Hello-

My wife and I got our first Sib in the middle of July. Since we got her we've had issues with loose stools. We started her off on Pedigree puppy food and she had loose stools. We credited that to new environments and shots/heart guard pills at 12 weeks. We gave it a couple weeks and it persisted. We then transitioned her over to Purina Pro Plan dry puppy food. A couple weeks of loose stools then took her to the vet and had a stool sample done. He claimed he found a worm egg and to give her the next round of heart guard (she was due for it anyways) and started her on some antibiotics to get her stomach back to normal (forgot what they were exactly for)? It's been a few days since she's been done with her medications and two weeks since her heart guard and last round of shots, still have the same problem.

I'm assuming it's a food issue but I'm not exactly sure? Being young and on somewhat of a budget I'd like to try to avoid the very expensive food, but we are willing to do what it takes to get our pup feeling better.

Thanks in advance!

First of all, welcome to the forum. Second of all, how much does your pup weigh and how much are you feeding and how often?

And finally - choice of food. I had the same issues with Ami when we first got him though he was around a year old. He was eating Iams when we got him and I continued with that. However, he had what I call "pudding poop" that just would not resolve. So, seeing that his poop had flecks of corn that looked the same as what was in the Iams, I reluctantly tried a grain free food...voila! After a day or two, solid formed stool. Unless I feed too much. I am hesitant to recommend that you cut back on the amount you're feeding without knowing how much you are feeding. That would be my first recommendation. My second would be to go to a grain free - I feed Taste of the Wild (HIgh Prairie formula, I think, I never get it straight ) BUt a cheaper alternative would be Tractor Supply 4Health Grain Free. There may be other, less expensive store brands that I am no aware of - mostly I would look for a food that does not have corn as a first step.

Good luck.

Thanks for the quick reply!

Our pup weighed in at just under 30 pounds (2 weeks ago). The vet said she's on pace to be around 60 lbs to his estimation. As for food, she usually gets 1.5 cups in the morning and 1.5 cups in the evening. Sometimes if she acts hungry (runs to her food container) my wife might give her a cup in the middle of the day. This has been a confusing topic for us as well. I read online that people recommend you don't feed this much, but she acts like she's starving and eats all the food right away, both times we feed her. We mentioned to the vet that we read if you over feed the pup it can cause loose stools. He said he doesn't agree with that theory and that we should feed her as much as she will eat since she is a growing dog.

The 'pudding poop' is exactly how I would describe what her stools look like.

That is about what my son's husky mix ate as a puppy though for many people here, that is a lot of food. Still, I'm reluctant to suggest you feed less (though, in my experience, unless my dog is significantly over fed, he always acts likes he's starving to deat )

If you are near a tractor supply, you might want to pick up a small bag of 4Health puppy food if they have a puppy formula - otherwise try another grain free puppy food. I can't find a 4 health puppy grain free but their puppy food says no wheat corn or soy and, just my gut, its likely the corn that's a problem. You can get a 5# bag to try for 7.99

http://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/4health-puppy-formula-5-lb-bag?cm_vc=-10005

What kind of Taste of the Wild food do you buy? I might order a small bag and try it out, although I see there are a few different types of grain-free choices to choose from.

If any one else has any opinions for things to try out please let me know!

Thanks a lot.

I wont disagree with Amy, she'd come after me if I did!  3 cups a day isn't, normally, too much for a 4 month old - as your vet said she's still a growing girl.

However, I have two pup here who are roughly 4.5 years old (so you can choose to ignore all this if you want).  One of them I free feed because he's marginally underweight - he eats when he wants, what he wants.  Sometimes he'll wipe out his food bowl - that's about 4 cups - but most of the time, it's just a nibble here and there.
On the other hand I have one who will eat anything and everything in sight - and she's still starving to death! She gets fed a cup in the AM and another in the PM and still needs to lose about 15 pounds!
Just saying, every dog is different.  One of the major causes of loose stools is overfeeding - but like Amy, I wouldn't change that until she's well over a year or she starts leaving food in her bowl.  The other, as Amy has said, is the quality of food.  While dogs can (arguably) digest some vegetable matter, when that's the primary ingredient in the food it often become a problem.

Amy has given you suggestions that may help, but it's going to be up to you (of course) to experiment a bit and see which works. My only other comment would be to NOT do anything cold; don't stop one food one day and start another - that's almost a guaranteed disaster.

Good luck!

As for transitioning food from old to new, is mixing 75(old)/25(new) for a few days, then going 50/50 for a few days, followed by 25/75, and finally all new a good way to go about it?

Change "a few" to "a couple" and I'd go for it.

That's the general recommendation...though, occasionally I've run out and had to settle for what I can get at the local Walmart to tide me over. Did not seem to make a difference - but as Al says, every dog is different, so you may want to err on the side of caution.

The TOTW I use is the one with bison and venison (High Prairie, I think but to be sure I'd have to go through the trap door to my deep crawls space basement for the spare bag in storage...the food I'm using has been dumped out of the bag into a vermin proof can.

But - I've used most of them - I look for the ones with 32% protein and 18% fat.

I agree with Amy and Al......Ugh, I hate saying this but.......if you are on a super tight budget and no Tractor Supply, I can think of only 2 other options.....Cotsco has a grain free Kirklands Nature's Domain, I am not sure on the specifics, or for that matter how cheap compared to other more quality brands, I think 30-35 pound bag for just under $50. Walmart also carries a grain free, it is an Ole Roy product called, Pure Balance...I am a little more familiar, see it every time I go to Walmart(no Cotsco near me). Dogfoodadvisor.com gives it a 3.5 out of 5, so not terrible.(dogfoodadvisor, gives Nature's Domain the same rating). 4 pound bag for under $9. I also go to Tractor supply. They have a wide variety of excellent dog food at better prices. The 4health is cheaper than Walmart. But at least now you have 3 options available to you.

Huskies tend to not do very well on foods with grain in it. Miya was the same way. I also feed Taste of the Wild Bison Flavor, just like Amy. Miya has done wonderfully on it. It is the High Prairie, 5 pounds for $11.99, where as the 4Health is $7.99 for a 4 pound bag. I wish you luck, it isn't the easiest thing to find a dog food that works well, a lot of trial and error.

Thanks again for all the help and comments. We ended up ordering a 5# bag of Taste of the Wild to start with. The 30# bag isn't significantly more expensive than what we are currently buying so if it works well we have no problems sticking with that. Should have an update in a week or so!

Hello! Just an update... Her stools were starting to look better (a few days) and now that we are almost completely switched off of the old food onto taste of the wild high prairie they look like they did before.. How many weeks should I give her on this before trying another type? I've read a lot of people recommend TOTW pacific stream. Should I stick with grain free? Any help or advice is appreciated! Thank you

I know you said the poor pup is starving on what you're giving her - but if you're experiencing loose stools on a grain free then I'd have to suggest that she's really getting more than she needs and her body is getting rid of the excess.

Although she's still a pup, I think I'd be inclined to cut her food back - step wise regression? - cut it by 1/4 cup each meal over, say, four to five days.  

If cutting a 1/2 cup a day seems too much for you, then cut the morning by 1/4 cup, give her three to four days, then cut the evening meal by 1/4 cup, if things haven't improved then do it again so that she's at two cups per day total. Hopefully, cutting it back slowly, you'll see 'it' firm up.

The norm for most of us, I think, is two cups per day for an adult dog ... if after a week, she's still having loose stools on two cups per day, I'd suggest a serious vet visit.

I don't know what she has for chew toys, but you might want to think about antlers (plenty of comments on the forum) to help give her something to chew on that isn't food. Do read the "Be Careful with Antlers" thread!

We started Red off on the Wellness dog food for puppies and she was still having loose stools. Her first vet visit said that she had Giardia so we got that treated but still had loose stools. So we finally decided to transition her to grain free as well. We did end up going with Taste of the Wild puppy formula (pacific stream) also. We slowly transitioned her onto it and she hasn't had any loose stools since (unless she's having a treat thats new to her - I know for sure she is lactose intolerant and can't have any raw hide otherwise we'll have poop pudding). Also, if she's having a lot of different treats at the same time, try giving her only one type of treat at a time for awhile so you can see if that particular treat is adding to the loose stools. If you give too many types at once,  it'll make it more difficult to pin point the culprit.

Red is between 5-6 months right now and we give her 1 cup in the AM (2 spoonfuls of wet added, TOTW also) and 1 cup dry in the PM. She doesn't always eat her AM food and sometimes just nibbles. You might find that your husky will eat more on days where she's expended a lot of energy or eat less on her lazy days. At least that is what Red has exhibited to us.

Try www.chewy.com
I've searched high and low for the best prices of TOTW puppy food and their prices are the best. Plus they generally get eveything shipped to you within 2 days. I've made two huge orders with them so far and have not been disappointed. Plus it looks like their selection of TOTW food is pretty big.

Good luck with eveything!

And btw, I don't know if it's because Red is still young or if the Pacific Stream formula has anything to do with it, but her fur is super soft and shiny all over. We always get comments about how surprised people are with her softness. So that might be an added benefit for your girl if you do decide to put her on the Pacific stream formula.

So glad I came across this post. I too am having issues with loose stools. Scout is now 4.5 months old and this has been going on for 2 months now. I have been thinking about trying Taste of the Wild brand so I'm glad to see what several people choose that brand! I will pick up a bag today and gradually switch him over. I didn't know that overfeeding could cause loose stools. We basically let him graze...he isn't a huge eater though so I don't think that's an issue.

A friend's sister is a veterinarian and said that Huskies are sometimes called the "poopy puppies" because loose stools are common through 6 months of age. Anyone else heard that before?

Danielle, I have never heard it put that way, but yes many seem to have tummy issues. Mostly, imo, it's because many huskies do not do well on grain inclusive foods, where as many other dogs do just fine. So unfortunately the new husky owner gets the pudding poop pup, haha, like that? Then switch to grain free and tummy issues tend to disappear, unless you get the pudding poop pup that turns into the picky eater(Haven't came up with a good nick name for that yet, lol).

Soft serve! Just poopie version instead of ice cream...lol