Food To Stop Diarrehea

[Guest ibeakila]

Can anyone recommend any petstore food that would help my greys diarrehea. He has been to vet, very healthy, 18 months old. He eats kibbles with, now, a little w/d, but I do not want to keep him on the w/d, makes him go the bathroom more, need to find some type of canned food that will help this problem. He is not on any medication, I was told try wellness. My mistake was I was changing canned food all the time, to give him a variety, which my other greyhound loves and is fine with it. Thank you

[Guest greysmitten]

No matter what you choose, stick to it for at least a few weeks to let his tummy get used to it. In the meantime, pure pumpkin and/or yogurt will probably help with the diarrhea.

 

Edit: I personally feed Actr1um Holistic for Large Breeds, but I can only find it at Walmart. The price/quality comparison is pretty good and Azi's sensitive tummy likes it.

 

Good luck!

 

-mikey

Edited September 30, 2011 by greysmitten

[Guest ibeakila]

Thank you so much I am going to get pumpkin right now and think going to just Blue Buffalo chicken and rice, no switching, same for a few weeks

No matter what you choose, stick to it for at least a few weeks to let his tummy get used to it. In the meantime, pure pumpkin and/or yogurt will probably help with the diarrhea.

 

Edit: I personally feed Actr1um Holistic for Large Breeds, but I can only find it at Walmart. The price/quality comparison is pretty good and Azi's sensitive tummy likes it.

 

Good luck!

 

-mikey

[Guest Swifthounds]

Nothing magical about pumpkin. It's just a fiber source - which means it can both firm and soften stool. In any event it's a temporary bandaid (not bed for a hound in recovery or stressing from re transition to home life, but not a long term solution).

[Guest snakes]

I found any wet canned dog food gave my dogs diarrhea or at least very very soft stools. We had horrible diarrhea and gas with blue buffalo, couldn't even finish the bag, but then again we have some very finicky stomachs around here...

 

Pumpkin works great. I found that carrots (cooked till just soft) works too!

Edited October 1, 2011 by snakes

[Guest greysmitten]

Nothing magical about pumpkin. It's just a fiber source - which means it can both firm and soften stool. In any event it's a temporary bandaid (not bed for a hound in recovery or stressing from re transition to home life, but not a long term solution).

 

True! I use it every now and then. With Azi's sensitive stomach, sometimes she doesn't have a very good appetite, and a little pumpkin is just the thing to get her going again.

 

P.S. As an aside, does any else have a hound with stomach upset cycles? A few weeks of normalcy, then hunger strikes and loose stools? Vet says it's normal ... I don't know ...

Edited September 30, 2011 by greysmitten

[Guest Swifthounds]

I wouldn't say stomach upset cycles are normal. Has the dog been checked for parasites?

[cleptogrey]

talk to you vet, the pup might need a round or two of flagyl. when my dogs have diarrehea i go straight to over cooked white rice and 10-20% boiled chop meat. when their stool returns to normal i slooooowly introduce kibble, 1/4c at a time making sure they tolerate it. does the stool have a nasty odor and is it bright yellow? if so, definately talk to your vet and bring a sample in.

Edited October 1, 2011 by cleptogrey

[Guest BrianRke]

Blue Buffalo seems to be a good food BUT, all 3 of my greys had very loose stools while they were eating it. I have talked to other grey owners who said the same thing.

[Batmom]

Check for worms.

 

Then IAMS or Purina ONE Sensitive Systems.

 

I don't give a food time -- if it doesn't produce a good stool after 2-3 days (long enough to make sure the stool I'm seeing is from that food), it's back to the pet store for a refund.

[Guest jbox]

Check for worms.

 

Then IAMS or Purina ONE Sensitive Systems.

 

I don't give a food time -- if it doesn't produce a good stool after 2-3 days (long enough to make sure the stool I'm seeing is from that food), it's back to the pet store for a refund.

 

 

I agree, I know I personally wouldn't chose to continue to eat something for weeks if it was giving me diarreah in hopes that it will get better.

I feed Iams Lamb & Rice with Kirkland canned food mixed in. Perfect poops here. I've tried all the expensive stuff for years with no luck. Sometimes that stuff is just to rich. Buffalo Blue was one I tried and that was one of the worst. I don't know what it is but my mixed breed dogs could just about eat anything and be fine but not the greys as they seem to have very sensitive tummys at least with my experience.

[greyhead]

P.S. As an aside, does any else have a hound with stomach upset cycles? A few weeks of normalcy, then hunger strikes and loose stools? Vet says it's normal ... I don't know ...

When this occurs in a cyclic way like this, it does suggest worms. A negative fecal test doesn't mean there aren't any worms, either; it just means that if there are worms, they aren't shedding eggs for the test to detect. So the test may have to be done at intervals to hit the time when they can be detected.

[3greytjoys]

I agree with Greyhead re: fecal tests.

California Natural is good for firming up stools, and eliminating excessive gas. We've always had good results with California Natural Lamb and Rice. It depends on which protein is digested well by your particular hound... a few other protein sources available:

California Natural

Chicken and Rice

Herring and Sweet Potato

Venison

 

(California Natural is listed on Whole Dog Journal's annual list of approved foods.)

Edited October 2, 2011 by 3greytjoys

[Hubcitypam]

Check for worms.

 

Then IAMS or Purina ONE Sensitive Systems.

 

I don't give a food time -- if it doesn't produce a good stool after 2-3 days (long enough to make sure the stool I'm seeing is from that food), it's back to the pet store for a refund.

I agree, I know I personally wouldn't chose to continue to eat something for weeks if it was giving me diarreah in hopes that it will get better.

I feed Iams Lamb & Rice with Kirkland canned food mixed in. Perfect poops here. I've tried all the expensive stuff for years with no luck. Sometimes that stuff is just to rich. Buffalo Blue was one I tried and that was one of the worst. I don't know what it is but my mixed breed dogs could just about eat anything and be fine but not the greys as they seem to have very sensitive tummys at least with my experience.

Amen sister!!! California Natural did nothing for Rex. Neither did Natural Balance or Wellness or two or 3 other high end foods. What fixed him was Iams.

 

I did a stint as a demo person for Blue and got free product that I couldn't use. The greys, Poodle and the mutt all were WAY loose on Blue, no matter how long I tried to transition. Secod day of transition to Iams he firmed up. He used to have bouts of gurgly tummy that would wake me. Those all went away too.

 

Pumpkin never did Rex any good either....

Edited October 2, 2011 by Hubcitypam

[Guest BrianRke]

I havent fed Iams for a long time. When I had a Rottie and an English Mastiff, I was feeding Iams and it made them constipated so I stopped it. After that, anytime a dog would get Diarrhea or loose stool, I would mix Iams in their food for a couple days and the poops were back to normal.

 

I am glad others wrote in that they had bad experiences with Blue as well.

[GeorgeofNE]

Perhaps consider not using canned food?

 

My dog gets kibble with warm water, and eats is with gusto.

[Guest verthib]

Can anyone recommend any petstore food that would help my greys diarrehea. He has been to vet, very healthy, 18 months old. He eats kibbles with, now, a little w/d, but I do not want to keep him on the w/d, makes him go the bathroom more, need to find some type of canned food that will help this problem. He is not on any medication, I was told try wellness. My mistake was I was changing canned food all the time, to give him a variety, which my other greyhound loves and is fine with it. Thank you

 

Changing food often can definitely contribute to loose stools. It's best to stick to one type. Wellness, by nature, is very rich and has a reputation for causing loose stools. You could try a limited ingredient diet, with higher fiber. For example Natural Balance Fish and Sweet Potato. That is what got my girl straightened out. Good luck!

 

Blue Buffalo seems to be a good food BUT, all 3 of my greys had very loose stools while they were eating it. I have talked to other grey owners who said the same thing.

 

Mine too...it's very rich, has lots of ingredients like Wellness. I like basic foods with limited ingredients - one protein source and one carb source (i.e. fish and sweet potato).

 

As far as Iams and Pro Plan, etc.... Those diets have a lot of fillers, corn, by-products, etc. I would never feed those to my dogs. I did try Iams once to see if it would get her eating and she turned her nose at it. For me, it's worth the money to feed them a quality food without crap in it. Overall everyone does their best and buys what they can afford. If you can afford it, I suggest buying a limited ingredient food from a non-big-box store.

[Guest greysmitten]

P.S. As an aside, does any else have a hound with stomach upset cycles? A few weeks of normalcy, then hunger strikes and loose stools? Vet says it's normal ... I don't know ...

When this occurs in a cyclic way like this, it does suggest worms. A negative fecal test doesn't mean there aren't any worms, either; it just means that if there are worms, they aren't shedding eggs for the test to detect. So the test may have to be done at intervals to hit the time when they can be detected.

 

Sorry for hijacking the thread ...

 

I think I've found the culprit ... the park where we usually run our dogs has access to the river, where the dogs naturally swim and drink. During the summer months, the water has tested positive for high levels of bacteria. I'm going to avoid the water for a while and see what happens. But I will ask the vet about it next time I go in. Thanks!

 

-mikey

[Guest KiShi]

Add a tbsp or 2 of warm water to the kibble and stir it up (saute in the air) to evenly moisten the food (helps with digestion);

cook some rice;

add rice to the food bowl;

if necessary, add the left-over water from the rice to your dogs water bowl, as an additional binder.

.. adjust quantity of rice appropriately, if necessary.

 

Worked for us and many other owners I know. GL

Edited October 9, 2011 by KiShi

[Guest june]

I've tried several of the higher priced foods such as Blue. Each resulted in horrible "D" with my girls. I now feed Iams (green bag) and supplement with nutritious additions such as olive oil, boiled chicken, chopped apple and cooked zucchini or carrots. Not only do they love it but they have wonderful stools, bright eyes and soft coats.

[Guest fathermark]

My boy, Jay, struggled with "The Big D" for months. Our vet suggested DCO (a prescription food only available at the vet) and it has worked wonders. His problem was solved in about 24 hours. I now mix some of his regular food in with it. DCO is kind of expensive, but well worth it!