# Problems from the get go!



## britishbabe (Jan 12, 2016)

My puppy Pebbles is 19 weeks old. She came to us at 9 weeks. From 10 weeks she had sloppy poop and has never recovered. At 12 weeks she refused to eat breeders recommended food, plus any other kind of kibble. On vets instructions and due to sloppy poop I did chicken and rice for 3 weeks. No change in poop, now she won't eat chicken and rice. She sleeps wonderfully at night in crate, no fuss. When I leave during the day she poops in crate and destroys it. Moved her crate into bigger gated play area with pee tray and toys. She destroyed pee tray and peed on floor and then rolled around in it. She barks and whines whenever I leave. I am now prisoner in own home. She follows me around constantly, barks when I use bathroom. So just to recap, she won't eat, won't poop and pee in proper area and won't stop barking and destroying stuff when I leave.

Help me please.

P.S She is so darn cute, but still.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Has she been thoroughly checked by your vet for parasites like Giardia? This can be a problem with new puppies. Also, was her stool normal at all since you got her? How about when she was with her breeder? If it is a good quality food it should not be the problem. What is the protein in the food? Sometimes they may be reacting to that. With my dog I found that any food with chicken in it gives her soft stools. Every time I tried a bland diet with chicken and rice it didn't help her and that is why. Now I use boiled hamburger with pumpkin or sweet potato. Several times we have needed a course medicine like Metronidizole to help get Molly over an episode of diarrhea. Adding a probiotic to the food is also beneficial. As far as the potty accidents go, having diarrhea makes it hard for them to control their bowels. Hopefully if you get that under control the rest will follow.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

P.S. If you are having alot of potty accidents you need to make the area smaller, not bigger.


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## britishbabe (Jan 12, 2016)

She loves chicken, but maybe that is the problem, I hadn't thought of that. It was Giardia twice with the stools, and I have never seen solid stools since she was 9 weeks old. I tried the chicken and rice diet but it hasn't worked. What is the boiled hamburger stuff you give? I will have to try that, is it something you make yourself or buy?

Also with a smaller area like the crate, she was pooping and getting distressed and trying to push the poop out the crate, it ended up being all over her! That's why I think I need a bigger area like my kitchen and just let her be able to get away from her pee and poop. It really is so bad when I leave that I just went to the nail salon and she had to sit on my lap. She even refuses a pet carrier, she just hates being contained.

I have to be able to go out and get on with life but right now she is too distressed.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I buy lean ground beef. Boiling it cooks it and gets out more of the fat. You can serve it with rice or something like sweet potato or pumpkin. Pumpkin is excellent to feed when your pup has loose stools. Just get plain canned pumpkin, not the one with spices in it. Giardia is sometimes very difficult to get rid of. She might need another round of medicine if she is not getting better. You should discuss this with your vet.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

Also dogs can reinfect themselves with Giardia if their potty area and messes are not cleaned up thoroughly. You should discuss with vet on proper way to disinfect these areas so this does not happen.


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Here's a good article from Dr. Karen Becker, DVM:

What to Do When Your Dog Gets Diarrhea

The bland, fat-free diet she recommends is cooked ground turkey and plain 100 percent pureed pumpkin or sweet potato. (She doesn't advocate using ground beef because even the leanest ground beef contains a lot of fat, and fat can worsen a case of diarrhea.)

Good luck; I hope your vet can figure out what's going on with Pebbles.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

what tests has your vet done. Where do you live?


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

britishbabe said:


> She barks and whines whenever I leave. I am now prisoner in own home. She follows me around constantly, barks when I use bathroom. So just to recap, she won't eat, won't poop and pee in proper area and won't stop barking and destroying stuff when I leave.


With regards to your dog's health issues, other members have given you good advice.

With regards to behavior issues, Havanese are a breed that are generally very social and bond closely with their family members. Owners often refer to their Havanese dog as their constant shadow. It is common and expected that your dog will want to be with you constantly. Many owners find that privacy in the bathroom is a thing of the past with a Havanese. Many owners find that a Havanese will become vocal (barking) when they are separated from the owner they relate to most closely. For better or worse this is the nature of a Havanese.

Many Havanese are aggressive chewers and are known to be "shredders." It is common for them to chew and shred anything within their reach. This often compounded when they are frustrated and bored when left alone. My Ricky will shred a large cardboard box or 1 liter plastic bottle when the mood strikes him. Usually this Havanese predisposition can be addressed with "chew toys" to occupy them.

There are many Havanese owners, some on this Forum, who work full time outside the home. Usually their dogs learn to adapt eventually. However, in my opinion, the Havanese breed is not the best choice for people who work outside the home. Generally, a Havanese will do better if someone is at home at least part of the day. Many owners will hire a dog sitter or dog walker to come into the home for an hour at midday and exercise, feed, clean, and play with their dog. This is an option you might want to consider.

Your problems aren't unique. Usually, these problems can be overcome with patience, persistence, and commitment. You have good suggestions for addressing the health issues and diet with your Vet. We are here to help with the behavior problems. Perhaps some of the HF members who work outside the home can give you some suggestions. They have more experience than I with separation anxiety.

Ricky's Popi


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## bunnygirl (Oct 27, 2015)

That sounds horrible for both of you. I hope Pebbles' stools improve and that a change in diet helps.

It's great that she sleeps through the night. Where do you keep her crate?

How long do you leave her in her crate at any one time? 

If you know she can hold it for the time periods you leave her crated, she could be toileting out of anxiety. I read that the sensation of eliminating brings relief. Your little one sounds really attached to you which unfortunately can result in separation anxiety. Training can really help with that but it does take time.


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

britishbabe said:


> My puppy Pebbles is 19 weeks old. She came to us at 9 weeks. From 10 weeks she had sloppy poop and has never recovered. At 12 weeks she refused to eat breeders recommended food, plus any other kind of kibble. On vets instructions and due to sloppy poop I did chicken and rice for 3 weeks. No change in poop, now she won't eat chicken and rice. She sleeps wonderfully at night in crate, no fuss. When I leave during the day she poops in crate and destroys it. Moved her crate into bigger gated play area with pee tray and toys. She destroyed pee tray and peed on floor and then rolled around in it. She barks and whines whenever I leave. I am now prisoner in own home. She follows me around constantly, barks when I use bathroom. So just to recap, she won't eat, won't poop and pee in proper area and won't stop barking and destroying stuff when I leave.
> 
> Help me please.
> 
> P.S She is so darn cute, but still.


When my dog was a pup I did stay home a lot with her. But I would go outside, maybe just to get the mail, and tell her "I'll be right back" or "I'll be back", the keyword I chose was "BACK". I would do this constantly. I have 2 horses home right now and if I put my coat on and use the word "HORSES", she can actually watch me outside from the window, perched on one of the sofa's. She has practically no separation anxiety now but I do not leave her alone for more than a couple of hours. Good luck! I do believe that if she realizes she is not abandoned when you leave and that you will return, it will get better. When I drop her off at the groomers, I also tell her that "I'll be BACK".


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## britishbabe (Jan 12, 2016)

She is loving the boiled hamburger, no relief in the soft stools yet though, its been a day and a half of switching from the chicken. I am going to try the pumpkin today too. Not sure I am giving her enough food, I give her a third of a cup of the boiled hamburger 3 x a day, she seems more hungry but is only 6.6lbs. I will try and give her more of the pumpkin too.

Thanks for your advice.


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## 31818 (Oct 29, 2014)

britishbabe said:


> She is loving the boiled hamburger, no relief in the soft stools yet though, its been a day and a half of switching from the chicken. I am going to try the pumpkin today too. Not sure I am giving her enough food, I give her a third of a cup of the boiled hamburger 3 x a day, she seems more hungry but is only 6.6lbs. I will try and give her more of the pumpkin too.
> 
> Thanks for your advice.


The pumpkin is the ingredient that will firm the stools. Mix the pumpkin with the boiled hamburger, do not serve them separately. As stated in a previous post, hamburger is probably not the best choice for a delicate stomach because of the high fat content. You might want to try some boiled whitefish instead of hamburger.

One cup total per day should be about right for a 7 pound puppy. Once her stools firm up, you might want to give her an additional 1/4 cup of food per day. Weigh her once a week to make sure she is gaining weight rather than losing weight.

Keep us posted.

Ricky's Popi


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I think you have to find what works for your dog to get the desired result. I avoid all poultry for Molly as it seems to make her stool softer, so beef works well for us as a bland diet when needed. I think if you look into it a lean ground beef has very similar fat content to ground turkey in many cases, as they often use white and dark meat turkey to make the ground up version. I would give it a few days to see if it is helping. If not, I would move on to the turkey. If these things don't help, your vet will also have prescription dog foods made for this purpose. They can be beneficial to get things back on track. I also think a probiotic would help, if you are not using one already. If things still aren't improving I think a repeat stool check would certainly be a good idea to see if the Giardia is still present.


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## britishbabe (Jan 12, 2016)

I just tried her on the hamburger/pumpkin mix. She loves the burger and can tolerate a little pumpkin on its own but she did not like the mix, she picked out the burger and left most of the pumpkin. This is the same as rice, she leaves the rice. She is such a fussy pup. When and if her stools firm up I do not know what I am going to feed her on. I have three large bags of uneaten kibble in my cupboard. She won't eat kibble, it is so frustrating. My breeder said only to feed her Life's Abundance kibble, she hates that, my vet prescribed Low Residue puppy kibble, she hates that. My local pet store owner gave me Carna4, she hates that. ARgghhhhh I am so frustrated and worried as whenever I go back to the kibble she skips every meal and then gets aggressive because she is so hungry, so I give in and give her the burger, but at the moment she is taking no nutrients or vitamins I am worried for her diet.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

I would sugest a pet nutritionist such as Sabine. She has worked with many dogs who have gone through these sort of problems. She can consult with you online and prescribe a diet after asking you a number of questions. I highly recommend her. She has helped dozens of people on our forum. email me privately if you are interested .


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