How frequently should my Boxer puppy poo

Question
We have just brought home our 7 week old boxer puppy and she is due to have her first injection next week. During her first day with us, while she seems happy and playful she must have had 8 poo's and not being an experienced dog owner, I am a little concerned and would like to know if this is normal or not.

Answer
Hi John,

Congratulations on your new puppy!

Unfortunately, the answer to your question is yes AND no.  There are several factors which can be at play here.

1.  How recently was the puppy wormed?  Worming medication can have an effect on the number of times your puppy will need to defecate.

2.  Did you stay with the same food the breeder was using or did you switch?  Switching food rapidly can cause stomach upsets.

3.  What type of food are you feeding?  If you bought it in a grocery store, it's not a highly digestible food.  Purina, Pedigree, Iams...all are lesser quality and made up of fillers (corn, wheat, etc.) and not much meat.  Foods such as Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul puppy food, Canidae, Solid Gold...these are all more highly digestible and as such, your puppy will 'go' less.  Junk in, junk out so-to-speak.

4.  Your puppy should have already had one set of vaccinations.  A proper breeder would have had this done at 6 weeks.  I'm assuming, because you'll be having her injections done at 8 weeks this will be her first set?  If so, you can rule out vaccinations as a cause.

There are also a couple common diseases that can cause frequent defecation.  Coccidia and colitis are two of the main causes.  

Since you're taking her to the vet next week, grab a fresh stool sample and take it with you.  Tell the vet what's going on he'll check for any parasites that may be causing the problem.

Because your breeder failed to give vaccinations, I'd be curious if she had wormed the litter.  If not, make sure to get this done!

I hope you get it sorted!