Ok, so yet again, I am worried about Hogan.

In my post before, I mentioned about him having one poop (solid) then a looser one. Gradually over the last few days I have noticed this change. Today he has had 4 poops - all looser than before. Bit graphic - but now they are all really, really loose, diarrhoea.

As far as I am aware he hasn't got "into" anything, and no routine changes, apart from the fact that his appetite has increased and so he has been eating MORE of the same feed. Actually, while I think about it, yesterday he had a bowl of a different flavour food (but same make) - would this affect anything? It was turkey and rice as opposed to duck and rice.

Lastly, he is "fine" in himself. I took him for a walk this morning and he ran around like a lunatic. Although, he has started "snapping" at me and Toni. I don't quite know what to do.

It started this afternoon. I cleaned his ears, and he was unusually aggressive about it - snarling and snapping - when he normally only is a little aggresive - this is a problem that built up from the ear infections and having to treat him twice a day. I didn't think much of it, just wondered why his reaction was exacurbated today.

Then, about half an hour later, I was telling him off for stealing a pair of socks, and he snapped at me. He later snapped at Toni.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

Well this could be a lot of things. The teething definitely makes them a little crazy and also can throw them off with their tummy too. Have you given him any new bones to chew on lately? If so, that could be causing some stomach upset. New treats might do it too. When mine are pups and they get a little diarrhea I usually give them Pepto Bismol and Immodium based on their weight. If that doesn't take care of it in a day, then I take them to the vet to get checked for giardia or similar. The danger with diarrhea in pups it dehydration so watch to make sure he is getting plenty of water.

As for the snapping behavior it could be attributed to any of the things you mentioned. Also if his ears are getting infected again, they might be making him a little crazy. Just watch him and if the snapping persists, then I would make him stay off of things, work on taking things away from him and rewarding him when he gives them to you, etc. I wouldn't make a big deal of the snapping unless it keeps up.

Toni,
We went through the same thing with Webster!. When he was a puppy we took him for all kinds of tests and nothing ever showed up. It was the same thing, his first stool is normal then he proceeds to pooh two or three more times, each time getting a bit runnier. For a variety of reasons we ended up changing vets & I asked out current vet about the problem. He told me that Webster was basically forcing himself to eliminate faster than he really needs (if that makes any sense), thus his first stools are hard and the subsequent stools are loose. Once we found this out we quit worrying. Webster is 6 and is still poohing that way and is a healthy dog.  I hope this helps

 Adenine's stool consistency was really variable when he was Hogan's age.  He went through periods of diarrhea every once in a while.  As he got older it started to go away.  I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as its not just total liquid and as long he's acting happy.  Although the snapping could be a result of him feeling sick.  If you've got a regularly scheduled vet visit coming up soon, I would just wait until then to get it checked out.  If not, I'd see if it gets worse in the next day or two and then get him checked out.  Of course, I am definitely NOT a professional or expert in any way shape or form.  I am just going off of my experiences where the occasional loose poop was normal in my puppy.  Hope this helps!

As for the snapping, every time he starts to get agressive I would calmly say "no" and then immediately bring him to his crate for a time out.  You definitely don't want to show an emotional reaction or get upset.  He may be trying to get a reaction out of you or get your attention.  I have found that getting upset just tends to escalate things, which is very counterproductive.  By remaining calm and stoic, you don't reward him and you keep him from going to the next level.  Just keep it consistent and catch it early.  If you can tell that he is thinking about snapping or is about to snap, go ahead and put him in time out right then and there.  You can also try putting bitter apple spray on your hands as a taste deterrent.

You may also be rewarding his behavior without realizing it.  When Adenine was young he used to jump into some bushes, which was against the rules.  I would have to go chase him down and put him in time out.  But his behavior kept getting worse.  I eventually realized that he was enjoying the "game" of chase and I was just rewarding him for jumping in the bush.  Instead I would either totally ignore him or give him a quick spray with the hose (which he disliked).  After that, he stopped jumping in the bushes pretty much overnight.  So I would look carefully at everything that goes on before and after the snapping, to see if he could possibly be getting rewarded unintentionally.

 Disclaimer: I am not a professional or expert dog trainer!

Exactly ..a lot of people think you have to get mad to show athority. Its just negative energy that the dog does not really respect. To quote the dog whisperer..be "calm and assertive"