Help!

[Guest SonjaAndStella]

I have two greyhound siblings, and my girl is very picky. I've tried to find a food for them for a year now and am at a road block. I can't even remember what all she's tried, but most recently it's been Pro Plan Savor Lamb and rice (which they were both itchy on but poops were good), and now it's Nature's Variety Prairie Beef (diarrhea and itching ears). It seems like everything I try she either has diarrhea or doesn't want to eat it. I've recently discovered that if I put water on her food, she eats it better. The three main ingredients in common with the two most recent foods are oatmeal, barley, and fish meal. I'm suspecting it may be barley, or possibly fish based on food she's had before.

 

Do y'all have suggestions on food without those ingredients that is reasonably priced, good quality, and yummy for a picky eater? She doesn't like kibble that's too big.

 

 

I am so tired of switching food!!! Help!

[JAJ2010]

If she's healthy, tough love time! She's playing you. LOL I've been there! Training is supposed to go the other way!

 

Rainy's record was over a week. It was horrible! Grumbly empty belly, she would wake me up in the middle of the night to eat grass, etc. No cookies! Nothing other than that single dinner dish. Put it down for 15 minutes then pick it up and put it away until the next normal mealtime.

 

It will make your life so much easier in the following years! Now Rainy is 12 and a bossy picky old lady, but she's at that age where it doesn't really matter any more.

[Guest SonjaAndStella]

She is definitely a diva, but she does experience diarrhea and itchiness on several foods, which is why I feel the need to change again!

[Time4ANap]

Rocket has had stomach problems off and on forever. I just had to do another food switch, and ended up trying Rachael Ray Nutrish Zero Grain Turkey and Potato. Within one meal, we went from blowout diarrhea on a lamb based food to solid, firm poops ever since. I was never really into the grain free thing, but so far it has worked for him.

 

You can buy small bags at most grocery stores or WalMart to give it a try. I've found the best deal so far is through Amazon Prime as the bags are bigger for the same price that the stores charge.

 

http://nutrish.rachaelray.com/dog/dry-food/zero-grain-turkey-and-potato

[JAJ2010]

In that case maybe an exploration into raw? Rainy turned into a food hound after the switch. She too had diarrhea and itchiness on any type of kibble. Prescription caused blow out poop. Part of the kibble pickiness might be that of makes her not feel good when she eats it?

[greysmom]

In a year's time you shouldn't have been switching so often you can't remember what they were. That alone can cause upset and poor stool quality.

 

Two things you need to consider: 1) that she's just a picky eater and she's training you quite well. 2) That she has medical issues which is making her sick (allergies, food intolerance, internal parasites). Has she *ever* had good stools? If not, I would suspect worms or giarrdia. Has that ever been accompanied by itching? The itching indicates to me some sort of allergy or intolerance with a food ingredient. Is she interested in the food being prepared, but totally not into it once you put it down? That indicates nauseau which could mean she has inflammation in her gut from wither the food ro parasites.

 

At this point, in my opinion, you're just wasting money and time trying food after food. Once you find the problem, you will likely not have to change her food again, or at least for a while.

 

Take in a stool sample to your vet to check for parasites or other bad bugs. That's a quick and cheap test, though not always right. You need to have three test completely clear spaced several weeks apart to be completely sure she's parasite free. Most vets will do one round of worming even with a clear test. But hookworms have been really bad for several years now, and they are notoriously hard to clear since they can hide in the organs and keep reinvigorating their breeding cycle. Make sure you add in a probiotic if your vet recommends a worming protocol.

 

If she checks out medically, then it's probably food related. You can try the tough love approach, with a mid-range mid-percentage protein food, but if you see any bloody stool or dark brown vomit she needs treatment asap.

 

Otherwise you need to try and figure out if she's allergic to any one ingredient by doing an elimination diet. Fast her first - no treats and no food - for 2-3 meals, until the diarrhea stops. Make sure she continues to drink plenty of water. After that, begin feeding her small amounts of a bland diet consisting of a low fat protein and a carb source. Low fat proteins include boiled ground chicken/turkey/beef, poached chicken breast or turkey breast, poached mild whitefish like tilapia. Carb sources include overcooked pasta (2-3 times the liquid called for, you can use low fat veggie broth too), overcooked rice, mashed white potatoes, mashed sweet potatoes, plain cooked oatmeal, even beans or chickpeas will work. Don't worry about not having all the vitamins and things making a balanced diet, she won't be on this diet long enough to matter. The most common allergies in dogs are to chicken and corn, so start with something else - ground beef and overcooked pasta/rice.

 

If you feel like you know what causes her trouble, then avoid those items and try a bland diet of a different protein/carb. If that works, you can try and find a commercial food with those ingredients.

 

Start with a small amount - like 1/4 cup of each - and see if she likes it. Feed 1/4 cup every 2-4 hours. If the combo you're using causes further diarrhea, go back to fasting and choose a different combo (though only change one component at a time). You should be able to narrow it down fairly quickly.

 

If she has issues with kibble, you *can* feed just canned food. Look for one that says it is a "complete" food. There are also lots of home-cooked dog food recipes out there (books, websites, etc), or you can consult with a veterinary nutritionist. If you figure out what she's allergic to, make sure you check *everything* that goes in her mouth - even chews can be flavored.

 

I have a dog who is allegic to chicken and there's chicken in nearly every single affordable commercial treat and food available. We finally found something she'll eat and that won't cause her to have bloody diarrhea all the time. We also treated her for IBS with a certified veterinary acupuncturist. She's now much happier and much healthier.

 

Good luck.

[Guest SonjaAndStella]

Thank you for your input. She had a fecal done recently and was all clear. Like I said about the pro plan, she was itchy, but her poop looked good, so I think she's clear on intestinal parasites.

[SanTanSnuggles]

My kids love chicken, chicken, chicken (no bones), costco dry salmon kibble and costco milk bones and sometimes a little beef (no bones). The chicken, and beef are all cooked in the oven, plan, no additives. They both can not wait for their bowls. They also get wild salmon when I can find a sale on it. They have no diarrhea and the stools are fine and they have no itching. Hope she gets settled into what is just right for her. My two get a little milk after they eat. They love ice cream too. My boy does not like scrambled eggs, but my girl likes them and some toast. I feed them three small meals a day. So they have plenty of time to run in the yard an hour afterward and play so they get exercise. I use natural peppermint and clove oil for fleas and ticks and it works good. Perhaps the use of that instead of a flea collar or spot on flea and tick treatment once a month may work better. The peppermint and clove oil spray comes from amazon and is not expensive. I use it about once a week lightly. That may help the itching skin. ?

[Busderpuddle]

I second the Rachel Ray Grain Free. Ruby has done well on all 3 flavors, and seems to like it more than others.

[palmettobug]

Johnny gets Purina One Grain Free Chicken & Sweet Potato. I mix in about half a can of either Purina Beyond (whatever flavor--beef, chicken, or salmon) or Pro Plan Grain Free (turkey or beef). He doesn't like just plain dry food, I think he has a sensitive mouth and the wet food helps it go down easier.

 

Wal-mart also has their own grain free called Pure Balance in both dry and wet. I've given him some of the wet flavors, they're okay, but I think they have more fillers and he toots more with them.

[Guest xengab]

Sit down and make a list of all the foods you can remember giving her.

Starting with the most recent and what her reaction was.

 

I'd actually try raw since that way YOU control what goes into the food and can then know right away what is making her itch. There are premade raw diets you can buy with very little additives if you aren't confident in going raw on your own.

 

OR try limited ingredient foods. I'd suspect she is allergy to grains and go from there.

 

You can also make bone broth to add to kibble to help her eat it.. bone and water, boiled for many hours.. tasty and not that hard to do.

[Guest SonjaAndStella]

Thank you!! I actually just ordered an allergy testing kit and I'll see if that's helpful. Can I add low sodium beef or chicken broth to their food to make it more tasty? I'm guessing this is a grain allergy because it seems to be barley or oats are the common ingredients in the food that causes her trouble, but a lot of grain free food seems to be too rich for her. Maybe I'll try a more bland chicken grain free food.

[GeorgeofNE]

You really can't assume the itching is from the food. Many dogs have allergies to pollen, just like people.

 

Or allergies to detergent, etc.

 

Grain free food is a new trend; most dogs are actually allergic to the protein source in their food, not the grain.

 

Sounds to me like you need to have the vet examine the dog at this point. Bring in a fecal sample as well.

[Guest OPointyDog]

 

Grain free food is a new trend; most dogs are actually allergic to the protein source in their food, not the grain.

 

 

This isn't really true. Irritable bowel/food sensitivities can be caused by any kind of protein, and plants have protein too (it's one of the building blocks of life, in every living cell). Just like people, dogs can have sensitivities to plant protein (I'm allergic to soy myself).

 

Sometimes a novel protein (both plant and animal) can help in these situations but sometimes it's more about the overall composition of fiber/fat/protein/carbs. I've been through this multiple times. For my dogs, I found it was not the protein source, but rather the balance of fiber and fat that really made the difference. I had to find a low fat, high fiber food. For one of our hounds, that was a prescription high fiber food - Purina DCO. The other one started out on Iams Lamb & Rice, and has since developed inflammatory bowel disease, and is now on Royal Canin Hypoallergenic food, and is doing well.

 

Good luck!

[Guest Sportingfields]

The last time, a while back, that I was in a working racing kennel, the dogs were feed twice a day a mix of Purina Pro Plan, vegetables and raw ground beef, some water to moisten with added vitamins as per that dog's needs. Dog's need to be healthy to race at top performance. Have you ever had chronic diarrhea even for a day, well that's what your pup's insides feel like.

 

Have you discussed with your adoption group/foster home what they were eating and if they had tummy/poop issues with that food? If they had no issues there, then I suggest you feed whatever they were doing successfully.

 

If you decide to switch foods one more time, try to match what they were fed at the kennel or adoption group. When you switch foods, do so 1/4 cup at a time of new food, the rest of serving is the old food. Switch totally over the period of 1-2 weeks.

 

Before you switch again:

1. Have you had her teeth checked? it is possible that she has a cracked or infected tooth?

2. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of pumpkin to each meal and just a bit of water, about 1/4 cup for 2-3 cups of food, you just want to moisten but not have kibble floating in the water. Make sure it is plain pumpkin NOT pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin is great for settling down tummies and firming up poop

3. If this works, once her poop firms up then cut down the pumpkin to once a day and at the opposite meal add a tablespoon of Pedigree or similar canned food. No one wants to eat dry kibble day after day. It's boring and has nothing to do with picky eating

4. Except for her meals, don't feed any other foods, NO PEOPLE FOOD either, when you want to give her a biscuit, give her a few of her food kibbles in the palm of your hand

5. Once she is eating good at each meal & poop issue is resolved for at least 2 weeks, then you can dry biskies. Choose plain, small ones, stay away from the cute looking, fillers, dyes, soft treats and so forth

 

What are you feeding for treats? Chicken jerky, bully sticks, rawhides and many other treats cause diarrhea.

 

Make sure that her eating place is quiet without distractions away from your other dog. I had one that was afraid to eat as one of my others eating near her was growling at her, not that he wanted the other dog's food, he was protecting his dish. Solved the problem by feeding them at opposite sides of the kitchen with their tails to each other and I stood there until they were both done. Whomever finished first was lead out of the kitchen and made to stay out. Each dogs dish and place to eat was sacred, no other dog was ever allowed to eat out of anothers dish. It took time but eventually I had my crew of 4 so well trained that if one left part of their food and came back to eat half hour later, the food was still there. Water dish was shared and placed in a different spot than where they ate.

 

If all this does not solve your problems then I suggest you do an extensive vet visit and see if there is a hidden medical issue.

Edited July 31, 2016 by Sportingfields