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Diarreah in my 14 week pup


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Something else to consider is that you may be overfeeding. That can cause soft stools. Someone else recently posted a similar question to yours and that's what ended up being the problem. The soft stools stopped as soon as the amount of food was decreased. I would look at how many meals you're feeding a day (it should be at least 3 at this age) and how much you're feeding. The recommended amounts on dog food bags are often too much.

 

Yep, it is me you are referring to here. And as a matter of fact, I also switched my puppy from Diamond Puppy Food to the Bison & Venison TOTW Puppy Food. I ended up spending about 3 weeks making the transition though, because her system really reacted badly whenever I tried to up the amount of TOTW in the mix. Once I got her switched over, and reduced the amount I was feeding her (thanks to advice given here on BC Boards!), she has been doing great. I wish I could tell you exactly how much to feed your pup, but my Mancer is much smaller than your little dude - she is coming up on 5 1/2 months and only weighs about 21.5-22 pounds right now. What I would suggest is feeding 1/4 - 1/2 cup less than amount suggested on the bag based on the age and weight of your puppy.Then you can always work your way up if needed. It was hard for me to believe, but reducing her amount by only 1/4 cup a day made all the difference, so finding the exact correct amount may be a bit subtle.

 

As it has worked out, I've been feeding my pup 2 cups a day (3/4 breakfast, 1/2 lunch, 3/4 dinner) for quite a while now. It has just worked out such that her weight and age have increased coincidentally such that her recommended feeding amount has essentially stayed the same.

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Thanks so much. We have noticed a slight difference today.

 

Rush fan. Based off of what you said and ypur dogs size and age. Is mine over weight for a 14 week male? Sorry don't know what is typical as of now. I'm worried about bone issues.

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I will also add that I've been relatively strict about giving Mancer any treats or people food. She gets no people food yet, with the only exception that I've given her a few very small bites of scrambled egg a couple of times. And the only treats I've given her are Berkley and Jensen Pork and Berry treats, and she only gets them in small amounts. This was true even when she was still having the soft stool issues, but I've increased the amount I give her here recently as she has gotten older and bigger. I used to only give her about one link (and they are very small links) per day cut up into 8-10 bits, but lately I've been giving her 2 - 3 links per day. I only bring this up because I'm wondering whether there may something else you or someone else may be feeding your pup that could be contributing to the issue.

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Thanks so much. We have noticed a slight difference today.

 

Rush fan. Based off of what you said and ypur dogs size and age. Is mine over weight for a 14 week male? Sorry don't know what is typical as of now. I'm worried about bone issues.

 

I'm far from being expert enough to know the answer to this. I'm not sure anyone could answer based solely on age and weight quite honestly. Mancer is my first BC, but I've learned through research on these boards and elsewhere that BC's can vary quite a bit in size and weight, and males tend to be bigger, generally speaking. I'm pretty sure my Mancer is on the small size for a BC. The way I try to keep an eye on her weight is to make sure her belly curves up when she is standing on all fours, with no sagging or drooping, and being able to feel the shape of her ribs, but not visibly see them. That is what others have suggested to me as a good way to make sure she is properly nourished but not overweight.

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My Shoshone was around 30 lbs, and the shortest at the shoulders of the Gang of 3. When we got Buzz, he seemed enormous next to her, 39 lbs and tall and lanky.

 

Rush Fan is right, there is a lot of variability in size in bc. I've seen b collies that were a slender 50 lbs, and a couple tiny females that weighed about 27 or 28 lbs.

 

Glad you're seeing a difference ~ keep us posted.

 

Ruth & Gibbs

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Rush Fan's right -- there's a lot of variation in border collies so no easy way to say how much a particular puppy at are particular age and weight should be eating. Not only can't we predict what his genetics will contribute to his ultimate size, but without seeing the pep in dog can we tell if he's at a good weight now.

 

Also absolutely spot on that a pup should be a bit lean and definitely not chunky.

 

I didn't reply to your question about how much to feed him for both these reasons, and also because I don't feed kibble so I'm not certain how much to suggest. But the rule of thumb for raw feeders to to start a puppy out on the amount of food you'd feed for his ideal adult weight and adjust based on the pup's body condition. Since it's hard to know just what his ideal adult weight will be, you might be adjusting sooner rather than later with this method, and that's fine. I'd guess this is pretty close to what would work for kibble fed dogs as well. Growing requires a lot of food and calories, so relative to their size, puppies need more food than adult dogs will. Once all that food is no longer needed for growth, proportionately they don't need as much food. So I'm not surprised to see Rush Fan saying that his pup's eating the same amount of food that she was when she was younger, even though she's grown quite a bit. That's perfectly normal.

 

The key is to be watching your pup's weight and condition on a daily basis. Keep him rather on the lean side and if you're not easily feeling ribs when you pet him he's probably eating too much for his growth needs and putting that consumption into fat.

 

Also, encouraging slow, steady growth by not overfeeding is actually going to be better for his development than the opposite. Pups who are overfed or receive too much of certain nutrients can grow too fast, putting a strain on bone development that can come back to haunt them (and you) down the road.

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If all else fails and no parasites are found you could ask about using some Tylan powder. Real pumpkin will also help firm him up but in a youngster I'm very careful due to dehydration.

 

Can you clarify your feeding? 3 cups split into 3 meals or 3 cups 3 times a day? The first is fine imo, 3 cups for a almost 4 month old isn't a lot. Hope you get to the bottom of this and he turns around! Good luck.

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3 cups split into 3 meals. He is eating 1.5 cups now with noticeable improvement of his eliminations. I can pick it up with little effort. Would it be bad for me to bring him back to TOTW IF IT appears he was over eating? I still got a practically a full bag left and it's not cheap. Lol. And should I implement the CRaP diet before giving it back to him. Or is that just really for upset tummies?

 

His vet gave him some more meds. Im holding off on them since I see improvements. (Knock on wood)

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Awesome news! If he were mine, I wouldn't bother with the CRAP diet or the medications. Keep it in mind for future tummy upsets, though. And, let the vet know what's going on and what you've discovered.

 

And I'd totally be using up the TOTW. You might do a slower switch over, mix it in w/the kibble you're feeding now and gradually increase the proportion of TOTW. Just to be on the safe side.

 

After having 2 dogs who had pretty sensitive digestive systems, it's a real pleasure to be able to toss just about anything reasonable into Gibbs' bowl and not worry about it.

 

Keep up the good work!

 

Ruth & Gibbs

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3 cups split into 3 meals. He is eating 1.5 cups now with noticeable improvement of his eliminations. I can pick it up with little effort. Would it be bad for me to bring him back to TOTW IF IT appears he was over eating? I still got a practically a full bag left and it's not cheap. Lol. And should I implement the CRaP diet before giving it back to him. Or is that just really for upset tummies?

 

His vet gave him some more meds. Im holding off on them since I see improvements. (Knock on wood)

 

 

Just wanted to add that 3 cups a day sounds like an awful lot for a 14 week old pup. I have a tall, leggy 5 month old male that eats just 2 heaping cups a day and does fine. Overfeeding definitely can contribute to runny stools. And as others have said, it's better to have a pup on the lean and leggy side than chubby. Do consider cutting him back to see if that helps, along with the other steps you're taking. Glad to hear that he is improving!

 

~ Gloria

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Glad to hear you're having good success with the lower feeding amount. I'd use all of the food as well. But make sure you keep an eye on the freshness dates. I always prefer to use it all up at least two months before expiration if possible just to be on the safe side. If I recall correctly, dogfoodadvisor.com rates totw a little higher than nutro, so I'd use the nutro first if possible and gradually switch back to the totw.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hey y'all Logan is doing good and his vet is good with him off the meds now. A few loose stools here and there thanks to consumption of foreign objects (hair tie, small lego) but he is good other than that. Gonna start to transition his food back to TOTW soon.

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  • 2 weeks later...

This is my first post here and thanks to the above advice, my 1 year old border has finally gotten over some incredibly soft stool. I never thought that the rain might be because we were feeding him too much food. We've dinner the CRaP diet for a day and I'm going to start weening him back to normal food starting tomorrow.

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Ace is doing so much better and I am grateful I was able to stumble across this forum. We went through 2 days of chicken,rice, and pumpkin exclusively. Yesterday we took one serving of the mixture and split it into 2 servings and mixed half a cup of his normal food in with each serving to see how his system reacted. Thankfully, everything stayed solid!!! Today, we are going to 1 cup of normal food for his 2 feedings today to see how he reacts.

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