My 35-day old Shih Tzu puppy has loose yellow stool. What's wrong?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Sherlock! I am so sorry for the loss of your dog. I am assuming little Sherlock is being bottle fed puppy formula. Puppy formula can be very hard on puppies either causing diarrhea or constipation. I would try a different brand or mix 2 different brands together to off set each other. The other possibility is that if his mother died of a virus he could also have it. If he stops nursing you should immediately take him to your Vet for them to continue supportive care and/or possibly teach you how to tube feed. You can also start deworming Sherlock at 2 weeks and repeat dewormings every 2 weeks. Parasites can cause loose stool. I recommend putting a call in your Vet since they evaluated his mother. I hope this helps and I wish little Sherlock the best!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I’d bring a collective stool sample from the puppies to the vet to check for parasites especially coccidia. You can start deworming the puppies at 2 weeks with pyrantel but that doesn’t get coccidia. Continue to weigh them daily. Their stool otherwise can be influenced by Lulu’s diet and any medications she maybe on. I hope this helps and I wish you all the best!

That is not a problem but could be an early sign of diarrhoea. As a first approach I would suggest to start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice diarrhoea, vomiting, lethargy or inappetence. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

His poop is bright yellow b/c of his current diet (just rice and cottage cheese). He should have some protein in there, so I would suggest adding chicken or ground turkey. Also as long as he is not straining to poop, there is no cause for concern for the fewer stools, especially since he isn't eating anything with much substance. As long as he is acting normal, there is no major cause for concern here. Slowly transition him back to his normal diet once your vet says he is good to do so, and his stools should return to normal. Best of luck with your pet Billy moving forward. Take care!

Poor Chaw! Unfortunately it's impossible to know the cause of the diarrhea by looks alone. The diarrhea could be due to many conditions including a change in diet, bacterial over growth, parasites or other even parvovirus. Chaw is very small and I recommend to have her examined by the veterinarian today. Small puppies can become very sick very fast and so need aggressive, early intervention. 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 good diet in general is Royal Canin. It is low residue and highly digestible. I hope Chaw starts feeling better quickly! Please feel free to post any additional questions!

Did anyone feed him anything other than his puppy food? If so he may have an upset stomach. He can also have one if he has intestinal parasites or a virus. If the stool gets softer or he continues to not want to eat then I would recommend bringing him to a veterinarian to get evaluated. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

At 6 weeks old, your pet should be well on puppy food with no milk. You should go ahead and go forward with Royal Canin regular puppy large breed food with no additives. If Arjun happens to be having a hard time eating the kibble, then you can certainly add in some canned food at this point, but most puppies this age can no longer digest milk or cerelac, so it should not be given to them anymore. If your puppy just seems to not like Royal Canin anymore, then some other suggested brands are Hill's Science Diet, Eukanuba, or Purina. The amount to feed should be based on the guideline on the back of the bag, but it isn't a perfect science. Pay attention to your pet and feed less than what is recommended if he seems to be leaving a good amount still in the bowl. A good rule of thumb here is that whatever is suggested on the bag is likely going to be an over-estimate of the amount of food he will likely consume. To help with the loose stools, you should add in a probiotic such as Fortiflora or over the counter Culturelle for the next 7-14 days. This should help resolve it, but if not, then a vet visit is recommended. I hope that this new formulation helps Arjun keep normal bowel movements moving forward. Best of luck and take care. : )