sensitive stomach on this labradoodle

[Jack & Cooper]

Cooper has had loose stool off and on since the summer. Stool test is negative.. The raw diet (human grade- ground duck or lamb-70% meat /30% bones) and basmati rice w/ vegetables is what he gets. Also pro-biotics-Culturelle and vitamin supplement- Nuvets. Boiled Chicken and rice did not solve the issue. Switched him to oatmeal and boiled ground beef w/ yogurt to calm his belly. Dermatologist put him on flagyl.

 

Stool finally  firm after 36 hours. Still giving him oatmeal w/ ground beef etc.

 

At a loss whether to resume raw food or to find a kibble for a dog w/ sensitive stomach. He has been on allergy shots for atopic dermatitis since September and still gets low dose temeril-p (1/2 a day).Help!!!

 

What do I feed him once he is off flagyl; dermatologist wants him on it for 7 days.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Nancy, hasn't Maddy had a sensitve stomach? What food did you end up going with - I can't remember. Orijen?

I would think a kibble would be easier for Cooper to handle, but I am a fan of high-quality kibble so I am slightly biased.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Is it possible to use cooked ground chicken or turkey in place of the lamb and duck? High-fat diets contribute to loose stools, and duck & lamb are just about the fattiest protein sources you can find. Even lean pork loin or beef round cuts are lower in fat. I think lightly cooking the meat and thoroughly draining the fat (rinse in hot water to be sure) might help, too.
I would also eliminate the vegetables temporarily, or at least cut them back, and add a tablespoon of plain canned pumpkin with his meals.
What is "basmati" rice? Perhaps brown rice might be better, but I'm not sure.
I understand the necessity of giving a vitamin supplement to dogs on home-made diets, but perhaps a simpler (and much less expensive) multivitamin would be better. Nuvet is part of the Trilogy Corp. multi-level marketing program and not necessary for good health. It may also be too complex for a dog with a sensitive stomach. He's already getting a probiotic.

[Jack & Cooper]

Karen,

What supplement would/ or do you give Jack?

Basmati rice is just a long grain variety (comes brown and white sometimes organic)

Thanks,

Jack and Cooper

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't give Jack any vitamin supplements, because he gets everything he needs from his kibble. He eats Orijen, all three adult formulas...Adult, 6 Fish, and Regional Red. His poop is spectacular, if you can say such a thing about dog poop, lol. He just gets essential fatty acid supplements in the form of evening primrose oil capsules. He gets fresh cooked beef, chicken, turkey, fish, or eggs added to his dinner every day.
But when I tried feeding him a strictly homecooked diet, I used a plain old multi-vitamin from the pet supply store. Just the basic minimum required vitamins & minerals.

[Jack & Cooper]

Karen, if you use porc loin or beef round cuts how do you supply calcium and in what form and amount? Cooking what I buy w/ ground bone included will make it brittle and problematic won't it?

Was looking at Acana and Orijjen suppliers too and seeing that they are not distributed by any retailers in NY.

[Kim]

Jack - there are almost 30 different cities listed for Acana under the NY locations - some of them are near the city.

http://www.championpetfoods.com/acana/locator/locator.php?locate-wi...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If you are feeding a strictly homemade diet, you really need a vitamin & mineral supplement that includes calcium, in the proper proportions with the other minerals. Then you don't have to worry about feeding bone. Your multi-vitamin should be doing that. To me, the single advantage of a raw diet is that eating the bones helps clean the dog's teeth...in ground form, they aren't doing that anyway, and I wonder how much calcium they are really absorbing from them.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wanted to add that although we hear a lot about how much easier it is for dogs to handle bacteria in raw food than it is for people, steroids do suppress the immune sytem, making it more difficult to fight off infections and leaving dogs (and people) more vulnerable to "bugs" of various kinds. Temaril P contains steroids. Raw foods are not a great choice for dogs who have compromised immune systems, which is another reason for cooking the food slightly, in addition to lowering the fat content. The raw meats may have bacteria that Cooper's digestive system isn't handling well due to his mild immune system suppression.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

Tara is a Labradoodle with a sensitive stomach too. We tried feeding her raw food too and she just doesn't do well with it (diarrhea and/or vomiting) . It seems to be the fats that she has difficulty with. At this point we are feeding her homemade cooked which she does very well with . She also does well with Origen kibbles. However, if she eats anything "fatty" off of her diet she will get diarrhea again. We also have to watch the fats in her treats. .

[Jack & Cooper]

Origen kibbles comes in puppy?adult? varieties? Which are you using? Thanks.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

It does come in different "flavors" but I have only used the Puppy Formula so far. I am considering switching to one of the adult formulas when the current bag is gone though because Tara is nearing 2 years old. She has been doing so well with the Puppy Formula that I have delayed considering a switch until now.


Here is the area of this Food Group that tells of the different formulas available:

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here's the link, which includes the formulas and website:
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