puppie diahrrea

Question
We just brought home a 7 1/2 week pitbull puppy. and on the 2nd day he started having diahrea. I fed him nutro natural choice lambmeal and rice formula dry kibbles and a i/4 cup of same brand wet food but chicken and rice flavor by the next day had diahrea first with some texture then watery, I then stopped the dog food and all food for 24 hrs then  gave him white cooked rice with gravy from the wet food. and started him on pedialyte, his energy has changed still full of energy, and con't to eat and drink. he had his first shots 2 days before i purchused him. could the shots or excitment and changing of enviroment and food cause him to have diahrea. or should I be alarmed, and how long should I let this go on before I take him to the vet? its been 3 days now. stool seem to have more texture to them but still not forming. and when i pull up his coat on the nap of his neck it goes right back where its suppose to instantly so a far as I can tell he is not dyhidrated.


Answer
First of all, he should be seen by a veterinarian to make sure that he is completely healthy. One should *always* do that when bringing home a new puppy/dog. It is for your protection, as well as that of the breeder. If this puppy has any health issues, everyone needs to know that sooner rather than later. Be sure you take in a stool sample for examination also.

He should remain on whatever food the breeder was feeding him, and then switched over gradually to whatever you will eventually be feeding him. Rapid food changes can indeed cause diarrhea! Chances are this is the cause for the stool problems, but he could also have giardia or coccidiosis... and coccidiosis can be triggered by stress, such as going to a new home. Giardia or coccidiosis require meds from the vet in order to clear those up.

As to what you are feeding, I would eventually change him to something better, such as Eagle, Canidae, Wellness, Solid Gold, or Flint River Ranch. Your food contains Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K activity), and this is not something that we should be feeding our dogs, in my opinion. http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=menadione  If the Food and Drug Administration will not allow it in people food, then it shouldn't be in our dog foods either! Many brands of pet foods have been removing it from their products over the past year if they had it, but some are still holding out, it seems.