Upset stomach

LawlessBoy

Hi i got a new puppy lately after taking my first steps into keep larger breeds. She a gorgeous Alaskan Malamute but noticed today when cleaning the garden that her poo is very runny. She is 12 weeks old and was recommended by a friend to put her on Red Mills puppy for larger breeds. She seems to love the food but i feel as if it could be giving her diahorrea. She was also recently wormed but i dont think that can cause it can it?

Anyway im looking for suggestion for an alternate food source if you think the feed may be the problem.

borderlinemeath

If you've just recently changed over to the new food without mixing it with the old one it would be highly likely that this is the cause of the loose stools. When did you start feeding the red mills and what was the pup on before? What did the breeder feed?

LawlessBoy

The breeder was feeding her Kasko puppy mix but i couldnt find anywhere that stocked it around me. So was told to go for redmills as its the same quality

muddypaws

How often are you feeding her? You may be overfeeding.

borderlinemeath

But did you just change over without mixing some of the breeders food with the red mills? If you don't gradually change over the likelyhood is that the dogs stomach is upset because of this.

Is it the leader red mills puppy? Just doing a quick search and there's about 5% protein difference between that and the kasko puppy.

http://www.kasko.ie/kasko_puppy.html

http://www.redmills.ie/ie/pet/products/product/?id=518&parent=153&product_finder_option_ids[]=33&product_finder_option_ids[]=34

andreac

Did you change over suddenly? Or did you gradually mix in the new food over a few days?
Worming can cause an upset tummy.

LawlessBoy

I breeder gave me about 2 days worth of food which wasnt mixed in with the red mills. Yes they are both the foods the dog was on. Is there anything i can do that will calm her stomach as i hate to see her like this, even though she is acting fine just going the toilet quite a bit!

Shes being fed twice a day, a cup in the morning and a cup in the evening

borderlinemeath

I would feed more often, 3/4 times a day as she is so young. If her stools are really loose then boil up some chicken and rice (nice and bland to settle her stomach) for a day or so and then reintroduce the food and see how her stomach reacts. The red mills might not suit her so you'll know better if she's had a few solid movements after the chicken and rice.

LawlessBoy

borderlinemeath wrote: »

I would feed more often, 3/4 times a day as she is so young. If her stools are really loose then boil up some chicken and rice (nice and bland to settle her stomach) for a day or so and then reintroduce the food and see how her stomach reacts. The red mills might not suit her so you'll know better if she's had a few solid movements after the chicken and rice.

Thanks ill do this!

muddypaws

I'd agree with 4 times a day for a while, then reduce to 3 times a day, and put it down to twice a day when she is much older. Northern breeds are very efficient eaters, so don't need as much food as you think they might. Obviously, being a puppy, she needs a decent amount to grow, but overfeeding is a huge contributor to diarrhoea in northern breeds.

LawlessBoy

So should i feed less but more often? or stick to what im feeding her but just 3-4 times a day

muddypaws

How much are you feeding? weight wise, saying 2 cups isn't really helpful, as we all tend to have different cup sizes - and I do mean in a dog food sort of way

anniehoo

LawlessBoy wrote: »

So should i feed less but more often? or stick to what im feeding her but just 3-4 times a day

Less but more often as muddypaws suggested. Their tummies are very sensitive at this age and are tiny, so can only handle small volumes at a time.

Do you know how many times she's been "wormed" (dewormed) since you've gotten her?

LawlessBoy

anniehoo wrote: »

Do you know how many times she's been "wormed" (dewormed) since you've gotten her?

She was wormed a few weeks ago and i noticed some in her stools so i wormed her myself the other day.

I never actually weighed out the ammount of food shes been getting when i probley should have. Just your average mug size. Ill get a weight on it

andreac

You need to go by what is the recommended amount on the bag. It will tell you how much to feed.

anniehoo

LawlessBoy wrote: »

She was wormed a few weeks ago and i noticed some in her stools so i wormed her myself the other day.

I never actually weighed out the ammount of food shes been getting when i probley should have. Just your average mug size. Ill get a weight on it

Ok, the fact you're seeing worms in her stool means the anthelmintic (wormer) is doing its job. There's various recommendations of the frequency but a gentle wormer like Parazole every couple of weeks until 12 weeks and then every 4 weeks until 6 mths is ideal.Every 3mths subsequently.

A "cupful" twice a day is too much, so id split that into half (or a bit less) cupfuls ..so...4 times a day depending on what you're feeding. It really is little and often when they're that small...as basically it will go undigested and hence huge (and/or loose) stools.

Hooked

andreac wrote: »

You need to go by what is the recommended amount on the bag. It will tell you how much to feed.

Just to add... Huskies, like Mals, eat a lot less than is recommended on some of these brands of kibble. As a pup (and before we switched to raw) our Husky was being fed HALF of what was suggested for his weight on Royal Canin maxi junior or adult.

There's another poster on here, mel.b, who's collecting a 12 week Mal this week I think and the breeder is feeding her raw. You might want to read up on this or follow mel.b's thread a few pages back.

Link here:
http://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056967983/1

Thread title is
Raw feeding & vegetarian

Back on topic, switching from the food your puppy was on so quickly to a new brand, as well as over feeding and/or worming could all cause 'the runs'

But a cup twice daily is what our Husky was on right before we switched to raw feeding - and that was when he was an adult, 2 years old and nearly 30kg!!!

Far too much for a 12 week old.

andreac

Fair enough Hooked. The reason i said go by the recommended amount is because they might not be feeding anywhere near that at the moment so they need to check they are def feeding enough, rather than too much.

It all depends on the size of the cup too.

LawlessBoy

After reading up on the raw diet, and i must say id love to have my Mal on it. Just for the health benefits and the fact its the best for her.

The only problem i could see would be price now i know nothern breeds dont eat as much as other large dogs, but could anyone that feeds their dogs raw let me know of a price on how much it costs them per week/month to feed their dog.

Ill do some more reading up on it as i never really heard of it before now. This Offal would it be regularly avalible in a butchers or a meat wholesalers (theres one 10 minutes up the road).

Thanks for all the advice on my pup!:D

Nody

LawlessBoy wrote: »

After reading up on the raw diet, and i must say id love to have my Mal on it. Just for the health benefits and the fact its the best for her.

The only problem i could see would be price now i know nothern breeds dont eat as much as other large dogs, but could anyone that feeds their dogs raw let me know of a price on how much it costs them per week/month to feed their dog.

A quality food such as Orijen etc. would cost you around 5-6 EUR per kilo; even a lower quality brand will usually set you back around 3 EUR per kilo and seeing how you'd most likely feed less and at a cost of at most 3 to 5 EUR per kilo (excluding chewing bones in there) you should come out same/cheaper to be honest (and in most cases you should be able to get down towards 2 EUR per kilo or less if you find the right butcher and have the space and experience based on the main thread).

borderlinemeath

The cost of raw feeding depends on how much you can freeze and store. I have a chest freezer so I buy wholesale amounts from http://dogsfirst.ie/raw-dog-food/. My butcher also gives me free offal and big bags of bones/offcuts. I have 2 medium sized dogs and it costs me about €2/€3 per day to feed both of them! They get 625g of raw food, with maybe about 20% spud/veg/rice depending on whether I'm giving chicken/duck (10kg bags) or salmon (I buy the 20kg blocks)

It takes a bit more time to prep but you can do it once a week and divide it up into daily/meal portions.

LawlessBoy

Nody wrote: »

A quality food such as Orijen etc. would cost you around 5-6 EUR per kilo; even a lower quality brand will usually set you back around 3 EUR per kilo and seeing how you'd most likely feed less and at a cost of at most 3 to 5 EUR per kilo (excluding chewing bones in there) you should come out same/cheaper to be honest (and in most cases you should be able to get down towards 2 EUR per kilo or less if you find the right butcher and have the space and experience based on the main thread).

Is this the stuff your on about?
here that's kibble yes?

So if I was to do half and half with her say kibble in the mornings and raw food for the rest of her meals it would be ok? And when buying the raw foods its more off cuts/scraps and organs I should be buying?

Nody

LawlessBoy wrote: »

Is this the stuff your on about?
here that's kibble yes?

Correct; you could also look at Taste of the Wild which is slightly cheaper but of similar quality.

So if I was to do half and half with her say kibble in the mornings and raw food for the rest of her meals it would be ok? And when buying the raw foods its more off cuts/scraps and organs I should be buying?

In essence yes; I don't claim to be a dog expert but your not out to buy prime beef . Recipies and tips etc. can be found in this thread from people with far more knowledge then me on the subject.

LawlessBoy

Yeah ill have a read thorugh that thread later on. Thanks.

I cant wait to get her out on a short walk though! Shes getting bored out the back, even with spending ALOT of time playing with her

Hooked

LawlessBoy wrote: »

Yeah ill have a read thorugh that thread later on. Thanks.

I cant wait to get her out on a short walk though! Shes getting bored out the back, even with spending ALOT of time playing with her

Don't forget.. 5 mins for every month old. At least that's what I was told.

12 weeks or 3 months... 15 mins walk.

If my husky is anything to go by... They get as much from mental exercise as they do physical. Start the training and be patient/stubborn. You have to want to train the dog, more that it wants to be trained. They're independent, smart and prone to distraction. But so worth the effort!

Can I ask? Is she going to be crated or sleep outdoors? Crate training has worked wonders for us. Holidaying, camping, vet recovery, you name it... If Hugo wasn't crate trained - I'd be lost.

It aids toilet training, and gives the dog a safe place to call their own. And at night - indoors, your dog won't be howling and distracted by all the night sounds. It's not for everyone, but I'm a convert!

Get a pic of her up on here too. And best of luck with her.

LawlessBoy

she was sleeping in a crate in the house but her house arrived the other day so shes outdoors now at night and in and out of the house during the day. She seems to be fine sleeping out the back as well hasnt been crying or howling like she loves to do.

muddypaws

Aw, mals love being part of the family, can you not let her carry on sleeping inside? I have no problem with northern breeds living outside, but never on their own.

andreac

Is she not very young to be sleeping outside already?

LawlessBoy

If im honest id love to have her sleeping inside, but she hates being in the house. During the day the back door is left open for her to roam in and out as she pleases but if shes having a nap she sleeps in the grass or at the step of the back door. I have no idea why.

Hooked

LawlessBoy wrote: »

she was sleeping in a crate in the house but her house arrived the other day so shes outdoors now at night and in and out of the house during the day. She seems to be fine sleeping out the back as well hasnt been crying or howling like she loves to do.

Just food for thought, I'm not for a minute trying to force my opinion on you...

Consider the crate, if like me, you intend to take your Mal travelling or camping with you in the future. What if a place has a garden with low walls? I couldn't sleep at night knowing my lad was 'accessible' out back - he has a kennel for daytime alright. But I live in the city and I'm a bit paranoid at best! Huskies are great escape artists.

And the weather... I know Mals are pretty bulletproof... But my lad has never been ill or to the vet (bar his necessary neuter - undescended testicle).

Each to their own I guess! No right or wrong, just what suits the individual or pet.

LawlessBoy

I can just imagine the size of the crate needed to keep a full grown Mal though!:P

I am not against the idea ive had dogs all my life and they have always slept inside without problems, its just the size that they grow to being the problem with her.