Since first being weaned, Hero has been found to have sensitivity and intolerance to certain foods, so it's been a case of trial and error to give him a balanced diet which doesn't upset his stomach. At 7 months he went on to Skinner's and has been happy and healthy up until about two weeks ago. He was reluctant to eat his kibble. At first we put it down to the heat and changeable weather, plus he was able to start being introduced to people coming round again and other lockdown easings. So maybe few anxieties coming in. But he would still eat treats and other foods being used for training. Contacted vet for advice. They checked him over but couldn't find anything obvious, so to monitor and see what happens for few days. Then suddenly liquid diarrhoea started. But no other symptoms. And it was only at his two usual times if day, no frantic pacing or any other signs of discomfort or distress beforehand. Hero was put on usual bland diet, little and often to try to settle his stomach. Tests done, no nasties, but diarrhoea still happening twice a day. Hero himself is eating his bland diet fine, drinking well, running about and playing and all the usual things you would expect from a 13 month lab. His coat is glossy, bright eyes, gums nice and pink, no skin issues. So back to vets again this morning where he has had another full examination and more tests ordered. Examination hasn't shown up anything which could be a problem. He's been given probiotic sachets to have daily, to continue with bland diet and then wait for results of tests, but the vet is wondering if this is another case of him developing an intolerance to one or more ingredients in his food and has suggested that once they can settle him back to more formed poops we should try something different. This is where I am at a loss. She suggested Purina Proplan and if he still has problems they will look at a specially formulated mix for him. The other consideration is raw but I wouldn't know where to start with that. Any help and advice welcome please
Hi Mummyp, This sounds similar to what we went through with Luna at 5 months. She was on Simpsons premium kibble and was healthy poops and no intolerance's. Then all of a sudden one day she started having diarrhoea, she didn't show any signs of discomfort and as Hero was at her usual poop times. Her tests came back clear and the vet gave us hills prescription food, this was wet food and helped as was for digestion but once off it came back. We were thinking about raw and weather or not to switch. This was the kick we needed and started using Natural Instinct. We didn't wean over to it as she had a funny tummy so we thought best just to go for it. First poop after she started it was perfect. Safe to say we haven't looked back and she LOVES it. I hope you find something that works for poor Hero x
Toby had stomach issues very early on. Nothing helped until after his chemo finished we switched to raw for other reasons. That was last Sept. Haven’t had a single loose stool since despite the rubbish he eats out of the house sometimes. I use Nutriment complete meals. A chub lasts 2 days. You may need to be a bit careful with which protein you use as a lot of dogs struggle with raw chicken. Toby has duck or salmon/turkey. According to the raw websites he should have more variety but I’m sticking with that for the moment. He gets the occasional raw egg/ marrow bones/ dried sprats as training treats. He also loves raw veg especially broccoli/carrots and a few blueberries. He eats better than we do! Given what he has been through I hesitate to say he is very healthy.
Just an update on Hero's stomach issues. Vet just called to say that all Hero's test results have come back clear of any nasties requiring further treatment so that's one good thing. Looking even more likely to be a food intolerance now. After 7 days on the probiotic powders and a gradual transition back onto kibble, things looking ok so far. Poops all back to normal, so due to difficulty getting hold of smaller bag of the Proplan to trial we ended up with Arden Grange white fish and vegetable based kibble (no legumes present). Hero's stomach still settled. Vet wants to keep him on it with no introduction of anything else for 6 weeks to make sure it has worked ok. She will check on him again every couple of weeks to see how he's going. So fingers crossed and bonus of no smelly gas clearing the room.
Update on stomach issues. Just been to vets for booster vaccinations. She did full examination and health check on Hero. Very pleased with how he's getting on. I was concerned that with a food with quite high carb content of potatoes and sweet potato with the white fish, he would have put on loads of weight and not having access to regular weighing during the current climate wasn't able to monitor easily, but vet says he has only put on half a kilo since the days of weight loss during the days of diarrhoea so no need to adjust amounts he is having. She said he's lovely and lean at 32.9 kg as he is tall. She said the fact he is entire will also help him maintain his weight. We discussed the fact that I only want him neutered if medical reason dictates and she completely agreed. We are lucky to have a vet who doesn't try to push us in to it. Vet also commented on how well he behaved and that he seems a lot calmer. He tried on a wasp last week and got stung which the vets monitored in case of reactions because of his other sensitivities, but no problems there. We've managed to successfully introduce a real stinky wet fish based food for high value treat and he loves it. So all in all, touch wood, things are all looking good at the moment.
Hi - interested to read this. My Barney will be two years in October. He had a dodgy system for many months when he was a puppy requiring frequent vet visits, but nothing terrible was found. Changed his diet several times and eventually settled on Hills Prescription diet. He was ok on that, but about 5 months ago we decided to switch him again so that he and our other lab were on the same food. He was even better on the new stuff - never had such solid poo! But, last Saturday he started with the diarrhoea and like your dog, no other symptoms - no accidents, no vomiting etc. Just going to the toilet at his usual time, but producing soup. I'm taking him to the vet later today, but just wondering if the new food is causing issues after such a long time? 5 months of no issues seems like it might be unlikely to be the new food causing this. Any ideas? A raw diet seems too daunting for me and to buy in for my two big boys would be very expensive (I wouldn't one of them on it and the other not!). Incidentally, when I was googling this stuff this morning I came across an FDA investigation into grain free dog food which contains white and sweet potato (and some other veggie stuff) and a possible link to canine cardiomyopathy. - Just thought I would mention as you said your dog is on a food containing potatoes.
