How to combat diarrhoea in a 9 week old puppy?

Hi all..
we have had our 9 week old maltalier puppy (Charlie) for less than a week... we got her we were advised to buy the food that she had allegedly been eating so as not to upset her tummy...
We did buy a bag of the dry food and she has had diarrhoea since...
I stopped that food and made up a mixture of boiled chicken and rice which she just scoffed down... and we were feeding her smaller meals about 5 times a day to get things partially digesting before giving her more food... within 24 hours she was back to a solid poo...

then it was time to re introduce the dry food...
according to the packet she was supposed to be getting 1/4 cup 3 times per day...
so i figured i would count the pieces of dry in a 1/4 cup and divide it by 7 and gradually build her back up to the correct amount over the period of a week

there are 75 pieces of dry food in a 1/4 cup...
day one with 10 pieces mixed in with the rice and chicken went well...
day 2 with 20 pieces and she had runny poo again...

am i going to fast???
is there something that im not getting???
i am aware that rice and chicken isn't great for her especially at a time when she is growing and needs all her nutrients...
i would welcome any advice as its been a LOONG time since i've had a puppy

I should add she's not had any vomiting and is really well in every other way...running about.. chewing on her toys and generally being very snuggly and loving
thanks
Jo and Charlie

Would you consider (gradually) changing the dry food for something else? A different brand, perhaps?

Oh definitely Vicki.... I had plans to put her on Hills science diet as i have heard this is really good..(i have two cats and they are both on Hills... plus if theres a problem with hills they will refund... not like this other food that i have!)

Am i being optimistic reintroducing it over a 7 day period or should i stretch it out to 14 days?

Can you recommend any other brands?

Hi Jo I agree with Vicki, if you think the food you bought (the breeder should have given you some) is making your puppy ill don't feed it. If the diarrhoea stopped
when the food stopped it doesn't sound like a medical condition but if a small puppy has diarrhoea for more than 24 hours it should be checked by a vet.

Your puppy will be fine on boiled rice and white fish/chicken for a few days.

The general rule is that you stay with the food the breeder was feeding for the first couple of weeks to give the puppy time to settle then change it, but as you seem unsure what the breeder was feeding and have had to reintroduce a different diet already (rice etc) now would be a good time to change food if you wish to.

It is difficult to suggest another food because you are in Australia and I am not sure what food you have there (I guess it is produced by the big multinationals from the USA ). If looking for a complete food I would look for one with good quality ingredients and very few additives or preservatives and introduce it slowly by mixing it with the rice mixture. So not knowing what else is avaiable Hills may be one of the better choices.

Your puppy should be on 4 small meals a day at this age. If you feed too much food this can cause diarrhoea.

I am not sure what is going on there. I think it is time to talk to a vet.

It sounds to me as if your pup's tum doesn't like the kibble you were feeding. I had a pup like that once and by a process of elimination found one that suited her and the diarrhoea never came back. Mini has given you some excellent advice. If the diarrhoea comes back, regardless of what you feed her then I would take her to the vet.

I have gone and bought a bag of Hills Science Diet puppy food for small dogs and will introduce that over the next week along with the rice and chicken...gradually increasing the kibble and decreasing the rice /chicken mixture.

I had her to the vet on Friday and the vet gave her a clean bill of health... but made a note of the diarrhoea and suggested that because she was bright eyed and had plenty of energy and no vomiting it was just a matter of reintroducing the dry food gradually..

because i hadn't asked her one what time frame to reintroduce it i wasn't sure if i was going about it too fast.. again im still only guessing that a week is an acceptable time frame to get her onto her new food

I now also suspect that the amount of the fist food was too much for her as the amount of Science diet that i am to give her on a daily basis (eventually) is a lot less...

oh... i forgot to add that i changed her onto 4 meals a day.. we feed her at 0800, 1200, 1600 and the last meal at about 2000.. i have tried stretching them out but she is hanging around her bowl after 4 hours ...mind you still goes off to sleep at around 2200 and we dont hear a peep out of her until 0745

Hi Jo that sounds fine I would see how it goes.
As you have only had your puppy a week the change of environment may have upset her tummy too.

As you reintroduce food to the rice slowly over about a week you will be able to monitor the effect and slow down the introduction of food if necessary . I would also moisten the dried food so it is softer and less of a contrast with the rice on a small tummy.

Should the diarrhoea return you should see a vet again after 24 hours because small puppies can become dehydrated very quickly.

Thanks Mini...

day one on the hills and so far so good... the amount of Hills she is supposed to eat on a daily basis is only 90 grams... so divided into 4 meals is only a smidge over 20 grams each meal...

at present we are feeding her 3 heaped teaspoons of cooked chicken and rice and 10 grams of Hills..
her stools have been firm... bet seems to have a softer tail..(ie the last little bit is quite soft) is that normal...

I have to say the amount of extra energy she has after only one day on the hills is amazing!