It varies from dog to dog. Pumpkin works for some, does nothing or makes it worse for others, you would just have to try and see. Val only has occasional bouts of diarrhea, the clay works best for her. For Fletcher, who had IBS, pumpkin was what worked, so you could try that first since it is cheaper and easier to find. However, when Rocket stayed with us I made up his carrots each evening for the next day, only took a minute, so the prep time isn't really a big deal.