Suddenly Pudding for poops. STILL

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

Bella and Murphy have been on Canidae, ALS,  Chicken, Turkey, Lamb and Fish formula for a few months and have been doing well.  I changed to the Chicken and Rice about 3 weeks ago adding it to about 1/4 mix of the first formula for a while and they are completely on the chicken and rice for about 2 weeks now.  SInce going to that one totally, Bella has had very soft-pudding consistancy stools and Murphy has the worst gas and belching he's ever had. She has had  pumpkin for about 10 days and I am cooking a chicken and rice stew for her now.

Can just changing formulas of the same brand cause this in dogs? So strange. Murphy even snubbed his nose at his dinner last night which is a first for him. My two eat absolutely anything and never have problems. I am going back to the Chic, Turkey, lamb, fish again and see what develops. Just wondering if it has happened to anyone else with other brands/formulas.

 

Well Bella either never really did have a few firm poops and it was Murphy's all along, or she did and the pudding poop is back. I am almost done with a small bag of Orijen. Going to home cook boiled ground beef and veggies now and see what happens. I would even go to raw after that if need be, but I am still thinking it's an undetected parasite and not food.

To top it all off, she is now pooping in the house any time and any place she chooses. WTD?  I was tolerant when I felt she wasn't able to hold it, but now it's looking like a housebreaking issue. I am so over POOP!

 

[Kate]

My two mini labradoodles had diarrhea very badly when I first got them. I thought it was a switch in diet, home, etc. but after a month or so, got it diagnosed as coccidiosis, which we treated. However, they still got diarrhea very often, up to three years later, and when they did, it was a household disaster. After messing with food (they only eat good quality grain free), adding yoghurt and pumpkin (no effect except to make me feel good), using vet-provided probiotics (no difference, and double-blind studies of commercially available human probiotics have showed that they aren't worth much), etc. etc. I was about to do a fecal transfer with my daughter's healthy dog, when they spontaneously cleared up. They revert occasionally if they eat something particularly gross (carnivore poop on walks)--  I don't know what the story is, but I'm glad it's better!  Good luck with yours!

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

Well of course the vet filled a bottle of Panacur for me yesterday and before I even went to get it, Bella has had perfect poops since yesterday afternoon. I will just have to watch now and see if going to the Wellness Simple Solutions keeps her firm and if not, I am going to use the Panacur.  I am glad to have it on hand anyway as this could very well be her second bout of giardia in 8 months, so it's good insurance.

 

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

So we are back to mucousy pudding poops after 5 days of perfect poops. I started the panacur today, so I hope that straightens her out. I also have been very careful with treats, but gave her a Virbac C.E.T Dental Chew and the third ingredient says poultry digest, whatever THAT is. We are still ruling out sensitivity to chicken or poultry in general, so maybe that is what's doing it. Will just keep plugging away here as see if we can solve this mystery.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

"Digest", "Animal Digest", "Poultry Digest", etc. is included in The Dog Food Project's List of

Ingredients to Avoid. It's used as a flavoring agent (keeping in mind that dogs love disgusting things), and here's what it is:

Digest
May also appear as dried, or spray dried. Sometimes the type and part of animals used is specified, such as in "Chicken Digest", "Lamb Digest" or "Poultry Liver Digest"

AAFCO: Material which results from chemical and/or enzymatic hydrolysis of clean and undecomposed animal tissue. The animal tissues used shall be exclusive of hair, horns, teeth, hooves and feathers, except in such trace amounts as might occur unavoidably in good factory practice and shall be suitable for animal feed. .

A cooked-down broth made from specified, or worse, unspecified parts of specified or unspecified animals (depending on the type of digest used). If the source is unspecified (e.g. "Animal" or "Poultry", the animals used can be obtained from any source, so there is no control over quality or contamination. Any kind of animal can be included: "4-D animals" (dead, diseased, disabled, or dying prior to slaughter), goats, pigs, horses, rats, misc. roadkill, animals euthanized at shelters, restaurant and supermarket refuse and so on.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

that's so gross. I learned about animal digest from this site when I searched for fortiflora, which the vet had sold me. I returned it hte next day and picked up something more natural for a fraction of the price at the pet store.

 

it's shocking the things they can get away with putting in dog food.

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

No wonder she has the poops. This is really worse than I thought. These are so highly recommended for dogs dental health. I just don't get it. Kind of makes me mad that these companies can get away with this stuff and our poor babies suffer. Well, they won't be getting these anymore. Otherwise I have her on the Wellness Simple Solutions and will get Murphy on it as well as I don;'t like having to get two different foods for them.

Thanks Karen.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Looking at the list of manufacturers of the approved products, I just wonder if veterinary dental specialists are as deeply influenced by the dog food companies as regular vets are. There are some really questionable companies on this list. The VOHC states on the website that they do not do their own testing or studies.

[Megann Eichner]

Poop seems to be such an issue for doodles.  Thor has had problems almost since we got him.  He had Giardia, and the the vet said he also had something like colitis.  It has only been lately that his poop has actually been normal, that is until I tried to switch him onto the Orijen Large Breed Puppy food.  Today the poop is back to being like pudding, and he even had a small accident in his crate.  Back to the Nutro large breed puppy food that we have been feeding him.  I'm so frustrated that I just don't know what to do.  I also gave him a proviable capsule which I got from the Vet, hoping that this will help.  He goes to the vet next week for his Bordatella, so I will be taking another poop sample in then.  Hope things will improve before that.

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

How many days did you give him the Orijen? Did you switch him cold turkey or did you mix the foods? How old is he and how long was he on Nutro?

It generally takes a few days for the poop to firm up after switching from a food with grains to a grain-free, and it takes longer if you mix foods.

[Megann Eichner]

I started him on it a day and a half ago.  I realize that's not that long ago, but I tend to panic because we have had such issues with hi in the past.  All this for a dog who is only just over 8 months old.  I have been mixing it with his old food, at about a quarter to 1 ratio.  Do you think I should switch over cold turkey?  I was afraid that would cause too much distress in his stomach.  He has been on the Nutro since we brought him home in December, and that is what the breeder was feeding him.  Thanks for any advice you can give me.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd switch him cold turkey and be prepared for a few days of loose poop, but not more than a week. However, if Thor has colitis or IBS, he may need to be on a limited ingredient formula. How long was it that his poop was normal following the giardia? 

There is also no need to feed a large-breed formula, and it may not even be necessary to feed puppy food at this age. It depends if his skeletal growth is complete.

If his poop doesn't firm up after a week on straight Orijen, you may need to choose another food.

[Megann Eichner]

Thanks Karen,

His poop has been normal for almost a  month now since we finished with the metronidazole for the giardia(Panacur never worked for it with him) and the antibiotic for the colitis.  He has been off those medicines for a month, so the poop has been good for about that long.  I  guess he needed large breed since he is over 60 pounds.  He has always been on a large breed formula.  I'm not sure if he's done with his skeletal growth.  How do you know?  This is our first dog, so both my husband and I feel so lost sometimes;)