Ugh, poop pudding.

[Renee Hacker]

So Lily was spayed a couple of weeks ago.  She's 7 months now.  Thought I'd try to vary the protein in her diet.  We were using BB Chicken & Rice with no issues but it was time to buy a new bag so I bought BB Lamb & Oatmeal this time instead.  Did the slow transition over a week and then switched over 100%.  We now have poop pudding.  Or half poop pudding technically.  The first half of her stools are fine, then they turn to mush.  Could it be the food not agreeing with her?  Do I wait it out or go back to the Chicken & Rice formula?  Or do you think I need to have the vet check a stool sample just in case? 

Ugh.  Pudding piles are not very easy to clean up in the back yard.  Although our frigid cold March temps makes it a bit easier. :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Is there anything else different in her diet? 

Was she taking meds after the spay? Antibiotics and/or pain meds can upset the digestion, so if you changed the food right after that, that could be the reason. 

Otherwise, I'd say the food isn't agreeing with her. For a long time I thought JD needed rice in his diet, his stools would get very loose without it. But he outgrew it.

Go back to the chicken formula, cold turkey, and give her some plain unflavored fat free yogurt, a couple of tablespoons twice a day. If the stools get back to normal, it was probably the new food, and possibly the meds. If not, she needs a fecal. 

[Star and Goldie]

Goldie can go back and forth from BB chicken and rice to BB lamb and oatmeal without a problem and since they are in the same line and same brand I don't do any kind of mixing transition but all dogs are different so maybe something in the lamb and oatmeal isn't setting well with her. I just picked up a bag of one of BB's grain free versions and she really seems to like that. I got the Basics limited ingredient turkey and potato and her poop is better than ever... she always had softer stool on the other BB products but nothing major.

It never hurts to do a fecal exam to play it safe!

[Renee Hacker]

Nothing else different in her diet.  She did have meds after the surgery, yes.  Can't remember the name, an anti-inflammatory for 4 days.  They gave her soft stools so we had metronidazole for 5 days as well.  Everything firmed up and then that following week is when I started changing the food.  Really poor timing in hindsight, but it just so happened that we were running out of food about that time.  Darn, that was pretty dumb of me, huh? 

OK, tomorrow morning it's back to the chicken & rice and yogurt.  Here's hoping that straightens it out.  Thanks Karen!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yeah, chances are the meds really did a number on her GI tract. It's a good idea to always give yogurt or a good probiotic any time a dog is taking metronidazole or any antibiotic. The antibiotics kill all of the good bacteria in the gut along with the bad, and that can cause digestive problems. A lot of dogs develop diarrhea after the metronidazole is discontinued. And apparently, the anti-inflammatory caused some Gi issues, too, which is common.  It sounds like her GI tract is irritated and the food is passing through too quickly. 

Keep us posted. If she doesn;t improve, you may need to put her on homecooked chicken and sweet potatoes with the yogurt for a few days. 

[Renee Hacker]

So will it make it worse if I switch back to the chicken & rice cold turkey tomorrow?  Should I keep the food the same and just add some yogurt?  Just hate to cause MORE problems... 

Darn, I thought human babies were hard...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I don't think going back to the chicken and rice formula will make it any worse. It may not make a difference at all. Kibble is harder to digest than soft homecooked food, but you at least know that she was fine with that food before, whereas she's never really eaten the new formula when her GI tract was healthy, so we don't really know if that's adding to the problem. . 

[Michele Follger]

Sunny always has runny poo when she eats lamb. We have tried it a few times and always the same result.

[Anne & Mr. Haley]

Just a thought, when I eat lamb it's like taking a laxative.  lol

[Renee Hacker]

OK, back to the BB Chicken & Rice this morning with a plain yogurt topping.  Interesting about the lamb reactions.  I personally have never had it and I don't think I've ever fed it to a dog before this.  Down the road after we get all this straightened out I may give it one more shot just to see if it is the food or if it was just the meds.  But I'm going to let her tummy calm down for a bit first.

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Please, let us know how it goes with being back on the BB chicken/rice!

[Debi and Monty Moose]

Renee.....How is Lily doing back on the BB Chicken and Rice or did you try something else?  I have had Monty on the BB Chicken and Rice for the last three months, but his stools are also very soft...to almost runny at times...and VERY hard to pick up!  I am trying to decide if I need to switch and if so...to what?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Debi, you might try a grain-free formula. I think Monty's case is different from Lily's in that Lily was fine on the food prior to taking antibiotics, which can cause loose stools. Monty wasn't on meds that caused the loose stools, it may just be that, like many dogs, he doesn't do well with grains.