TRIED EVERYTHING - my pup is still having diarrhea all the time!

[Alex]

Hello All! I searched and searched to find a group like this in hopes you all can help me! I have a 6.5 month old F1 male goldendoodle named Lincoln. We got him at 8 weeks from the breeder who had him on Eukanuba. He was a little irregular so we switched him to Blue Buffalo around 3 months...which was disastrous. After weeks of diarrhea we tried switching him back to Eukanuba, it didn't go away. So we did the chicken and rice thing, the pumpkin, the probiotics, etc. NOTHING WORKS! Since then, I have tried him on Taste of the Wild (salmon) - still irregular. A few goldendoodle owners at the park swear by Fromm so for the past month I've had him on that, still...constant diarrhea. In between all of this we have had multiple vet appointment: stool samples, stomach x-ray, blood tests for giardia, antibiotics, Rx probiotics, you name it, we've tried it. At this point the vet wants him to be on a prescription diet for the rest of his lift which I was totally on-board for until I read on this site it doesn't really work? Everything came back negative from his tests. He's a super happy, playful, active puppy his stools are just terrible. I bought NutriSource on the recommendation for a limited protein from a few people but haven't tried it yet. I've had him on chicken and rice for a week to try and stabilize him but I'm so scared of getting feeding him something that will upset his stomach again. Any advice or suggestions are more than welcome!

[Alex]

I forgot to add - the only reason why I have not tried a limited ingredient pup food (like Wellness Simple or Fromm Gold Star Limited) is that they are for adults, not puppy specific. As he is so young, I would like to keep him on puppy food if possible. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Okay, first, I'm glad you didn't try the Nutrisource, because it is not a recommended brand and isn't going to help. 

What you have to realize is that "Fromm", "Taste of the Wild", "Blue Buffalo" etc are just names, brand names. Within any brand, there are dozens of different formulas: some with grains, some without grains, some with limited ingredients, all with different protein sources, etc. One Fromm formula might work for your dog and another one won't. Maybe chicken doesn;t work for your dog but maybe lamb would. Maybe he'd do better without grains. Maybe he needs lower fat content, or higher fiber, or higher protein. So instead of thinking in terms of changing brands every time something doesn;t work, you need to start thinking in terms of individual formulas, and the ingredients in them. If one chicken and rice formula doesn't agree with him, it's very unlikely that a chicken and rice formula from a different company is going to be any better.

I know you mentioned in one comment that you had tried probiotics, but the type of probiotic is important. Have you tried Proviable? If not, please order some today. (It's not available in stores). Rx probiotics are usually not very good and contain some lousy preservatives and flavoring agents.

The problem with Rx food is that although they are very expensive,  the ingredients are really cheap and lousy, and dangerous in some cases, and Rx foods contain no medicinal or therapeutic ingredients. You can feed a much better diet for less money. There's no reason that a 6 mo old puppy (or any young dog) should have to eat Rx food for the rest of his life, unless he has been diagnosed with a serious kidney, liver or intestinal disease, and not even then in many cases. 

I'd try a grain-free limited ingredient diet (LID) dfrom one of the brands on our recommended list. Something like Wellness Simple Solutions Salmon or Turkey or Zignature's Turkey formula. Your pet supply store should allow you to exchange the unopened bag of Nutrisource. There is no problem with feeding an all life stages (They're not just for adults, but for all ages) formula rather than a "puppy" specific formula. Many puppies never get "puppy" food. The vet's Rx food isn't going to be puppy specific either. 

[Alex]

Thank you very much for the advice. I guess I just bought into the advertisements that puppy food was "necessary". I'll go out and purchase the Wellness Simple Turkey and Potato today. I really appreciate the feedback and hope it works!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Please be sure to order the Proviable, too. Dogs with digestive problems are usually lacking a good strong colony of beneficial gut bacteria, and that's necessary for proper stool formation. In the meantime, I'd add a couple of tablespoons of plain unflavored non-fat yogurt to his meals. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

We had to give Yeti wellness LID salmon and it has been a god send! We also had him in a very strong probiotic (thank you Karen!) which made a huge difference too! Now that yeti has been feeling better we freeze plain yogurt and give him 1 yogurt cube and 1 pumpkin cube as treats! He just loves them :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm so glad Yeti is doing better. Did you use the VSL#3 probiotic? That did wonders for JD, too. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Yes!! Absolutely with EVERY penny!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

We used it for Charlie when we got him - Definitely worth EVERY penny.  We only needed it for about 4 - 6 weeks rather than permanently, but we needed it once again when he had a relapse.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I was hoping you'd chime in Nancy!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

For Jack, too.

Alex, we're talking about a human probiotic called VSL#3 that is also known to be very effective for dogs with digestive issues. It's helped several dogs here who had chronic diarrhea, including Haley's Yeti. You might want to try it instead of the Proviable, it's much stronger. You can buy it without a prescription at drugstores; call around in your area. I get it at CVS. You want the capsules, not the sachets. It must be kept refrigerated and it's very pricey, but it sure seems to do the job. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Karen, we are getting another puppy probably this time next year. I realize it is very far off but I try to be a planner haha. Do you think the VSL is bad to give a 8-10 week old puppy. Just trying to avoid a lot of the issues we had with Yeti right off the bat. It's just been something I've been thinking about and it seems like a good time to ask!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I wouldn't use it unless there's an issue like you had with Yeti, and when you get closer to getting a new pup, we can plan ahead for how to avoid digestive issues proactively.