[FamiliarForest]

Hi guys, new here so I apologies if this is the wrong section to ask in.
I'm new to breeding and just found wonderful homes for my second litter of puppies. My question is - both my first and this litter had Diarrhea. None of the puppies have shown other symptoms such a lethargy, sickness, etc. Both litters I have taken to the vet to be on the safe side and they were checked for intestinal parasites and for Giardia. I even had one puppy checked for Parvo just in case as his diarrhea was worse than the others. Everything has always come back negative and both times the vet just gave a medicine to help coat the gut and the diarrhea has cleared up. For reference in both litters this has started at 3-6 weeks of age, I try to keep areas extremely clean so they can not ingest foreign objects, and the Diarrhea is mild, it's not like solid liquid or anything but is very soft and sometimes has a little mucus which may indicate indigestion?

So is Diarrhea normal in newborn puppies like this?
Is there anything I can do to prevent this or clear it up when it happens?
The vet mentioned it could possibly be the food I'm using (Iam's Puppy Formula) but it doesn't explain why my first litter got diarrhea before I started weaning at 3 weeks.) However if you guys have a better food suggestion please let me know!

Thank you guys for any and all help!

 

[Vita]

Take a look at this thread, "Nearly Everything You Want To Know About The Technical Aspects of Breeding". It's stickied/pinned to the top of the page of the Poodle Breeding subforum where you are now.

Scroll down to the links on Raising Puppies, beginning with Week 4. It addresses the ideal time to start weaning which differs in large dogs and toy breeds. It also gives a link to their article on diarrhea in dogs and puppies.

Three weeks is pretty young to start weaning. May I ask if she was getting tired of feeding them? Also a better choice than puppy kibble at 3 to 5 weeks is to supplement with Esbilac Puppy Milk Replacer in liquid or powder. Chewy.com usually has the best prices.

You didn't say whether this is your 2nd litter the same dam or not, or how far apart the litters were. If it's the same one, from a good health and humane perspective, I hope you give her at minimum of a year's rest before breeding her again.

 

[FamiliarForest]

I didn't start the first litter on weaning until week 5 and the second litter I didn't start weaning until week 4. Two separate dams.
I apologize if I wasn't clear, I meant that the first litter had diarrhea before I started weaning when they were 3 weeks old. The second dam I started weaning at 4 weeks just because she is only 6 lbs and ended up having four puppies so wanted to try and help her out as soon as I was able by taking a little stress off her.

 

[Vita]

No apologies needed, I was just wondering and tossed in a preventative suggestion in case these were back to back breedings in the same dam. I hope you enjoy the links to that site which specializes in breeding and post-breeding issues.

Another type of kibble to consider is Royal Canine Puppy kibble, but also consider that whenever you switch foods, puppies and dogs can have temporary diarrhea (you may already know this). Either of the puppy kibbles can be fed to the mother too, and gives her extra calories.

Have fun and good luck with puppies.

 

[FamiliarForest]

This was an old post but decided to add a follow up so that other may know that may have similar issues.

As said - puppies only ever had loose stool and no other signs of illness and after being vet checked both litters (and their mothers) were confirmed healthy without any signs of worms, ailments, or bacteria-like infections. After switching to a different brand of dog food before the next litter (Victor) the puppies have shown no signs of loose stool or diarrhea. This was the same Dam as the first litter. I'm convinced if it's not normal for a mother's first litter to experience diarrhea that the food was the issue.

 

[PeggyTheParti]

Thank you for the update! I’m glad you were able to trace the issue back to the dam’s kibble. I wonder if it was affecting her, too, but just in more subtle ways.

 

[FamiliarForest]

Thank you for the update! I’m glad you were able to trace the issue back to the dam’s kibble. I wonder if it was affecting her, too, but just in more subtle ways.

She seems not to have gone through any visible change after the switch though I have noticed her feces is darker in color (though this could just be that the food itself is darker than the previous brand).