switched food too fast? (cross posted)
 

Hello,
I'm new here and need some advice. I have an 8 week old puppy, took to vet, all looked great. I switched the food soon after I brought her home because I felt she should be on Science Diet. The vet agreed and said to wet dry food down with water and mush it up instead of using canned food. (She gave this advice because I told her my puppy's only problem was diarrhea.) Anyhow, I did not do this gradually and her diarrhea seems to be getting worse.

Yesterday she did not want to eat, so I got creative and have had luck feeding her by hand. For some reason she will eat it out of my hand more than the bowl. I've read alot about hyperglycemia and have made sure to give her what she needs for that, so she seems to be happy and playful. I just put her down to type this and she "growled at me"....so cute!

(Oh, I also had advice on using goat's milk to wet the food instead of water. My puppy seems to like this pretty well, but I really don't know if it is the right thing to do.)

I love this puppy SO much and am so worried that I'm going to not do the right thing for her. All advice is appreciated.

I need to know if I should switch her back, or just continue with this food. What can I do to stop that diarreah? I'll check with the vet tomorrow too, but just thought I'd cross check here and see what I could find out.

Thanks!

The exact same thing happened to me back when I switched my oldest yorkie over to science diet.She was a VERY picky eater and wouldent eat her royal canin food,so I switched her over to science diet straight away to get her eating something.She got diarrea for the first couple of days,but that was followed by gases and VERY smelly poop.I heard soon after that science diet is just a cheap food in an expensive package..so I changed over to eukanuba and never looked back.Science diet is very rich,its a very strong smelling food and each peice of kibble seems to be covered in oil (rub one and you will see)..Iv never liked it after that...I think its too strong.

I hadn't heard that...thanks for the feedback. Her poo is very smelly, that's for sure. I called the vet and they wanted me to not feed her for the next 2 hours (she hasn't eaten yet this morning) and bring her in and leave her for a few hours so they can check her out. I don't feel comfortable not feeding her. True, she has diarrhea, but at least she is eating a little. If I don't feed her I will risk hypoglycemia. So, I told the vet I'd observe her this morning and see how she did after I fed her.

Any more ideas?

Thanks,

When my babies have had diarrea,Iv given them boiled white rice with boiled chicken breast (more rice than chicken) just chop up the chiken breast REAL small.The rice works for diarrea and you only have to give them very small amounts as rice is very filling.
Last week Jess (my 10 month old) had diarrea after getting into our trash can (yet again) and eating lasagna..so I gave her the boiled rice and chicken for a day,and it cleared up in no time.I gave her very small amounts throughout the day (every 3 hours).If your vet has asked you not to feed her for a couple of hours,just keep some nutrical handy:) Although if its only a couple of hours Im sure she´ll be fine:).
I hope shes better soon..GOOD LUCK!

I thought Science Diet was really good for them! That's what I feed Snoodles! I am just going to start mixing her puppy food with the adult food. Do you think I should change from Science Diet? This has got me confused! Pat

I have always feed my yorkies eukanaba, the breeders have always recommended it, I have two boys now and that is what they get, I also add one of those small tins of Ceaser wet canned stuff. But half the time, the cat eats the dogs food an the dogs eat the cat food and then they switch back and forth. All I know is all three are healthy as horses.

My little one had a similar problem. I suggest ID. It is the best thing I have ever seen!!! All her problems stopped. Please do not use Eukanuba!!! It is very hard for them to digest(I posted info on this on the Health and Diet section). It may take a while for your pup to get used to all this, but I would suggest getting the ID soft food and giving that first. It is a bland diet that is very good to use when switching foods. After about a couple weeks I would try the ID hard food. You might have to crush it up or you can put warm water on it, but I promise your pup will love it. I don't know much about Science Diet, but I truly believe in ID because it is a bland diet that is very easy on their stomachs.

Thank you so much for all the responses. I haven't heard of ID, I'll have to give it a try if what I switched to today doesn't work. I found Nutro and she actually ate it up...and did not pass it through right away and has actually yet to pass it through. I tried to feed her some more a few hours later, but I honestly don't think she is hungry enough yet. I'll try again later. I REALLY hope this works....she is really proving to be quite picky and unfortunately has a sensitive stomach to go along with this.

Do you know where I can find ID?

Thanks again,

WHENEVER you change a diet it must be done VERY slowly with just a few kibble of the new food mixed with the old to not cause gastric upset...I would advise boiled chicken and white rice till GI settles down then slowly add a few kibble to the chicken and rice.....but I would'nt recommed anything with corn or animal by products.....lamb and rice is what I use....easy on the tummy and highly digestible.......but that too has to be introduced slowly.....few kibble with the boiled chicken and rice, then few more kibble with chicken and rice,,,,till you eventually replace it perhaps over a week to 10 day time frame...........I use Authority Lamb and Rice and get it at petsmart.....good luck

Just an update....
I have been giving my little girl the Nutro canned puppy food and it seems to be settling well with her stomach. She is still not "wanting" to eat...I have to really coax her to even get a little at a time in her, but for now, I am just SO relieved that the big "D" seems to be leaving.

I am so very glad that I did not opt to take her to the vet and leave her there for several hours today. Just something inside me told me that wasn't the best thing for her. Hopefully she continues to do well so we won't have to go down that road.

I'll have to try some others I guess to see if there is one with the good ingredients that she will actually want to eat.

This actually makes the 6th type I've tried. Keep in mind though, most of those she wouldn't even consider eating....just turned her nose up at it. I didn't know Yorkie's were picky eaters.....I am picky too, so I guess I can relate! :o

Thanks for all the tips....this site is great.