2yo with recurrent loose stools

[KittyKat]

Hey all,

Yrie is my 2yo male GSD he has always had loose stools on and off. And now has them all the time. He is getting fed TOTW wetlands flavour the one with the ducks! I'm not sure if thats the exact "flavour" anyway, he was fine with it at first.... then after every bag I would rotate flavors. From that to the bison but when he went on the bison I noticed he started to get loose stool. So I stopped switching them. Now he's been on the fowl for the last 6 months and his loose stool started at least a month ago. Sometimes its pretty runny but never that its uncontrolable or anything liek that for him.

I have tried the canned pumpkin that worked alright for a few days then it was like I gave him nothing at all. I've taken away all treats and anything like that just incase thats what it was. I've had him on Nutro before and his armpits turned beat red so I took him off the food. When I got him he was on Pro Plan and was doing great, I just changed brands as Pro Plan is full of junk for the price you pay for it.

SO my question is this.... what could I try him on? TOTW is 80$ a bag here in Southern Ontario..... And that is a good price for dog food, he eats better than I do. (Seriously) He is a working dog and is very skinny and doesn't seem to put on any weight. Which I need him to do desperately! The vet says he's healthy but he is a bit bonie..

Let me know Ty for your time! I might try those Satin balls? I just read the last post on them, he could use some weight gain to!

[koda girl]

You are describing what I went through with my dog to a T. Loose stools often, if she had one hard one a day that was good. Tried 6 different kinds of the expensive kibble trying to find what it is that is causing it, nothing worked. She also was very thin. I tried the satin balls and although she did put on some weight the diarrhea didn't stop. Finally after trying everything I switched her to Raw which is what my breeder had been suggesting all along. I didn't want to feed raw and I still don't, I don't like dealing with the blood. But I am telling you the very very first time I fed her raw her stools were small and hard and she hasn't had loose stools since. I think she has been on it now about 6 or 8 months. I recently started adding a bit of kibble with each meal and still she is doing great. She now weighs 80 lbs so now I have to be careful that she stays at that weight and doesn't gain any more. Also when I use to feed just kibble she would gulp it down so fast, I think because she was starving. Now with the Raw she takes her time and eats slow, she is not so desperate now.
All dogs are different but Raw seemed to do it for my girl. Good luck I hope you find the problem and solve it soon.

Oh yes one more thing, she use to eat her stool all the time and some times other dogs stool also. I wonder if your dog does this. Anyway she never eats stool now. I really think she was starving.

[KittyKat]

He only eats poop in the winter lol he loves poopcycles!!

HE likes raw meats. ... but he will throw it up after. Even if its a small amount sometimes its the next day he will throw it up and its disgusting the second time out! The only thing he will keep down is a small amount of human grade boneless skinless chicken breasts... and I can't afford to feed that to an 86lb dog every day.... the necks and backs and other meats you can get from chickens he will throw up. Small amounts of steak and that he will keep down to.

[gsdraven]

Satin balls may put weight on him but aren't going to help the loose stools and may even contribute to them. They are very rich.

Has your dog been tested for the usual GSD tummy things like EPI, SIBO, etc? Have they been cleared of any worms or parasites? How much are you feeding?

[sable123]

So when you got the dog he was doing "great" on Pro Plan, but as soon as you went to a "better" quality food he started to suffer?

[WVGSD]

KittyKat:

You mention that you were feeding Purina Pro Plan and your dog did well. Have you considered the Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula? It is salmon-based and is nearly a limited ingredient diet with just salmon as a protein and rice and oatmeal as carbohydrates. I have a rescued GSD with inflammatory bowel disease and this kibble, at just over 400 calories per cup, is something that he does well on. He is a picky eater to boot. I also tried different brands (Taste of the Wild, Blue Buffalo and Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diets) as I thought that his diarrhea was a food issue. In late May, we determined that he had IBD and, now with the Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach kibble and one piece of raw chicken or turkey per meal, he eats beautifully. His weight is where it needs to be and I only need to give him 1.5 cups of the kibble twice daily.

I don't have stock or interest in Purina Pro Plan, but all of it is not junk. There is also the line of Purina Pro Plan Selects with no corn, wheat, soy or by-products now. It might be worth taking a look at these products for your dog too if you can get them locally and the cost is something that works for you. This line also has a salmon and rice as well as a turkey and barley formula.

[KittyKat]

Originally Posted by sable123

So when you got the dog he was doing "great" on Pro Plan, but as soon as you went to a "better" quality food he started to suffer?

He was fine on TOTW for a year and a few months.....

I'm kinda leary of feeding the dogs a fish based product... as I myself am highly allergic to anything fish related.... weather it be seafood, fish, shellfish.... Its actually quite a pain in the ass to eat anywhere for myself even!! Does anyone have this issue with themselves and successfully fed there dogs fish based foods?

I could try TOTW fish formula? As I already have an un opened bag of TOTW and one on the go. (we buy in bulk) I would be able to bring it back and trade it in on another flavour.

I haven't had him tested for anything (other than worms/parasites and the like)... he was fine till now. He had a bout of loose stool last year but he had gotten it from contaminated water and he was REALLY sick. He was put on antibiotics and then he was fine after that.

[codmaster]

Sounds like you change his food often - if i read your post correctly. If so, are you slowly changing over from one food to the other or just switching totally? I suspect that might cause loose ones as it does in my dog. Can you relate any timing in changing to the stools?

[KittyKat]

He was on proplan when I got him from his breeder. When he was 5 or 6 months old he was on nutro/nutriance becuase the proplan is full of fillers.... he got really red after that. A week on that he was changed to TOTW and he has been on it since. I've just tried switching flavors.

[rumhelka]

-did you check him for parasites and giardia, coccidia?