My GSD pup heidi is now 4 1/2 months old and she has pudding poops. We took her to the vet and he has taken a couple samples of her stool and nothing shows up as being wrong so he gave me metronidazole to give her at 250mg 3x a day. My questions are is this safe? Does the dosage seem right? (Heidi is 29 Lbs) Can this be the food? She was eating Nutra Max Large puppy dry at the breeders but I started the switch to Innova Large breed puppy and she is now on the Innova only. I am wondering if she has the pudding poops because she was on a grain based food and now she is on a meat based diet. If you think this is the cause how long should it take to for her digestion to right itself? Sorry for the novella but any opinions will be appreciated. Thanks Gail

Although I carefully did it over a week last summer, my Holly's stools didn't firm up for about a month after switching from Iams to Purina 1. I see many questions from people feeding Inova and other expensive, premium chows whose dogs are having trouble. What I would do is switch to the adult version of something such Pro Plan, Iams, or other common brands. The Nutra Max may be fine too, but I don't know many dogs eating it. You have to remember, much of what you read about dog chows is marketing hype from those selling Inova and the other expensive chows. Their claims about other chows set my crap detector off. How can something that I see thousands of dogs that are eating it and thriving on it be junk?

Even the large breed puppy chows are too rich, promoting fast growth at the expense of the time to develop sturdy joints.

You might discuss this option with your vet:

If a dog is having trouble keeping anything down or continuing diarrhea try this out of the manual I have from a large, knowledgeable dog guide school.

Bland recovery diet for dogs.

3 parts cooked rice, one part boiled hamburger or chicken, or cottage cheese. I think you can substitute boiled potatoes for the rice. Once in an emergency, we bought a plain baked potato from Wendy's.

This is meant for short time settling a dog's digestive tract. It is not the complete and balanced diet they need long term. I have seen it work.

I agree with labman's post. When you discuss this with your vet, talk to him about his views on whether a chow with a higher fiber content will help. I find that chows with higher fiber content creates a firmer stool.

labman and rubypitbull thank you very much for your responses. We took Heidi back to the vet today and he thinks it may be Pancreatic Insufficiency. He has given me some enzymes to add to her meals and see if that helps. Thanks again for your thoughtful replys.:)

Dez, you are welcome. Did he explain to you what the cause of this might be? Did he give you a strict diet plan to follow?

I hope the new treatment helps. I too would be interested to hearing the vet's explanation of why.

Did they try a giardia test? Metronidazole is the best intestinal antibiotic out there in my opinion

Ruby and labman The reason the vet is leaning toward PI is because of her symptoms, loose/pudding stools, dry and itchy skin and her voracious appetite. Apparently this condition is fairly common in GSD puppies. Here is a link that explains it better if you are interested. Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency
Basically she has not had her diet changed because she is on a low carb kibble right know all I have to do at this point is mix a powdered enzyme in her food every time she eats. The vet said to bring her back on Monday after we have a few days of the enzyme to see if its working and then we will go from there. I will give updates as I get them.

Secksee98j Thank you for the info about the antibiotic. She was tested for giardia
and lots of other issues. She was clean of parasites and worms so we are looking into it further

Dez, I hope this does the trick for you and I am very glad that you are working so closely with the vet. The only reason I was asking, was really more for the dietary aspect of the issue. If you already know this information, please excuse me for posting it here. It is just a way to make sure that anyone else who has the same issues as you do and searches our database for an answer, understands the seriousness of pancreatic issues.

When the pancreas is having trouble functioning, rich and fatty foods need to be completely avoided. Make sure everyone in your households understand no treats for your pup. If your vet wasn't the one who suggested this kibble, just to make sure that he is in agreement with what you are feeding her, check the label of the low carb kibble and on your next visit, bring it with you to review with the vet. If the fat content is low down on the list of ingredients, that is good. If it isn't, talk to him about a strict diet plan for her. The enzymes do help the pancreas function normally, but you want to avoid anything that might create more stress on that organ than necessary. :)

"UPDATE"
Hi Everyone. After many tests (EPI test, Addisons and a couple others) Heidi is allergic to chicken. She has perfect stools no itching and is a very happy pup. All I had to do is find a new food. Life is funny sometimes the solution is many times truly simple. Thanks again to all of you. Happy New Year to everyone.

She is awful young to have developed a food allergy. If you have stuck to chicken based chow, you should be able to go to a lamb or beef based one. If they don't work there are duck, salmon, venison, etc. May as well go with an adult formula. That will slow growth giving her more time to develop the sturdy joints she will need for a long, active life.