Same saga...just more intense

[a.k.a. Rodney]

DerbyDoodle is still struggling with loose stools....once or twice a day.....this has been for 11 days...First the chicken & sweet pot. Was effective for a short period of time....then I went to chix & rice....also from 2 metrodi. to one a day...b/c she got plugged up. The we went back to the "pudding stools"
We revisited the Vet today....he confidently suggested...she gets off Acana for now ...I believe he felt to rich in protein for her while she struggles with her tummy issue. He sold me Royal Canin GASTRO Intestinal fibre food....he honestly, felt it better than lean chopped beef & rice....my thinking is what am I going to him for if I blatantly disregard his advise.....so, I bought it & gave her her first helping...which she promptly gobbled up.....I held off feeding her all day to see what he had to say...just writing this to see what the Doodle world has to say....definitely being torn in two directions....hope this isn't horrible crap that I have to toss out & that it helps her...sitting here waiting nervously on your verdicts...thanks
(She is 11.5 mo & 10.5 lbs...everything else about her is just perfect...actually, you wouldn't know she's having any issues by her actions & her demeanor )

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I am so sorry you guys are still going through this.  When Derby had pudding stools, what changed..was it 2 metro down to  one?  What did she eat that day?  When you had her most recent fecal tested, how did that come back?  What made you switch from chicken and sweet pot. to chicken and rice?

[a.k.a. Rodney]

Good questions....switched to rice b/c she got constipated on the chix & sweets with 2 Metrod a day.....than we had to give her a tsp of olive oil..vet suggested...so other dog owner friends said go with rice. This whole deal had gotten complicated, I am sure, b/c of the changes....her fecal tests were negative, but if she doesn't improve he said further testing would be helpful
She did go from 2 metrod. To 1
Thanks for your concern

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

When the Food Group here tells you to not feed the RC crap to your baby I believe that there is a money back guarantee on it.  So I would take it back to the Vet and just tell him that she wouldn't eat it and get your money back.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I think I'm having a déjà vu. Is it not long since you posted something similar and also bought rubbish Rx food from your Vet.? The advice now remains the same as then.

[a.k.a. Rodney]

You know, I understand your message & I did the ones earlier but more of the same wasn't getting the job done. Chix /sweet pot & chicx/rice . ......, BUT I was between a rock and a hard spot...she was not getting any better on the home cooked bland food...before I tried ground beef & rice I thought I'd give this a try...it may not be nutritionally great, but if it calms her tummy down...I felt I had to try...and honestly, why go to him if I can't trust a simple opinion of his on what will help stop her tummy issue? This seemed to be the point to me at the time....if she doesn't get better I may have to look at another Vet, but I really felt I had to trust him on this and try

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I don't believe it is a matter of trusting your vet..He may be an excellent vet, but as we have said before..they are  not knowledgable on nutrition…the next vet you go to may tell you to buy Hills I/D..the same RX poor quality…but the bottom line is, you need to do what is best for you, and what works for you.  What was Derby's stool like when she was on the chicken and rice/or sweet pot?  Was she just not pooping? How many days did you try the home cooked for?  When you are feeding a home cooked food, there will be less stool, b/c there is less waste..as there aren't any fillers in what you are feeding.  Stay strong! You will get through this

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jill is correct in that when you feed a homecooked diet, you have less stool. You also need to feed twice as much as when you feed kibble, because the calorie content is so much lower. Perhaps Derby wasn't getting enough bulk.

The sole benefit of the RC food is that it is loaded with fiber, from very, very cheap sources:

Chicken meal, rice, chicken fat, powdered cellulose, rice hulls, ground corn, wheat, corn gluten meal, natural flavors, wheat gluten, dried beet pulp, fish oil, monocalcium phosphate, brewers dried yeast, psyllium seed husk, sodium silico aluminate, potassium chloride, salt, calcium carbonate, fructooligosaccharides, L-lysine, vegetable oil, hydrolyzed yeast, taurine, choline chloride, DL-methionine, Vitamins [DL-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2- polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), biotin, D-calcium pantothenate, vitamin A acetate, niacin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), folic acid, vitamin B12 supplement, vitamin D3 supplement], marigold extract (Tagetes erecta L.), Trace Minerals [zinc oxide, zinc proteinate, ferrous sulfate, manganese proteinate, copper sulfate, copper proteinate, manganous oxide, calcium iodate, sodium selenite], rosemary extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols and citric acid.

Corn, wheat, corn gluten, wheat gluten, powdered cellulose, which is wood pulp....does anyone really think this could cure anything? 

Sweet potato is very fiber rich. I would have continued with that, perhaps giving more of it. Rice would be way more constipating than sweet potatoes. 

Metronidazole also causes loose stools after it is discontinued because it destroys all the good flora in the gut which is necessary for proper stool formation. Used long term, it can have neurological side effects, too. I will never again give it to any dog without a clear reason, i.e. a diagnosis of some illness, not just loose stools.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Food didn't cause the diarrhea and food can't cure it...any kind of food. She didn't all of a sudden get sick from her food. The cause of the diarrhea needs to be determined in order to treat it. 

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Maybe it ( Acana) is not the right food for her.  I remember when Fromms was the food of choice.  I had two dogs then and one did just fine but Spud did the same thing as your Derby. He just did not tolerate it at all.

Fromms isn't bad food, just not the right food for him.

Maybe try some Fromms?   Since Spud does great on Acana but not Fromms but your Derby does not do good on Acana...

Really silly reasoning but hey, who knows.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

And another thought..... What treats do you feed Derby?

Anytime we have a problem it is when a treat is involved.

We can not give Bully Sticks, chews, actually nothing really.

Even a tiny biscuit from a stranger throws him off.

So, it may be food, but it may be a tiny bit of something else you may not be considering

[a.k.a. Rodney]

So, this was the scenario...went to NYC for week...change in water NOT food. She never gets treats...except occasionally for the Come command. ( which are dried chicken treats) She never gets scraps or anything else prior to this episode BUT the night before this all happened she had a Bully stick for maybe 45 min....she has been on Acana since birth & Bully stix for at least six mo. The only other time she has a mucous stool was when we left her at a sitters for several days.
I'm pretty convinced the sweet pot were to rich for her...her stools were pudding like & very orange....I'm sure the color was understandable. Chicken & rice was No better. This homemade food she has been on for 11 days
Her stool today after 2 servings of the "crap"Rx formed her stool..it actually looked normal
I completely grasp the poor content in the Royal Canin, but it worked & I'm sitting here feeling horrible for her b/c of the tummy issue on one hand not clearing up & on the other feeding her the "crappy stuff"
Seriously, which is worse for her?
The vet also said if needed one more week of Metrod was ok....I GET IT!! NO MORE METROD!!
It's very frustrating & agonizing!!
Thanks for everyone's support

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Unless you added butter to the sweet potatoes, they couldn't have been "too rich", since they contain no fat whatsoever. :)

I've never heard of a homecooked bland diet making any stomach issue worse, and rarely heard of it not helping. It's plain, fresh, simple, bland wholesome food. Even when JD was recovering from his endoscopy, had an inflamed, ulcerated GI tract from one end to the other, and could barely digest anything at all, the internal medicine specialist wanted him on a homemade bland diet of plain boiled chicken & cream of wheat cereal with sweet potatoes. No Rx food. 

I hope Derby's digestive issues resolve.