Poop consistency

[LaPeque]

What should the healthy consistency of a 13-wk-old baby's poop be? We had a bout of coccidia and giardia almost two weeks ago during which his bowel movements were completely liquid.

His antibiotic seems to have cleared most everything up, (according to the latest fecal analysis) although his poop is still pretty soft ... maybe the consistency of soft serve ice cream with an occasional solid chunk. (Sorry to connect the two in the same sentence). No mucus or blood anymore.

I have been feeding him Science Diet puppy kibble with boiled chicken and broth, and haven't changed his diet since I got him.

Should it be a little more solid by this point? I'm planning on switching him over to the prey diet, but haven't wanted to make any drastic changes until his digestive system is stabilized. I know coccidia and giardia can be hard to get rid of, and I'm wondering if he needs to stay on meds a bit longer.

Thanks and I apologize for posting this around lunch time.

[shionpower]

Originally Posted by LaPeque

What should the healthy consistency of a 13-wk-old baby's poop be? We had a bout of coccidia and giardia almost two weeks ago during which his bowel movements were completely liquid.

His antibiotic seems to have cleared most everything up, (according to the latest fecal analysis) although his poop is still pretty soft ... maybe the consistency of soft serve ice cream with an occasional solid chunk. (Sorry to connect the two in the same sentence). No mucus or blood anymore.

I have been feeding him Science Diet puppy kibble with boiled chicken and broth, and haven't changed his diet since I got him.

Should it be a little more solid by this point? I'm planning on switching him over to the prey diet, but haven't wanted to make any drastic changes until his digestive system is stabilized. I know coccidia and giardia can be hard to get rid of, and I'm wondering if he needs to stay on meds a bit longer.

Thanks and I apologize for posting this around lunch time.

heres some suggestions:
1) try "nutri-cal". They should sell in pet store and most vets carry this. looks It comes in a toothpaste shape, and comes out in a brown-gunkish thing) but have her lick it off (dime size) or put it on her nose. Shell have to lick it off. This will provide all the nutrients that her body needs. This will also make her poop more solid.

2) I only use Organic foods. Mixing hard and soft together. I notice the poop is more solid with organic. Plus i had a picky eater before. Of course you would first have to ween her off the current diet slowly. Perhaps adding more hard food n mix just a lil bit of soft will provide more solid poop (but thats just a suggestion).

3) puppies should be pooping about 3 times a day. thats the healthy version. Read that online.

[LaPeque]

Thanks for your reply! I'll pick up the nutri-cal ASAP, and may go ahead and switch his diet. He is pooping 3 times a day so we're good on frequency ... just need to get the consistency under control!

[Nancy1999]

HOLD IT, PLEASE DON'T THINK EVERTHING YOU READ ON THE DIET FORUM IS GOOD ADVICE!!

There is no need to rush out and buy Nurti Cal. Nutri-cal is a supplement that is made from and easy to digest sugar and a small amount of vitamins to make it sound healthy. It nutritionally no different form Karo syrup, which is corn syrup, a sugar. Sugar is useful in treating a dog that has hypoglycemia, which can be a problem with toy dogs and especially the very tiny puppies. If your dog is showing no signs of hypoglycemia there is no reason to give him sugar or Nutri-Cal. I wouldn't feed the dog sugar to make the poop firmer, certain things added to dogs foods such as beet pulp do this. Maybe finding a different dog food might help, how soft is it? Also be careful with broth, some are too high in fat and salt.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by LaPeque

Should it be a little more solid by this point? I'm planning on switching him over to the prey diet, but haven't wanted to make any drastic changes until his digestive system is stabilized. I know coccidia and giardia can be hard to get rid of, and I'm wondering if he needs to stay on meds a bit longer.

What do you mean stay on meds longer? Are you taking him off earlier than directed? Definitely give the meds for the entire course.

You may see soft-serve poo for some time, unfortunately. Giardia (in puppies) can actually begin to digest some of the tissue in the small intestine and can cause ongoing issues for quite awhile. I had a horrible history w/ Marcel - 2 bouts of giardia and 5 mths of bloody/mucousy/jelly/mushy stools - and hundreds of vet bills that solved nothing.

The most important thing right now is to prevent reinfection. Secondly, you'll want to feed the best diet you can and support his intestine so it can heal. Are you going to feed kibble for now (I wouldn't switch to prey just yet)? Or homecook?

If it were me, I'd supplement with a probiotic - maybe PetFlora and a digestive enzyme, like Prozyme. For a kibble, I'd probably go with Natures Variety or Canidae. Then, switch to raw once she is stable.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

I wouldn't feed the dog sugar to make the poop firmer

[LaPeque]

Thanks for all the info! No problems with hypoglycemia, luckily. The kibble is nice and crunchy, and the broth I'm using is no-fat, low sodium. His meds were prescribed for 7 days and I actually gave them to him for 10. (There was a bit of surplus and the vet said no harm done).

I'm afraid we're just going to be dealing with this giardia business for a while. I've been meticulous about disinfecting, but it's still so darn hard to get rid of.

I'll look into a higher quality kibble and the probiotics. What a nightmare you must have been through with Marcel ...

[Geoffrey]

Geoffrey has had really soft poop for the past three days. She is currently only consuming Merrick's Puppy Plate, No-Grainer treats, and Zuke's mini naturals. She had peanut butter in a Kong a few days ago and has been consuming a bully stick. Any advice on what might be causing this and what to do to make the consistency firmer? Thanks!

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by Geoffrey

Geoffrey has had really soft poop for the past three days. She is currently only consuming Merrick's Puppy Plate, No-Grainer treats, and Zuke's mini naturals. She had peanut butter in a Kong a few days ago and has been consuming a bully stick. Any advice on what might be causing this and what to do to make the consistency firmer? Thanks!

Were any of the things you mentioned above "new" for her? How old is she?

[Nancy1999]

Wylie's Mom could you address this statement:

Originally Posted by shionpower

3) puppies should be pooping about 3 times a day. thats the healthy version. Read that online.

Is this true in your opinion?

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by shionpower

3) puppies should be pooping about 3 times a day. thats the healthy version. Read that online.

I think it is really dependent on the dog. Most dogs seem to poop about 2x per day. Then, once in a while - you'll hear of a perfectly healthy dog pooping once a day. But, I think that's an outlyer - since dogs have such short digestive systems, so their systems are much more prone to being activated by "something in" = "something out" not too long afterward (within a couple hours). Then also, it can depend on if you have a young (or tiny) puppy whom you're feeding 4x per day - then you may have even more poos, esp. with an immature system.

So the rule of thumb (rule of bum?) can be sort of variable....