Runs

We have a new 4 month old lab.  Have been feeding her alpo since we had her the day after Christmas.  Last week she had an ENORMOUS stool that was very runny!  Since then, she's had one or two that were soft, but most of them have been runny, no solids, just a liquidy mess!

Have read to give her plain white rice...I assume that's cooked?

[have 2 kids]

Yes, cook the rice.   Also, many puppies digestive systems are sensitive.  You may need to switch to a better food.   Sounds like she may also need some meds to calm her intestines down.  Have you contacted your vet?

[roxy2007]

how much are you feeding her? many people (especially with dogs like labs who will eat and eat and eat without ever being full) over feed their dogs and this can lead to runny stools. She should go to the bathroom once after every meal and it should be easy to pick up. if you notice the stool is firm and then gets runny towards the end of it, this is usually an indicator that the dog has too much food and the body does not have time to properly digest it before passing it through.
Also to help with the soft stools you can boil the rice and then let the food soak in the water, what helps the stools bond is actually in the water and not the rice after it's been boiled (99% sure on this). you can also try reducing the amount of food in the rice water (to about half of her normal portion) and add a bit of rice to the mix until the stools are back to normal.
a better quality food will definitly help her digestion as there will be less "fillers" if you will and therefore her body will only have to digest ingredients which are 100% digestable instead of things that are either very hard to digest, or not digestable at all.
continuously having soft stools is NOT good at all for a puppy though so if you dont notice things improving shortly please contact a vet =)

[DrC0403]

Thanks!  I have called the vet.  She has a followup appt. Wednesday, so if it's not better by then, the vet can recommend something.  Until then,  I'll make the adjustment with the amount of food she eats.  It makes sooooo much sense now that you say something about her food intake.  About a week ago, my daughter started givig her a whole can of food in the morning and in the evening.  Way too much, huh?  Thanks!

[Jaybay]

Whoa!  Yeah, WAY too much!  Definitely make the switch to a better food and try dry in the morning with a couple table spoons of wet mixed in with more dry for dinner.  

Your vet likely told you to keep her on a puppy formulation for about 14 months.  That's important, but oddly enough my pups all despise ANY puppy food.  If that happens, you get puppy vitamins at the pet store to keep her nutrionally healthy.  Actually, supplements are a good idea anyway in my opinion.  :-)