Changing puppies food.. is a nightmare!

[danehdee]

Hello!

My 5 1/2 month pup has been having a hard time trying to find the right food...

He is on his 3rd brand of dog food now...
First was Kirkland's puppy food, next was orijen(Chicken), and now nature variety (Salmon)

All have caused diarrhea - and it seemed to get very very bad with the Orijen(chicken)
I have brought stool samples to the vet and had check up's but all seemed fine with the tests.

I think he may be very very allergic to chicken, so much so I just want to put him straight onto The salmon type by Nature Variety and not ween him off of the Orijen.... ?

Going to take him to the vet tomorrow for more tests, but if they don't find anything again, I don't know what to do!

I fed him only rice last night, and rice this morning... trying to give his stomach a break...

Anyone been threw something similar?

[Verivus]

Why do you keep switching foods? Are you giving him enough time to adjust to the new food? Usually switching foods will cause diarrhea anyway. What makes you think he is allergic to chicken? Is he itchy? Have you deduced this by conducting either an allergy panel or an elimination diet? For a 5.5 mo pup I would be feeding a large breed puppy food. I wouldn't bother taking him to the vet for more testing; at this point I don't think that's going to help you.

I would keep him on a bland diet for a couple days with boiled chicken/hamburger & rice to settle his tummy and go to the store and pick out a decent large breed puppy food, such as Wellness LBP or Blue Buffalo LBP, and slowly transition him to the kibble. If after 2-3 weeks there is no improvement then I would consider trying another LBP or other appropriate large breed puppy food. Make sure he has plenty of water to keep hydrated. When I brought my puppy home I switched him to raw; he had liquid diarrhea for a week and then everything was good.

[Alois]

All dogs are different. Alois and Pearl have had the following

Diamond Naturals
Wellness Super mix 5
Innova Large breed puppy (purple bag)
Merrick Wilderness blend
Holistic Giant and large breed puppy
Blue Buffalo chicken and rice (blue/pink bag)

We mix two dog foods at a time each meal. The only one that gives us an issue is Wellness Super mix 5. And only Alois had an issue with it due to all the oils that are in it. Gave him a super soft stool. I would recommend switching foods to most dog owners. But obviously you need to find something that works and stick with it. If you want variety. After you have established something that works. Mix very little of something else in there with what works. Here lately we have been cracking a raw egg over their dry food too. Not every day though

[GSDAlphaMom]

Make sure the vet does a snap test for giardia (will need to take a fecal in). It's a different test than the regular fecal for worms/coccidia.

I tried my dogs on Orijen and it gave them all the runs. My last puppy I tried to put on Wellness and same result. I ended up on Innova LBP and he did fine. My dogs also do not do well on any fish forumla.

If he passes all the vet test then find a food and stick with it for a good while. Many dogs don't do well on the really rich foods (orijen, wellness, blue buffalo etc) so you may want to try something more middle of the road. ANd be sure and do a slow transition.

[danehdee]

Thanks guys..

He is scratching quite a bit after he eats... chewing his paws, etc.. He does this too when we just feed him rice. :S He's on revolution, and doesn't have fleas...

We don't know for sure if he is allergic to chicken, just assuming from the past two foods... they were both chicken - he has very very bad diarrhea .. :S still trying the salmon.. but i've read too that salmon is very rich and can upset there stomachs too.
He was on Orijen for awhile, and when he was on it fully - it was craziness lol

I'll try the rice, ground beef mixture for a couple days.. the rice won't just do...

He's had soft stools and on and off Diarrhea for so long ...

I talked to a girl at the pet store, and she mentioned to not go fully grain free - some dogs need grains, and to try lamb/rice mixture next if the salmon doesn't work..

2-3 weeks on salmon .. hope his tummy settles soon!!!

Thanks again

[Two]

Could be allergenic. Switching foods so much could also cause some confusion on the pup.

[EmilyK0429]

If it were me I would do a bland diet with some pumpkin, probiotics and enzymes to see if I could get his stomach to calm down. Once I was getting consistent stools then I would SLOWLY add kibble back in and do away with the bland but might just leave the probiotics and enzymes to help with digestion.

[Two]

Originally Posted by EmilyK0429

If it were me I would do a bland diet with some pumpkin, probiotics and enzymes to see if I could get his stomach to calm down. Once I was getting consistent stools then I would SLOWLY add kibble back in and do away with the bland but might just leave the probiotics and enzymes to help with digestion.

This sounds like a good idea, I'd try going with this since the vet doesn't seem to know what to do

[BowWowMeow]

Switch out sweet potatoes and a little pumpkin for the rice. I actually give mine sweet potatoes, pumpkin, canned tripe and scrambled eggs when they have diarrhea.

Are you using filtered water for him?

Be sure to put him on a human grade, refrigerated probiotic. That helps a lot with allergies and digestive problems.

You can also give slippery elm before meals while you're trying to get his digestive system back on track. Be sure to separate that from the probiotic though and any other medications as it's an absorbent.

I would look for a food with a novel protein (something he hasn't had before). Nature's Variety makes a grain-free rabbit kibble that lots of dogs do well on.

You might also consider switching to raw food.

[paulag1955]

Shasta has a hard time with the higher quality foods (go figure!) and seems to do best on Nutro Lamb and Rice.