Food Suggestions - Runny Stool
I called my Vet and she wants to test Zappa and Hendrix's stool to make sure Zappa didn't give Hendrix an infection since he is a new pooch. I should hear back tomorrow if their is a problem with the stool. However, I doubt that's the problem. Hendrix had runny stool before we even had Zappa. But I know I should get the stool checked to be on the safe side and it could save me the time and frustration of searching for yet another dog food. However, I would appreciate any suggestions on what food I may need to move to! * What should I do? * Buy another brand's venison? * Buy a whole other natural brand? If so, which? I'm really only accessible to PetCo's and Petsmarts. I remember someone said they had good experience with Eagle Pack?? * Anyone ever use Nutro? The sales rep was at Petsmart and said their Lamb and Rice for large breed was their first in a series of all natural products. * I remember reading in the "Whole Dog Journal" (Thanks 3Shaggies) that food allergies may not exist and it's best just to mix up the dogs food with a different brand every couple months. The worst part of this is that we're going on vacation for 6 days tomorrow with my parents watching the dogs. I'd hate to mix their food with a new brand if I'm not there to see their reaction. |
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| We had a very sickly GSD (thanks to poor breeding), she had problems with her skin, hot spots, was always thin even though she ate plenty. Always always shedding. ETC. When we asked our vet if food would help, he suggested the lamb and rice that you mentioned. It seemed to help with the skin problems but she still wouldnt put on weight. |
| What is GSD?
Thanks for the tip on Nutro? Anyone have similar experience with that brand? |
| I'm confused. Has Hendrix had a fecal test done already? Or Zappa hasn't had one yet?
Nutro has 3 lines of food-- Natural Choice, Max and Ultra. The ingredients in Natural Choice and Max are pretty weak but Ultra is a better, more holistic food and easily accessible. I feed that and the boys do great on it. Are you transitioning the food very slowly? |
| GSD is German Shephard Dog
We just switched Izzie to Eagle Pack...she really likes it. She is just getting over another bout with Giardia, so it is hard to say what improvements are the food and what is the medicine and supplements we are using to rebalance her system. |
| Hi Hendrix's Mom and Amanda!
I find it odd that all of us live in the Chicago suburbs and all are struggling with the same tummy issues with our OES. As far as I know, our OES are from different bloodlines....hmmmmmm. City water? Anyway, Oscar has gone through all of the things you both describe, such as gas, loose stool, recurrent giardia, etc. After switching food a dozen times, using filtered water instead of tap water, rounds of antibiotics (metranidazole), and countless fecal samples and blood tests, we did an endoscopy a year ago. Oscar has a severe inflammation of his small intestine. Bottom line, they really don't know what causes it, other than a potential food allergy. His condition has been managed by constant use of metranidazole and Pepcid, with the addition of steroids twice a week. I HATE the prednisone, but unfortunately the minute he goes off it, he's back to vomiting, diarrhea, gurgling tummy....he's just miserable. We all want Oscar off the steroids, so my vet in Niles referred us to a holistic vet in Skokie, Dr. Share Siwek at Kindred Spirits. I am very pleased with her approach, slow and steady. We've tried some herbs and digestive support products, and Oscar has had solid stool since last September. (fingers crossed!!!). At Dr. Siwek's recommendation, I switched Oscar to Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice, which I buy at Petco. He was on Potato and Venison before that (can't remember the brand, maybe Hill's Science Diet?), but the potato gave him gas. We completely eliminated all treats, so Oscar gets nothing but kibble. The next step we are taking is to decrease the amount of prednisone and see how it goes. Hopefully, Oscar's digestive system has calmed down and he can manage without the steroids, and hopefully he has not developed an allergy to venison! 
Hendrix's mom, I wouldn't make any food changes while you are going out of town, only because that is sure to upset your dogs' tummies. Hopefully your vet comes up with something in their stool samples. If not, you might want to ask your vet if there is anything he or she could recommend giving them, like metranidazole, which helps to regrow heathly flora in their digestive system. Also, do your dogs get treats? Maybe their food is fine, but it's something in the treats. Amanda, Oscar also had recurring giardia infections, with no idea as to the origins. Oscar NEVER drank from anything but his water bowl, and because of his deafness, he is NEVER outside without being on a leash. Geez, he's never outside unaccompanied! Ever. My vet was stumped. Does your vet have any idea where Izzie might be picking this up? I hope you are both able to come up with solutions for your pups. This is such a frustrating thing.... |
Well...this is really only Izzie's second maybe third time with Giardia. She goes to daycare 3 days a week. She is only outside with us...townhouse...no fenced yard....BUT there are a ton of dogs around us and unfortunately not everyone is good about picking up after their dogs . Who knows what Izzie could pick up just from a walk around the block 
The metronidazole didn't work on Izzie...I guess it supposedly only works up to 60% of the time...so I am doing a regiment with panacur and a bunch of supplements to help balance her system and make her digestive system an unwelcome place for giardia. The owner of her daycare is a great help. She is also a groomer who breeds and shows her own dogs...and therefore is very familiar with everything that can go around when lot of dogs share similar space. |
| We have always been a Nutro (Max or Naturel Choice) household , except for the months when Dixie was on a Potatoe/Fish food that she did excellant.
Bosley has always had softer stools, that got quite runny when excited...or at the dog park
We have switched Dixie to the same Nutro, and are now experiencing similar stools with her... 
We just went to pick up a new bag, and have moved to the Ultra, that Butterstotch mentions. It is their holistaic brand, smells great and has all kinds of good stuff in it. So hopefuuly, it will do the trick. It mentions firm stools, so we will be watching for them...  |
| We have not switched foods yet, but I always introduce Hendrix (and Zappa) very slowly, over the course of like 3 weeks.
The stool samples were dropped off the vet this morning. Hendrix had a stool sample done on January 4th this year. And there were no reported problems. The shelter informed me that Zappa did not have a fecal test done. Now, we'll see if Zapp gave something to Hendrix. I just have this gut feeling it's his food and not Zappa. His stool was soft on Nature's Recipe Vegetarian, that's why I switched to their venison. So far I'm hearing good things from everyone on Eagle Pack. But it does seem strange our Illinois dogs all seem to suffer from it. |
| Both Marley and Morgan had stomache issues with first Solid Gold and then Wellness t the point that the vet though the only answer was $60 a bag prescription food that included corn. I had used Nutro with an earlier dog and thought I would give it a try before I gave in on the presription food. Its been about 6 months and no new problems! |
Could it be you switched the food too quickly? By that I mean, sqwitching foods in one day and not doing it gradually, mixing with the old, over a course of days? Or he is eating too much? I was over feeding my pup and he got some loose stool so I lessend it and he was fine. Maybe its the venison? I know I don't like venison 
Was good idea to consult the Vet to rule out anything wrong. |
Hendrix's Mom wrote: We have not switched foods yet, but I always introduce Hendrix (and Zappa) very slowly, over the course of like 3 weeks.
According to what she's said above, it doesn't sound like she switched too fast. |
| Hello,
It seems to me that your keen on feeding a naturally based food. May be you should consider trying a completely natural diet. Dogs absolutely love it, you feed things like tripe/chicken/ turkey/ minced beef/ occassional lamb and liver and rice or a wholebaked biscuit. This way you know exactly what your dog is eating and its all natural and based on what they would naturally eat anyway! Then you can add things like bolied eggs which is really good for a dicky tummy, really helps to bind them. Also just a thought a brilliant supplement to feed every day with a dog that suffers from loose stolls is slippery elm, basically what it does is soothe and comfort the tummy, line the stomach so it has a chance to process and absorb all the nutrients from the diet and help make his motions more firm. Good Luck, Hope all goes well and he gets better soon. |
| Bing had terribly unpredictable stool until we switched him to a diet as described above. He has been on this completely raw food diet for about a month now and is 85% + better. Each day is an improvement and I know instantly what is affecting him as I give him every food he eats. He loves it, too. There are many resources about how to make it properly balanced over time, etc. It isn't for everyone but it has been a life saver for us. |
| We're back from vacation! While I was away the vet followed up on the stool I dropped off and called back informing me that Zappa tested positive for Giardia. Hendrix however tested negative for it, however they put him on the medication to be on the safe side. Do I have to worry about the Giardia after their done with medication?
I still plan on changing the dog food, it looks like everyone has had success with Eagle Pack, so I'm going to go with them. Thanks to everyone with their input, I appreciate it more then you know!! |
Hendrix's Mom wrote: Do I have to worry about the Giardia after their done with medication?
Giardia stinks!! Seriously, not only is it awful to deal with but it has a very putrid odor. Now I can smell the difference between normal stress/diet diarrhea and icky putrid sour infected diarrhea. (need a smiley for holding my nose). It took my dogs two courses of antibiotics to clear the infection so you might want to have the stool sample checked a few days after they finish the meds to be sure it is out of their system. Also, be on the lookout for sources of infection. In my case, it was most likely from standing water out in the patio, which I was told gets polluted by bird poop. Good luck! |
| Do you think perhaps Zappa got it from the shelter? We do have snow in the background that he's consistantly sticking his nose in.
I never even thought of getting his stool checked after the antibiotics, great idea! I've never encountered this with a dog before so any input you have is great! |
| What drugs are the boys on? Izzie needed panacur to get rid of it this time. What I did was do the three day dose of panacur...then wait a week to 10 days....then spread the amount for three days over 10 days to kill the giardia at all stages. It seems to have worked. The whole time she has been on supplements to help her digestive system get back to normal. |
| My invoice says "Flagyl." |
| Okay...that is the same as metronidazole. Izzie has taken that before, but it didn't help this time. I know it has worked for others...so hopefully it works for your boys. |
Hendrix's Mom wrote: My invoice says "Flagyl."
That's just a brand name for metronidazole... |
| So you suggest 7 days or so after their medication to get their stool tested again? |
| Hello. Sorry about your kid's issues. We are having the same kind actually with ours.
Bailey has always been an itchy boy. The vet has given him antibiotics at times which help the bacteria, but she says it is allergies that start it. Both of our kids have always had Nutro Large Breed with no problems. The boy was itchy though, red skin, sores, just a mess. We switched him to Nature's Recipe, venison formula. It really seems to help his skin and it looks much better. He has unpredictable stools now. Mostly they are very runny. They always start firm, but by the time he is done, like mustard. He is farting a lot as well. We switched his sister after a week of his skin getting better and she got the runs for a while as well. We are trying to stick it out a little longer. The do poop less with this food, but it has made for a lot of fur cleanup. Never had these problems with the Nutro. I would be very interested in the food you switch to and what it's results are. I hate that Bailey seems so itchy. We are going to take him to an allergist next. It is a shame because his tummy looks normal now, but I am not sure if it is worth it. Keep us posted. Eric |
Hendrix's Mom wrote: So you suggest 7 days or so after their medication to get their stool tested again?
If they get better on the flagyl, then I don't think you really need to have the vet check again. Obviously if the same symptoms show up again soon...then they weren't completely cured. If they don't improve at all while on the flagyl the vet may have to prescribe something else right away. As I understand it Giardia is something that will always stay in their system and may occasionally flare up. |
| I agree. I go with "check consistency in a week" method. If the poo looks better, no more vet. If it's still soft, we go back for the strong stuff. |
Amanda P wrote: Hendrix's Mom wrote: So you suggest 7 days or so after their medication to get their stool tested again? If they get better on the flagyl, then I don't think you really need to have the vet check again. Obviously if the same symptoms show up again soon...then they weren't completely cured. If they don't improve at all while on the flagyl the vet may have to prescribe something else right away. As I understand it Giardia is something that will always stay in their system and may occasionally flare up. That's very different than my vet's advice so maybe just ask your vet. In my case, the vet said that it often is not cured during the first round. Unlike other bacteria which may stay in the system at innocent levels and flare up from time to time, giardia is something you want dead and gone. If you let it flare back up again you are having to deal with diarrhea again and it can be harder to get rid of. Even when my dogs diarrhea had gone away, the stool was still putrid smelling and they were still infected. |
Valerie wrote: That's very different than my vet's advice so maybe just ask your vet. In my case, the vet said that it often is not cured during the first round. Unlike other bacteria which may stay in the system at innocent levels and flare up from time to time, giardia is something you want dead and gone. That may be. Earlier I reported how I treated Izzie's latest bout with it. I don't find Flagyll or Metronidazole to be very effective. From what I have read it is known to only work 60% of the time, and recently vets are expressing that it is really only 40% of the time. So far Izzie has been back to normal...crossing my fingers. |
| We have had OES since 1984 and they have always done best on a diet of plain Dry Dog Chow, our present OES is watching her weight and loves the healthy weight Beneful. We did have digestive problems when we tried our dogs on the expensive "gourmet" dog foods but never on the less expensive ordinary ones. Hope this helps |
| Welcome to the forum! |
| My vet gave me some very good information about making food decisions for my dog. Maybe it will help with yours. When dogs are given their food they develop a tolerance to that particular protein (fish, chicken, pork, etc) when you switch proteins it causes them to have a reaction to the change and they will not be able to tolerate and cause them to have runny stool and diarrhea. They recommend sticking to the same type of protein and food. Some pet owners like to switch it up so the dog can have variety but that is actually the worst thing you can do. We use Blue Buffalo brand from petco it is all organic and much better than the bigger names such as Nutro. Brands like Nutro use fillers such as Gluten. Dogs can not process gluten and some such as mine are allergic to it which also causes problems with digestion. Hope this helps. |
| MY SIBERIAN HUSKY PUPPY HAS HAD BOUTS WITH THIS. THEY HAD HIM ON FLAGYL. AND HE ALMOST DIED. HE BECAME LATHARGIC AND WOULDN'T EAT OR DRINK FOR 2 DAYS. WATCH FOR STRANGE SIDE AFFECTS. DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS FOR THE GIARDIA? MY DOG DTILL HAS RUNNY STOOLS. IT IS FUSTRATING |
| What did you find out? That is exactly what I am feeding them and all of them have runny poo now. |
| Hey, Welcome Back! We also had problems with loose stools. We;ve been on Orijen six fresh fish dry and haven't had a problem. When things were really bad, we were on Tylan powder - I put into capsules as it really has a HORRIBLE taste. Gave twice a day for a long time, then weaned off to once a day, then a few times a week and now to none. We still get some loose stools after exercising and runny like a crazy dog but all in all, doing well. Hope same works out for hendricks. Oh, we were also on Flagyl a while. Sometimes its hard to diagnosis Giardi in the stool, so we went on Flagyl with no problem and although had to do a second round of it, no problem. |
| ugghhh...Alfie is another Chicago burb pup...same issues. I havent used filtered water or bottled water but do fill a jug and let the water breath. What else can be common...this is driving me crazy. Where are all these pups coming from ? Alfie came from Michigan. |
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