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!

[Kim]

Well we started transitioning her to CA Lamb/Rice today. She ate like a horse (probably because it was new - I'm sure the new will wear off in a week). Then we took her to the park and she had VERY firm poop! I know she couldn't have digested it so quickly so now I'm wondering if our problem all along was the Bully Sticks and bad treats we were feeding her! We will see what the next few weeks bring. Thanks for the info everyone!

[Kim]

Ok, well that worked too good, we started her on California Naturals and took away all of the bad treats and now she has severe constipation. Should I try a grain-free food such as EVO? Any help would be appreciated. What could we do in the mean time before switching her food?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Kim, don't switch her food again. Let's just add something. Is she getting any fish oil or EPO? That usually helps. Do you have access to canned pumpkin? That helps, too. You can try giving her raw carrots or peeled raw apple slices, or lightly cooked carrots or green beans, too. All of those should help.
Please keep us posted.

[Kim]

I haven't given her any fish oil or EPO. I have been giving her canned Salmon with her California Naturals to help her "picky" eating habits. I did get her canned Pumpkin just now (thanks!) I will try that now. She won't eat raw carrots or apples (she's very picky!) but maybe if I cook them a little - she might. Thanks for the suggestions. I was so excited because the diarrhea has been totally gone. My excitement soon faded as she started yelping while trying to go 2 hours ago, it was so sad :(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The fatty acids do help keep their bowels moving, in addition to being good for their skin & coats. You can try giving her a 500 mg evening primrose oil capsule once a day, or adding fish oil to her meals.
The pumpkin should help, too.
We can start looking for some wholesome treats that have fiber in them. That should help her avoid this problem in the future.

[Kim]

ok. I gave her the Pumpkin and she ate CANNED green beans. I tried frozen, she refused, and I have tried to give her plain fresh cooked green beans in the past and she has refused that as well. She did end up pooping, and it was almost perfect. Where would I get the EPO? Is that something that is sold for people? The Fish oil as well. I know they sell the Fish Oil caplets at drug stores - is that what I would get for her?

I have cut WAY back on her treats, because I thought that's why she was such a picky eater. I have been giving maybe 6 or less (3 calories each) Charlee Bear Treats, and one to two homemade Peanut Butter Biscuits (which has Peanut Butter, Milk and Wheat Flour in them) per day. Maybe I should add some All Bran to them? What do you think?

Thank you so much Karen - you have been such a great help. You are awesome!!!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm glad Allie had a good poop!
Evening primrose oil capsules are a human supplement, and you can buy them most places human vitamins & supplements are sold.
For fish oil, you can use capsules, or you can buy wild Alaskan salmon oil in a pump-style bottle at the pet supply store, and add it to her food; some of it smells really bad, though!
If Allie likes canned green beans, see if you can buy some that are sodium free. If not, rinse them in warm water before feeding them.
If you're baking treats, try using natural whole wheat flour, it has more bran than plain old white flour, or maybe adding a touch of bran. I'd go easy with that though, we don't want to tip the scales too far back toward the loose poop. Another thing you might try is adding dried cranberries; those would help in the fiber department big time. I know a lot of our homecooks add them to their dogs' meals. Jane gives Guinness & Murphy plain yogurt sprinkled with dried cranberries & they love it!
It's all about experimenting to find the foods that work best for your dog, and you are definitely making great progress! Hang in there!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

You could also see if she would eat cooked carrots. I have bought canned ones before, with no salt added and rinsed them (just as Karen suggests) off in warm water. Then heated them, chopped them up and put on their food. Those are a big hit in my house. Something about them being soft...

[Doodlegirl]

HI Kim. I realize I'm a bit late in my reply - I just joined the food group. Our doodles are on a mixed diet; grain free kibble breakfast and raw food dinner. Overall they do very well with it though our doodle Charlie did have occasional digestive tract problems until we started adding a PROBIOTIC to their food every meal. We also have found PUMPKIN to be a great equalizer. It works both ways - mild constipation and soft stools. I get organic canned pumpkin (be sure it's not spiced pumpkin pie filling). For convienence and to preserve, anytime I have to open a can, I use what I need (only a couple teaspoons mixed with their food) then I lightly spray an icecube tray with oil and put the remaining pumpkin in the tray to make "pumpkin cubes". I only use 1 cube split between the two dogs for their meal (it defrosts very quickly in the microwave). Unfortunatly, Charlie and Fergus are not too fond of pumpkin so I have to mix it with their food. However, I have treated guest dogs with a froozen cube and they love it! Good luck!

[Kim]

Now that Allie has mostly* regular poops (lol) wouldn't it be our luck that the Natura product line was sold to Proctor & Gamble. UGH. It has been about a month that she has been on California Natural. She seems to really like the food. I'm not sure what to do now. I'm thinking of switching her back to Canidae ALS. I think our problem was the types of treats she was getting, and Bully Sticks. It is SO frustrating!

When I dropped Allie off at daycare this morning, we talked about foods and she told me that Wellness is a great food to be on... so I searched it through the Food Group and noticed that a few people have had problems on Wellness with loose stools. I'm so thankful for this group! I really don't want to be back at square one AGAIN. I'm going to keep researching before I decide on what to do. I will probably buy one last bag of California Natural (even though we just bought a new back last week), and give us more time before we start the whole food switch again.

[Dan, Judi, & Timbow]

We switched from Canidae to Fromm and Timbow has done wonderfully! He wouldn't eat regularly with Canidae, but not only gobbles his Fromm down, but looks forward to meal time. I would consider trying it and seeing how she does. :) Can you find Fromm where you live?

[Kim]

Yes, they sell Fromm at our Doggie Daycare, they have the Gold and Classics lines, but not the four star line. They do have the Four Star line at other businesses near me. I'm not worried about her gobbling her food (because I'm not sure that will EVER happen with her), I'm more worried about the consistency of her stools. Allie does eat regularly on the California Natural - but I can't be sure it's because she likes the food. I changed a LOT of things when we changed her food from Canidae to California Natural. I only treat her 2-3 times a day now (which used to be a LOT more) like a Milk Bone every time we came up the stairs from going outside, like a Scooby Snack every time she did a trick, and like a bully stick 2-3 times per week, so she was getting calories from the treats rather than from her food. I think if we keep giving her limited treats, she will eat whatever we make her eat! I have eliminated Milk Bones, Scooby Snacks, and Bully Sticks. I either give her homemade treats, or Charlee Bear treats now.