Scrabble has digestive issues

[Judy and Scrabbledoodle]

Scrabble has had digestive issues since we have had him. He is three years old. The breeder had him on Solid Gold puppy formula, lamb based. He yalways had very soft poop. As we attempted to transition him to adult food, our real problems began. We tried every high quality food you can imagine and each one caused him to have diarrhea after several days. He even ended up in the emergency clinic with hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. It is very stressful. I am embarrassed to tell you this Karen, but the only food he can tolerate is WD. I supplement each meal with home cooked boiled chicken, boiled Hamburg, rice and pumpkin. I would LOVE for him to eat a high quality kibble. Any thoughts or suggestions? We have a one year old cockapoo who has an iron tummy!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would suggest that you schedule a consultation with an internal medicine specialist. You may have spoken with one at the emergency clinic if Scrabble was admitted with the gastritis. If not, you can find one through the ACVIM website: http://www.acvim.org/

Your other option might be a veterinary nutritionist. But there is clearly something going on with his digestive system, and until you get that reliably diagnosed, nobody in any on-line forum is going to be able to recommend the right diet for him. 

Clearly, he's not allergic to chicken, beef, or any type of grains including corn and wheat, because he's getting all of that between the w/d and the homemade food. 

Is he on canned or dry w/d?

If I had a list of every specific formula he's been on, along with all treats and chews, and supplements of any kind, I might be able to make some suggestions.  

Have you had any testing done? Have there been any other symptoms other than diarrhea?

Has he been treated with antibiotics, especially metronidazole, in the past?

Has he been on any probiotics? 

[Judy and Scrabbledoodle]

Karen! Thank you! I am going to compile a list of his past foods and treats! Thank you for your response!
Yes he has had pro viable and sometimes has had metrodiazanole.

[Judy and Scrabbledoodle]

It has been more than a year since I have felt brave enough to try anything new. It's hard to remember all of the various foods. I did try Fromms chicken ala veg, beef frittata and duck and sweet potato, one of canine caviar that has chicken, Lotus, zignature, I believe with lamb and Go. I was always looking for a low fat food, but not at all sure that was the issue. It's hard to remember. Prior to his bout with HGE, I Had given him a bully stick, One bout of diarrhea occurred after I tried cooked ground turkey. Not sure if that triggered it. His problems usually begin with soft mucousy stool and they become looser. He has had only one bout in the last year. At one time I topped his food with Stella and Chewy or Primal freeze dried cubes. I haven't done that in several years. As for treats he has only Goodness Gracious freeze dried chicken strips made in MA and sourced in the USA. I used chicken bits for training at our training facility, but they were too messy.

He has only heart worm medication, no other supplements. I realize how bad WD is. He is on dry. My husband and I are so anxious to try another food. By the way our cockapoo is on Health Extension Little Bites. That is what the breeder was using. I love my Vet. We've been going to her for many years, but nutrition is obviously not a strong suit of any Vet. I would appreciate any suggestions. Thank you Karen.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Judy, it's really hard to know what is causing the digestive issues, and I'm very hesitant to make a recommendation based on the info I have. I can tell you that as far as Rx foods go, if you must use them, Royal Canin's Rx foods have much better ingredients than Hill's or Purina. 

If you want to try to switch to a non-prescription kibble, the first thing I would do is start giving him Proviable to get some good gut flora established. I'd switch his treats to chicken Pure Bites, because a jerky type consistency can be hard on the digestive tract for dogs with these kinds of issues. 

The food that I'd recommend you try is Wellness Simple Solutions Salmon/Potato. Because it's so completely different from the w/d, it just doesn't make sense to mix them; that won't tell you anything. You might try giving the Simple Solutions as treats, a few pieces at a time, to introduce it. And then you might possibly try giving him the w/d for one meal and the Simple for the other. But first get the probiotics started. 

If he can't tolerate the Simple Solutions, I would definitely consult an IMS. 

[Judy and Scrabbledoodle]

Karen! I can not thank you enough for taking the time to think about Scrabble's situation and coming up with some things we might try. We are at our summer place for the next two weeks. I do have a Vet here, but at our winter home, I am surrounded by the best animal medical facilities that Boston has to offer. I would feel better trying anything new then, as I am nervous. However, I feel committed to changing his food. I really would love to try the Wellness simple solutions. You are so kind and smart. I will keep you posted.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thank you for the kind words, Judy. Good luck, and please do keep us posted. :)

[Judy and Scrabbledoodle]

Hi Karen! I actually spoke with my Vet today. Our cockapoo had her yearly check today. I told her I was going to try to transition Scrabble off Of WD. She was totally in favor! I appreciated that. I went to our neighborhood pet store today. They wondered why you recommended the salmon wellness as opposed to the lamb and oatmeal. So psyched to change to wellness!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Considering that he was eating a lamb based food when he came from the breeder and had soft poop on that, I'm wondering why they're wondering, lol. They could wonder why I didn't choose the turkey formula or the duck formula, too. :)

[Judy and Scrabbledoodle]

I am going to go along with your recommendation. I respect your knowledge. Feel happy that our Vet was in favor of a change. Fingers crossed!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

And please do let us know how he does. 

[Judy and Scrabbledoodle]

Will definitely do that! Thank you SO very much!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Looking back thru this discussion, I'm not seeing any mention of the Proviable probiotics having been started. Those are really, really important. Did you order them and start them?