Puppy Constipation?

[flux]

Hi Everyone,

I have a now 10 week old rough collie puppy and about a week a go I noticed that when she was toileting, she had a go at pooping but nothing came out. I kept a close eye on her the next day and she didn't seem to change in mood at all - but still no poop. I then went online and got some tips that might help (was not panicking at this point because she hadn't even slowed down or looked remotely uncomfortable) so I gave her porridge and powered milk for breakfast and kept on with "propeak" for lunch, and soaked kibble, mince and yogurt in the evening but I added a bit of olive oil. The next day she pooped a lot and seemed to get everything out (surprisingly no change in mood, still very active, responsive, sleepy, etc). I then put her back on her normal food, thinking to myself that I might have not soaked some kibble for long enough the day before and perhaps that caused it. (I will write out below what she was being fed, and how it's changed) Now she seemed to have stopped pooping again. Dismayed i thought that maybe I had flushed her out a bit, so i gave her another day of no obvious poop, then whacked the olive oil back in her dinner. Today she pooped, but it was a very dry stool - so now I am convinced something is going astray in what I am feeding her. I would really like any advice, I always thought that constipation was a rare thing in puppies, and I'm a bit worried that I've managed to create it.

So what she was previously being fed:

Breaky - Porridge, powdered milk, egg yolk and healthy yogurt

Lunch - "Propeak"

Dinner - X puppy kibble (soaked in warm water), mince meat, calcium powder

Evening - Chicken necks

- then after a few days at home i called the breeder and said she wasn't eating breaky, they said they had the same problem (this was odd, as all other litters had gobbled it down) so to give "propeak" in the morning, chicken necks for lunch and dinner as normal plus yoghurt with a bit of honey for taste. So egg yolk, powdered milk and porridge are now gone.

That is what I fed her, then I have been trying to change puppy kibble X with Y. I've done this by adding a few bits to normal dinner, then half X half Y then finally it's now all Y with the mince and yoghurt (over a week). Kibble Y is more expensive than X, so I'm not giving her some cheapo stuff (ah my faith in the marketing system) and I'm soaking it for a good 20mins I can't really understand why this would cause constipation? The lack of porridge might make sense, except she never really ate it when it was available!

This morning I have given her some powdered milk with her "propeak" in an effort to keep things more moist and I intend to give her a bit of oil again with dinner, perhaps even canned pumpkin if i can find some.

So my question is actually - am I doing the right thing or should I take her to the vet? I personally feel that she hasn't consumed a toy or something blocking her because the oil works so well and over night. She is not a big chewer, the oddest thing I have seen her eat was a pinecone, which i took away swiftly thinking maybe she had too much wood in her tummy, she also likes to chew on old mulch we have in the garden - but again this isn't a really frequent thing and i haven't seen her try to consume the mulch just chew it.

And also can anyone spot an obvious blunder in her diet?

Many many many thanks, I would really appreciate any feedback

P.S - throughout the whole thing, she has showed no signs of a tender tummy, her attitude and activity levels have been the same.

Faye

[persephone]

What brand puppy food are you using? If she is a normal puppy- it shouldn't need soaking ....

Glad you got rid of the porridge- they don't need that , or the milk

Stools should be on the dryish side...

if you are feeding her a good dry food- with little cereal matter, plus meat/bone, then she will not be pooing much, and the stools will be hard. this is a good thing

A whole day without poo is odd- but I guess you don't watch her 24 hrs... and she could always be cleaning up after herself

Oh- and she shouldn't be needing the extra calcium powder either, unless she has a problem. Good puppy dry food, pet mince with bone, and chicken wings ( less likely to choke her than necks) should give her the calcium she needs

[flux]

What brand puppy food are you using? If she is a normal puppy- it shouldn't need soaking ....

Glad you got rid of the porridge- they don't need that , or the milk

Stools should be on the dryish side...

if you are feeding her a good dry food- with little cereal matter, plus meat/bone, then she will not be pooing much, and the stools will be hard. this is a good thing

A whole day without poo is odd- but I guess you don't watch her 24 hrs... and she could always be cleaning up after herself

Oh- and she shouldn't be needing the extra calcium powder either, unless she has a problem. Good puppy dry food, pet mince with bone, and chicken wings ( less likely to choke her than necks) should give her the calcium she needs

Hi Persephone,

Thanks for the feedback. I must admit my own judgement was a bit against the porridge, milk and calcium (Although I thought the Calcium couldn't hurt seeing as she is a big girl?) so it's a bit of a relief to hear you comment on that. The breeders had her on Pal puppy kibble, I'm trying to get her onto Science Diet (puppy). I did not know about the not watering, although considering her current problem i might keep that up for a while. I also didn't realise more firmer stools were a positive in such a young dog.

[persephone]

I'm no expert- however, any pups we have , being mostly fed raw/(and the brand of dry Dr Harry endorses),from around 4/5 weeks old, only ever leave behind lovely dryish little poos ..and not lots

If she is not pooing for a whole day- there could be a problem somewhere.... Someone else will surely come along with more info for you ... there are lots of puppy feeders out there!

oh, and americans use canned pumpkin- us aussies cook it ourselves

Maybe you could try her with a sardine or two(plus some of the oil?)

[flux]

I'm no expert- however, any pups we have , being mostly fed raw/(and the brand of dry Dr Harry endorses),from around 4/5 weeks old, only ever leave behind lovely dryish little poos ..and not lots

If she is not pooing for a whole day- there could be a problem somewhere.... Someone else will surely come along with more info for you ... there are lots of puppy feeders out there!

oh, and americans use canned pumpkin- us aussies cook it ourselves

Maybe you could try her with a sardine or two(plus some of the oil?)

Lol yeah I was talking to a friend today and they said "Why canned? Just cook it?" and I suddenly felt a tad foolish! Thanks again for the help, I've oiled her up tonight to see what happens tomorrow if it's a no go I think I'll take her to the vet in case she is pushing past something foreign she's swallowed.

[flux]

Hi all,

For the record, olive oil to dinner and changing lunch to cooked pumpkin (boiled with beef stock) did the trick.