Canine Diarrhea

Question
Hello,
I have a question ... we adopted who is now approx. 4 months old.  She has had diarrhea for at least 2 weeks now.  There is quite a bit of mucus ... we thought initially that she ate something at a superbowl party, but now I have come to the realization that she has been eating EVERYTHING she can get her teeth on when she is out in the yard.  There are a lot of pine trees and shrubs in the yard .. she has been caught eating pine cones, pine needles, a hydrangea bush, sedum plants, spike ornamental plants, acorns ... you name it, she's trying to eat it.  We have had her on a rice / food mix diet and have not let her out of the house unaccompanied the past 2 days - we are no longer going to let her out unaccompanied until she is much older and stops the chewing.  We bought an aerial leash to confine her to a 'safe area', but she still managed to eat anything she could get her teeth or paws on.  She has an ample supply of toys. bones and rawhide, yet she goes for anything tree/bush related at first chance.

We are trying very hard to clear her up and get her back to normal ... is there anything you can recommend to us?  She is now eliminating 5-6 times a day, and even dirtying her crate at night - something she has never done.
Thank you.

Answer
Lisa, I need a bit more information befor I can comment accurately.
First, have you seen a vet? What does she think? With a situation this intense, I prefer to have veterinary input to work with before I start. Any number of things could be fueling your dog's pica (term for eating inappropriate items and foods) and some of the plants you list are not safe.

Next - you say she has an ample supply of rawhides and bones - i would be VERY wary about letting a puppy have raw bones and I would ton use rawhides at all. Some types are laden with toxins; at the very least they are difficult for a developing system to digest. And lastly, what kind of food were you using prior to these episodes? My recommendation is to get this puppy on a top quality premium food, and take away the rawhides for now. Raw bones are a great idea in some cases but I don't like them for this puppy. I'd be using other things to releieve teething but first priority is to get the diet correct. Puppies require a lot more nutrient than adult dogs and  she may just need a better diet. Let me know what you were feeding and what your vet thinks, and what breed she is too -and we can go from there.

All the best, Catherine