Looking For A New Kibble

[Guest Melissa516]

We adopted Ginger about two months ago. In that time, she's had 3 bouts of diarrhea (not just soft stool, but bad can't hold it in diarrhea). She's never been super firm, even on her best days. She's been to the vet 3 times, and we are working with them to resolve the issue. She's on her second round of Flagyl right now. Her first fecal test was negative. We are going to do another once she gets firm enough to test.

 

She came home from the kennel on Avoderm Chicken & Rice (although we later learned that is not what she ate at the kennel). After her first episode of diarrhea, the vet put her on Iams Veterinary Formula Low-Residue. After she started firming up, the vet recommended transitioning her to Iams Lamb & Rice (red bag). After almost fully transitioned, she had another episode of diarrhea. It seemed that the larger the ratio of the new food was, the softer her stools became. At that point, she went back to the Iams Veterinary Formula Low-Residue (since she had the best stools on that). Last Tues. she had her third episode of diarrhea. When it wasn't resolved by Thur. we took her back to the vet (it had progressed to having mucus in it). We've cut out all add-ins and treats at this point. She eats nothing but her low-residue kibble. It's getting better, but sill pretty soft.

 

I'm just looking for some input. I know it's too soon to try another food, but I don't want to keep her on this low-residue prescription food forever if possible. We would like to find a high quality kibble that agrees with her, when we are finally able to rule out all other causes for the diarrhea. I've been doing some research and was considering:

 

Blue Buffalo

Innova Evo

Purina ProPlan

Kirkland (Costco)

 

Just looking for some thoughts and suggestions please.

[spottydog]

We're in the same boat as you. We had to switch to raw, which works, but is $$$ and a pain. I have managed to get him on Natural Choice sensitive stomach one cup twice a day with raw toppings. I'm attempting to increase the kibble quotient, and now we have "soft serve"...Try any of the sensitive stomach stuff, non prescription. I have a whole huge bag of Costco languishing in the basement...tried so many things...sigh...

[Sambuca]

I had to try about 9 different foods before finding one that works for Bu. The Iams low residue also gave him diarrhea because he doesn't tolerate chicken. That could be an issue with your guy. Bu is on Nature's Domain. You can only get it at Costco. It's salmon and sweet potato and is wonderful. It's almost identical (but not quite) to Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream.

[4My2Greys]

Mine have done best on raw, but as has been mentioned it is expensive and time consuming.

A lot of dogs seem to have trouble with the Evo because it is so rich, but then again they could be feeding too much.

Mine here have done well on both Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream and the Orijen 6 Fish. Both have produced a decent stool, not as good as raw, but still good.

[Batmom]

If the episodes of diarrhea are intermittent, that suggests parasites such as hookworms rather than purely a food issue. I would do 2-3 rounds of worming with Panacur before anything else.

 

Stool doesn't need to be firm to be tested. Looser is actually better.

 

Good luck!

[GeorgeofNE]

If the episodes of diarrhea are intermittent, that suggests parasites such as hookworms rather than purely a food issue. I would do 2-3 rounds of worming with Panacur before anything else.

 

Stool doesn't need to be firm to be tested. Looser is actually better.

 

Good luck!

 

 

I agree with Batmom. George had chronic pudding poo when I first got him, and had been having loose stool the ENTIRE time he was in foster care. I read an article that said even if the fecal is negative, if you have a dog who has been loose since leaving the track, go ahead and dose him with Panacur-D (not sure what the D means??). I did, and it seemed to clear things up.

[Guest sirsmom]

I agree with the above posters. Our mix, who always has her nose to the ground and eats various things found such as rabbit poop, people's garbage remnants, taking a sip of mud water, winds up with D and Panacur always fixes the problem. I used to think it was the food too and changed all the time which made matters even worse. She could have Giardia and that is sometimes hard to spot in a fecal, thus, the Panacur.

[cleptogrey]

it took quite a few rounds of flagyl to clean up my first grey, you aren't there yet. with in a short period of time after finishing the flagyl she was back to start. also, i agree w/ additional wormings. as to heart worm meds, what do you have her on? intercerptor keeps them practically worm free. i generally keep a dog on white rice and ground beef until things are settled and then i begin to add kibble in, 1/4 cup at a time according to their tolerance. it's sloooowww...but seems to work in this house.

[Guest KennelMom]

I'd do a nice long round of flagyl and a deworming with Drontal+.

 

I've never been a fan of slowly transitioning dog food...always ended up with soft/pudding poop. I just fast them for 12-24 hours, then cold switch them and had better results.

[Guest Melissa516]

Thanks everyone! She is not on a heart worm med yet. The vet said they would start that in the spring. We're going to call the vet today again to give him a status update. So, we'll ask about deworming and heart worm meds.

 

Also, what do you guys think about treats? I hate not being able to give her anything. In the past we've given her:

Milkbones

hypo-allergenic treats from the vet

dried duck

dehydrated sweet potato

 

We've also added various things to her kibble... chicken breast, turkey breast, green beans, baked sweet potato, hard boiled egg, pumpkin, plain yogurt (not all at once of course)

 

Anyone see any problems with any of these things?

[Houndtime]

You have been trying a lot of things, without giving "one" thing a chance to work. Also, by selecting high end foods, your choices are richer foods. Sometimes these dogs don't do well on the prime foods. One of our dogs doesn't do well on chicken, so we have been using lamb and rice at our vet's recommendation. Costco sells a lamb and rice food as well as Nature's Domain Salmon and Brown Rice. They are very reasonably priced and high quality.

 

I don't know why your vet recommends heart worm meds only to start in the spring. It should be given all year long. I saw mosquitos outside this week, still. We live in an area where mosquitos can appear at any time.

[Guest goofyfoot1]

Hi, I would try what everyone else is saying about deworming it helped Buster when he came home. His was a mess .as far as the food issue goes the first year and a half we tryed many of the foods your thinking of trying. good food but did not work for buster.Sometimes the food worked for a short time and other times it went and out it came to a point where we just gave up on kibble and tryed The Honest Kitchen and never looked back. it works for us and the big guy. Hope your search for food is short. and as far as the heart worm med goes, on Long island i'm still seeing Mosquito's i would not take the chance of not giving the meds. what ever the vet. says

anyway keep us updated..

Edited December 6, 2011 by goofyfoot1

[TheFullHouse]

I'd also try deworming her and then once you have, pick a food and stick to it for a while, with nothing added. Switching from day to day, week to week, you'll just get more reactions. The more add ins you use the more likely your dog will become a picky eater. I've added nothing to my dogs food and they are still eating the food they started on when they came home. The only time I will add anything is if it's a senior hound and I'm having trouble getting them to eat.

[Guest greysmitten]

Fascinating.

 

We've had intermittent bouts similar to this, but not quite as extreme. Azi sees the vet this Thursday and will have a fecal done.

She completed a course of Flagyl a few weeks ago (self-prescribed) and it seems to fix the problem until just the other day.

My hunch is some type of worm. Regardless of the fecal results, I'm considering Panacur. There are few side effects. It seems to be a safer option that playing around with her food at this point, which would be a guarantee for the big D.

[Burpdog]

I'd just worm with Panacur for 5 days and see how it goes. Fecals most times are a waste of time and money.

 

regarding add ons and treats: stick to one protein source for all & see how it goes.

 

Regarding heartworm: I thought everyone in the States did year round now? It's been too warm the last few months to have skipped it. I'd be concerned.

[Guest KennelMom]

If you've been adding in treats and mix-ins while trying to "fix" the soft stool/Big D, then that's a problem. Stick with ONE kibble and that's it. For treats, just give her a few pieces of the kibble...dogs don't really care and are happy to get just about anything. Then you can try to add things in one at a time...very, very slowly until you find what might cause a problem.

[Guest Melissa516]

We're picking up Panacur (5 days) from the vet tonight. Going to mix it with Iams vet prescribed low-residue canned food. Other than that she will continue to get nothing but the low-residue kibble.

[Guest mcsheltie]

 

I don't know why your vet recommends heart worm meds only to start in the spring. It should be given all year long. I saw mosquitos outside this week, still. We live in an area where mosquitos can appear at any time.

Hijack

 

Heartworms can only develop in the misquote when the temps stay above 57 degrees for 14 days. If you have temps that dipped below 57 for a week, even tho there may still be mosquitos, there is no longer any danger of HW infection. At that point the temps have stay above 57 for 14 days straight in order for HWs to become infectious again. That won't happen here (MI) until possibly May, more probably June. Every time the temp dips it stops their life cycle.

 

Making it easier to time when to start in the spring is the fact that HW meds do not prevent infection. They are given "after the fact" i.e. meds given on July 1st take care of any infection from June. If you live up north and go to FL during the winter you want to give HW meds once you get home, not before you go.

 

So if you watch the temps you can keep the HW meds to a minimum. I check the weather.com monthly calendar the first of each month. It has the high and low temps for the preceding month. When I see the temps have stayed above 57 degrees for two weeks, then I start my first dose of HW med. BUT... you need to be diligent about watching the temps or don't do it!

[macoduck]

Any chance Ginger could be drinking water outside from a pond or birdbath?

[Guest Melissa516]

Any chance Ginger could be drinking water outside from a pond or birdbath?

 

Nope. We don't have either in our yard or where we walk her on a leash.

[JenniferS]

I've had two dogs with soft stool issues; the foods that have worked re Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet Venison & Sweet Potato, and Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream. It's tough because changing food takes times. For our new girl, we also added a supplement called Fresh Digest (sold at Petco) and Metamucil. This combination, along with occasional pumpkin, solved her soft stool problem.

For our previous dog, the food change helped, but ultimately he had IBD that was managed but never cured

Edited December 7, 2011 by JenniferS

[cleptogrey]

Any chance Ginger could be drinking water outside from a pond or birdbath?

or squirrel, racoon, bird feces? they are yummie treats w/ lots of bacteria and parasites. i did a round of tylan powder, cleared up my pup's gut. for some reason my vet wanted to use the t/p not flagyl. what ever he says when the stench is beyond belief. btw- how bad is the odor? that's a sure sign of an unwanted bacteria in the gut.

 

sucess w/ nutro lamb/rice for large dogs after 10#s of rice, i introduce food really slowly. my rice cooker is my best friend

Edited December 7, 2011 by cleptogrey

[krissn333]

My dogs eat Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream and do well on it. Fish is the only protein source that all of my dogs can tolerate so it's great for us.

 

We do not do HW meds year round here in IL. I did dose them in November, because temperatures had still been warm through the month of October, but now it's so bitterly cold and it won't warm up until about April. We do yearly exams in March and then start HW meds.