[mikaK9]

So thanks to the new post on poop colors and reading poop, I've confirmed what took me a long time to realize.....that my dog's food goes through him too fast. He generally (well always) has greenish looking stool.

This is also confirmed by a vet visit we had a while back. We did x-rays to rule out bloat on this visit. Because the first set wasn't very clear (partly because he's so lean), they gave him a liquid (barium I think), so that they could see more on the x-rays. When we got the next set of x-rays, the tech seemed surprised at how fast it was moving through him and mentioned how he must have a really high metabolism.

So is there anything I can do to slow things down? He's got a very sensitive stomach as it is and it took me a while to find a food that would give solid stool. He's on Orijen adult regular right now, with a little EVO 95% canned and a probiotic pill. Otherwise, he's very lean....but not to the point that the vet is concerned. And he is a working dog, so being lean also has to do with all the exercise he gets. And he has a ton of energy....definitely not lacking by a stretch in that area. Any thoughts as to how I could help slow things down a little?

 

[EastGSD]

One word, fiber.

I would look for a food that contains either rice bran or beet pulp as fiber sources and for a food that has at least 4% fiber.

I recommend Blackwood 2000 if it is sold close to you.

Cherri

 

[Tula]

are you sure your dog doesn't have EPI? Or SIBO?

 

[ldpeterson]

What does the vet think? I ask because there are many many causes of hypermotility in the dog and few would be diagnosed by barium x-rays.

 

[LisaT]

Originally Posted By: Tulaare you sure your dog doesn't have EPI? Or SIBO?

These should definitely be ruled out.

If you want increased fiber, you can always add some apple pectin too.

To me, this sounds like something more than just a fiber issue though.

 

[mikaK9]

Thanks for the suggestions. Based on what I've read and from a few others I know whose dogs have EPI, I don't think he has that. SIBO is possible....but not something the vet is going to test for.

The barium wasn't to check the food or digestion or anything. It was just so they could see his stomach better during an incident when we were worried about bloat. They just noted how fast it moved through him.

The green stool actually started about a year ago, when I had him on Purina Pro Plan (3% fiber). But all of the other dogs on that food that I've been around have also had green stool. The vet was very unconcerned....didn't think it was an issue at all. And my dog's stool was actually the most solid on Pro Plan (at the time being).

Prior to Pro Plan, I tried Nutro (5% fiber - did terrible), Science Diet (3 % fiber - did terrible), and Canidae (4 % fiber - did terrible). It was pudding poop/diarrhea/cowpies on all of them....although his stool was brown, which is interesting.

Because I didn't like the Pro Plan ingredients much, I tried him on Solid Gold Barking at the Moon (4 % fiber) and he did excellent (poop stayed green). More normal and consistent stools than any other foods, including pro plan. Due to cost and what's available to me, I have since switched him to Orijen (3 % fiber), which he has done the best on. Other than the color being army green, his stool is very normal, solid.

So based on the fiber amounts for the kibbles that we've tried, I think I'll have to look beyond just the percentages. At this point, I don't think there's a kibble out there which he will do better with. I don't think he tolerates soy well, and there are a lot of kibbles that have soy or soy-based lecithin in them. And his stool remained green when I added fiber to it before (with rice bran and oatmeal).

It sounds like we may be changing vet services in the near future though. If we do, maybe the new vet will be more interested in the issue and checking for SIBO.

Thanks again for the thoughts.

 

[Kay13411]

Originally Posted By: LisaT

Originally Posted By: Tulaare you sure your dog doesn't have EPI? Or SIBO?

These should definitely be ruled out.

If you want increased fiber, you can always add some apple pectin too.

To me, this sounds like something more than just a fiber issue though.

I would also rule these out. I have a boy with EPI and what you are discripting here sounds alot like my boy.

 

[LisaT]

Originally Posted By: mikaK9.....SIBO is possible....but not something the vet is going to test for.....

I'm not sure that I would test for it, just try the treatment.

For some reason, giardia popped into my mind....