4 month old rotti diarrhea update

by william brackenridge
(searcy arkansas)

first off i really love your site . im sure all rottie lovers would agree. i am happy to say i took my pup to the vet after reading your response and he is healthy as can be. we done a test on fecal matter and skin and nothing. after reading response i had forgot about him losing patches of hair not a lot but couple of quarter size on his side , under the arm pits and down one back leg. i was focused on the diarrhea and might have over looked the most important part of what was wrong.

confused that the vet couldn’t find anything , really don’t know what to do he said i should have kept him on the blue buffalo but then said i should try iams. he gave me some antibiotics and wormer guess because he didn’t know a solution. i don’t want to keep changing the food but what would be a good food. i’ve looked online and the brands i’ve seen i haven’t heard of or seen. he is a beautiful dog and i only want the best for him and i hate he is going through this and i seem helpless.

i was certain the vet would have the answers but that wasn’t the case. should i give him the meds and change food or try treating his coat or even get another vets opinion ? i actually seen the bowl movement today and at first it seemed solid at first then just exploded in diarrhea.

thanks so much for reading god bless

Hi William
The good news is that your Rottie is healthy, so that’s a positive and means you can pretty much rule out a serious underlying condition for now 🙂

The patchy hair loss could be another sign of allergies and if this were my dog I would concentrate on the possibility of a food intolerance and try to rule that out first of all.

There is a list of foods especially designed for dogs with food sensitivities or allergies on my Hypoallergenic Dog Food page. I know that you won’t see the majority of these foods in the stores (buying online gives you a much greater and better selection), but if allergies are the issue getting him onto one of these types of food is the starting point. Choose one with ingredients that he has never eaten before, most of these foods use more exotic ingredients so that it’s easy to do just that.

Personally I wouldn’t recommend Iams, in my opinion they don’t produce the quality foods they once did. Blue Buffalo IS a good food, but if your pup is sensitive to any ingredients then it’s not the quality, but the type of ingredient that’s causing the issues.

Once you’ve got him on a hypoallergenic dog food, give him only that for 2 months and see if there is any improvement. Also stick to all-natural, hypoallergenic treats with a single protein source (one that is in the food you’ve chosen) this will avoid getting a reaction from treat ingredients.

Hopefully this will help and his tummy will settle down. If he seems itchy and uncomfortable, there are many things you can do to relieve that.. check out this page for more information and tips on this – Canine Skin Allergies

If your vet gave you an antibiotic called ‘Albon’ then I would suggest giving it to your pup as it treats internal parasitic infections such as coccidia. Sometimes a fecal sample can show negative for these organisms but the pup still has them in his digestive tract. Giving him the medication couldn’t hurt.

The same pretty much goes for a general antibiotic too, although it’s possible that a short-term bout of loose stools can be caused by these, the benefits of treating an infection if there IS one should outweigh that.

If your pup has been dewormed regularly then the dewormer may not be necessary, but if you’re not sure about when/if he was dewormed then he needs it! BUT giving him several medications at once when he already has loose stools could make the problem a whole lot worse. If he needs to be dewormed, I’d wait until he’s finished up with the antibiotic (or at least until you’re sure it’s not causing digestive upset) before going ahead with the dewormer.

BUT I’m not a veterinarian, this is just my opinion which comes from experience, not professional qualifications. Your veterinarian should be your number one port of call when you have a health concern. It’s perfectly okay to seek a second opinion if you’re not 100% sure your own vet is getting to the root of the problem too. Your pup is relying on you to take care of him so you need to follow your instincts.

Luckily this pup seems happy and healthy overall, so one of these measures should help solidify his stools and all will be well. Just take it slowly and don’t overdo the treatment all at once as it’s important not to make things worse!

Hope this helps, please let me know how it all turns out if you get the time.

Comments for 4 month old rotti diarrhea update

Average Rating

Click here to add your own comments

Aug 25, 2013

orijen dog food NEW
by: Anonymous

orijen puppy food is best dry dog food


Jan 15, 2012

My little Pickles NEW
by: pare

I have researched alot of dog foods when my little girl got the runs. My rottie seemed to get dry skin as a pup ( one year now) from a few different kinds. She also had diarrhea for what seemed like a long time (a week+ with some semi hard stool)around the 4 month mark. After a vet visit (and nothing wrong with Pickles, haha ya my rottweiler is named Pickles.) they told me to have her fast for a day and then put her on a rice diet slowley adding in chicken or beef. This took care of the diarrhea but I thought that perhaps it was her food since she was otherwise very healthy. I changed her and my pitbull named Blue on to a food called Orijen(http://orijen.ca/ if you would like to read about it). It is somewhat expensive, their grocery bill is usually more than mine in a month. But Blue is 62 lbs and Pickles is still growing at 80lbs, while I weigh in at 120, so its not that surprising… But they both love it, I am also able to use there food as training treats. They both however, sometimes can clear out a room with their gas. But they have shiny coats and my 4 year old pit in playing like a pup once again. They both have tons of energy. I highly recommend this food. Hope you find one that works for you


Aug 17, 2011

Runny Stools
by: Anonymous

My Rottweiler pup had the same problem for awhile and even the top notch kibble was not doing much for him. And the raw diet was making him very gassy. So i decided to start giving him cooked chicken mince with brown rice, diced carrot, diced celery and 1-2 table spoon of fatty acids-Omega 3, 6 9 (oil Base) into he’s food daily. Within a week his coat was glossy and thick and his stools where just right, not too runny and not too dry.

In Australia we have a kibble brand Called Crop Rice. Some to mention it has Kelp, Barley, Rice, Chicken and Garlic. It has no artificial colours and preservatives. All natural and no sugars.

I mix this into his cooked food daily. He is now 19 months old and doing fantastic.

And if you give dog treats, go for apple pieces with the skin on but make sure there isn’t the pips and the core as this can make them sick. Also use sweet potato as treats. Much more healthy for them. And if your dog puts weight on put green been into the feeding times.


Click here to add your own comments

Return to Your Rottweiler Questions.

About The Rotty lover 2159 Articles
My name is Dr. Winnie. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University, a Masters of Science in Biology from St Georges University, and graduated from the University of Pretoria Veterinary School in South Africa. I have been an animal lover and owners all my life having owned a Rottweiler named Duke, a Pekingese named Athena and now a Bull Mastiff named George, also known as big G! I'm also an amateur equestrian and love working with horses. I'm a full-time Veterinarian in South Africa specializing in internal medicine for large breed dogs. I enjoy spending time with my husband, 2 kids and Big G in my free time. Author and Contribturor at SeniorTailWaggers, A Love of Rottweilers, DogsCatsPets and TheDogsBone