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Runny Poo :(

arealhuman

arealhuman

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Over the last couple of days, Rusty has been passing runny poo. I'm trying to work out why, and if it's something that's likely to be temporary. Here's a bit of background:
  • He is eating Platinum wet dog food (like this), he has cartons containing different types of meat (beef, iberico, chicken). He is fed three times a day (breakfast, lunch and dinner!), and the amount is within that recommended by Platinum for his weight.
  • We tried Platinum dry food, this appeared to make him sick.
  • He has a few other things during the day, such as some chicken cubes as a treat, the odd dog biscuit, and a Skipper's fish flattie to help clean his teeth.
  • He is on Apoquel for likely hay fever-related allergies, we're now giving him half a tablet a day. Mrs ARH has done some reading and one of the side effects can be diarrhoea. He has been on this for some time so I'd be surprised if it had this effect now.
  • Until a few days ago, his poos were mainly solid and hard.
I hate to do this, but in case it helps, here is a "poo diary" for today:
  • Early AM - soft poo, with gooey stuff either end. Just about pickup-able.
  • Midday-ish - very runny poo.
  • Evening - very runny poo at first attempt, manged to pick most up. Second was a little soft sausage, third attempt looked like water, just a few drops, so nothing to pick up.
Can anyone shed any light on why this might be happening? Do you think it's his diet? I am happy to change it, and consider raw from someone like Honey's Dog Food, but I don't really want to end up buying stacks of food that upsets him. I could also retry the Platinum dry food. He's been with us for five and a half weeks now so I would hope that any tummy upset caused by his journey to us would have subsided by now (and his poos haven't always been like this).

Yesterday he managed to pick up and eat something small, brown round and crunchy on his walk - I just about saw it out of the corner of my eye as he nabbed it but I was too late to stop him - it looked like a small Malteser (not saying it was, that's just what it looked like). There was nothing similar on the ground to compare it with. That said, he has had softer/runny poos before then.

His behaviour/temperament hasn't changed, he seems, happy, lively and content. All advice welcome - thank you so much in advance! :):):) Sorry for the long post.
 
Poor Rusty.

Some bran flakes might bulk him up, or if you can get pumpkin (or butternut squash) a generous helping of that should firm loose stools.
 
JoanneF said:
Poor Rusty.

Some bran flakes might bulk him up, or if you can get pumpkin (or butternut squash) a generous helping of that should firm loose stools.
Click to expand...

Thanks. We have some Pro Fibre and put some of that in his food this morning as he had a sloppy poo at around 04.30 this morning, then another on his early walk at around 06.15 :( I don't know what's causing it but I'm going to give Honey's Dog Food a call later to see what they say - if that means trying their food, I'll give it a go but I still remain wary of raw feeding.
 
Just make sure that his fluid intake’s maintained. It’s not an easy time for the mite. When I first tried raw I used Bella and Duke’s products. To my inexperienced eye it looked like a glorified paste - Mabel’s poos became very firm at her next ‘sitting’.
 
I wouldn't rule out the Apoquel - sometimes medications can be tolerated for some time before the body decides it doesn't like them.
 
Bit of an update, two more sloppy poos today above what I posted earlier :( I had a long chat with Honey's earlier, they were helpful and not pushy about selling their food, and I was told that Apoquel does inhibit the immune system so he may have picked up something as a result of this. I was also told because of this, there's a small risk with raw food due to the bacteria but that they supply food to lots of dogs who take Apoquel without problems. They have sent me lots to read, but it does seem I might try this. What are people's thoughts? Honey's seem well regarded, do you agree? Thanks again.
 
If he's been relatively stable on Platinum for a while, if it were me I'd want to know if he's got a tummy upset or not, or try to work out whether it's related to the Apoquel, before making changes to his diet. But how easy that would be I don't know - your vet might be able to check a stool sample, and/or try a break from Apoquel.

I never used Honey's, but from everything I've read they are an excellent company. It's good that they don't try the hard sell too.
 
It's been a week now and no real changes. I couldn't speak to the vet over the phone as we kept missing each other, so today we took Rusty in to get their opinion. After an examination, their view is he's OK, something has obviously upset his stomach, which may or may not be diet related. He seems to passing a bit of mucus with his poo too, so the vet thinks he might have an infection and prescribed antibiotics for 5 days. We discussed raw feeding with her, and she has no problems with that although advised we make that change after he's finished the antibiotics.
 
Minor update - Rusty didn't have a poo at all yesterday, not that he tried to go. We weren't worried, just thought it was the antibiotics, although we did take him on some longer walks to give him every opportunity to go. This morning he finally went, although he did seem to push a bit. And - apologies if you're having breakfast - it was a lot firmer and better shaped! Yay! Hopefully this trend will continue, especially as we're away for a couple of days soon...
 
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Throw a little poo party!

Have you changed his food yet, has that been what's helped?
 
JoanneF said:
Throw a little poo party!
Click to expand...
I'm certain there are some politicians doing that! :eek::eek::eek:

JoanneF said:
Have you changed his food yet, has that been what's helped?
Click to expand...
No, not yet. The vet suggested waiting until his course of antibiotics is over, we have about three days left. He's still on Platinum wet food, but we're thinking of trying raw via Honey's. I'm guessing the antibiotics have helped, fingers cross this continues.
 
Sorry, you said that and I forgot. Hopefully it is just something the antibiotics can clear up.
 
Try giving him, while and after his antibiotics, some "Live" Goat yoghurt or some natural live "Keifr" drink or yoghurt". This can help replace good bacteria in the gut that is quiet often destroyed by antibiotics.
 
We're back from a couple of days away, poo is much the same, shaped and medium-to-firm. It was a bit softer after we got back, but that might have something to do with the trip in our van.
 
excuseme said:
Try giving him, while and after his antibiotics, some "Live" Goat yoghurt or some natural live "Keifr" drink or yoghurt". This can help replace good bacteria in the gut that is quiet often destroyed by antibiotics.
Click to expand...

We'll try this - he occasionally gets a dollop of natural yoghurt ;)
 
I always keep slippery Elm in if ever mine have runny poos....
 
Right, update time! Rusty's poos have basically been the same, although a few softer ones yesterday and today as our new order of Platinum wet food didn't arrive in time (my fault!) so he had half a meal of some other food we had in the cupboard. His Honey's Taster Box arrived yesterday, he had his first meal of that this morning and absolutely loved it! We'll see what that effect has on his poos, but at this point in time he's only having one Honey's meal a day as part of his introduction to this diet.
 
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