[Nancy M]

We adopted a new dog 6 weeks ago. The first 2 weeks she started having bad diarrhea. Took her to the vet, they checked her out, and said it was just likely stress and new food. Put her on prescription digestive canned food. She did awesome on this food. Main protein was turkey. I decided to try to transition Merrick Limited Ingredient Turkey kibble. She did ok on this for a few weeks – stools were normal but she was going 6 times a day! And then started having the diarrhea again. Back on RX food she is fine. But I’d prefer to feed her something else. Any suggestions are VERY welcome! I’m lost with this, never had this issue with another dog.

[anonymous]

Yes, some dogs will have more frequent bowel movements on grain free, my dog with environmental allergies does best on Nutrisca salmon and chickpea grain free, but, I have noticed the extra bms, in her case, I don’t consider it an issue.
For my terrier, I mix 1/3rd or 1/2 Dogswell chicken and oatmeal kibble (contains grains) with the Nutrisca kibble (grain free) with good results. Grains are not always a bad thing.
https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/choosing-the-right-diet-for-your-pet/
http://skeptvet.com/Blog/category/nutrition/
I have found the above sites helpful.

[evelyn c]

I have a small dog that according to the vet seems to be having some food allergies…to merrick dry dog food..not sure though..she has a bold spot on her thigh and is biting her paws…tested for ringworm but it came out negative…need help…need food advice

[crazy4cats]

Hi Nancy M-

Have you brought in a stool sample and had it tested for worms and parasites? Giardia, Coccidia and some types of worms are very common for young pups. They can also cause intermittent diarrhea.

[Nancy M]

Hi cats, yes she has been tested for parasites. No issues found. So that’s good. 🙂 I just want to figure out what she can eat other than Rx food!

[anonymous]

@ evelyn c,
Have environmental allergies been ruled out? /forums/search/allergies/

[Nancy M]

I would think if it was environmental, she’d have the same problems while on the Rx food. But on that food she is fine, so I’m pretty sure it is something about the food. I just don’t know what. So far we’ve tried the Merrick limited ingredient, and Taste of the Wild Grain Free, and neither worked. We’ve only had her for 6 weeks.

[Linda L]

Hi there,
I have had health issues with my dog Bichon Pappylon. Tried lots of different dog food for a few years and had the same issues. Finally found a vet that tracked down the problem.
Allergies to wheat corn soy no by product and also chicken as it is grain fed. So I was buying grain free dog food beef veal lamb etc grain free. As long as it said grain free I bought it not realizing that the 4th or 5th ingredient was chicken meal or chicken broth Grain Fed.so the dog was getting grains anyways, totalling defeating the purpose of allergy pills .Since then there has been a great improvement 80% He still has some allergies.that we”re not sure of. I hope this will help in some way
I also use non allergenic shampoo
I use presidents choice grain free ,simply nourish and good natured. I change the food around every 6 or 7 months when the dogs start sniffing at the bowls and walk away. I guess I would get tired of the same food for 6 months. Linda l

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Linda L.

[Susan]

Hi Nancy, you need to try a food with the same fat, protein & fiber % & similar ingredients to the vet diet, minus the crappy ingredients also has the food she doing well on have Beet pulp?? what vet food were you feeding her that she does great on?? Was the Merrick a wet tin food??
Food sensitivities take anywhere from 1 day to 6 weeks to show any symptoms, I rescued my boy & this happened with him, 4 yrs later finally over the years I worked out what he can eat & can’t eat, also you need to strengthen her gut, order some Purina Forti Flora probiotic & start her on 1/2 the recommend dose for 1 week then slowly go to proper dose by 2 weeks….you need to start an elimination diet, so you start with a vet diet that agrees with her for 2 months, no treats, no other foods to make sure she is still doing firm poos, maybe try the vet formula in a kibble, kibble works out cheaper then the vet diet wet tin foods but the ingredients very, wet diets have better ingredient to their kibbles, I had Patch on the Hills I/d Digestive kibble for 1 week everything was great 2nd week he was doing sloppy yellow poos that stunk, so I took back the Hills vet diet & got a refund, she needs to be on the vet diet for around 4 months to make sure everything is going great, then you add 1 new cooked ingredient, say boil chicken for 1 month no reaction then add boiled sweet potatoes for 1 month & still the chicken, every month add 1 new ingredient while still feeding the vet diet minus some of the vet diet replaced with ur cooked food, it takes time but in the end you will know what foods she is sensitive to….
Keep a diary, what foods wet & kibble you have tried, so you can look back if needed..
“Holistic Select” formulas kibbles they are for digestive health, & have single proteins formulas with rice & beet pulp like vet diets, Patch is eating the Holistic Select Adult/puppy, Salmon, Anchovy & Sardines Grain Free kibble it just has potatoes & peas, there’s no lentils, no chick peas at the moment poos are great & only 2 poos a day but back in the beginning he ate the Holistic Select Adult Duck meal & Rice formula kibble it has beet pulp & rice like the vet diets have, the Holistic Select wet tin foods are too high in fat around 6% when converted to dry matter (Kibble) 6%-fat is about 30% fat if it was a kibble, vet diets fat % is lower in wet tin formulas then some of the normal brand wet diet formulas sold in pet shops, if your feeding a wet tin vet diet then you need to try wet tin foods, not kibbles or try the vet diet in a kibble & see does she have the same problems??
Have you tried the vet diet in the kibble formula??
It’s stressful & it takes time, like I said 4yrs, I’ve had Patch & I needed to find a brand food (kibble) he did well on & keep him on that food for 6 months then so slowly add 1 new food to his diet…also vet diets have higher or lower soluble & insoluble fibers, where pet shop foods are all made the same for dogs with a normal bowel with no health problems also most vet diets aren’t grain free, so you need to look at foods like “Canidae” Life Stages “Platinum” it has brown & white rice & turkey, similar to the ingredients to the Hills I/d formulas also Canidae make a wet tin food called life stages Platinum, the fat is low, the protein is low like the vet diet tin food, so is the fiber. another thing normally rescue dogs are feed supermarket crappy diets, then when feed a good quality higher fat & high protein foods they have diarrhea cause they are not use to eating so much fat & protein, that’s why they do well on the vet diets cause they have the gluten corn meal & crappy ingredients as well.. look at the kibbles with rice not the grain free formulas for now..
Holistic select site http://holisticselect.com.au/recipes.aspx?pet=dog
Canidae site http://www.canidae.com.au/dog-food/ scroll down for the Life Stages formulas
It takes time & slow & steady when adding new foods, add 1 thing at a time over 1 week so you know what caused the problem if you have a problem like diarrhea or sloppy poos..

[Margaret H]

I think you should talk to a dog meal supplier. They have good experience about what breed should be given what type of food. So you can try one. May be this would help.

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