Shelby's got some poop issues... it's been quite a while, probably about a year since I've had to take her to the vet for poop problems, but it's been a couple of weeks and it's just not getting better. She has had very soft stool - reponds incredibly well to pumpkin on her food... but within 24-36 hours of finishing the pumpkin - she's back to soft stool. Appetite is fine, activity is fine, water intake is normal.
So we went to the vet today and the did a fecal float and fecal smear. She noted elevated levels of bacteria and something that indicated possible irritation/inflamation of the colon.
She has given me Metronidazole, wants me to keep adding fiber to her diet (either continue with the pumpkin or consider adding some metimucil, suggested a probiotic (or I could try yogurt).
The vet suggested putting Shelby on a low fat (5-8%), highly digestible diet. She recommended 3 products:
- Iams low residue
- Hills I/D
- Purina EN
Well, knowing what I do now about doggie nutrition and some of these diets I politely declined buying any of those at this time and told her that due to her sensitive system (took a long time to find a food that worked well for us), I'd rather not mess with her kibble. She said I could try keeping Shelby on her current food (Fromm 4 Star - currently 14% fat), but that if it doesn't clear up in the next week or two I should really consider a low fat/highly digestible diet.
So to all you experienced DKers out there... any suggestions on low fat/highly digestible diets? I did have her use the Iams low residue canned food a couple of years ago, and she did well on it, but now that I know a bit more about feeding quality food - I am wondering what options might be out there that I am not aware of that are in the 5-8% fat range and considered highly digestible. I shared that I was willing to cook on my own - rice, ground turkey, etc. but she was concerned about getting her diet balanced properly.
** I forgot to mention the low fat highly digestible diet was recommended for just a few weeks to help get her over this episode. It's not a long term recommendation.
Open to feedback and suggestions.... thanks so much!
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