Hmmm, my update disappeared

[KC]

Of course it would happen after I had typed reams :) So here is the actual update. My son, Milo and I went and visited all the better pet stores in the area and talked to the owners about Orijen, Fromm, and others. Funnily, they all hesitated to recommend these two brands and kept steering me towards brands that I  knew were not as good! Volume incentives?
Anyway, at the last store, a small, poky little place recommended by a fellow morning dog walker, the owner listened to my tale of woe, and said understandingly "Labradoodle with sensitive stomach? I have just the thing for you." and produced a bag of Acana. Since Karen had mentioned it, I asked him more about it, and he said the higher protein of the Orijen sometimes itself created soft poops, and a lot of his labradoodle owning customers had good results with Acana.
We bought a small sample, opened it right there, and Milo who has to be coaxed into eating his Prairie kibble by adding yogurt or pumpkin, wolfed it down enthusiastically as though  it was a liver treat!
So feeling hopeful that this is a step in the right direction, and many, many thanks for all the advice you all have given us.
Poop status report to follow :)

[Lauria Orr]

Coconut oil.... I had met with a nutritionist every 2 weeks for 2 years for symptoms similar to Chron's disease. I had many fissures and cracked skin, slits, etc... that went along with this malabsorption syndrome. He recommended coconut oil, for cooking and also topically, as well as other diet and lifestyle changes. My massage person uses it for massage. He did give me a good article on the benefits of coconut oil, and I will try to locate that. Interestingly, all of the coconut products I have used have not given me issues, and in fact have become staples for me. I am interested in learning more about it.

[KC]

Hey Lauria, replying to you as you asked specifically about coconut oil and not to keep the discussion going. I understand Karen's point completely about being sceptical about anecdotal claims, and as a person who does intense research and needing to see evidence, I have been going over all the claims for coconut oil, trying to separate the anecdotal from the clinical. Sadly, of course, the web is filled with anecdotal, making it hard to find the grains of fact out there.
However, I have not found any clinical studies to say that coconut oil is BAD for your skin or allergies, and plenty that give cautious approval, so for now I am going to keep using it in moderation. Attaching a few of the studies I found in case you wanted to read more about it.
http://www.apccsec.org/document/Dayrit.PDF
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15724344 (this is one of those that found it does not worsen, and maybe on par with mineral oil)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That second study, being a double-blind study, has credibility. However, it's important to note that the oil was used topically and not ingested.
For allergies, I guess I just don't understand what the reason would be to ingest coconut oil on the chance that it might help, when it has been demonstrated in widespread clinical studies that the EFAs in fish oil and EPO that have an anti-inflammatory, therapeutic affect. Plus, we also know from other studies that Omega 3 fatty acids are great for the heart.

[Lauria Orr]

Thank you so much!!!!!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Yup! I'm agreeing o the anything that cures everything be skeptical remark. I have not looked into the pros, cons and studies on coconut oil but it is certainly not a good thing for people to ingest usually since it is a saturated fat. Superficial use is another story and if it works....