[brooke r]

I have 1 1/2 yr old German Shepard that we got last Sept.. since then she’s had episodes of diarrhea, about 6-8, 4 of which we took her to the vet because she was having bad abdominal pain(When you touched her stomach she’s yelp). The other times, it passed with her eating a lot of grass then rice and chicken for the day or two after. (She tires to lick all the hair off floor and eat anything when she goes into these fits, as she like licks the air).
Im thinking I need to switch her food, been reading a lot about German Shepard with their stomach issues! What should I be looking at for protein, fat, and carb percent’s? My understanding is a moderate fat of 17-23 is ideal .
She’s on Natures Variety Raw boost duck (and turkey I believe, whichever is the duck one). It seems to have higher carbs then some other options(Are these harder on her stomach??).
Ideally, I’d feed her and my Belgian Milionis the same food, but can do separate.
Not crazy after Blue Buffalo /Royal Cainin/ Science Diet.
Each time we’ve gone into the emergency room, they don’t seem to care what I’m feeding her, and they don’t have any recommendations… just give her a nausea shot and then send me home with diarrhea pills and tell me to come back the next day if she doesn’t start feeling better.
Have a pet store, so the options to get basically any food is there, just so confused.. each company reps tells me their food is best for her obviously.. but not totally sold that nurto max is the best lol.
I already give her a probiotic spray on her kibble, and going to start giving her Great Life enzymes pro(digestive enzymes).
Raw is unfortunately not an option ( great for my chi mix but can’t afford it for the big ones!)
thanks so much for ANY help!!!!

[brooke r]

Also, she was on Orijen Six Fish and Acana Wild Prairie when we first got her, made the switches cold turkey(never been a problem for my mal), and she’s never gotten diarrhea in the couple weeks after switching, so her stomach doesn’t seem overly sensitive really, just like something else is going on? She already eats out of a slow bowl since she inhales food otherwise.

[Pitlove]

Any reason for the change from Orijen/Acana? Both are very good quality foods. Did she do well on those foods?

A lot of people who work at big box stores don’t have a lot of knowledge of dog nutrition and only go based off what others recommend or brands they have heard to be good quality and that can range from a variety of foods based on opinion. There are some people who DO have a grasp on dog nutrition but they are few and far between.

Personally, I’d consult with a holisitic vet if I were in your shoes. It seems like a lot more is going on with your dog than what meets the eye, especially with the strange symptoms you’re describing. If your regular vet is just sending you home with pills and not asking questions, its time for a new vet. It’d be like you going to a therapist, telling them you have anxiety and you walking out with a presciption and them having asked no questions to find the root cause. I’m sure you wouldn’t go back to that therapist. I know I wouldn’t.

• This reply was modified 9 years, 6 months ago by Pitlove.

[Susan]

Hi, sounds like IBD, you need to find a good vet that knows the breed & knows about IBD, a few vet are useless when it comes to IBD a good vet spots IBD straight away …..try lowering the fat sounds like Acid reflux with the licking the air & licking the floor, high fat diets are no good for acid reflux….also kibble isn’t good for acid reflux… what I do is I soak the low fat-10% Hypoallergenic, Gluten, Sugar & Dairy FREE kibble, when the kibble is swollen, I drain all water then I put thru a blender comes out like wet tin food but its not soggy the soaked kibble seems to fluff up this seems help with digestion & the acid reflux also I give Zantac tablet 1/3tablet every 12 hours 1 hour before eating but lately I’ve been giving Mylanta 3-5mls in syringe 30 mins before food or if I see him with discomfort (having to rub his stomach after eating)…. you can also try Famotidine (Pepcid) ant acid meds or the liquid Pepto bismol …you can get from chemist….. Zantac is better as Zantac doesn’t affect the bowel where all the other ant acid tablets can affect the bowel…. with kibble try a kibble that’s around 10%min fat so max % will be around 12-13% if I go over 12% fat Patch starts swollowing, grinding his teeth, licking paws & licking has blanket… also look for a limited ingredient kibble as some ingredients can make stomach acid worse & give diarrhea…. try a limited ingredient lower fat kibble & she if she improves… something like the “California Natural” Hypoallergenic limited ingredient, there’s their Lamb & Rice large breed it has just 4 ingredients http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products
She may need an Endoscope + biopsies done this way you will get answers instead of spinning your wheels & going in circles like I did for 2 years, I wish I did the Endoscope + Biopsies when all the problems started… Patch is a rescue..
Sometimes the diet that you don’t like is the diet that will agree with your dog.. I had to put my boy on Vet prescription vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal low residue diet….. high soluble fiber diets were no good, they just sit in the stomach & ferment giving acid reflux, stomach pain, bad breath etc the fiber in the Eukanuba Intestinal was only 1.75% then when Patch was stable & doing really well I started introducing new kibbles & none seemed to work as a lot have peas, potatoes, tomatoes, chickpeas, lentils, these foods are all high in Lectins.. Lectins can cause Leaky Gut…so now I stick with kibbles that have rice & I have no problems…. One month ago I saw a Naturopath & started low fat raw diet, Kangaroo mince with blended veggie & fruit, carrot, broccoli, celery, banana, apple & I have to use Digestive Enzymes & live probiotic to stop any nausea & diarrhea from the raw so far everything is good, this week I have been cooking the raw & veggie mix minus the fruit & making a meat loaf with all the ingredients & then adding boiled Quinoa to fill him more…. Patch cant eat boiled rice it irritates the bowel.. I don’t have to use a digestive enzyme either with cooked like I do when I feed the raw diet…I give the cooked meal for breakfast (I pre make & freeze all the meals) & I give the soaked Hypoallergenic gluten sugar & dairy free kibble at night for dinner ……Ask around & try & find a good vet in your area & keep a diary so when new vet asked when did that happen you have dates & how many times it happened & what she was eating if she had diarrhea or vomiting … the antibiotic she was put on was probably Metronidazole its an antibiotic for the gut & bowel… my vet has given me a few repeat scripts, I just go to chemist & get out, its 1/4 of the price.. when I see Patches poos not looking too good, I start him on the metronidazole for 2 weeks & go back to a very bland diet to get him stable again before it gets real bad …. Have you joined any German Shepherd groups?? there’s one on yahoo …. oh also a few people in a group I’m in who have German Shepherds with stomach/bowel problems feed “Taste Of the Wild” kibble…. Good-luck

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