Puppy poo!

[RubyTuesday]

My westie puppy who is nearly 12 weeks old, her poo is still VERY soft. She is my first dog and I don't know what is normal. When should it be firm?! Thank you.

[JudyN]

What do you feed her? And are we talking runny or shapeless? Soft-whip ice cream or exra-thick milk shake?

[RubyTuesday]

It isn't watery. It is whippy ice cream.

[RubyTuesday]

I feed her evolution dry kibble for puppies. About 80g.

[JudyN]

That looks like a pretty good food - though a food that agrees with one dog won't with another, and vice versa.

If your pup is otherwise fit and healthy, you don't need to rush into making changes - changing things too quickly is also likely to affect her digestion. However, it would be worth asking your vet to do a stool analysis as if she does have any infection, changing her food won't help.

If her stools get the all-clear, I would try changing her diet to another protein source which doesn't include poultry (e.g. lamb based or fish based, though there is some fish in Evolution). Grain-free is best. This website is great as you can specify meat type, age of dog, grain-free, etc.: http://www.allaboutdogfood.co.uk

Any change needs to be made over at least 6 days, gradually increasing the amount of the new food and decreasing the original one.

However, my dog did soft poos whatever I fed him until I put him on a raw diet so it's possible this would be the answer for you. If you're interested in exploring raw feeding, either now or after trying a different kibble, just say and we can give you plenty of information.

[RubyTuesday]

Thank you for your advice. We are seeing the vet on Tuesday for her second jab so will ask for their advise again. She has already been on some paste stuff that stiffens the poo! That's all gone now though. I'm not too keen on raw food as more effort needs putting into it, as in planning and defrosting, that kind of thing.

[Shalista]

It is more work but it can be cheaper depending on the size of the dog. Bax is 10 pounds and costs about 20$ a month.

I also don't defrost, he eats it straight from the freezer!

.... it does require an hour or two about once a month to package all the stuff for the freezer though and sometimes when I'm cutting up meat i wonder why i do it too

[JudyN]

I'm not too keen on raw food as more effort needs putting into it, as in planning and defrosting, that kind of thing.

That's how I felt at first, but it really doesn't have to be hard at all. I get one carcasse and one tub of mince (I buy a selection of mixes once every six weeks or so to give variety) out the freezer each day, he has mince in the morning with some blended veg (also ready made), and the carcasse with a blob of mince in the evening. Add in the occasional egg & tin of sardines, and that's it You can also get ready-made nuggets which are complete raw & veg, which would be easier still.

So even if you want to explore other options first, please don't rule it out - very few people who try raw feeding go back to commercial dog food