need help asap - diarherra for a month! could it be the food?

[Melissa]

I have searched in vain, but have not been able to find a discussion directly addressing this issue that I am facing:

 

Buddy is 9 months old and has always been on California Naturals Puppy Lamb & Rice even at the breeder.  His stools have always been firm and easy to pick up.  About a month ago he started getting soft stools, then it was full-blown diarherra.  We took him to the vet, who tested his stool and came up with nothing.  She sent us home with a weeks worth of antibiotics just in case.  (He has also been up to date on his heartworm ,etc.)  During the 7 days, his stool got better but it never got quite as hard as it was.  Then a few days after he was done with his medicine, he got diarherra again!.  We called the vet and this time we got 10 days of the antibiotics and also a 3-day worm medicine (covering more than just heartworms) as a "just in case".  After a couple of days, his poop was back to normal, we finished out his meds and it was great!  Now 3 days have passed and the diarherra is back.  We think it has to be the food, that he is just not tolerating it anymore. 

 

We and the vet are puzzled, however we suspect it is time to change his food to either a different puppy formula or to an adult dog food.  The vet suggests a food with a higher fiber content (11-13% specifically Science Diet Light).  Any suggestions or guidance would be appreciated!

 

 

[Kim]

I'm by no means the food Guru - but stay away from Science Diet!!!! My Allie had diarrhea on and off for 1 1/2 years of her life, until we enlisted the help of the other food groupies and determined what we were doing wrong. In our case we were feeding JUNK treats, and the Bully Sticks were giving her diarrhea as well. We also switched her from Canidae to California Naturals. California Naturals has been taken over by Proctor & Gamble so we switched food again. The help I receive here regarding Allie's food is awesome. Someone will help you I'm sure, the only thing I am POSITIVE about is to keep her away from Science Diet!

[Melissa]

Thanks. I did want to mention while he has been having the diarherra we have not given him anything besides his normal food. No treats. The only thing he chews on is his Antlerz. But I don't think that could cause the problem.

[Michele Follger]

We tried Sunny on CA Natural Lamb and rice after weaning her off of the so-so food that the breeder fed her. She always had very loose stools. Finally after a few months we switched her to CA natural chicken and rice and within a day or two she had perfect "tootsie roll" poop. She is now 3 and has consistently good poop. I have since talked to several friends that have had similar experience with lamb. It does seem strange that he would do ok for the first few months. But the Chicken and rice fixed it for us.

[Lynne B]

I would take him off his kibble, and feed him chicken broth and rice to let his intestines rest, the next day add shredded cooked chicken, if poop is firm, start adding kibble to the mix a little at a time over a period of 3 or 4 days until you are feeding 100% kibble. I recommend a limited ingredient kibble, or a grain free. We had this issue with Beck and after trying a bunch of different food we have settled on Costco "Nature's Domain" he hasn't had the runs since

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Whatever you do, do not give your pup Science Diet or any Rx food from the vet. To understand why, please read this, and you can print it out for your vet, too, if he tries to persuade you:
http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/why-you...

The timing of Buddy's diarrhea issues coincide with the P & G buyout of Natura, the company that makes California Naturals, Innova, and EVO. I am not saying this is the sole cause, especially since others are not having problems with the chicken formula. You might try switching to that one and see how it goes; can't do any harm. Maybe the lamb formula was changed.
Antibiotics can make diarrhea worse; you need to compensate for the destruction of the good flora in the digestive tract along with the bad. I am surprised the vet didn't recommend giving Buddy some plain, unflavored yogurt to help with that. Also, canned pumpkin (NOT pie filling) helps firm up the stools.
I am also puzzled as to why the vet feels Buddy still needs to be on puppy food at 9 months of age. Is he very large for his age? At nine months, most dogs can start adult formulas. So if you do switch foods, I would go with an adult or ALS formula.
And my recommendation for another food, if you want to try it, would be to go with a grain free formula. Can you get Acana or Orijen in your area? If you want to stay with a formula that contains rice & healthy grains, Fromm's Chicken a la Veg or Salmon a la Veg would be good choices.

[Nick Pietras]

Our dog Gus had soft stool/diareaha problems as well as a pup. We though we had solved it when we put him on CN Puppy Lamb and Rice at about 3.5 months. He was on it for 4 months, and everything was fine. And then all of a sudden, back to soft stools and diareaha. We had him tested, he was on antiobiotics, and he was on chicken and rice for a while. Everytime we got him stable, and back on the CN, same problem. I took a chance and put him on a grain free food (Orijen 6-Fish) and snap, that was the problem. He has a grain intolerance. CN was ok for a while, because of the simple ingredients, but it didn't last.

Were you feeding Buddy the CN during his antiobiotic treatments?

I don't know what your budget is, but I highly recommened Orijen. It is one of the most expensive foods out there, but it is worth it. And because of the high protein content, you do end up feeding less, so it a bag will last longer than a bag of regular food. Visit their website to read all about them - you'll see why its a great food. Please do not feed Science Diet - Science Diet is a terrible food. Why vets continue to recommend it, I don't understand - look at the first five ingredients in Science Diet Light - Adult Kibble: Whole Grain Corn, Soybean Mill Run, Chicken By-Product Meal, Powdered Cellulose, Corn Gluten Meal. The only ingredient that is remotely meat is Chicken By-Product Meal. The first few ingredients in a dog's food should always be meat.

[Melissa]

Thanks. We have fed Buddy CN since we brought him home. The breeder even fed him that. And yes he was on that during the antibiotic (which is the kind that does NOT cause diarherra like some can).

During the first bout of diarherra, I gave him some boiled chicken and rice, but it made his diarhhera worse. So we actually bought a new smaller bag of the CN because we thought we might have had a bad batch.

We are thinking of trying the Orijen. At 9 months I am assuming that the 6-fish is ok?

Thanks!

[Nick Pietras]

Yep - all the formulas are ok to feed him, age-wise. We're rotating Gus on the different formulas. He was on 6-fish first, for about 2 months, and now we're on our second bag of the Regional Red. He loves them both.

[Melissa]

Did you notice loose stools when you changed within the Orijen flavors? We will probably just give Buddy all 6-fish tonight to see how he does. Thanks so much!!

[Nick Pietras]

Nope. Besides the main proteins, the other ingredients in the food are pretty much the same, so its not really a major switch for them.

I really hope Orijen works for Buddy (and you!). Keep us updated!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I think Orijen is a good choice for you. Since Buddy is a mini, he will be fine on the 6 fish.

Also, the chicken rice mix always gave my chihuahua loose stools. Totally get that.

[Melissa]

We went and bought the 5.5 lbs bag of the Orijen 6-fish and mixed a little with the CN...he ate it all, although we could tell he knew something was different. :) We also picked up another round of the antibiotic, but are not going to give it to him yet.

How many days do you take to change foods by mixing the old and new together?