[Gail A]

I have an eight-year-old Boston Terrier that had terrible gas issues and diarrhea as a puppy and young adult. He was on Canidae for a few years and then we switched him to Orijen. The stools improved on Orijen, but the gas persisted. He had to have surgery and was on a homemade chicken and rice diet for about a week or two and I happily discovered that his gas symptoms completely cleared! Going on a hunch, I looked for a dog kibble that only had chicken and rice. What I ended up finding was Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Lamb and Tapioca formula. It worked great. My dog loved it, he had small, firm stools and no gas!

We have had him on this for years now and never had a problem. Unfortunately, they just recently changed the formula to Lamb and Peas and suddenly we are dealing with gas again. Does anyone have any suggestions as to a good food that has limited ingredients and is preferably very low in fiber? I think it’s the extra fiber in the peas that’s bothering him.

I’d appreciate any suggestions or pointers. We live in a small house and he is starting to run us out of the house again. 🙁

Thanks in advance!

[crazy4cats]

My dogs’ don’t seem to do very well with peas either. The two dry kibbles that I like so far are Victor grain free and Nature’s Logic. However, neither are considered limited ingredient. Also, have you tried adding any type of digestive enzyme to their food? The Honest Kitchen makes a supplement called Perfect Form that seems to help my dogs. I wish you luck!

[DogFoodie]

My Sam can sniff out Perfect Form and will strategically eat around it in his bowl. How do you serve it up, C4C?

[theBCnut]

I think my dogs would eat anything if it was mixed in canned or raw first.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Betsy-
I don’t blame your Sam. I think it smells terrible! I just mix it in with their topper on their kibble. I haven’t used for a while, but just got some a couple of days ago. I had been using Syner-G and wanted to switch it up. I hope they will still eat it. Lol! They are big dogs, 80 and 85 lbs. Therefore get a lot of food. I actually feed the lighter one more than the other! They are labs and not very picky. Plus they finish fast so they can “help” their brother with theirs! Maybe just try starting with a tiny amount and gradually increase? I also like the Fruitables digestive supplement which might be more appetizing to your dog.

[DogFoodie]

I just read an interestingl article written by Dr. Becker about different types of fiber: http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2012/11/19/dietary-fiber.aspx.

She said she feels the best way to add extra fiber is with a teaspoon per 10 pounds of body weight of ground dark green leafy vegetables. I’d try it, but I’m such an awful cook that I don’t even know how to prepare it.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by DogFoodie.

[crazy4cats]

Mom2cavs mentioned a supplement called Firm Up in a post a few days ago that was dried pumpkin and apple pectin. That also sounds interesting. I think Dr. Becker just recommended grinding or chopping the greens. I don’t think you cook them. Not sure your Sam would like those either!

[DogFoodie]

Firm Up, huh. I’ll look for it!.

Gail, so sorry to hijack your thread!

A couple of things…, I’m currently feeding my pup with food intolerance issues NVI LID Duck. The variety I’m using contains no peas. And, take a look at Victor Hi Pro 42: http://victordogfood.com/. Several regular posters here having used it with pups with digestive issues and diarrhea, with great success. It’s lower in fiber. The bonus, if you can find out locally, it’s very budget friendly.

One thing I think is confusing is that symptoms of dogs getting too little fiber look an awful lot like dogs being too much fiber.

[neezerfan]

I just started giving Reo Perfect Form last week. It works well and quickly! We weren’t having any luck with the pumpkin.

[Susan]

Hi, when its the small intestine ur right you need less fiber, large intestine you need more fiber…I have found, the same with Patch he doesnt do well on high fiber diets or Peas & Potatos, why dont u cook boiled chicken & freeze little sections & take out the night before thats what Ive been doing for breakfast, a good kibble have you tried the Holistic Select kibbles Patch on the Holistic Select Senoir its Chicken meal & rice & has NO peas the fiber is 3.50% & fat is 10% protein is 26% they have Chicken meal & rice but the fiber is 4% they have the duckmeal it has less fiber at 3.90% & less fat 13%..only their have a grainfree Deboned Turkey & Lentils the fiber is 5.50% but & it has Chickpeas here’s their site have a little look at all the ingredients & diferent flavours http://www.holisticselect.com

[Barbie D]

My daughter has two Boston Terriers and she gives them a product called Gentle Digest. She gave it to them for 2 weeks to begin with, and now once a week since it has built up in their systems.

[Dori]

I use Perfect Form from THK. I just mix it in with their food anytime I notice that Hannah has loose stools and it pretty much works immediately. Having cancer I think her digestion isn’t what it used to be with all the canine cancer supplements I’ve been giving her. I’d like to back off and see if that’s what’s causing the loose stools but afraid to stop the cancer supplements. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Anyway, I got off thread there for a second. Perfect Form works really really well. I just mix the appropriate dose in with their food. My girls are eaters so I guess the smell just doesn’t bother them. I’m not crazy about the smell, but, hey…if you’ve ever fed tripe, this is nothing compared to that.

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