Poop consistency - Doberman Forum : Doberman Breed Dog Forums

Amesserschmidt · 01-01-2013, 09:39 PM

Our doberman is about 9 months old and he hasn't had but two solid poops since we've had him. The best way to describe them is that they are usually the consistency of paste. And his farts always smell. I'm worried it might be a sign of his body not taking the nutrients out of his food or that he is dehydrated. Any one have any thoughts on the issue?

Mikemontreal · 01-01-2013, 09:48 PM

Since when have u had him? What type of food do you feed?

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Beaumont67 · 01-01-2013, 09:56 PM

IMO - Agrippa has the common signs of a food problem...probably lower quality, that may contain cheap fillers....would be my first quess.
- I will only buy 4-5 star rated kibble Dry Dog Food Reviews | Dog Food Advisor
The premium (holistic/organic) dog foods cost more, but you feed less cups....so overall, may not be as expensive as they first appear.
- i feed my pups, all life stages (ALS) dry food

Amesserschmidt · 01-01-2013, 10:15 PM

We've had him since he was 5 weeks and we feed him blue buffalo large breed puppy food. It's not that he has diarrhea, he has had that a few times and its definitely different then his regular which is just very soft and wet

Amesserschmidt · 01-01-2013, 10:16 PM

And it is dry food

Mikemontreal · 01-01-2013, 10:18 PM

Well you are feeding an excellent food , have you been feeding this type of food since the beginning ?

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Rouleaux · 01-01-2013, 10:22 PM

Has he gotten into anything out of the ordinary lately, or was I reading the initial post wrong?

Loose stool can be caused by parasites your pup may have picked up in the environment.

Otherwise, you may want to try a different food and see if things clear up.

I have had Rouleaux since he was 7 weeks (I know, I know) and he had been on Orijen LB Puppy since I brought him home. Just 2 months ago I switched his food to FROMM and his dober farts and loose stools stopped/ have significantly lessened. Just my preference, but I am not a fan of BB.

It may be as simple as changing your brand choice?
But make sure he is clear of parasites!

And check out the link for the Dog Food Adviser!!! BB is not a 4-5 star food, which most DTers will recommend. Of course, any food is better than no food.

Rosemary · 01-01-2013, 10:37 PM

If he's consistantly had loose stools, it's probably the food. Some foods just don't with some dogs. One of the more commonly recommended foods on here is Innova. All three of mine had horrible loose stools on it. Yuck.

Rouleaux · 01-01-2013, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rosemary

If he's consistantly had loose stools, it's probably the food. Some foods just don't with some dogs. One of the more commonly recommended foods on here is Innova. All three of mine had horrible loose stools on it. Yuck.

On Innova or BB?

Amesserschmidt · 01-01-2013, 10:42 PM

We have had him on a few different brands but the poop has stayed pretty consistent. His weight seems good and he has plenty of energy but since we had him as a baby he's always had loose stools

Jazi · 01-01-2013, 10:56 PM

One of my GSDs was this way. You need to have a vet, and possibly a specialist, look into it. It started out with very consistant poop that was not logs... more like chunky pudding texture. She never really had a "normal" poop in all of her 6 years. As she got older she would have seemingly random bursts of quite a bit of blood in her poop for days at a time. We got several opinions on it and all we kept hearing back was nervous colitis. This was also the GSD that got bloat, lost her spleen, and got pancreatitus before dying due to complications post-op from the bloat surgery. We'd also discovered that she was allergic to beef, corn, wheat, soy, and lamb which is in nearly all major kibbles and she is the reason we switched the family dogs to a version of BARF. Her poops never evened out but at least she looked healthy on the outside. She was also always underweight, what should have been a 70ish pound dog was barely scraping 60 on her good days. Fantastic temperament and everything I wanted in a dog, but man her digestive system was a mess. Good luck.

Rouleaux · 01-01-2013, 11:03 PM

Pancreatic Insufficiency Syndrome?

Jazi · 01-01-2013, 11:13 PM

Colitis in Dogs: Symptoms and Treatment
Dog Pancreatitis: Types, Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments
It's WebMD but it'll do. Those are the two diagnosis(es?) that the vets were able to give us. They don't quite fit her symptoms but the treatments they had her on controlled her pain to the point where most days she was just a normal happy dog. She WAS very high strung, much higher drive than my parents had expected considering the other two GSDs were much more easily controlled, and we don't know how much that contributed to the problem.

It's been a little over 4 years now since she had to be PTS so there's nothing we can do now about necropsies or the like. I only hope that the OP doesn't have to go through the headache- and heartache- we had to go through with her.

Rosemary · 01-02-2013, 12:59 AM

Rouleaux, It was the Innova they had horrible puddding poos on. I tried both the regular formula and the red meat formula. Right now, they are on 4Health Salmon and Potato, and seem to be doing good (I haven't seen them in a couple of weeks, and I cant wait to get home).

RedFawnRising · 01-02-2013, 01:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amesserschmidt

We have had him on a few different brands but the poop has stayed pretty consistent. His weight seems good and he has plenty of energy but since we had him as a baby he's always had loose stools

I'm going to dissent from the other suggestions so far, and say I'd run that pup in for a giardia snap test, and check for coccidia, as well. (Though that can be harder to detect.)

Since you've had him since five weeks old, it's a very good educated guess his breeder wasn't doing a lot of other things right, as well. I'd wonder about sanitary conditions/contaminated water sources, that sort of thing, from where he came from.

I got a surrendered pup several years ago, who was also way too young to be away from Mom and sibs, and he went thru months and months of alternating loose, soupy stool, and bouts of diarrhea.

$pent quite a bit of money, and had several misdiagnoses, prior to finding a vet who immediately suggested screening for giardia--and guess what? Voila, we finally had an accurate diagnosis, treated it, and never had an issue again.

Now, all that is not to say you might not also see some benefit in trying a different food, esp. if he pops negative on that snap test--but I'd sure want to rule it out, first.

Rosemary · 01-02-2013, 01:23 AM

Ouch, I missed the part about having him from 5 weeks.

mmctaq · 01-02-2013, 02:00 AM

You said his weight is good. Is it possible that he is even a touch too heavy? Do you have a good picture of him standing taken from the side, and maybe one taken from above that you could post? What does he weigh? How much are you feeding, and how often? Treats and extras?

The single most common cause of loose stools in owned and cared for dogs in this country is overfeeding. And, it doesn't have to be by much!

I might try taking a bit of food away. I might also (just for fun) try sprinkling one capsule of NOW Foods Super Enzymes on each meal. If he self-corrects, than I think you might have diagnosed his dealie.

Rouleaux · 01-02-2013, 07:34 AM

I didn't miss that part. I suggested a fecal sample to be checked

Amesserschmidt · 01-02-2013, 02:05 PM

He's definitely not over weight but over feeding him could be a possibility. We feed him 3 times a day about a cup and a half each meal. Here's a few pictures of him

Amesserschmidt · 01-02-2013, 02:07 PM

Another

Rouleaux · 01-02-2013, 02:09 PM

He doesn't look overweight to me?

RedFawnRising · 01-02-2013, 02:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amesserschmidt

He's definitely not over weight but over feeding him could be a possibility. We feed him 3 times a day about a cup and a half each meal. Here's a few pictures of him

Undiagnosed parasites are a MUCH more likely possibility. Please ask your vet to do that snap test.

Rouleaux--it's not the same as just doing a fecal, although a fecal is always a good idea too. Giardia and Coccidia are protozoal parasites, not worms.

Rouleaux · 01-02-2013, 06:44 PM

I know. Coccidia is found under the microscope, as is Giardia- but with Giardia it takes a much more keen eye... the snap test/ELISA is much easier to diagnose though, as you stated.

I am in no way saying you are wrong. You are much wiser than me and I learn from your posts everyday RFR!

I am just saying you can easily diagnose Coccidia under the scope. Giardia cysts under the scope are harder to diagnose but it can be done.

RedFawnRising · 01-02-2013, 09:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rouleaux

I know. Coccidia is found under the microscope, as is Giardia- but with Giardia it takes a much more keen eye... the snap test/ELISA is much easier to diagnose though, as you stated.

I am in no way saying you are wrong. You are much wiser than me and I learn from your posts everyday RFR!

I am just saying you can easily diagnose Coccidia under the scope. Giardia cysts under the scope are harder to diagnose but it can be done.

Sorry, didn't know you were familiar with those two parasites. It's been my understanding, though, that unless you catch it right when the cysts are being shed, it's really hard to detect.

That's why so many vets want fecals three days in a row. (Most clients don't comply, though.)

Thor_Red · 01-02-2013, 10:10 PM

Is the snap test something the vet does in house with immediate results like the fecal or is it sent out?