · 03/12/2023 11:18

Ylvamoon · 03/12/2023 11:13

@lardass88 So your puppy is 10 weeks old I gess you had her for 2 weeks max.
She's still settling in and you should not charge her food in the first few months.

However, as you have already changed, I would gradually change back to the breeders food. That's what she knows. You can swap for better at 20 - 24 weeks.

The loose poo can be a multitude of things from stress over a virus or something she's eaten in the garden.

Keep an eye on her. I would go vet if she stops eating/ drinking, appears listless or its going on for 3+ days.

Sleeping beside crate. I would let her out when she gets up. But, no eye contact, no talking no fuss. Thake her to the toilet area and just say good girl wee/ poop/ toilet once she's done the business.

Good luck, the early days are like having a baby all over again. But unlike humans, dogs grow up faster!

We've had her for one week today , breeder said she had loose poo but said it was because of the food from transition from mum - he'd taken her to the vet at well

OP posts:
Lougle · 03/12/2023 11:24

lardass88 · 03/12/2023 11:18

We've had her for one week today , breeder said she had loose poo but said it was because of the food from transition from mum - he'd taken her to the vet at well

Show quote history

That doesn't make sense. The puppies should have had dog food introduced at 3-4 weeks old and should have been completely on kibble (if that was the food of choice) by 6 weeks. If you got the puppy at 9 weeks, then the 'transition' to the kibble she's on was 3 weeks, so she should be well settled.

tizwozliz · 03/12/2023 11:27

Our lab pup had loose poo the week she came home, we swapped food more or less straight away as figured poo couldn't get any worse. All sorted as soon as she'd had a few days of the new food.

We've never had issues swapping kibble with either of our dogs (necessary sometimes if we go abroad).

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