Fortiflura(sp?) and how to say no to I/D?? Update!

[Shannon Querry]

Poor Fleury girl is still having trouble with her belly. We switched(slowly) from Fromms to California Natural. We also got California Natural treats and took them to the kennel for when she's there in daycare. We were doing pumpkin but now can not find it anywhere. I started adding yogurt again to her food(Activia in particular) and still we are dealing with loose stool or pudding type stool on a daily basis. I was adding some white rice in for a few days and 2 BM's were normal and I got excited, then she got into the cats TOTW!!! Needless to say she had massive blow out diarrhea today.

 

We went to the open house at the vets on Sunday and I was talking to the vet that I take her to most often and she mentioned the fortiflura. She said to try that for 30 days on her food with nothing else and see what happens before we do any other test. She also mentioned the dreaded I/D which I told her I will not be feeding her. I told her I would boil her chicken or beef and rice for the rest of her life before I fed her that stuff LOL!!  Here's the problem I k

 

 

 

 

Update-Well we're on day 5 of the chicken/rice/yogurt combo and she's doing great! She hasn't had many BM's since we started this but what she has had have been small and totally normal. I guess we know what this means! I bought some of the missing link today too so that I can it to what I'm feeding her. I need to do something about fiber though because since she's not having as many BM's I could smell anal glands, yuck!

[Sue, Murphy and Bella ()*o*()]

I personally have no problem saying NO to a doctor, but I have worked with them for years and found most to be very respectful when I back up my NO with good evidence-based research. Some times and I can say even MOST times Doctors are giving you thier OPINION. And you are just as entitled to yours. BTW...YOU don;t have to prove to them why YOU don't want to give i/d or anything else for that matter. The question you should always ask is....Would you show me your research to back up your decision? And if you feel like it, you can show him yours. Or Not. He's not paying you to educate him, but if it means she/he may open thier minds to alternatives, then it's worth it to educate them with your research/knowledge.

Hope she feels better soon and I know you will do what's best.

[Shannon Querry]

It's hard when I worked there for 8 years and I myself was educated (at the time) that Hills, Purina and Iams were THE foods to feed your dog. I never heard of most of the foods that are recommended here until I started researching foods for her. I have officially turned into one of "those" clients LOL!!!

[Ginny Nightingale]

Just one thing to add to this discussion---my doodle had similar symptoms about two weeks ago and all of our efforts with rice and well-drained hamburger, etc did not help to cure her diarrhea. When there was blood in it, we went off to the vet. She was put on Purina EN food and fortiflora for one week as well as some antibiotic and did very well. Now she is back on her regular diet (Calif. Natural Lamb and Rice kibble) and has gained back the two pounds she lost. So, I was happy with those results and didn't mind feeding her that food as long as it was temporary and cured her of her illness.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, I'm glad she's fine, but exactly what was her illness that was cured?
I'm sure there's no permanent damage caused by feeding a dog very expensive garbage for a week or two, but what if it happens again? You still don't know what the underlying cause is, or what might bring it on again in the future.
One of the basic premises of this group is that food doesn't "cure" anything. That still holds true.

[Julie B.]

Did I understand that you switched from Fromms? My pup is on Fromms and even though my older dog has done well on it I have had a lot of trouble getting the puppy's poops firm again after her bout with giardia. 2 days ago I quit giving her hamburger and rice with her dog food and now she is on total Fromms again and her poops are becoming runny again! I hate to add switching of food to the situation but I am beginning to wonder if it may cause its own form of runs... I know I am overfeeding her now because the vet and I decided she needed to put on more lbs. Overfeeding of a good food can cause the runs so that may be it. I am just curious as to whether you found, or anyone else found that Fromms caused runnier poops in their dogs??

[Laura & Chewie]

Chewie eats Fromm's (so far, we've tried the chicken and salmon variety) and has very firm poops. I guess what works for one isn't necessarily the answer for another.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Most of the FG members who've switched to Fromm's have had good poop, but I agree that every dog is different. Maybe a different Fromm formula? Different ingredients might yield better poops.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

The Pork & Applesauce formula has produced the best poops for Peri. Much firmer than the salmon or duck.

[Shannon Querry]

I tried 2 different formulas for her, the chicken and the salmon and she had the loose stool on both. Like I said she's now on California Natural and still has it! It might be a flavor thing or you could be dealing with things like me :)

[Ginny Nightingale]

You are right of course--poor choice of words. i am not sure we ever found out what caused her to get out of whack, but I do know that she eats things she finds in the yard, like bark or twigs. We don't know if she has a delicate intestine that is irritated by that or if she picked up a virus someplace (She was boarded a few days before all this started.)

[Tammy & Gracie]

If it were me I would do a trial run of homecooking. Start feeding a simple diet like chicken and rice. When the digestive issues have been better for an entire week or so I would start adding other ingredients, one at a time like green beans, carrots, apples, etc. Do the additions slowly so you can see if anything sets him off again. I would add a spoonful of pumpkin and yogurt, plain only. No flavored yogurt, besides sugar and flavorings some contain dangerous artificial sweeteners. Homecooking sounds difficult but it is not after you have practiced for a bit. I'm with Karen totally, no RX food, it's a waste of money and time just to feed your lovely dog crap. Good luck. Many have had good results with homecooking!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

That's exactly how I started home cooking. I did chicken and rice the first week. Then I substituted whole wheat pasta for the rice and added a veg (I actually started with peas and carrots). Then I tried beef...I used very inexpensive stew meat. I did the addition of new ingredients slowly, and Guinness never had a bad reaction to anything. Now he can eat a wide variety of foods (beef, lamb, chicken, white fish, any veg, oatmeal, eggs-not fried, dried or fresh fruits, lentils, etc). I buy what's on sale and that determines his "menu" for the week. I know I don't spend any more than I was before with the high premium foods. This week at my grocery store they had ground turkey on sale, so I cooked it in olive oil added a can of diced plain tomatoes and some cooked whole wheat pasta which was also on sale. I got four days worth of food and it only took about 15 minutes to make. I put a tablespoon of plain yogurt and some dried cranberries on top, and Guinness thinks it's a gourmet meal.