Runny Stool
 

Alright, I've learned the hardway that my pup is an EXTREMELY picky eater.

I got her last July and started her on Eukanuba Dry Food, that lasted all of two weeks before she got tired of that.

Then Eukanuba Canned food, that lasted 4 days.

Purina puppy chow lasted a month until she saw what my other Terriers (Jack Russells) were eating and wanted that.

So for the past 9 months or so she's been eating Pedigree Kibbles and Bits with no problems.

Now she suddenly upped and stopped eating it. My dad used to breed Dobermans and told me that I've been babying her too much and I should start showing her that she needs to eat by removing the food bowl after a certain amount of time if she doesn't eat.

This went on for a few days and she lost too much weight by my standard so I started feeding her "Natural Choice - Puppy Beef and Vegetable Dinner" (3.5 oz) Once in the morning and once at night.

She's been eating this food like if it's running away from her.

But

I know when you're switching dog foods it needs to be a gradual process, but in this scenario she wouldn't touch the Pedigree, even if she was starving.

Now, she has diarrhea (See title =P).

How can I alleviate this problem?

Any home remedy recommendations?

First, how bad is the diarrhea, and how long has she had it? You may want to try the adult version of that food, bc the puppy formula that you're giving is likely a bit higher in fat.

Some dogs do wonderful w/ variety and switching, and this can be a nice way to get different sources of food in them. For other dogs, it seems to cause issues like you describe above (pickiness).

To get her tummy back on track, what about getting her back on the kibbles-n-bits - but then - take some canned food and mix it in with the other food, so that the kibbles/bits have smell and flavor of canned? If she still won't eat that mixture, try sprinkling a bit of Parmesan cheese on top of it, to entice her nose. See how that goes.

Long term, what would you prefer to do? Canned or kibble or both? Did you have a certain brand in mind? Were you interested in more premium brands?

Long term, I wanted her on Pedigree because I have 3 other dogs who happily eat it and I buy 50 pound bags at a time.

The food she wants to eat is killing my pocket, Lol.

She's had diarrhea for about 2 weeks now.

First it was on and off because she wasn't eating anything, only drinking water.
Then more frequently when I started her on the new food (Which I expected to happen)

But I'm trying to find something she'll eat just so she'll eat at this point. Never had any problems with any other breed I've had except this one. Lol.

^^ Agree.

Also, in my humble opinion, those are not very good foods and could very well be upsetting her stomach. Check out Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble -- I believe they're all rated 1/6 stars. I like this site even better Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Ratings because it explains all the ingredients and why they are good or bad. Nutro Natural Choice scares me, if you google "Nutro Consumer Affairs" you will read many bad things about that food! Also, over-feeding is often a cause of runny stool.

I used to be a believer in dog food is dog food... but after much research, I realize how much crap is actually in those foods! There's a lot of higher quality kibbles out there that won't break the bank. When you're feeding a better food, you also can feed less so you're probably spending the same or less. For reference, Jackson is 16lbs and eats 1/4 cup of Acana kibble in the AM and 1/4 cup in PM, making 1/2 cup total for the day. I've found a lot of picky dogs like Acana, Orijen, Taste of the Wild, Nature's Variety, Fromm, etc.

I wanted to wish you luck :) I know what it's like to have a picky dog! lol

If shes had diahrea for 2 weeks she needs to be at the vets because My quess she is dehydrated. You should only let diarrhrea go on for a couploe of days then its time for a vet

Woah totally agree! Just saw the 2nd post, 2 weeks is a loonggg time to deal w/ diarrhea and not see a vet.

The Vet's appointment is actually tomorrow.

But I wanted to see if there was anything I could do to solve this problem.

I spoke to the vet in the beginning and she said the diarrhea initially was from lack of eating.


I checked the Dog Food Advisor and it said the Nutro Natural Choice was 4 stars but I think I'm going to look into Acana, but I'm a little hesitant because I'll be stuck with food if she decides not to like that one. Lol.

Pumpkin is a natural regulator. You could give her a couple of teaspoons a day if this is an ongoing problem. I am glad your going to a vet

Gotcha! Let us know how the vet appt. goes :)

I've heard of pumpkin helping upset stomachs. My friend gives her yorkie plain yogurt sometimes and it seems to help him.

Nutro, ingredient-wise, is considered a decent food. I just don't trust the company. It's been recalled many times and been linked to death, seizures, etc in dogs. It's not something I would feel comfortable feeding (I fed it when he was a pup for a week before finding out all the info!)

If you have a pet specialty-type store near ya, they usually have sample bags! Which is a BIG help in finding the right dog food. lol. Alot of companies will mail you samples directly to your home too. My local store has little .88lb bag of Acana and Orijen, I bought those first before buying the bigger bag. I remember Taste of the Wild mailing me sample bags a while back, and I think Fromm send me coupons with like $5 off and buy one, get one free, etc. Also, most places if you buy a big bag and only use a few scoops, will take the food back with a receipt.

I'm really glad you're going to the vet :)! Two weeks of diarrhea can sometimes be life threatening and have to do with not just food, but something else as well. Hopefully, the vet will do a fecal. In the morning, if she has diarrhea before your appointment, you can put it in a baggie, put that baggie inside another baggie - then the vet can check that sample.

Not sure what your vet means by "the diarrhea initially was from lack of eating" -- with lack of eating or no eating, there would be very little to nothing coming out the other end :rolleyes:.

I too would stay far away from Nutro, especially when there are so many other choices out there :).

Anyone ready for the conclusion?

The Loose Butt was from switching the foods!

The loss of appetite was because she started to get hook worms. (Again! =\)

So this kid is getting dewormed, Again...

And now she only has a taste for nutro wet food, she won't touch dry food anything, (Pedigree, Purina, Eukanuba, Science Diet).

Time to get Acana(Hope I spelled that right) and try that out.

Hi..I'm so sorry that you are having all this trouble, I have been there and it's not fun....But I would like to let you know that I have 3 small dogs 1 Chihuahua, 1 jack russel and a Yorkshire terrier....Out of all my dogs Izzy ( the yorkie ) has the most funny tummy... I have to feed her wellness adult small breed food....They are the pickyest eaters.. And as you see you can't take their food away, they are not like bigger dogs...They have small tummys and can't hold alot of food at one time.

As for pediagree dog food...I'm that fond of that one...at least for the yorkie choose somthing that has good protien, and no corn wheat or soy.... thats your best bet i think... here are the ones i like;

natural balance, wellness, evo, good luck!!!!

Thanks for the update! Poor pup :( Sorry to hear about the hookworms. Is she on any kind of heartworm meds? :confused:

If you don't want her to eat wet food, you're gonna have to just stick to your guns and be strong (it's hard!) Leave dry food down for 15 mins, then pick it up and don't put it back down for a few hours. She should eventually learn she has to eat when the food is put down.

I, myself, don't mind mixing wet food for Jackson. He will go and eat Acana dry by itself but he just enjoys his mealtime so much more with the added canned food... so to me, it's not a big deal doing it. I buy a variety of different kinds of canned food (usually rotate between TOTW canned, Blue Buffalo canned, and NV Instinct canned, with a few others in between). Do you think she would eat kibble with something yummy like wet food mixed in?

Yea he put her on a 5 day deworming medication, and I'm gunna start her on heartworm straight away now since she's been outside alot more often.

Though, I can't find Acana for the life of me? lol. I was on their website and see that their based in Canada. Is that probably the reason why I can't find a bag of the stuff in Miami, Florida? Lol

Did you try their store locator on their website? I'm not sure if you saw it...but I entered Miami for you and it looks like it's sold quite a few places :):

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