Soft Stools

[Kim]

Hi everyone!  I am thinking about changing Allie's food from Canidae to something else.  She has loose stools the majority of the time - we have had her stools tested 3 times and all 3 times they have diagnosed her with a "sensitive stomach," and keep giving us medication for the soft stools - to the point now that we don't need to bring in a sample - we can get the medication when needed.  I have been doing a lot of reading in the Food Group, and have searched under sensitive stomach's - but I am confused!  I have a few questions:  Because of her loose stools - should I be looking for a grain free food, or no?  I have my brands narrowed down to Fromm's (not grain free) and EVO (grain free).  I also have a question about treats, wondering if we should stop giving her any of the following:  We give her Milk Bone treats, Scooby Snacks (sometimes), Good Life Turkey & Apple, Blue Buffalo Pumpkin & Cinnamon.  For chewing, we get her Bully Sticks, and she has a deer antler.  She goes to Doggie Daycare, which I am going to ask them Tuesday (her next daycare day) not to give her anything other than what we provide for her. Any help would be appreciated!

[Laura & Chewie]

You know I can tell you what I feed Chewie, but all dogs are different and what works for one doesn't always for the next. We feed Fromm's 4 Star and his stools range from firm to very firm depending on what protein source we alternate between. I try to give very healthy snacks free of all the things I've learned to avoid in his kibble. Some dogs thrive on grain free and others do better with the healthy grains...some it doesn't matter at all.

I do know I have heard many times that some dogs gets diarrhea from bully sticks...maybe eliminate those for a couple days and see if it has a positive effect on Allie. Have you tried adding yogurt or some type of probiotic to her food.

I'm sure others will have suggestions also. Good luck!

[Kim]

We made her homemade frozen yogurt with Dannon Vanilla yogurt, organic baby food banana's, and honey. She vomited immediately, so we haven't tried yogurt again. Maybe I can try just the Vanilla yogurt alone? What kind of healthy snacks do you feed Chewie? I did try some chunks of apple last week after reading a discussion in here, and a banana, she snubbed them both - didn't want ANYTHING to do with it!

I will eliminate the bully stick for a few days - they are expensive anyway!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Kim, vanilla yogurt is loaded with sugar, corn starch and corn syrup. Corn is a lousy food for dogs, in any form. Only give plain yogurt.

[Kim]

Thanks! We found a recipe and just followed it. I just assumed it was ok.

[Kelly Gallagher]

We went thru something very similar with our Maddy. We decided to switch her to a grain free food - we use Taste of the Wild Salmon and Potato. Her stools did firm up but I'm not sure if it's because of the grain free aspect - I'm not convinced that she is sensitive to grains. We did however notice a connection between bully sticks and soft stools. We've eliminated those and we stopped giving her peanut butter. It was just a guess but we thought that perhpas the high fat content in both was bothering her stomach. She now only gets her TOTW 2x a day, 1 medium milk bone a day and a few Charlie Bear snacks when she goes in her crate. We also give her baby carrots from time to time..she loves those. Good luck..I remember how frustrating it was trying to figure out what was best.

[Kim]

We use Peanut Butter for the Diarrhea Medication. I guess I won't mind not giving her Bully Sticks anymore because of the expense - as well as the way she "protects" them when time is up. That is the only thing she protects. I will have to check out TOTW. They sell that at our daycare. Thanks for the suggestion. It is VERY frustrating!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Most of the treats, I would not recommend. The Good Life & Milk Bone have low-quality grains (wheat) & fillers; I'm not familiar with Scooby Snacks, but just the name makes me think they are made by a not-so-great company and also contain some not-so-great ingredients.
If you switch to a grain-free food, you will initially have some loose poop and gas, but once they adjust, the poop is usually very firm. But if Allie really has a sensitive stomach, your best bet for kibble might be California Naturals, made by the same company as EVO. Sometimes you just have to try different things before you hit on the right combination. For 3 years, I was positive Jack needed rice in his food...turns out he does best with grain-free Orijen.

[Kim]

Are there treats that you would recommend? I will look into the California Naturals. Thank you for the suggestions.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I persoanlly stick with grain-free protein only treats, but anything made by Natura (Innova, EVO), Fromm, or Solid Gold would be a good choice. There are also a lot of little boutique-style companies that sell baked dog treats made from human-quality ingredients at small pet supply stores...not the big chains. Read the labels. Wet Noses is a good brand for bisquit type treats.
We've had a few discussions here recently about treat recommendations. I'll go find a link.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay I just looked up "Scooby Snacks", and these are really awful. The ingredients are a nightmare:
Ground wheat, grain sorghum, animal fat (BHA used as a preservative), meat by-products, salt, beef and bone meal, caramel color, animal plasma, beef, dried cheese product, potassium sorbate (used as a preservative), bacon, chicken, natural smoke flavor, FD&C yellow #5, minerals (ferrous sulfate, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, copper sulfate, calcium iodate, sodium selenite), vitamins (vitamin E supplement, niacin supplement, vitamin A supplement, d-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin supplement

Those first four ingredients alone would be to blame for digestive upsets in many dogs.

[Kim]

Thanks Karen. I see you highlighted "wheat," I found a recipe last night for treats that call for "wheat flour," should I not be using that?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I personally try to avoid giving wheat entirely, but human quality wheat flour used in homemade recipes is a lot different than the junk that the Big Dog Food companies use in commercial dog foods & treats. Human quality flour in a homemade treat should not cause a problem, especially if it's unbleached. I highlighted it in the ingredient list for the Scooby Snacks, because it's the main ingredient, and it's "dogfood quality" wheat, which means not much different from sawdust, lol.