Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 2/21/2010

Question
I have a 4 month old chocolate lab. For the past week and a half we have noticed his bowel movements being very unusual. I would consider it diaherra because he goes 4 to 5 times a day. But its a green-boogerish, slimy like pond algea, content that somewhat looks like a discharge. He stricyly eats dry dog food, Purina Puppy Chow, and drinks large amounts of water. We have tried not feeding him for 24 hours but it still continues. We also monitor him at all times to ensure he's not eating anything he shouldn't. He is still very playful, and dosen't appear to be sick at all, but I am concerned.

Answer
Well garbage in, garbage out. You are feeding him garbage whether you know it or not. I have seen too many puppies get very sick eating Purina foods.

Get him off of it and onto a good food, Science Diet Large breed puppy growth. A purebred puppy or even a half breed lab puppy is at risk for severe hip and elbow problems in life and if you feed them garbage to build their bodies with you will not be building a very good foundation.

Science Diet was the first company to invent large breed formulas after a lengthy study on what causes hip problems in large breeds. They found out that the ratio of phosphorus/calcium was a large issue.

This food is nutrient dense, which means you will not be spending as much money on food after his body gets used to it (three weeks). It is highly digestible which means that his stool will be formed and smaller. Less clean up for you.

I would get him a large bag and over a 7 day period start adding it to his old food until he is on just the new food on day seven. I will enclose a graph that shows this.

Science Diet foods are fixed formulas-what that means is that each batch and bag is made the same way with the same ingredients as the last one- which means no digestive upsets for your dog.

Purina, Iams, Nutro, Blue Buffalo, etc, don't use a fixed-formula, which means their food is made with whatever is cheaper on the docks that day. That means upset stomachs and diarrhea for your dog.

The frequency of his bowel movements is not normal nor is the color, which you have ascertained. I would try a change the food first, then if that doesn't help in the three week window, a vet exam is warranted. In that length of time he will have been in for his vaccinations anyway I hope. At least his rabies which is due now. I hope you also have him on heartworm prevention and are worming him with a stronger wormer. He should have one dose for roundworms, whipworms and hookworms then another dose in 10 days. The heartworm prevention will then keep him worm free after that.

I know I sound harsh when it comes to diets but after studying diets and getting five nutritional consultant certifications, I do know what is good and what isn't. I feed only Science Diet to my pets and they live way past their normal life span and they do it healthy and full of energy right up until they die of old age. One of my cats lived to be 19 and was healthy until one month after his birthday.

Trust me on this, you don't want your beautiful lab on Purina puppy chow. For one thing it is coated with milk and dogs and cats are lactose intolerant once they are weaned. That alone can cause this greenish diarrhea.

I hope this helps. Please write me back if you have any questions and please let me know how he is in three weeks after you get him on the SD Large Breed Puppy Growth.

If you have any questions about Science Diet food go here:

http://www.feedingisbelieving.com/believe/Value.html

and to save money take the three bag challenge and get coupons:

http://www.feedingisbelieving.com/believe/3-Bag-Challenge-Form.html