Loose Stool

[bruno1234]

Hello everyone,
I have 5 1/2 month old rottie Bruno, and ever since his been a little guy he's been having stool problems. He's stool is kind of soft and liquidish it's not diarrhea but it's not firm and hard like it should be. I took him to the vet, they tested samples of his stool and said that there is nothing wrong with him. I feed him evo mixed with white rice, boiled chicken, and innova l.b.p.f.
His weight is 72lb and he just turned 5 1/2.
Any advise would be helpful.
Thank you.
Alla.

[dogsbydoug]

Soft stools may be the result of overfeeding. How much food per day is he fed?

You don't need to add rice and chicken to the kibble. I'm assuming the l.b.p.f. is canned puppy food? If so, how much per day does he get?

We feed Natures Variety Prairie Lamb or Chicken and our two adult males and 7 month old girl eats 1 1/2 cups of kibble with a spoonful of canned food as well as salmon oil twice per day.

[groupieindenial]

Evo, rice, chicken, and Innova IBPF, holy smokes, why so many different things?? Have you tried one diet, like the Evo alone?

Rice causes looser stools, even though it is highly digestable.

[brunie's mom]

I agree...sounds like is overfed!

Stop adding all of the rice and chicken,etc. to the food...and get him on the Adult Innova. He does not need puppy food and he should not be eating EVO.
Evo is not recommended for Large Breed Pups...the calcium/phosphorus ratio is far too high...and there can be damage to joints and bones due to this. It's fine when most of their major growth is done by about 12 months.

He sounds either overweight already, or he is growing far too quickly. At 51/2 months your pup should be around 55-60 lbs. Slow, and steady growth is much better for this breed....much better for hips, joints and ligaments. He's far too young to be carrying this much weight.

Get him on the Adult Innova (it is All Life Stages), feed no more than 3 cups a day...and see if you can get him having firm stools.

First sign of an overfed pup/dog are constant "soft serve" stools.

Gina

[bruno1234]

Thank you for all your replies. I only feed him twice a day and what I do is I mix 1/2 can of evo with hand full dry innova, little bit of rice and boiled chicken, I don't feed him a lot I just mix l lot stuff in one bowl. But I will certainly listen to your advise and change his diet. Thanks.

[dogsbydoug]

Do you know exactly HOW MUCH of everything he is getting? One of my handfuls of food is different than one of my mothers, etc...

I'd get a measuring cup and go from there with the kibble.

He could probably do 1 to 1/2 cups of kibble twice a day with a tablespoon of canned food with a little bit of warm water mixed in to make a 'gravy'.

He may become picky about the change in diet - but leave it down for 20minutes and if he doesn't eat, tough tootsies - no food until next mealtime. He WILL quickly realize he'd better eat - and when he does, he'll re-join the clean plate club!

[Cash]

I agree, simplify his diet. Some dogs don't do well with all of those ingredients in a single meal, besides the fact he doesn't sound like he needs it. 72 is LARGE for a 5.5 month old...
I would cut out the rice and the canned food. Try adding a dollop of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix - big difference) that will help him to have firmer stools too. I really think simplifying his diet is the best place to start. A firm stool will naturally excrete his anal sacs too.