Lolli seems to have a very sensitive stomach. Probiotic advice?

[Jennett Pulley]

Lolli is on Iams (EEEK!!  I know, please don't beat me up.  I am so overwhelmed by the food choices that I am frozen) per our vet and her breeder.  She does great on it but she is a bit (ok A LOT) gassy.  I want to give her something new but I am afraid because she is prone to explosive diarrhea once a month or so. 

Every time we get her stool checked, she's fine.  She has been visiting the lake a lot and has a bizarre craving for goose poop which we try to avoid, but it happens.  The vet gives her doggie kao and the loose stools clear up immediately.  She is never in pain or uncomfortable, it just makes me a nervous wreck.

She had an awesome combination of eating a magnet, drinking lake water and feasting on poo the other day and it wreaked havoc on my pup and my yard.  I do want to start giving her a pro biotic and I want to change her food.  I know there is an awesome post on the food, I simply cannot comprehend it all.

Please someone have mercy on my and pick my food and tell me the best source to get probiotics besides yogurt (the stuff makes me gag).  Also, is there a way to get the doggie kao without spending $75 at my vet each time?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The website misspelled it, whether on purpose or by accident, I don't know, but the fact that it also says "source of vityamin K activity" tells us it is menadione. To be honest with you, at that price, the product is most liekly not a very good quality. I wouldn;t be too terribly surprised to find that this product is imported from Asia.

Taking enzymes is a complicated issue. Despite what you may read on-line, it's pretty much a waste of time and money to take digestive enzymes, as most of them are broken down by the stomach acid anyway. The body makes its own enzymes from amino acids, and unless a dog's (or a person's) pancreas is not working properly, there is no need to take digestive enzyme supplements. When there is a disease, the only ones that do any good are usually not available OTC or on-line without a prescription.Vitamins are also not necessary when a dog is eating an AAFCO approved food.

Prebiotics and probiotics are much more helpful for dogs with digestive issues. Gentle Digest by Ark Naturals is a good prebiotic for dogs, and the probiotics I recommended above are also good.

[Carol B & Pilot]

Thanks for the info. Thankfully, my pancreas is fine, I take them for another issue. Since I wrote before, I received more of those vitamins, but the company was good about a return. I'm going to switch to adult food, and hope for the best. I think the occasional diahrhea Pilot gets is from chewing sticks. I think i read in here somewhere about seasonal diahrhea from organisms getting active in the spring? He had it yesterday, but better this morning.

Any recommendations for sources for treats? Certainly not Chinese ones, but good brands or sites? TIA

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There are lots of treat recommendations in our discussions right here in the Food Group.

Zukes, Plato, and Fromm make good treats. Healthy Partner, Fresh is Best, Pure Bites, and True Chews are some others that come to mind without doing a search of our discussions. Anything we recommend in this group has been researched to be sure there are no unsafe ingredients, or ingredients imported from China.