Why does my puppy have loose stool & mucus on a raw food diet?

Poor Meeka! The diarrhea could be due to many conditions including eating something she shouldn’t have, bacterial over growth, parasites, the raw diet or even organ disease. Since the diarrhea has continued beyond 24 hours, I recommend to have her examined by the veterinarian. With continued diarrhea, there are often bacterial shifts in the gut that will make matters worse regardless of the initial cause. Make sure to bring in a sample of fresh stool. The doctor will check her for parasites and bacterial over growth. Many times a bland diet can help and then a slow, gradual introduction to the normal food can be done. A bland diet can consist of 25% boiled white meat chicken and 75% boiled white rice. This should all be plain. Raw diets can contain bacteria that could be responsible for the diarrhea: https://www.petcoach.co/article/raw-and-homemade-diets-what-you-need-to-know/ Additionally, you need to ensure the diet is balanced and complete or you could run into problems long term. The diet should be AAFCO certified. Make sure to alert the veterinarian about the diet change. Any immunocompromised people in the clinic need to be cautious (just in case). I hope Meeka starts feeling better quickly! Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Feeding BARF diet is not recommended and can be the cause of the diarrhea and yellow poop that you are seeing. Any raw food, or bones of any kind (cooked or raw) put the GI tract at danger for a nasty infection (just like you or I eating raw food, there is bacteria that can cause food poisoning). Bones have the potential to cause obstructions, perforations, bone-hardened constipation, and severe gastritis and pancreatitis. Especially in a puppy that is only 4 months old, as their immune systems are not fully developed. I would recommend feeding a high quality puppy food. If you would like to home cook that is great, and a combination of meat and vegetables (onions, garlic, grapes and raisins are toxic) is fine, just cook the meat as you would for yourself. If you wouldn't feed it raw, then it isn't good for your domesticated pet raw either. Adding as much oil and other 'stuff' to his food as well could be too hard on his system, as oil is fatty and dogs don't tolerate the amount of fat that we eat in our diets. Pumpkin is very good for teeth (raw pumpkin) and cooked it is a good source of fibre. Best of luck with Marvel!

It is possible it is the raw food diet diet causing Charley's bloody diarrhea. That's because raw meat carries bacteria that can make your dog sick. It could also be due to intestinal parasites, so make sure she is up to date on her deworming treatments. Withhold food for 12 to 24 hours then feed her a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in a commercial dry dog food for her. I would recommend feeding the commercial day dog food diet to her because there is no risk of poisoning from bacteria, either to her or you. If Charley isn't fully vaccinated, there is a chance she could have parvovirus, but given that she is happy and energetic, it's more likely related to her diet. If she does become very lethargic or the bland diet doesn't help the diarrhea, I would take her into the vet.

Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Roxi may have a food sensitivity issue. Raw diets are nor encouraged by most veterinarians because of the risk of bacterial contamination, & it is very difficult to provide a completely balanced diet this way. I have some clients whose pets have done horrible on raw diets. I would suggest switching Roxi to a limited, but complete diet. One of the best ones out there is Science Diets Salmon formula. This requires a script from your veterinarian, but it is well worth at least a 2-4 week trial to see if this clears up her problems. Take care.

Yes, I suggest you get him a probiotic to add to the food. Use the probiotic with the chicken and rice (no puppy food) for about 4 days and then go back to trying to transition him back to the puppy food. I like this probiotic. I think it is the best. Feed one packet on the food daily. It comes as a box of 30 packets and I would give it for the entire 30 days. http://www.allivet.com/p-1130-purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets-fortiflora-dog-supplement-box-of-30.aspx If you can't get Fortilfora then you can use any probiotic made for dogs. No human ones or dairy products. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I am sorry to hear Rusty isn't feeling well. I recommend taking Rusty to the vet with a fresh stool sample. There is a possibility he has microscopic intestinal parasites. This is common in puppies and causes diarrhea. I would not change his food as that is likely to make the loose stool worse. There is no deworming medicine that treats all parasites so even if he has been dewormed, it doesn't mean there isn't something there. Good luck and kisses to Rusty!

Rich foods or new foods have the potential to trigger diarrhea in sensitive dogs. I recommend feeding white rice and scrambled eggs until the stool is normal. Rice can regulate intestinal motility, and the eggs are easily digestible. Adding a probiotic is a good idea, and this can be added to the rice and eggs. Once the stool is normal you can start adding Alpine's regular kibble back in.