Bland Diet, Grass Eating, Vomiting, No Poo, Oh My

[Guest AngelPup]

Hi all. Because Brady has had diarrhea since I adopted him on May 10 and the worm treatment didn't seem to help (he does have another three day treatment coming up a week from Monday), I started him on a bland diet the last couple of days to firm up his stools (boiled ground beef and white rice).

 

It doesn't seem to be agreeing with him. Two mornings in a row when I've taken him out, the first thing he's done is practically race to some clumps of taller grass in my backyard and munch away. So much so that I started wondering if I had adopted a HORSE instead of a dog. My previous dogs would munch on grass occasionally when they had an upset stomach and then throw up. Brady didn't throw up yesterday, but he did this morning (mostly mucus and a lot of grass in it). He just seems out of sorts (grumpy), but I'm sure the heat isn't helping.

 

He also has had gas and very loud gurgling sounds coming from either his stomach or intestines.

 

The other thing is that he hasn't pooped at all in the last two days! He went from three large pudding poops a day, to nothing!

 

I called his vet this morning, and she said he most likely will 'go' later today and to start adding his dog food slowly over the next several days to a week, so that's what I plan on doing.

 

Has anyone else's dog experienced this reaction to a bland diet? I've given my previous dogs bland diets in the past, but I don't remember them reacting this way.

Edited May 22, 2013 by AngelPup

[Guest RMarie]

A lot of boiled chicken and rice caused bad constipation in James once upon a time. I was getting ready to take him out for his morning walk and he came to me in the kitchen, clearly in pain, whining/crying, kind of hunched over. I thought he was going to puke or poop, so I put him outside. He walked down the steps and plopped down in the flower bed, crying and shaking. It was very scary for me. I screamed for DH and he got him up and walking. DH eventually got a bowel movement out of James, which apparently did not feel great on the way out.

 

I hope your pup feels better soon!

[Guest AngelPup]

A lot of boiled chicken and rice caused bad constipation in James once upon a time. I was getting ready to take him out for his morning walk and he came to me in the kitchen, clearly in pain, whining/crying, kind of hunched over. I thought he was going to puke or poop, so I put him outside. He walked down the steps and plopped down in the flower bed, crying and shaking. It was very scary for me. I screamed for DH and he got him up and walking. DH eventually got a bowel movement out of James, which apparently did not feel great on the way out.

 

I hope your pup feels better soon!

 

~ : o

 

Gee, I hope he doesn't have a response like that to the bland diet!

 

I'm afraid to ask how your DH got a bowel movement out of him. ~ : /

[Time4ANap]

The bland diet creates very little in the way of a stool. I have had better luck feeding Rocket Evanger's Canned Organic Chicken when he has a stomach issue. It is ground very fine and I think it digests much easier. I usually don't bother with rice any more, but after a day or two if he needs more food will mix in pasta that is way overcooked so that he thinks he is full. Once we start getting regular bowel movements (by regular, I mean 1 or 2 a day - they will still not be regular in consistency) I soak kibble in warm water and mix it with the canned to start working it back in to his diet a little at a time.

 

Also, make sure your pup is drinking. Check for dehydration and if the level in the water bowl isn't going down, I add just a splash of Gatorade (Rocket has a sweet tooth and will drink every time if there is Gatorade in his water) Others have added chicken broth to flavor the water and get a dog to drink.

[Guest AngelPup]

Well, he finally pooped tonight. It was much smaller and darker, but I wouldn't call it 'normal' looking. It was still very soft and looked kind of slimy (sorry for the grossness!). I'm not sure what's going on with him. Maybe he still has worms or Giardia? He has another appointment with the vet a week from Monday, so hopefully we can get to the bottom of it.

 

It's funny you should mentioned to be sure he's drinking. I've noticed since we've been on the bland diet that he hasn't been drinking as much as usual--or at all! I'll have to keep an eye on that and add something to his water if it continues.

[a_daerr]

Definitely sounds like he's constipated from the bland diet. Given that he's been struggling with these issues for awhile, I'd probably call the vet and ask to move up his appointment. Worm with Drontal Plus, as your other post indicated a possibility of tapeworms. After that, he should be able to be re-introduced back to kibble.

[Guest AngelPup]

Ok, a couple more questions regarding bland diets and the results...

 

I had to make another batch last night (served this morning for breakfast), but used white rice and ground turkey instead of white rice and ground beef, since I didn't have any beef left. The last time he went was yesterday afternoon (he went three times yesterday and my husband said that they were all small and soft serve). I also started introducing his kibble (1/2 cup) into the mix two nights ago and plan on moving up to one cup tonight (depending on whether things improve or not).

 

My questions:

1. While his stools are smaller, they aren't any firmer. I was expecting them to look somewhat normal by this time. Does that indicate it's something other than food, like a parasite or infection?
2. Does it matter if I switch meat sources cold turkey or is that likely to upset things again?
3. If he's still outputting soft-serve today, should I stop adding his kibble and make a batch with noodles instead of rice to see if that's the culprit?

I'm not sure what else to do. The good news is that he doesn't seem 'sick' like when I first introduced the bland diet. He hasn't been grouchy or eating grass, nor has he thrown up the last couple of days.

 

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm waiting to hear back from my daughter or husband once he 'goes' today to see if there's any improvement. If not, I'll call the vet again to see what she says.

[Guest RMarie]

I'm by no means an expert. But, here's my 2 cents.

 

Have you had him tested for worms/parasites at all? If not, I'd drop off a poop sample at the vet now rather than waiting for your appointment the week after next. You won't need an appointment; just take them the sample. If you have had his tested, do it again. They can be hard to find.

 

Besides worms/parasites, I'd blame the consistency on the kibble. But, you said he had soft serve after being constipated, which is something I haven't experienced. I would expect dark, super hard poop after not going for 3 days, was it? That's why I'm thinking it might be worms/parasites.

 

I doubt switching meat sources would make a big difference (assuming no food allergies). Boiled ground meat is really just a source of bland protein, regardless of animal.

 

If it were me, I wouldn't add anymore kibble until you see more improvement in his consistency. What kind of kibble is it? Are you using a probiotic?

 

It is good that he doesn't seem sick anymore. He might just need extra time to bounce back.

[Guest AngelPup]

He was tested for worms and it came back negative. But because he was in a kennel and I thought I saw a worm in one of his stools, the vet gave us Panacur. He did a three day treatment the beginning of next week and will be treated for another three days starting a week from Monday. The first round didn't seem to help the diarrhea, so that's why I tried a bland diet.

 

After two days with no stools, his first stool was dark, small, but still soft like soft serve and very smelly. It also looked really gross and slimy. Yesterday he went three times, but today nothing yet.

 

We've been feeding him Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice for Large Breeds. It is a highly rated kibble without the high cost. Now that I've tried the bland diet, I'm thinking it's not the kibble, since he's still suffering from very soft, mushy stools.

 

I'm not using a probiotic....yet. I didn't want to add anything until we figure out what's going on.

 

Thanks for feedback and suggestions. I'm going to call the vet now to see what they recommend and bring in a stool sample the next chance I get.

[Guest RMarie]

I'm not sure if Panacur kills off bacteria along with worms, but if it does then a probiotic will help restore the balance of bacteria in his gut. For the first few days James was on Fortiflora, he had liquid poo, but he adjusted to it fine after that.

[Guest AngelPup]

Thanks. I'm definitely going to ask the vet about Fortiflora the next time we speak. I spoke with the vet this afternoon and she prescribed metronidazol (Flagyl) 500 mg once a day for the next seven days, so she must suspect bacteria or giardia. Hopefully this will do it and he'll finally have normal stools.

 

I'm going to keep going with the bland diet until things start to improve and then slowly add more of his kibble. Keeping fingers and toes crossed!!

[Guest AngelPup]

SUCCESS! Brady's first poop after starting the anti-biotic was SO much better than any of the previous ones and his second one was about as perfect as I've seen (well, as good as poop gets anyway). He went twice today and the second one ended a little mushy, but I think that had more to do with the treats and birthday cake we gave him yesterday (it was his birthday). Hopefully, this is the turning point and his digestive issues will continue to improve (or at least stay the same) while we continue to slowly increase the kibble and decrease the bland diet.

[sobesmom]

Good. Increase the kibble gradually. i can't hurt to throw in a spoonful of plain yogurt or canned pumpkin.