Canned Food Help

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Because of his mouth surgery Kebo has to be on a canned food diet for a few weeks. Now his poop is liquid and his gas is horrendus. Any thoughts on either a better food than what I have (Nutro Adult Lamb and Rice) or an additive that might help things out? I already add Nupro powder which has lots of probiotics, brewer's yeast, etc.

 

I don't think it is medication related because when he first got home, we fed him our usual soft diet of adult small-breed kibble soaked in water overnight. He ate it fine and his poops were fine but when I looked at his sutures there were small chunks of the food stuck in them which is why we switched to canned.

 

PS

Please don't burn me about my food choice - I have no experience at all with canned food - it takes a lot of cans to feed dogs of his size which makes it pretty pricey. I just looked at labels and tried to find one that had actual meat in it, a decent protein content, and something that wasn't like six cans a day. I would be happy to try another brand of food if you know of one better - the food has to be ground though - no "chunks in gravy."

 

Thanks a bunch.

[Batmom]

Bit more expensive, but Hills prescription I/D (intestinal diet) or the Purina equivalent (EN, I think). These go through a dog really well whereas other canned foods ... let's just say I know what you mean! IIRC my vet carries a 3rd brand but I can't remember what it is. My vet discounts these quite a bit if you buy a flat (12-16 cans) at a time, down into the range of nonprescrip canned food. Yes, the label looks bad, but these foods work .....

 

When @ 70-lb Joseph was recovering from abdominal surgery, he ate 3 cans/day.

 

 

Option #2 would be to buy a cheap blender (Osterizer) and just puree everything you want to feed him.

Edited April 15, 2011 by Batmom

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Thanks. I think I'll call my vet this morning and ask about what foods she has/recommends. The blender idea is a good one.

 

For whatever reason, he always poops in the middle of the street on our walks. Not usually a problem because I can pick it up but I was completely unable to be a "good citizen" yesterday . Think the walks are on hold until we are either off the can or a little more solid.

[Guest kydie]

For me I would go with homecooked,, for a few days to help stop the poops,, I too use a blender,, and puree all homecooked that I add to kibble,, one of the best ideas I got here at GT

[Guest vahoundlover]

Laura, I use to feed my first dog Purina EN.

[Guest Swifthounds]

Were you giving brewer's yeast before you started the canned? Brewers yeast can cause/contribute to gas in some dogs.

 

Is the canned you're feeding the canned version of the food he normally eats? Sometimes if you go with a similar formula that helps.

 

Perhaps instead of canned you could try just soaking the kibble in warm water, smooshing it, and feeding it that way? Or maybe that mixed half/half with the soft canned. That's what I've done for tender mouths.

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Were you giving brewer's yeast before you started the canned? Brewers yeast can cause/contribute to gas in some dogs.

 

Is the canned you're feeding the canned version of the food he normally eats? Sometimes if you go with a similar formula that helps.

 

Perhaps instead of canned you could try just soaking the kibble in warm water, smooshing it, and feeding it that way? Or maybe that mixed half/half with the soft canned. That's what I've done for tender mouths.

 

Yes, all three dogs have been getting the Nupro supplement for years.

 

Good point - the canned food is by the same manufacturer (Nutro) but not the same food. The canned version of his food is a "chunks in gravy" type.

 

Because it is the easiest (and cheapest) option, I think I will try soaking and blending his regular kibble. Can't believe I never thought of that in the first place.

 

Thanks for the ideas.

[Batmom]

Note that you need a LOT of water to turn kibble to mush. Easiest is to put it in a big bowl in the fridge overnight, then warm in the microwave before serving.

 

You can grind kibble up in an Osterizer (makes a horrible noise ). When you do that, you have to add a LOT of water before feeding, or it turns into something resembling cement, which makes it hard for the dog to lap up.

 

Can you tell I've done these things before? Angel Batman had a tumor that compressed his esophagus, so he had to have "no chunks, slides down easily" food for the last 6 months of his life. I started out feeding some kibble but quickly went to all home-prepped.

[Guest Duke]

just my two cents, I give Duke a NaturVet Digestive Enzyme tablet and it gives him better poop. plain and simple

[OwnedBySummer]

Rice is a "firmer upper" and you can easily add that to your blender along with the meats and things. As to quantity of rice, whenever Summer goes all pudding on me, I give her a 1/2 cup right away and another 1/2 cup with her next meal. And rarely have to do it a 3rd time. The duration may be wrong for you but the measurement should be good.

 

Re canned brand: I buy Summer the Performatrin Chicken in the 624g (22 oz.) can, 1/2 a can for dinner every day, 2 cups of kibble for breakfast every day. My reason for this choice was a} the large can, many of the canned foods only come in a smaller can (the whole smaller can is too much and half of it is too little) and B} no meat by-products. Your pup is only on canned food for a short while so I think anything you choose, if he likes it and does well on it, is fine.

Edited April 15, 2011 by OwnedBySummer

[Guest PawPrintsLife]

I agree with the other suggestions: Use a blender and feed the best food you can--preferably something loaded with guaranteed live probiotics as well as dried beet pulp. Dried beet pulp is excellent for digestive health. Also make sure it contains a good assortment of antioxidants from whole food sources.

 

The best food I've found anywhere is Life's Abundance. It's worked SO well for our greyhounds (and our cat) that we had to represent the products themselves. <br>Rebecca Forrest

 

Logan (male brindle, 7 years old)

Zelda (femaile parti black, 4 years old)

Jordie (male brindle, 3 years old)

Lucy (female tabby cat, 17 years old--don't tell the dogs that she isn't a greyhound!)

Edited April 20, 2011 by GreyTzu
Link removed.

[Guest NJgrey]

I really dislike the ingredient list for long term use, but ours did really well on Hill's Prescription I/D. Best poops I've ever seen from her.

 

We only use canned as a topper now, but she also tolerates wellness core ocean really well, and wellness duck and sweet potato. The core is expensive and we certainly couldn't feed it to her if we were just doing canned, but maybe for a couple days/ weeks it may work.

 

Just my experience with our semi-sensitive tummy girl

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Well I took his regular kibble and ground it into a powder in the blender then added a lot of water. It actually looked pretty much like the canned I had been feeding him. As usual, he cleaned the bowl. I guess the proof will be "in the pudding" tomorrow. (Sorry for the pitifully poor pun)

[3greytjoys]

If you're still looking for a healthy food that helps firm up stools, I've had the best luck with California Natural Lamb and Rice (by Natura).

(They also make a chicken and rice, but I don't have as much experience with that flavor.)

[Guest greytkidsmom]

Dude!

 

He ate the ground kibble last night for dinner and this morning for breakfast and his poop already looks like, well, poop.

 

Three cheers for the collective braintrust of Greytalk!

[Gryffenne]

Dude!

 

He ate the ground kibble last night for dinner and this morning for breakfast and his poop already looks like, well, poop.

 

Three cheers for the collective braintrust of Greytalk!

 

I know this may be late, but hopefully can file it away for "next time". When I first adopted Sammi, she was the Queen of the soft serve. A fellow Greytalker gave me this advice: Newspaper or magazine pages! Take a square of old mag or newsprint with you for the poop walk. When your dog assumes the position, slip the piece of paper under them. Then all you have to do is pick it up by the 4 corners and drop it into the bag! I still will do that to this day, especially for the yearly vet samples