GSP Weight and Stool

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bryceepoo
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GSP Weight and Stool

Post by bryceepoo » Tue Jul 18, 2017 11:08 pm

Hi all,

I'm brand new here and finally joined just to ask this specific question and see if any of you with more experience could give me a recommendations.

Quick stats/history:

My first GSP of my own. 15 month old male. Vet says he's completely healthy. He's currently 49 lbs.

Brought pup home and fed Nutrisource puppy and had constant diarrhea. Switched to Pro Plan puppy and he did pretty well until he was about 13 months old but he's always been skinny and never had nice hard stools, but they were tolerable. Breeder would always get after me that he was too skinny when we would go hunt or train together, but if I fed more he'd just get diarrhea. Decided to switch to Pro Plan performance (adult) to get more calories and because he was "old enough" and he started having loose stool. Mess all over the yard. Switched again to Nutrisource performance and had almost constant diarrhea, coat looks dry and discolored, just bad. With both adult feeds I have fed around 2 cups morning and night. I went down to 1 cup morning and night at one point this month to see if that would firm him up without any luck.

I need to get weight on the dog but I can't seem to find a feed that allows me to feed him enough without making him sick. More importantly I need to find a food that agrees with him and would like to avoid having to try too many foods on him. Breeder recommended maybe looking for something with less fat than a 30/20 that is more similar to the PP puppy, but I feel like I need that to get the calories in him.

Help!

reba
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by reba » Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:17 am

Don't worry about the weight it will happen once the diarrhea is "fixed" "NO FAT DOGS"

Sometimes switching dog foods can cause problems such as loose stools. So if you are switching every bag then this may be adding to the problem.

I should have asked in the beginning is it really diarrhea or just soft stool with some shape?

If it is really diarrhea find another Vet and have a stool sample tested, it could be serious. Is there blood in the diarrhea???

Don't free feed. Measure every cup your dog eats. I have two GSP's and they eat 4 cups a day and 6 cups a day during hunting season which is 5 months long for us.

Good observation on your part "Switched again, coat looks dry and discolored"

If the breeders dogs look good I would use the same adult dog food. I have never used any type of puppy dog food.

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dog dr
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by dog dr » Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:59 am

would be worst case scenario, but almost sounds like EPI to me. Young dog for it in my experience, but you might mention it to your vet. That's assuming your 100% sure hes not wormy.

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bryceepoo
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by bryceepoo » Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:51 pm

reba wrote:Don't worry about the weight it will happen once the diarrhea is "fixed" "NO FAT DOGS"

Sometimes switching dog foods can cause problems such as loose stools. So if you are switching every bag then this may be adding to the problem.

I should have asked in the beginning is it really diarrhea or just soft stool with some shape?

If it is really diarrhea find another Vet and have a stool sample tested, it could be serious. Is there blood in the diarrhea???

Don't free feed. Measure every cup your dog eats. I have two GSP's and they eat 4 cups a day and 6 cups a day during hunting season which is 5 months long for us.

Good observation on your part "Switched again, coat looks dry and discolored"

If the breeders dogs look good I would use the same adult dog food. I have never used any type of puppy dog food.
Thanks for the reply. It's usually just loose. Usually a type 5 or 6. Never harder than a 4 which is a rare occasion. Never any blood. Yes, not free feeding - I manage his intake always.

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bryceepoo
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by bryceepoo » Wed Jul 19, 2017 9:55 pm

dog dr wrote:would be worst case scenario, but almost sounds like EPI to me. Young dog for it in my experience, but you might mention it to your vet. That's assuming your 100% sure hes not wormy.
Thanks. He's had worms a couple of times, but I usually spot it right away and get it cleared up. He's actually headed to the vet this Friday for some shots, so I'll ask about EPI. Hope that's not the case!

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greg jacobs
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by greg jacobs » Fri Jul 21, 2017 8:40 pm

You certainly don't have to feed a 30/20 dogfood to have dogs in good shape. I know you hear 30/20 here all the time. There are a lot of dogs that don't like the real concentrated foods and don't do that great on them. I know I don't feed 30/20. My last pup (avitar) was raised on a 30/18 puppy food and looked great but was always not real firm. Since has been put on our reg. 26/14 adult food and thinned down a little but kept putting on muscle. Wanted to put a couple more pounds on him for showing. So he is back on 50% his reg puppy food which he liked better and 50% adult food 4.5 cups a day. He is a little bit of a picky eater. My other two can get fat on the 26/14 food at anything over 2.5 cups a day. You have to figure out what works for each dog.

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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by shags » Sat Jul 22, 2017 7:34 am

Dry discolored coat along with sloppy stools make me think of whipworms. You can't see them in the stools, so take a fecal sample to your vet for an exam.
Whipworms can be difficult to eradicate. depending on the dog's environment.

reba
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by reba » Sat Jul 22, 2017 9:22 am


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dog dr
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by dog dr » Sat Jul 22, 2017 1:09 pm

shags wrote:Dry discolored coat along with sloppy stools make me think of whipworms. You can't see them in the stools, so take a fecal sample to your vet for an exam.
Whipworms can be difficult to eradicate. depending on the dog's environment.
Good call. Monthly Interceptor will keep them under control after you get him clean, assuming that's the problem.

Medic4049
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by Medic4049 » Sun Jul 23, 2017 6:55 am

First Purina has awesome products. Been a Purina breeder for years. That being said, some dogs just don't like it. I have a dog right now that I can't feed it at all. I have switched him to Diamonds chicken and rice. That has diced his problem except on days he sneaks in some people food. And his coat is nice and shiny and he maintains weight well. A slice of white bread with his food will help him gain some and then cam be changed to keep desired weight

Be sure the dog is on a worm preventative as well.

These 2 things should"fix him up in about 3 weeks

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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by setterpoint » Thu Jul 27, 2017 6:42 am

i had a setter and a pointer back some years ago i give both dogs the same amount food daily the setter did fine on the brand i was feeding the pointer look like a pack of bones i took him to the vet i knew something was wrong with him but he check out fine the vet said to try him on another food sure enough he put the weight on fast so fast i had to cut him down on food his stool improved to. you just have to find the right mix keep searching but i think a skinny dog is healther than and over weight dog

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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by Urban_Redneck » Sat Jul 29, 2017 4:40 am

If the dog is parasite free, consider feeding raw.

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bryceepoo
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by bryceepoo » Sat Jul 29, 2017 9:42 pm

Thanks guys. I happened to have a visit with the vet for some vaccinations this week so I chatted with him about it as well. As it turns out, it looks like he has worms again so I'm getting that cleared up. I've worked with him on this topic already in the past and I don't think the worms were all his problem with the Nutrisource stuff, so he recommended to try another feed one more time and see what that gets him. I picked up some Eukanuba Premium Performance and I'll move him over to that of the next several days and report back. If he doesn't respond well, I'll just get him back on PPP and work with the vet to see if we can find another cause.

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dog dr
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by dog dr » Wed Aug 02, 2017 9:33 am

Any update??

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bryceepoo
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by bryceepoo » Wed Aug 02, 2017 3:18 pm

dog dr wrote:Any update??
Just the post right above yours... it was on hold because I'm a new member, so I think it overlapped you. Anyhow, I'll check back in after I've had him on this feed for a couple of weeks. Thanks again.

huntindog1
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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by huntindog1 » Fri Aug 04, 2017 7:51 am

We have had good luck with Purina Proplan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Salmon forumula.
Make sure your not feeding too much. We feed our 50 pound female around 1.5 cups twice a day.
You might worm your dog, loose stools are caused by worms. Panacur for 5 days straight should do the trick.

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Re: GSP Weight and Stool

Post by SouthernTied » Thu Sep 14, 2017 10:58 pm

I have a male gsp. also 15 months. He held 44.6lbs from 9 months till 13 months and i was feeding proplan. Very toned but never had "weight". I am a hypochondriac about my dogs health so it bothered me for the longest. I switched to diamond naturals and hes up to 50 and still built well.

I have a 6m/o lab pup thats 31lbs with dame and sire both in the 90s.... I've bugged my vet to death about her weight and she's starting to fill out finally

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