sasasola

Hello everyone,

So over the last 12-14 days or so we've transitioned Duke to BB Freedom Puppy. He did great during the transition - his poops were soft but not diarrhea. He's been on 100% BB for the past 2 days and yesterday night he pooped 4 times! They were very soft (like soft serve ice cream) but not diarrhea.

We've also noticed that for the past 2-3 days he's had a bit of a cough. At first I thought it was from the very cold air outside as the temperature has dropped here considerably, but now I'm not so sure.

Do you think he may have a cold, or even kennel cough? Does that cause stomach issues as well? I've never had a dog with kennel cough so I'm not quite sure... he seems to be acting normal otherwise. He's active and playing as usual.

Any thoughts/opinions?

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Susy
Mom to 2 beautiful daughters , Duke and Dusty

GoudasMom

Has he been around other dogs I mean like a dog park or boarding etc? Thats the most common way to get kennel cough.

As for the food, maybe the protein % is too high for him? Or maybe some other ingredient in there just doesnt agree with him. I know Ive had the best luck with putting Kippah on 4Health. NOT the best food but certainly not the worst. She had issues with a lot of the more expensive foods.

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Gouda 9/6/01 - 7/19/12

Sue - Mom to Kippah rescued 8/19/12

crazyboxerlove

I found that overfeeding them can cause soft stool and diarrhea as well, if you are feeding him based on the guidelines, maybe feed him a little less or add some 100% Canned Pumpkin to his food (not pumpkin filling) and see if that helps firm up his stool. If that does not help, I would say something in the food is not agreeing with him and it may be an allergy. The pumpkin helps Daisy and Duke if they have soft serve poop. As far as the cough, did he get is Bordatella (kennel cough) booster recently? that may be a cause. I would get that checked out by the vet....my 2 have had kennel cough and the sound is very deep and throaty, like someone with emphysema. It is easily treatable with antibiotics. Unfortunately getting the Bordatella vaccine or booster does not eliminate the chances of them getting kennel cough. And like Goudasmom says, it is easily transmitted from dog to dog.

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Chelley ~
Certified PetTech™ Instructor
CPR, First Aid & Care for your pets.
Mom and owned by:





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Link: Boxer Meetup Group - Los Angeles South Bay

sasasola

He hasn't been in boarding but he does play with other dogs in the neighbourhood. He'll just start coughing and then gagging for a few seconds and then it's gone. He has been chewing on a rope toy and pulled off some long strands of string and swallowed them before we noticed and took it away. I was thinking that maybe one of those is stuck in his throat? We may have to take him in to the vet...

He was doing fine on the Fromm four-star grain-free besides shedding a lot. Ugh!
I just checked and the Fromm formula he was on was 30% crude protein while the BB Freedom Puppy is 27% crude protein. So it's actually lower in protein! Only difference is the protein source - Fromm was beef and BB is chicken.

BB is also about $20 less than the Fromm and even though the BB bag is 2 lbs. lighter it is still more affordable than the Fromm.

I hope he's just under the weather or possibly just still transitioning...

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Susy
Mom to 2 beautiful daughters , Duke and Dusty

crazyboxerlove

Duke does this when he gets overly excited! I do not know what it is. It's like he forgets to breath or something. He does the gagging cough a couple of times then it stops then he has excessive amounts of drool! LOL! I am not saying this is the cause but that may be it. We have very excitable dogs.

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Chelley ~
Certified PetTech™ Instructor
CPR, First Aid & Care for your pets.
Mom and owned by:





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Link: Boxer Meetup Group - Los Angeles South Bay

sasasola

Thanks Chelley! Actually funny you mention it - the guideline on the bag says to feed 3 1/4 - 6 cups a day. We were feeding him 4 cups a day but he still seemed hungry so we upped it to 5 cups a day the last couple of days! That may be the issue! We'll cut it back to 4 cups a day and hopefully it solves that issue.

As for his *cough* - it doesn't sound like that. It sounds like more like a gagging sound but he's not wretching or dry heaving. Maybe there is something stuck in his throat.

I will have a look in his throat tonight and if I don't see anything we may have to go to the vet afterall.

Thanks

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Susy
Mom to 2 beautiful daughters , Duke and Dusty

crazyboxerlove

Yeah....they always look hungry, but don't give in to their sad dog eyes, I know it is hard....but try! LOL! If Duke would have his way, he would eat the entire bag and eat until he explodes! Keep us posted!

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Chelley ~
Certified PetTech™ Instructor
CPR, First Aid & Care for your pets.
Mom and owned by:





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~~~

Link: Boxer Meetup Group - Los Angeles South Bay

sasasola

My Duke seemed genuinely hungry! lol Yes I guess I'm a bit of a softie... we'll cut back to 4 cups per day and as long as he keeps gaining weight and growing I guess he's fine.

I'll just have to look away from the puppy dog eyes!!! lol

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Susy
Mom to 2 beautiful daughters , Duke and Dusty

crazyboxerlove

Also, if you give him treats throughout the day that can also result in more caloric intake. So just keep that in mind as you feed him his regular meal.

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Chelley ~
Certified PetTech™ Instructor
CPR, First Aid & Care for your pets.
Mom and owned by:





~~~



~~~

Link: Boxer Meetup Group - Los Angeles South Bay

sasasola

He doesn't get many treats during the day since we're not there. Our neighbour takes him out around lunch for a potty break and then again for a romp around the park after she picks up our girls from school. I'll have to ask her how many treats she gives him during the day...

Thanks for the help!

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Susy
Mom to 2 beautiful daughters , Duke and Dusty