food toppers

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Hello! I was thinking last night about Yeti and Phin having diarrhea and the occasional vomiting episode last night. They both have been doing well for about a week straight. They have been eating boiled chicken and rice 4 times a day. We recently started to wean Phin back to his kibble but Yeti is still only eating chicken and rice. I want to give his tummy a little extra time to heal Incase he really was experiencing a bought of gastritis again.

Anywho, back before they got sick neither were eating much. Not unusual for Yeti but I was worried for 4 month old Phin. I know it’s frowned upon by a lot of people, but we started added boiled chicken and sweet potato to entice them to eat. Phin literally gobbled it right up. He LOVED it. Yeti sometimes loved it and sometimes didn’t, depending on the day lol. My question is, could this be the reason for their tummy troubles? Too much protein? Now that Phin is starting kibble again, I want to know your guys’s thoughts on continuing to add a small amount (1/8 cup of chicken) to keep him liking his food.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I can answer your question with certainty: No, "too much protein" is absolutely not the reason for your dogs' tummy troubles.

It would be pretty close to impossible get "too much protein" in a dog's diet. There are only three macronutrients, or sources of calories/energy: Protein, carbohydrate, and fat. Carbohydrates, which metabolize as sugar, are not even necessary in a dog's diet at all, and you certainly don't want a lot of it in the diet. And you also don't want the bulk of a dog's (or anybody's) diet to be made up of fat, lol. That leaves protein as the best source of calories(energy), and you ideally would like at least half of the calories in the diet to be supplied by proteins. 

In my experience, and this is backed by the opinions of two different veterinary internists who treated Jack's IBD, if (and that's a BIG "if") tummy troubles are caused by food at all, the likely culprits are going to be too much fat, too much carbohydrate and not enough protein, and/or not enough fiber. 

How much sweet potato are you adding to their meals? Too much could contribute to loose stools. Fiber is a paradox: too much or too little can both be the cause of loose stool. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Also, it's a mistake to feed rice to a dog who is on a grain-free, LID diet and who has a history of digestive issues. Rice is a grain, and many dogs can't tolerate it, especially those with digestive disease. JD never could tolerate rice, even years before he was diagnosed with IBD. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you for the reply Karen! I knew I probably should have consulted you before doing so, but about 3ish weeks ago the vet had me convinced that the sweet potato is what was making them sick and that I should switch to rice. I knew it was probably not true, but in all honesty I was so desperate to get their stool back to normal I was going to try anything (except the hills they were trying to force down my throat). After reading your reply I’m thinking they were probably getting too much sweet potato. I’m not exactly sure how much I was adding because I didn’t measure, but if I had to guess it would probably have been about 1/4 to 1/2 cup daily. I thought that by adding that it would help keep everything in balance. Total mistake on my part. Perhaps I’ll kist add a little chicken to their kibble and leave it at that.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think plain chicken, or chicken with just a tablespoon of mashed sweet potatoes, would be the best idea. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you so much!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Even though my dogs' tummies are fine right now, I really appreciate reading about food related issues. I always get reminded of, re-learn, or learn something.  This time it was being reminded about toooooo much in the carb department.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Karen I was wondering if you could try to shed some light on something for me. As is stated in my original post, we have started to wean Phin back on his kibble (wellness puppy core). He is on about 80% kibble and 20% bland diet. All of the sudden last night he had a good poop but came inside and had bad gas. This morning his poop started out fine and then turned into a soft mess. Now it’s not runny so I wouldn’t call it diarrhea but it was hardly formed. This is the second time this ha happened when he was back on kibble almost exclusively. The last time it happened we put him back on 100% bland just Incase his tummy still wasn’t well. I am wondering if it’s possible that he just needs to get “used” to his kibble again. I’m sorry for all the questions. I’m so new to dog owning and I have never known a friends dog to have these issues so it truly is so foreign to me. I just want to make sure I’m doing right by both dogs.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Are Yeti and Phin from the same breeder? 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Nope :(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And are we absolutely positive that neither one of them is getting into anything they shouldn't? They are always supervised every minute that they are outside, etc.? 

Nobody is sneaking them any "snacks", or extra treats? 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

They only go outside on a leash with one of us with them at all times so I find it hard to believe it’s somethtong out there they are getting into. I don’t believe they are getting into anything in the house either and when we aren’t home they are in their kennels. But now that you mention it,Phin has puppy class on Wednesday nights and they occasionally give the dogs fresh pet. Do you think a little amount of fresh pet could do he trick?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, it's not a very good product, but I don't think that just a tiny taste occasionally would be causing all of these digestive issues. It's just so odd that Yeti has had such chronic digestive problems, and then you get a new pup who is unrelated and he has the same kinds of things going on. That made me think maybe it was something they are getting into. 

You may need to put Phin on an LID food. Are you giving him probiotics? If not, he needs them.