My puppy has diarrhea on Proplan. Is the food's fat content to blame?

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Giacomo. I'm sorry to hear you are having all of these problems with him. About 75% of the time ongoing diarrhea in puppies is related to intestinal parasites or diet. So have your veterinarian ensure he does not have any parasites including giardia. If he is negative and has been properly dewormed, I should start him on a prescription low fat diet that is highly digestible. I use Purina ProPlan Veterinary Diets EN as it is safe for use in growing puppies. If this diet does not resolve the diarrhea, he may require a diet for a food allergy such as a hydrolyzed formula. I hope this information helps!

That is quite a high protein content for food, the recommended percent of protein in an adult dog's diet is 18-25%. It may be the switch in food to this higher protein could be the cause of his diarrhea. Since you have seen the vet and everything has come back normal, you might want to consider putting him on a diet with less protein. Sometimes certain brands of food do not agree with a dog's system, so you can look into a different brand. Brands I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I personally do not recommend grain free diets unless the dog has a diagnosed grain allergy, which is actually very rare. In dogs who suffer from allergies, only 10% have food allergies, and the majority of those are protein related. Grains really are beneficial to dogs, providing a lasting source of energy and fiber. In addition, recent studies have show that diets who use lentils instead of grains negatively affects the dog's absorption of taurine. This has lead to taurine deficient dilated cardiomyopathy later in life. If you really want to stay with grain free food, maybe try one with a different source of protein because chicken is the most common protein allergy. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Ranger. If the diarrhea started after adding the canned food to his diet, then this is likely the cause. If the diarrhea has been intermittent or present prior to the diet change, then I worry that there is a different cause. In this case, he should see his veterinarian for fecal testing. Otherwise, you can try to add a probiotic such as Fortiflora. This can help with stool quality. A different brand of canned food or a smaller amount may help as well. Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach is a good formula for mild GI upset. I hope this information helps!

I strongly recommend starting her on a probiotic/fiber supplement such as fortifolora and a bland, low fat diet for the next 48hours and this should resolve now that the offending food has been withdrawn. Ensure to keep pups up to date with deworming treatments also as internal parasites can contribute to diarrhea

Any food that says "puppy" should be just fine. You can continue to feed wet, or you can use dry. If she prefers moist food, you could even add a little water to the dry food. All puppies that aren't large breeds can use the normal puppy food. Large breeds need different mineral percentages for their extra large bones. I have fed all of my dogs Purina ProPlan since they were puppies. Here is a link: https://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=31180&cmpid=sc

It is a good sign that she improved with a bland diet, I recommend returning to chicken and rice with a probiotic such as fortiflora for 48 hours then slowly adding a sensitive puppy food (royal canin gastrointestinal junior or calibra puppy is my preferred option). Add kibble at no more than 20% every 2 days to allow the gut to adjust

I am sorry to hear about Luna, that must be very frustrating! It is possible that something in the Pedigree is not agreeing with her tummy! If she is still energetic, eating normally, there is no vomiting and no blood or mucus in the stool you can try a different food (my favoriate puppy food is Purina Pro Plan, and I recommend dry food) and adding a small amount of fiber by putting a teaspoon of canned pumpkin on the food. A probiotic made for pets such as Forti-flora (available at your vet or online) or Proviable can also be helpful. If Luna is not on a monthly heartworm preventative, it is possible she could have intestinal parasites even if she had her stool checked before (she could have been infected from the environment) so it is worth getting her stool checked again.