Flossies and Loose Stool

[Amanda and Cody]

Hi everyone,

My goldendoodle Cody is 6 months old.  He has always had soft stool and tends to get very runny stool often.  I think he has a very sensitive stomach.  Sometimes I could trace the obvious cause such as when he went into the pantry and ate a bag of marshmellows!  Recently I gave him a Flossie chew (which he loves) and he had loose stool again.  My vet seemed to think this was the cause because these chew toys like bully sticks are very fatty.  Has anyone had the same experience?  What chew toys would be good for him?  My vet recommended Nylabones but he doesn't seem very excited about them.  I have been feeding him Chicken Soup for the Puppy Soul and am now transitioning him to Orijen Puppy Food (upon the recommendations from this forum).  Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Amanda

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It wasn't the US tendons that made him sick. I assumed it was, because that was the most recent thing I could blame for this current illness.
Like many others here, I keep looking for a chew object that will (a.) keep him occupied for more than 5 minutes and (b.) help keep his teeth tartar free. My miniature poodle, a breed notorious for having bad teeth, lived to be 16 years old wihtout ever once having her tweeth cleaned or even brushed. When she died, her teeth were gleaming white, tartar free, and firmly anchored inhealthy pink gums. Genetics played a big part in that, but I really attribute it the fact that she loved to chew rawhides of all shapes. Now we are told about the dangers of rawhide, and JD is not a fan anyway, but I wish....

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Karen, I thought I had the answer for my guys with Antlers. WRONG! Big Murph managed to bit of a one inch splinter with a very sharp, pointy edge yesterday. Now I can't even let them have their antlers without supervision.

[Frannie & Callie]

That's so scary! I'm glad that JD wil be ok!

[Vicky & Cassidy]

I know this group is not a proponent of feeding "real" food to dogs, but if Cody has always had loose stool issues, it doesn't sound as though treats are the true culprit. You may consider getting him completely off kibble. Just think about it ~ he will love his new food, his teeth will gleem, I suspect any loose stool problems will disappear (which you will be able to tweak through his diet), his stools will be small and non-odorous, and I suspect he will be healthier.

Good luck.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

To the contrary, we are big proponents of feeding "real food" to dogs in this group, and many of us do so. We are also big proponents of the idea that there is no one "best" way to feed your dog.
However, even those of us here who feed strictly a "real" food diet do not do so with young puppies.

[LG & Sadie]

I didn't follow what would be the new food he would love-home cooked? We do home cooked plus Fromm four star kibble w our Sadie-but, we didn't do that her first year...she will be 4 in Feb. Her first year in order to settle her system we had to add a baby food rice cereal & water mixture to her food 2x a day on her Vet's recommendation, plus a prescription vitamin. I always hesitate to say much with a puppy involved...except I do know this, nylabones are not indestructible. Sadie ate a good size chunk of one as a puppy thinking it was an edible bone! She didn't digest it-she got sick awhile later, but she took only minutes in chewing a piece right off one of the large bones. Then, she never wanted another one-or showed an interest in one again. I guess I can see why. :-) Good luck to Amanda w Cody

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

In Peri's case, she still gets runnier poos after eating anything she doesn't normally eat. This includes bully sticks and other chews. We still give her those on occasion but tend to stick with certain treats like Darford, Cloudstar (and other similar healthy biscuit treats) and antlers. We love antlers :)

By the way lots of Food Groupers feed Orijen and have had good success (and nice poos!). Keep us posted on how the transition goes.

[Kim]

Most chews give my Allie soft stools, anything out of the ordinary. We give her antlers, and marrow bones, and sometimes she gets Himalayan dog chews and those seem to be fine for her. After figuring out what foods worked best for us, she has not had a single loose stool, thanks to the Food Group! I know how frustrating it is with constant loose stools. Hopefully the Orijen will help firm up his stools!!!

[Amanda and Cody]

Thank you everyone for the tips. I am so sorry to hear about Jackdoodle's horrible ordeal! Just to clarify, Cody's stools are mostly formed but always on the soft side. I hope the Orijen helps. I will try deer antlers. The Flossie was from Merrick and he has had them before with no problem. I am not used to a dog with a sensitive stomach. Is this inherent in the doodle breed? Our last dog was a golden retriever who could eat two crayons, a paper towel a slice of pizza and have no trouble! She had a stomach made of iron! I guess I will have to learn Cody's triggers. What is a Himilayan dog chew by the way? Thanks.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

http://www.himalayandogchew.com/
Those who've tried them swear by them. You can only find them in the private doggie boutiques.
Lots of doodles seem to have digestive issues, but that may just be our perception, since people ask about these things here in this group. Since doodles are not a breed, but a mix, there really doesn't seem to be anything that's common to all of them. I'm sure you'd find the same percentage of stomach issues in any gorup of dogs as you find in doodles. It's the individual dog.

[Bodie Bear]

I'm having the same soft and runny stool issue with my 7 month old Goldendoodle. In fact, we were back at the vet today for the 3rd time in a month trying to sort it all out. We feed Innova, but at this point I am ready to switch. I'm thinking home cooked may be the way I go.

[Julie & Wrigley]

I transitioned Wrigley (5.5 months) to Orijen based on this forum and it's been about a week and he's doing great! Not one loose stool. I didn't give him any bone-type chew toys for the first 6 days or so (until I was sure his poop would be fine) and I just gave him his bone back yesterday and his poop was fine today. I think the fact his food is agreeing w/ him makes his bone tolerable. I also bought the blue buffalo teeth cleaning bones and he loves them and they don't upset his stomach since they're basically chicken and rice. We got his some more rope toys the other day and playing tug-o-war with them seems to satisfy some of his chewing. He still prefers my shoes though!