need some help narrowing down choices - food and diahhrea issues

[Fletchers mom]

Hello! I just found this site and was wondering if any one can help me! My family and I rescued a 2yr old German Shepard back in May of this year. About ever other month he gets diarrhea. I have taken him to the vet already 3 times.

He doesn't have any parasites at all so that isn't an issue, the last time I called the vets office they suggested he is sensitive to the amount of fat in his food.

We continued feeding him the Diamond naturals chicken and rice, he also is currently eating the Diamond naturals lamb and rice because we picked up the wrong food.

As a side note he does snatch food when he can we have kids,....we also add meat tenderizer to his food so that he doesn't eat his fecal matter. ewwwww

There are so many foods to choose from, I am a little overwhelmed by all the choices!

If anyone has any suggestions for a good dry food with lower fat and hifber fiber, please?

[Stosh]

I've never heard of the meat tenderizer trick, I can't imagine that's very good for his digestive system. My dog is sensitive to chicken so we use Taste of the Wild which is grain free and has an all meat variety.

[Fletchers mom]

That's what the vets office said I just use alittle bit one shake in 2 1/2 cups of food with water.

He has had this issue even before the use of the meat tenderizer so i don't think that is it......... I will look into the food you use. I am up for any suggestions.

[Emoore]

When I was feeding Diamond foods, my dogs had diarrhea for a week every time I switched to a new bag. Diamond is kind of notorious for poor consistancy batch-to-batch and if your dog is sensitive to that it can upset his stomach. We switched to Precise and then Victor and haven't had any other problems.

Taste of the Wild, Chicken Soup, Kirkland, and 4Health are all made by Diamond.

[NarysDad]

Just note that every time you change brands of food you will get some diarrhea. I feed diamond food here and don't have any issues with soft stools

[LaRen616]

I feed TOTW and rotate between all 4 formulas, never had a poop issue.

[carmspack]

in the early 70's meat tenderizer was used by grocery store butchers so that they could get out beef earlier without as much time hanging , or pn tougher cuts. The enzyme was placed directly on the meat which would start predigesting some of the tougher meat fibres. The practice doen't exist any more . Complaints were that some of the meat was pretty mushy - too predigested.
I remember one product was called Accent which was MSG based , the other Adolph's was papain based.

The main ingredient for all powdered tenderizers was papain , from papaya. Another tenderizer - all of them being ezymes , is bromelain , from pineapple .
You could give your dog a spoon or two of papaya, or you could soak the meat in papaya juice . Same with the pineapple , the meat can be put into a pot and wet down with natural pineapple juice without added sugar .

I have a product which does use papain, bromelain and amla , another digestive enzyme as part of the ingredients.

This enzyme section covers digestion or breakdown of protein- protease .

The breakdown of fat needs an entirely different enzyme .
That would be lipase.
Best to buy a comprehensive digestive enzyme blend - the more the better .


Try giving the dog a rich source of probiotics.

The advice about meat tenderizer and dog poop is probably about "Accent" which is MSG , used by many old-timey breeders to keep their dog from eating its own poop.
Google Accent dog eating poo and you will get pages to study.
I wouldn't , MSG is not good for anyone (my opinion) .

Instead give the dog good food and probiotics and the enzymes to thoroughly digest and absorb nutrients and then it will not need to go back to eating its waste as a predigested food source. yuck


Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs

[BowWowMeow]

I agree with Carmen: modern day meat tenderizer is actually not a good thing to give your dog. I would go with pre and probiotics and, if your dog is still having problems, I would test for EPI (very common in gsds).

Check out this website and see if it fits your dog's symptoms: Overview - EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

[sable123]

I don't. Don't waste money on supplements because they dont work.

The most effective commercial diet for this problem is Purina One Sensitive Systems or Pro Plan Sensitive Stomach, and they are not prescription foods meant for short-term use.

[Fletchers mom]

Thank you everyone! I will start with changing the brand from Diamond & see if that will help!

I need a starting point! As you all now getting started can be a challenge!
How long should I give after the change of food?