Thank you everyone for your posts - I really appreciate your advice and support. The vet says she needs to check with the Hills rep about long term use of i/d but she said she was going to do that after the first attempt to switch (to Fish4Dogs puppy food) and as she has said it again after Thursdays disaster after attempting to switch to Hills Puppy food, she obviously hadn't. I am not sure why Red can't stay on it long term. It really suits her. It is turkey based. I have checked the ingredients of everything and can't find anything obvious. The Fish4Dogs is basically fish and potato, the Hills Puppy is 30% chicken. The Arden Grange she was originally on before the very first disastrous weekend of diarrhoea is chicken and rice. I keep thinking it is chicken that is the problem but the fish upset her too. However, I also use the i/d kibble for treating when training and that is 16% chicken so that disproves my feelings it is chicken that upsets her. (I don't give her anything else for rewards which makes it hard when Recall training, as this isn't sufficient to make her come back from where she is sniffing in the grass - it is proving difficult to get a good recall. Sticking point for me currently). I am going to stick to the i/d until vet advises otherwise as it really suits Red - her poos are firm and she is a happier dog - the diarrhoea episodes just drain her of energy and I hate to see her like that.
Poor Red. At least the i/d suits her, but it would be easier for you if you knew the cause. It must be very draining for you too.
Yes I really would like to know the cause - I am just pleased I have food to give her which suits her. The diarrhoea really upsets me and pushes me back towards the puppy blues I have had since we got her when I just want to go forward. It is hard - thank you for acknowledging.
While I think it's preferable for a puppy to be on puppy food, if you can't find one that suits her it's not going to help much her being on puppy food anyway! Give the makers of the prescription food a call or email them and ask. Although appreciate they might not answer a question about prescription food as you really are meant to have a vet recommendation to feed it - so you could just really push the vet to give you an answer (time to be a bit of an awkward owner perhaps ).
Hills have responded to my email. They say 'Hills Prescription Diet i/d Canine is suitable for puppies and formulated for growth'. They add a dry/wet chart too. She is currently on wet food with kibble as treats but I'd like to move her over to kibble but will take my time over this as do not want to upset anything for her.
I had a similar issue to yours with my chocolate lab. After weeks of stomach issues, my vet recommended not feeding any type of poultry to my dog. We switched over to a lamb based food and she never had another issue for her entire life. Whenever we would have to board her, the boarding place would occasionally feed her a chicken based treat. She would immediately get a stomach issue. I would try to avoid any chicken based product if possible. It can't hurt to try. Funny thing is we have had three other labs since this one and none of them have ever had a sniff of chicken. We just remember those frustrating days of having a sick puppy. I hope you get it all sorted out soon. Your story brings back memories with our pup. It's tough to go through.
That's interesting. In a book about caninie nutrition called "Dog Food Logic" by Linda Case, the author explores common food allergies that dogs suffer from. The summary is that a chicken allergy is just as common as wheat. Yet most dog food contains chicken, even if the main ingredient is another protein source.
Thank you for reading my post and sorry you had to go through a similar experience. Since I posted about the diarrhoea, I have switched Red onto Symply Large Breed Puppy food which is turkey based. So far so good and that is all she has. I use the kibble for training too. I am steering clear of chicken as I can only conclude that is what was upsetting her. I am going to try some roast turkey for high value treats but not for a few more weeks. I am not brave enough to risk upsetting her stomach.
