Hi, Have to contradict here:-) Immodium should not be given to a five month old puppy with loose stools. There is a possibility that internal parasites might be the cause and to slow the gut responses allows these parasites extra time to multiply, same with coccidia. Take a fresh sample to your vet for analysis and you might choose to worm your puppy to be on the safe side. I have had negative tests on puppies with loose stools and problematic diarrhea and a course of Panacur at 1/2cc per kilo for three days and then repeated three weeks later has done the trick. Parasites such as whipworm can be very difficult to identify on a fecal float and if roundworms are not shedding eggs in the time frame of testing you will get a false negative there as well. Pregnancy will activate encysted roundworms in the bitch's body and these are transfered to the fetus and via the milk, many breeders are cautious about worming and even if they are wormed on a regular basis while at the breeder's they may still be infected. My vet advises regular worming until six months of age and then regular check after, particularly when there are young crawling children in the family.
Another cause for loose stools can be overfeeding, at five months some puppies have calmer bowels if they are fed twice a day. Providing the puppy is being fed an appropriate diet this should be sufficient. Also check the fat content of the diet, some young puppies cannot tolerate too much chicken skin and fat or marrow or dairy fats, some minor adjustments may be necessary if you are feeding BARF. Rose T.
