Sensitive Stomach Diets?

I took Lucky to the vet today just to get his bordatella booster (now he's a big boy and 100% vaccinated!)

He's had some issues lately with really loose stools lately, but after 2 fecal exams, he's come up negative for parasites, so the vet is looking into diet issues. We're transitionining him from the rice and chicken baby food that he's been on lately (because regular dog food makes him runny ...) to Eukanuba Low Residue Formula - per the vet's suggestion.

I'm okay to transition him to the Eukanuba in the short term, because I think it is probably a lot more nutritionally balanced that rice and chicken, but I'd rather have him on a food that is a bit better than Eukanuba, without corn and meat byproducts.

Does anyone else have a dog or puppy with a sensative stomach? If so, I'd love to know what kibble you are using and if it is helping. I was at the NY Country Dog Fair today at Central Park (fun, but LOTS and lots of people ... we even met some Cavs!) .. I think the Fair was sponsored by Nutro. We got some samples of their sensitive stomach puppy formula - no byproducts and no corn which apparently is not good for dogs (the Eukanuba has corn).

I want to make sure I have Lucky on the best food for him. Any suggestions on what's worked for you if your dog has a sensitive tummy?

Jake had terrible tummy problems as a puppy. I finally got him on CA Natural chicken and rice. That's what worked for us along with a spoonful of pumpkin with his dinner.

Loose stools

I had a difficult time with Freckles this summer with runny stools-seemed like we lived at the vet's and the rest of the time spent cleaning the yard. I tried I/D, steamed hamb/rice and other various foods. Finally, I took in a 3rd stool to the vets and they sent it away and it came back coccidia. I also put him on ProPlan for sensitive stomachs (salmon, no corn). Treated for the coccidia-no more loose stools. All tummies are different and there are really
good ideas here. He also gets pumpkin twice a day. It is a total joy to be past that problem. Don't know if any of this helps.

i had a similar experience as freckles mom, zack had bloody diarrhea, loose or very soft stools, negative stool cultures (three different stool cultures, the last for coccidia, clostridium and something else), lots of flagyl, a couple of other meds for diarrhea, then the vomiting started after three weeks, more meds, ID diet, and trying other diets, but the thing that cured him was de-worming treatment with medication, Dontral Plus, an overnight cure. No diet would've cured the problem. But apparently (from reading these boards) lots of pups do have diet related sensitivities. Several people recommended Natural Balance duck and potato as a low allergen diet, saying they tried lots of things with no success until they tried that one, and that worked. (I tried it, but Zack had been fed home cooked chicken and rice exclusively for three weeks so he did not appreciate being switched to any dog food after that, dry or canned. he just walked away from NB duck and potato, and everything else too).

I understand about the runny stool issue too. Had it for months with Riley and all the vet tests came back negative for worms, coccidia, giardia, etc. So we tried changing him to CA Natural Chicken and Rice adult dog food (per a wonderful suggestion by one of the forum members ) with a little pumpkin and that worked for him!
Also, we had to keep him from eating the leaves, twigs, berries, and grass in our yard. Not an easy task, still isn't as he will eat anything, but this also seemed to contribute to his sensitive tummy problems and lead to diarrhea. If Lucky is a "hoover dog" :v*cuum: and eats everything he can find, this may too be aggravating a sensitive tummy.
Hope that helps Lani.

I have also had luck with ProPlan for yucky puppy tummys. It was reccomended by my vet.

California Natural lamb and rice or chicken and rice are both good for food sensitivities, because there are not many ingredients in the food.

If that doesn't help, I would try slowly changing to Innova Evo, for some reason our dogs' poop stays consistently form on Evo.

Wow! Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I am going to have to look into the California Natural - sounds like it works great!

I agree with Cathy try the California Natural Chicken/rice. I've heard some really good things bout it. Also Evo is good to and I can honestly say since King has been eating Innova Evo he hasn't had a loose poop. nice firm (yet smelly :lol: ) poop

Thank you So much !

You're an angel. So what are you using now? I copied and pasted all the suggestions onto one page, which I will take with me when I shop for food. Have you visited Tia Bella's? Some one, may have been you told me about it when I was looking for puppia harnesses. There's a link there for Life's Abundance - Nature's Variety food that looked interesting. But I don't want to start trying all different things through the mail, have hefty shipping charges, unless I know Tucker will eat it. According to my vet anytime new dog food is introduced it has to be done gradually or it will upset the tummy. I definitely think Tucker has a sensitive Tummy. I have a niece with Crohns disease and she told me she think's he has Crohns. She may not be faroff if Cavaliers are prone to colitis.

Gosh, although I love this website, and cannot say how much I appreciate all the good advice I've gotten, it's also scary. I love Tucker so much, it sounds like Cavaliers are sickly dogs? Although the Vet says he's healthy and looks great and he runs around like a champion. Tucker too eats everything in the back yard. He grazes. Its the first thing he does when he goes outdoors is head for grass or some type of foliage, which I've put some effort into getting rid of (I might add). This is leading me to believe he needs something in his diet that he is not getting. I've been feeding him IAMS dry dog food, and I'm convinced this does not agree with him. Even though he's been eating it since he was a puppy. But, he's also had what I thought was a sensitive Tummy since he was a puppy. Could the right food would remedy the problem? I don't want to start giving too many antibiotics unless there's a diagnosed need, Flagyl is something my niece with Crohn's takes. I prefer to switch food before I go the medication route. By the way, a couple of times his loose stool was almost milky or mucousy? Oh my God, I cannot believe I'm typing a long message about dog poop. Two years ago I could not have imagined how important this topic would become to me!!!

Canned pumpkin, like pie filling??

Also try using something OTHER than chicken as the protein source. Chicken or beef are often allergy or sensitivity culprits, as are additives, or grains. Try fish, lamb, duck -- dome other protein source in the food. And a good quality food without lots of additives.

Home cooked or raw diets also often resolve sensitive stomachs.

Thanks Karlin.

For some of the others who are having the sensitive tummy issues - I wanted to clarify that the Canned pumpkin should be JUST pumpkin - not pie filling that might have spices added. If you are uncertain then it is a good idea to just check the label for ingredients to be sure.

And Joanne - I am still using the Eukanuba Prescription diet that my vet gave me (Low Residue). I don't love it because it does not have human quality ingredients, it does have corn and by-products, but except for one setback it seems to have been working. If it stops working I might change it but I can deal with it for now. If I had not been put on this and had it be working, I would have probably gone to the CA Naturals Chicken and Rice, since Lucky tends to do well on Chicken baby food and Rice, so I don't think the protein source is his issue.

Pumpkin

The pumpkin is plain canned pumpkin. Pumpkin mix has added ingredients.
Someone had mentioned putting the pumpkin in ice cube trays and freezing-terrific idea.

Do you give the frozen pumpkin as a treat? Or is the purpose of the ice trays just to ration out the daily portion?

the kind that's NOT pie filling, just plain canned pumpkin. lots of people say it helps. i think it made zack's stool looser. i used the ice tray because i would only give a little bit at a time and it could go bad in the can, or absorb the can material.

you're wise to not start getting into buying a lot of different foods and trying them on him. i did that with Zack and ended up with a cupboard full of premium kibble bags almost full that zack refused to eat.
:lpy:

i have the same experience as Aaron, on Innova Evo, zack's stool went from being softish, though usually not smearing, i could pick it up without smearing it (oh boy! the thrill of it all), to being firm and actually on the hard side and appearing dry, although it had some moisture. i don't know why but Evo has that effect on him.

and yes, i'm sitting here thinking how can i be typing these words, the details of zack's poop. but the diarrhea/colitis experiecne was so traumatic ($1100 in vet bills, fear and depression of helplessness to cure him, cleaning poo off the rug), i gained a whole different perspective on the subect, i am forever changed, it seems. It's kind of weird to know you're among people who share this interest. :lol:

you really might find this webpage informative:
http://www.roycroftcavaliers.com/manualfeeding.htm

I'm having good luck :xfngr: with Canidae for Bentley. Prior to feeding Canidae he was eating Artemis Small Breed and was doing well on that also.

Bentley has intermittent bouts with bloody runs and very loud tummy noises. Knock on wood, since feeding both the Canidae and Artemis he hasn't had an attack in quite a while!

Oddly, after intermittent runny tums with Holly, Amber has the digestion of a camel. Nothing seems to phase it- although having said that, she's only fed good stuff and I've learnt from first experience. When Holly was about five months, by dad ignored me totally and insisted on feeding her HUGE chunks of turkey. I mean, it would have been too much turkey for a person, let alone a little pup! The mess the following morning had to be seen to be believed. This time round Mum and I watch him like hawks and shout at him if he tries giving either of them something unsuitable. He seems to operate on the principle that if they like it, they can eat it! :roll:

I think fish is a great protein source. Holly's poops have been much more what I consider normal dog poo since giving her a salmon based kibble. It even smells like salmon... :lol:

Joanne - don't be alarmed by all of the problems you read about. Remember that most of the time we post questions about problems it's because we are having a problem. The majority of Cavaliers don't have problems. I think Cavaliers just tend to have sensitive stomachs. My friend has a poodle that can eat anything (including a whole bag of gummy worms...grosss!...and never have a problem). I went the whole route with upset tummy with Jake, thought it would never end...but it did. I think he just eventually outgrew it. I had him on Purina prescription e/n (for gastrointestinal problems) for a good year. I wasn't wild about the food but at least it settled the tummy problems. Once his tummy settled I very gradually (and I mean literally very gradually, to the extent of changing fives pieces and increasing it by a couple of pieces a day over a period of about 3 weeks!!) changed him over to CA Natural chicken and rice. This food was suggested to me because it has very few ingredients. That's what finally worked for us. Both of mine also get a spoonful of pumpkin, a probiotic and an enzyme with their meals. Knock on wood...it's been ages since we've had a tummy problem.

Thank you Everyone

Lani, Sorry for hi-jacking your post and thank you for the help. Thanks Karlin, Judy and Cathy. Excellent reading in that link Judy. Cathy, my vet gave Tucker the Purina, Prescription e/n too, black can? Tucker loves it. But what about treats? Tucker likes, apples, carrots, cheerios. I may try them as treats and I'll definitely try the pumpkin. I'll call the vet see if I can get him the purina e/n, and give his tummy time to heal. I guess I'll start feeding him once a day. He's a piggy with the e/n and gobbled it up so fast, I gave him smaller portions three times a day. How much of the can did you give, whole can in a day or less? I'll just have to watch him. I may need to start off feeding him twice a day, half a cup each time and when the newness of the canned food wears off, work towards feeding him once a day as the article suggested. Any thoughts on that people? It's great not to be alone with this. My cousin has a puggle, and her father brings him a Dunkin Donuts bag with 2-3 munchkins each time he visits. IMAGINE and here I am trying so hard to only give Tucker nutritious foods and he gets the runs every other week. I also might add that if I spent this energy on giving myself proper nutrition, I wouldn't be the fat lump of lard I've become in the past few years!

Joanne, no worries about hijacking the thread - I posted it a month and a half ago, but I sent you the link because I know you were asking about foods for Tucker. So no worries, the way I see it, many of us are dealing with sensitive tummies and colitis, so I think it's great that you are asking these questions and while perhaps I've been dealing with it longer than you, I'm still searching for information myself so I've really appreciated getting everyone's feedback too.

I can't believe either how fascinated I've become with firm poo and making it happen ...

Regarding treats - I try to only let Lucky have his kibble as treats. In obedience class that is what we use. I find that any time I let someone else give LUcky a treat (like the trainer in obedience class or a clerk at a pet store) he gets soft poo. It may be a coincidence, but maybe not and I figure why chance it.

And :rotfl: regarding spending this much energy on giving ourselves proper nutrition. Before I got Lucky my sister had a little mixed breed dog (still does) and when she wanted to get serious about diet and exercise she'd say her goal for the week was to treat herself as well as she treats Razz!! Food for thought for all of us. :flwr: