puppy straining to poop but not constipated

by Fran
(Calgary, Ab, Canada)

I have a 4 1/2 month golden retriever male pup,
we also have his sister and mom and 2 unrelated fixed goldens.

The young male pup ( Henry) has a good appetite, but is lots less active than his sister but still plays with her and other dogs however he has a straining problem when pooping.

All the other dogs are fine, he strains and strains and drops a loose piece along a 10 foot area when he goes out,not pooping inside - goes out about 8 times a day as does his sister.
his pee is fine drinks water normally.

we have tried blue buffalo integrated over 2 weeks poops were very runny!
now integrated kirkland puppy and not as runny but lots of straining?

any suggestions would be welcome.

their shots are up to date,

many thanks
Fran







Hi Fran
It sounds as though your pup may have an intolerance to a particular ingredient (or ingredients) in what he's eating.

Loose stools can result from food sensitivities, but can also occur due to bacterial or parasitic infections such as Coccidia - however if it were an infection I would expect at least the other pup to also show some symptoms.

If it is a food sensitivity you'll likely need to keep him on a particular food for about a month before you'll be able to accurately assess whether or not it's helping. Even when you switch over gradually, it still takes several weeks for the effects of the old food to leave his system - especially if he's sensitive or allergic to it. True dog food allergies usually result in skin problems and irritations rather than just digestive upsets.

There are several hypoallergenic dog foods and other formulas specifically designed for dogs with this sort of problem so I'd suggest taking a look at those as well.

He's still a puppy and it could be that it will just take some time to find a food that suits him and then for his digestive system to settle down. If he's just a 'laid back' sort of puppy and seems perfectly healthy otherwise I wouldn't worry too much about this right now, just work on finding something that suits him.

However, if his lack of energy seems more like lethargy, or if you are concerned about his health in any other way then I'd recommend discussing your worries with your vet as he may have other suggestions or have some tests he could run to make sure everything is okay.

Hope this helps some, best of luck with all your Goldens.