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My new puppy has loose stools after diet change. How to firm poop?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pit Bull Terrier | Male | neutered | 6 months and 10 days old

I just got my pup And in his old home he was fed pedigree dog food and im feeding him iams because that’s what we fed my old pitbull. He’s been having loose stools since the day i got him Sunday. I asked around should i change his food back to pedigree to help harden his stools again. They said no he has at adjust to the new food. So my question is how should i go about getting his stools back hard? He poops almost every 2 hours it seems like.

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on March 14th, 2018

This does sound like a colitis, which can be due to an abrupt diet change, but it's also possibly due to something else like and infection or toxin ingestion. I think it would be worthwhile to switch to the Pedigree and see if that helps. If that helps, but you want to switch him to the Iams in the future, then you can try doing it again slowly. Below is a link to a good article that explains how to do this. https://www.petcoach.co/article/how-to-transition-your-dog-or-cat-to-a-new-food/ If the pedigree doesn't work, then you can try feeding bland food (boneless chicken and rice is good). Feed small portions (1/2 cup or less) three times a day. You can also add probiotics to the food (can get this at the pet store), which has demonstrated some efficacy for improving diarrhea. Ensure fresh, clean water is always available. Diarrhea is a common problem with puppies and is usually self-limiting (will go away on its own). It may not be serious right now, but it's always possible that it could be the start of something serious. If Gizmo has any of the following, then he should see a vet: 1) Blood in diarrhea 2) Very watery diarrhea 3) Starts acting very depressed 4) Stops eating or drinking for longer than 24 hours. 5) Diarrhea lasts longer than three days. I hope this helps and Gizmo gets better soon.

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    you can try mixing his new food with boiled rice for a few days then gradually reduce the rice amount, if it doesn't solve the problem you might want to put him back on his old food for a little while.

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