Guest ryan2627 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 We adopted our greyhound about a month ago and he's had loose stool ever since we got him. At first we thought it was stress/food changes during the normal adjustment period, but it's continued. Sometimes the stool is formed, sometimes clumped, and sometimes barely solid. Any recommendations on what to do to solid it up a little bit? I should note that he's been to the vet and all tests are normal. We're going back in a couple weeks for a follow-up on an ear infection so I'm going to check again with the vet at that time. Thanks for any advice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Patience Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Our boy Bison has always had a loose stool problem, since we got him almost 2 years ago. It took him over a month to settle on the food we were feeding, and then he was OK for several months. But, the slightest change--a new biscuit, a rare scrap, a stressful situation--could upset his stomach again. We are in the middle of slowly trying to change him to a new food again. (We were feeding him Nutro, and he definitely started getting sick again when they were rumored to have changed the formula a few months ago. Now, we're switching to Purina One, which he had at his foster mom's house and did well on. It isn't a "prime" food, but every dog is different and the richer foods just don't agree with our guy.) Anyway, our vet has concluded that Bison just has a touchy stomach. He's been tested for everything under the sun, and he seems to be otherwise healthy. He likes baby carrots, and they seem to firm things up a little. He gets yogurt on his food, too. We keep scraps to a minimum and try not to give him too wide a variety of treats once he's settled on a menu. Maybe your dog will turn out to be the same. Good luck with your hound! I'm sure you'll get lots of good advice from others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Greyt_Dogs Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Anyway, our vet has concluded that Bison just has a touchy stomach. He's been tested for everything under the sun, and he seems to be otherwise healthy. He likes baby carrots, and they seem to firm things up a little. He gets yogurt on his food, too. We keep scraps to a minimum and try not to give him too wide a variety of treats once he's settled on a menu. Maybe your dog will turn out to be the same. Good luck with your hound! I'm sure you'll get lots of good advice from others. I have the same issue. Let Barney lick the yogurt spoon after I am done and the stool loosens. I guess some dogs are just like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GreyRider Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 What are you feeding him? You may need to change. We adopted Zeena two months ago and had a similar problem. We brought her to vet, did test, etc. Her stools got better as soon as we change her food. We were feeding her Blue Buffalo (too rich). We switched to Natural Balance and the stools got better almost immediately. Pick a brand and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ryan2627 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 What are you feeding him? He's eating Pedigree Lamb and Rice w/ some water to soften the kibble... he doesn't do well with dry kibble . When we adopted him he was on Kirkland. We switched him over gradually using the standard method of lessoning his kirkland and putting in more pedigree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytloves Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Just my opinion but ditch the Pedigree, too much filler. Filler can equal loose stool. I would look for food with less corn/starch products. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotaina Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Canidae works really well for many dogs, so you can try that. You can also give him a course of panacur, just in case. The nasties don't always show up on fecal tests and panacur doesn't hurt. Generic drug name is fenbenzadole and you can get it in the worming section at Petsmart/Co/Tractor Supply. How was he doing on the Kirkland? Did you adopt from Greyhound Welfare? If so, I may have more info for you since I'm the medical coordinator, but I'd need his name with us. Quote Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi."Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GreyRider Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 What are you feeding him? He's eating Pedigree Lamb and Rice w/ some water to soften the kibble... he doesn't do well with dry kibble . When we adopted him he was on Kirkland. We switched him over gradually using the standard method of lessoning his kirkland and putting in more pedigree. I would try Natural Balance brand, it worked for our greyhound. I know Natural Balance is available at Petco if you have a store in your area. Or, you may want to go back to Kirkland if it worked in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ryan2627 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Canidae works really well for many dogs, so you can try that. You can also give him a course of panacur, just in case. The nasties don't always show up on fecal tests and panacur doesn't hurt. Generic drug name is fenbenzadole and you can get it in the worming section at Petsmart/Co/Tractor Supply. How was he doing on the Kirkland? Did you adopt from Greyhound Welfare? If so, I may have more info for you since I'm the medical coordinator, but I'd need his name with us. Yes we did... we adopted Zed. According to his foster family kirkland also made his stool loose. We were hoping that switching his foods would resolve the issue... maybe we should try switching to one of these other foods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotaina Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Oh, you got Zed! He's a great dog! Hmm. His fosters never told me he had loose stool with the Kirklands. Try the Canidae - it might do the trick. I have no idea what his former adopters fed him. Quote Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi."Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Harry702 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Harry also has a touchy stomach, so we feel your pain. He was eating Canidae at his foster mom's house, and he wasn't doing fabulously on that so we looked elsewhere to transition him once he came home with us. He's doing really well on EVO plus a generous tablespoon of canned pumpkin with each meal, but it took time... I'd say about 6-8 weeks before we were seeing consistently good poops. We also give him a Metamucil wafer every day as a treat. Even now, one wrong move (treat that doesn't agree with him, a quick bite of contraband kitty kibble) and we're back to milkshake poo for a day or two. I agree with the person who suggested that Pedigree might have too much filler... I'd look for a higher quality kibble, and transition slowly. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ryan2627 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Yeah, he's so well behaved it's almost scary. Sounds like a plan. We'll keep switching up the food until we find something that works. Thanks for the advice everyone! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ryan2627 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 One more question... Does it matter which Canidae variety we choose? I'm looking at their website now and it looks like they have four varieties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotaina Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 I think they have one called "Life Stages" or something that's the original. I think. If you're on our adopter's yahoo group, someone is actually giving a bag of it away (their dog is eating something else). And one thing about Canidae (and the reason I feed Evo instead): it's a good food but makes for voluminous poop. Your dog will poop A LOT on it. But, if it works, at least the poop will be formed and easy to pick up Quote Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi."Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ryan2627 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 lol.... Maybe we'll try Evo or one of the other brands mentioned then. Zed doesn't need any help creating large piles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotaina Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 The nice thing about Evo is that it's expensive as all get out, but you feed a lot less. Turbo used to get 4 cups of Canidae a day, he gets 2 cups of Evo (1 per meal) and maintains his weight really well. Good luck! Quote Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi."Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mandm Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Sounds harsh, but I'd worm him 2-3 times with Panucur, on the off chance that he has Whipworm or Giardia that is not showing up on fecals. And if that worked, then put him on yr round Interceptor. But maybe you have tried all that already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest onefloppyear Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Just remember, each dog is different. We will all tell you something different when it comes to food based upon our own experiences. For instance, my greys are on a mix of Pro Plan lamb & rice and Eagle Pack anchovy/sardine. That just happened to be the combination that worked for us. As long as you're feeding a good-quality food and your dog appears to be maintaining a healthy weight, you're probably fine. You might try adding a little bit of yogurt or cottage cheese, as has been suggested. Just don't change everything all at once, and give your dog some time to adjust. Some dogs also have consistently runny stools when they are stressed or excited, even if they're not new adoptees. My big grey also tends to get that way if he goes while he's out on a walk (of course, only when I have to clean it up from someone else's yard!). If your dog is still nervous about being in his new house, that could be affecting him as well. Since it sounds like he's OK medically, hopefully he'll get better with time and a diet change. It sounds like you've gotten a great dog. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trudy Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Ryan took as much Evo as he did other foods. Was his foster home feeding lamb? If so, I'd try a non lamb based food this time around Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahicks51 Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 One thing that has worked well for us and others is to add beet pulp to the feed. Many bagged kibbles add beet pulp (check the ingredients), such as the brand we feed our foster and Tito (the others get fed raw). There seems to be something odd about the greyhound gut; for some reason, in many members of the breed, the stool is not always adequately de-watered. Anything much over 80% water, and the stool becomes too loose and it's messy. For whatever reason, added beet pulp pushes things back towards normal- presumably by de-watering the stool through absorption. Beet pulp can be found at any feed and seed store that caters to folks with horses. A #50 sack ran me $10 the last time I bought any. If you don't have access to it, I can send you a small box to try out. Or, if you want a big box, I'll fill a USPS fixed rate shipper and send it to you at cost- the cost of shipping. A number of folks that have gone this route have reported success- usually within 48 hours. Add ~1 tablespoon of nuggets per meal; if they don't eat them directly, mix with peanut butter. Quote Coco (Maze Cocodrillo) Minerva (Kid's Snipper) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
turbotaina Posted June 30, 2008 Share Posted June 30, 2008 Was his foster home feeding lamb? If so, I'd try a non lamb based food this time around No, chicken, specifically Kirkland's Chicken & Rice (I know this because he adopted from us ) Quote Meredith with Heyokha (HUS Me Teddy) and Crow (Mike Milbury). Missing Turbo (Sendahl Boss), Pancho, JoJo, and "Fat Stacks" Juana, the psycho kitty. Canku wakan kin manipi."Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." - Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.