# Dry dog food for sensitive intestines



## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

I'm doing a preliminary search for dry dog food to feed my dog with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. We have gone the Hypoallergenic route and she absolutely will not eat a diet that uses Soy as it's sole protein source. When she started the diet, she would pick at it (when mixed with her old food). As we weaned her onto just the HA diet, she stopped eating. She in fact went over four days without eating a bite before we called the vet and they said it "wasn't worth starving her" to do the HA food trial.

After another failed attempt at cooking for her (she refuses to eat rice and just about anything we give her that's not meat), she's still on a Lamb & Rice (kibble) diet. Our problem is, I think, she was on the same diet from when she was 9 months old to 4 years old. We never gave her anything else, and have a pretty firm no-people-food rule, which seems hard to shake, believe it or not (unless, as I said, it's meat).

Technically the Lamb & Rice diet is sort of new. I'd heard (errantly, I now believe) that Lamb & Rice was a good formula for sensitive stomachs. So after the failed attempt at Hypoallergenic food, and cooking, she's settled on the Lamb & Rice (and loves it).

We are just starting her on her steroids today (to treat the IBD), and don't want to make too many changes at once to the poor dog. I am, however, trying to research a new food to try once she's settled a little and we start weaning off the steroids. Something, preferably, that I don't have to cook (between her not liking most non-meat people food, and the added expense of buying extra meat at the grocery). I will, of course, cook for her, if the vet truly thinks it's an only-option beyond steroid treatment. But we haven't had that discussion yet.

I know single-source protein and fibers are good. I've read there are benefits for many dogs suffering from IBD to added Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the diet as well, and found this food by Nutro: Herring Meal, Rice & Potato Formula:
http://www.nutroproducts.com/ncdry-ahrp.shtml

Single source protein, and herring is of course high in Omega-3 FA's.

Any thoughts or other suggestions?


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## brandiw (Jan 20, 2010)

I would try some limited ingredient diets (LID). Blue buffalo makes a couple called Blue Basics and Natural Balance has several. All will have a single protein and I believe a single carb source. 

I wouldn't jump to fish right away as there is some concern that dogs can develop allergies to fish, so fish based foods are generally recommended if other proteins will not work.


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## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. I hadn't heard of Blue Buffalo before and just visited their website. The Blue Basics you mentioned definitely look like a viable alternative. The only thing that makes me wary is the blueberries/cranberries in the diet. Our dog's problems seemed to start around the same time we switched her to a grain-free diet (venison and bison based) that also had blueberries in them . While the food may have had nothing to do with her IBD, it does have me a little gun-shy of fruity ingredients.

On the other hand, it has alfalfa meal in it, and based on my dog's love of my horses' feed, she might like that.


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## lucidity (Nov 10, 2009)

You could also look into California Natural (made by Naturapet). It's a popular choice for dogs with sensitive tummies.


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## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

lucidity said:


> You could also look into California Natural (made by Naturapet). It's a popular choice for dogs with sensitive tummies.


Thanks! I'll take a look at that one too.


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## SFdoglovr (Feb 17, 2010)

Honest Kitchen! Its human grade-dehydrdrated raw, cheap to ship as its a small box and not a huge bag of kibble. Keen and Thrive are the most affordable ones. Its just add water, so easy to use, and probably much easier on your dog's system as its not rock hard and dry. Our dog loves it and does really well.


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## BlueChaos (Mar 29, 2010)

I like California Natural better then natural balance and blue buffalo basics since it has more meat. 
Another good option is Pinnacle the have a duck/potato and trout/potato formulas for dogs with allergies and sensitivities.


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## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

BlueChaos said:


> I like California Natural better then natural balance and blue buffalo basics since it has more meat.
> Another good option is Pinnacle the have a duck/potato and trout/potato formulas for dogs with allergies and sensitivities.


Thanks, I will give California Natural a look here when I get a chance (at work here). I know Blue Buffalo is sold in my local stores at least. Haven't checked the others. I think I am leaning toward a food that uses fish as the protein source as she's had her IBD trouble while on protein sources such as chicken, beef, and even more exotic sources like venison and buffalo. And I've read the extra Omega-3 FAs from some fish has been shown to help *some* dogs with IBD.

So I'll give California Natural's a look here in a bit. Thanks again


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

I have struggled with a sensitive tummy pup myself. I've tried C. Natural lamb and rice formula and unfortunately my dog still had loose stools but maybe you'll have better luck. We're currently on Wellness Large Breed and the stool is still soft (but I hear that's the norm for some of these hollistic foods.) Purina Pro Plan makes a Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula which I've heard works wonders for some dogs. Haven't tried it myself yet because it's supposedly for adult dogs (1 year and older) but here is a review on the Purina sensitive formula in case you are interested... Good luck!

REVIEW: 
We have a year old male boxer who has had soft stool and diarrhea ever since we got him home from the breeder at 10 weeks. I was seriously at my wits end with his tummy troubles, just feeling like throwing in the towel and accepting that he would never really be "normal" in that area. He's an AWESOME, beautiful dog in every other way, so I just kept saying, "well you can't have everything I guess." 

The breeder had him on regular Pro Plan Puppy, but he developed coccidia and had whip worm in the first week he was home. We treated him for that and made sure we stayed on top of his de-worming, etc. He was under regular vet care, so we knew his tummy troubles weren't caused by a health issue. He was growing and very energetic, etc. After we had him home for a month and he was still having diarrhea, I switched him off the Pro Plan and tried California Natural Chicken and Rice Puppy. I had tried California Natural on a previous boxer we had that had colitis and it worked REALLY well for him, so I thought perhaps it would work for our pup. I also started adding probiotics/prebiotics to his food. When that didn't work for the month I had him on it, I switched him to the Pro Plan Large Breed Puppy. When that didn't work for a month, I switched him to Nature's Recipe Large Breed Puppy. That didn't help him either. In the meantime, I'm still adding the probiotic/prebiotics, as well as now adding canned pumpkin to help firm him up. He was slightly better, but I still didn't know what I was going to get day to day.

The one theme I noticed with all of these dogs foods was that they were Chicken and Rice based, so I thought maybe he had an intolerance to one or the other. So I put him on the Wellness Whitefish and Sweet Potato, thinking that since it was a high quality, fish based food, maybe he'd do better on it. Yah, um, that was a mistake!! It made him much worse that he already was, right away. I also found out that it wasn't an "all stages" food, so I was concerned about him being a puppy and eating it.

As you can imagine, I'm getting pretty frustrated at this point, but I kept doing research. I read many good things about Natural Balance dog foods, since it was an L.I.D. (limited ingredient diet) I decided to try the Lamb and Rice Large Breed, thinking maybe this protein would work better for him. It was also appropriate for all stages, so I kept my fingers crossed that I would FINALLY find the right food for him!! Well this food definitely made his stools better for a while, and I did notice an improvement instantly. But he was still going ALOT, like 7 times a day and after about 1 month of using it, he started having soft stool off and on again and I had to start adding canned pumpkin to get him more normal. He also started having bad gas on it.

So then I thought, okay let's try a "grain free" product. I read about Canidae's All Stage Grain Free Salmon dry food. Many people seemed to have alot of luck with this food working for their sensitive tummy dogs. Well he was on it for about one week and after dealing with MAJOR STINKY gas and diarrhea about 10 times a day, I thought, uh yah, this is NOT working for him either. I really think the food was just too rich. It was probably THE WORST food that I had tried for him yet. 

So FINALLY.......since he was now a year old, I decided to try the Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach food, which I have my Japanese Chin and Pekingese on. I had put them on this food about 2 years ago, when they both had a few rounds of digestive upset. Once I switched them to this food, they NEVER had a digestive issue again. They gobble up their food everyday, which for them is impressive because they are BOTH super picky eaters. They also have a lot of energy and have beautiful coats. So I figured I would FINALLY try this food with our boxer. I wanted to try it sooner, but it wasn't an "all stages" food, so I waited until he was a year. I've had him on it for a month now, and he is doing AWESOME. He FINALLY has consistently normal looking stools. And he's also not going TEN times a day!! Also, his coat started looking dry, he was shedding alot more and it looked like he had dandruff, I could also tell he was more itchy on the Natural Balance food. His coat is now really shiny, he's not shedding as much, and the dry skin and itchiness is going away. 

It's such a relief to FINALLY find something that is working for him so well. Keeping my fingers crossed that he will continue to do well on it. 

I know there are negative remarks about this food and other Pro Plan diets, but when you've already tried the "high quality" foods, and they don't work, you stick with what does work for your dog and that is a very individual thing. I don't care how "high quality" a food is, if it's making my dog have diarrhea, tons of gas, frequent trips outside, a dull coat and dry itchy skin, it makes life unpleasant for us both and it's just not normal or healthy.


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## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

kimrisa said:


> I know there are negative remarks about this food and other Pro Plan diets, but when you've already tried the "high quality" foods, and they don't work, you stick with what does work for your dog and that is a very individual thing. I don't care how "high quality" a food is, if it's making my dog have diarrhea, tons of gas, frequent trips outside, a dull coat and dry itchy skin, it makes life unpleasant for us both and it's just not normal or healthy.


I can definitely appreciate this sentiment. We tried Kayla on EVO once, and Taste of the Wild (or something like that) as well. High quality, EXPENSIVE, grain-free food with novelty ingredients like Bison, Venison, etc... but it did not work for her. The gas was unbearable, and that's really when her digestive problems seemed to start as well. 

Thank you for sharing the review on the Purina formula. I feed my horses a Purina feed and have always been pleased with the quality, but have never fed Purina to my dogs. I will add it to my list of foods to research.


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## StellaLucyDesi (Jun 19, 2008)

Although, I don't like Purina as a whole, I have used their Pro Plan SSS formula for Lucy once, when she had a bout of colitis (this was also before I knew about a lot of other foods). She did fine on the food. I will say it's the only Purina food I would ever use.


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## kimrisa (Jan 9, 2010)

You're very welcome, Pyralis. Although I'm sticking it out with the wellness for now, I'm slowly coming to the realization that these higher end foods just might not be agreeable to my pup's digestive system either. I know a lot of people are anti-Purina but my cocker spaniel lived on Purina Pro Plan for 13 years and never had a single health problem! But it was easier back then because there weren't so many hollistic foods on the market to choose from. So just do what's best for your pup and don't worry about what anyone else thinks. You know your dog better than anyone!


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## Enhasa (Feb 6, 2010)

wellness has a limited protein diet as well. i do not know how good they compare to the normal lineup, but wellness is a fairly decent brand.

i'd say they're comparable to blue buffalo and better than natural balance.

sorry but i do think natural balance is crap.
look at their potato and duck formula.

that thing is literally 50% potatoes, 20% duck and then fillled with other fillers.


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## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

Enhasa said:


> sorry but i do think natural balance is crap.
> look at their potato and duck formula.
> 
> that thing is literally 50% potatoes, 20% duck and then fillled with other fillers.


How can you tell the actual percentages of the ingredients looking at the ingredient list? Potatoes is the first ingredient, okay, but that just means it's the most prominent, not automatically 50%. If you're getting the ratios from somewhere else I'd love to see it (still doing my research).

The thing I don't like about the Blue Basics I've seen are that they do not have a single carb source. They both have peas, potatoes, AND rice. My dog has done poorly on diets with rice, and also on diets with veggies like peas and carrots, so I thought Natural Balance was looking like the truest Limited Ingredient Diet to try while being able to try truly unique protein and carb sources.

I'm not sure what fillers you are referring to. Natural Balance LID Duck and Potato's ingredients are: 
Potatoes, Duck, Potato Protein, Canola Oil, Dicalcium Phosphate, Potato Fiber, Natural Flavor, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Chloride, Salmon Oil, Flaxseed... (followed my more vitamins/minerals).

Potato and Duck are really your two main ingredients along with the oils. Prescription diets aside, it seemed like the closest thing to a truly Limited Ingredient Diet on the shelf at my local store (which carries Blue Buffalo, Taste of the Wild, Evo, and most of the brands I see people discuss on this forum).

After talking to different people, looking online, and studying the ingredients in the different formulas, I asked for some samples of Natural Balance to see if my dog even likes the taste of it (she's terribly picky), and have since started the process of switching her over. I'm just really hoping it helps. We're about at our wits end with her!


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

pyralis said:


> I'm doing a preliminary search for dry dog food to feed my dog with Inflammatory Bowel Disease. We have gone the Hypoallergenic route and she absolutely will not eat a diet that uses Soy as it's sole protein source. When she started the diet, she would pick at it (when mixed with her old food). As we weaned her onto just the HA diet, she stopped eating. She in fact went over four days without eating a bite before we called the vet and they said it "wasn't worth starving her" to do the HA food trial.
> 
> After another failed attempt at cooking for her (she refuses to eat rice and just about anything we give her that's not meat), she's still on a Lamb & Rice (kibble) diet. Our problem is, I think, she was on the same diet from when she was 9 months old to 4 years old. We never gave her anything else, and have a pretty firm no-people-food rule, which seems hard to shake, believe it or not (unless, as I said, it's meat).
> 
> ...


I have a dog who (two years ago) would have a horrific IBS flare-up anytime he ate anything including corn, chicken, turkey, beef, and lamb. I fed him Wellness Simple Food solutions, as we were working on building his weight back up and pinpointing what his exact triggers were. I wouldn't use it as a long term diet, but if you plan to rotate (for a dog with IBS, I would, hopefully to avoid developing any more intolerances) it shouldn't be a problem. Has your vet mentioned putting your dog on probiotics or enzymes? Does she like yogurt?


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## LazyGRanch713 (Jul 22, 2009)

pyralis said:


> How can you tell the actual percentages of the ingredients looking at the ingredient list? Potatoes is the first ingredient, okay, but that just means it's the most prominent, not automatically 50%. If you're getting the ratios from somewhere else I'd love to see it (still doing my research).
> 
> The thing I don't like about the Blue Basics I've seen are that they do not have a single carb source. They both have peas, potatoes, AND rice. My dog has done poorly on diets with rice, and also on diets with veggies like peas and carrots, so I thought Natural Balance was looking like the truest Limited Ingredient Diet to try while being able to try truly unique protein and carb sources.
> 
> ...


I hope it helps, too. The problem I had with Auz (my IBS dog) was if he ate X brand of food, he would get a stomach ache, have diarrhea, and therefore remember that food made him feel like crap and avoided it. (My vet likened it to if I got food poisoning from a steak. It would probably be months or years before I would be able to choke down a steak again, seems like if you get sick on something your body has enough sense to tell you NOT to eat that ever again!) It can make for an incredibly picky dog. Enzymes helped Auz tremendously, as did an allergy elimination technique my vet did that I *still* don't understand


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## pyralis (Mar 18, 2010)

LazyGRanch713 said:


> Has your vet mentioned putting your dog on probiotics or enzymes? Does she like yogurt?


It's funny you ask. We actually tried her on a brand called Get Naked Gut Health that I found in the petstore a week or two ago. It was a combination of fiber AND probiotics/prebiotics/etc.. The vet had mentioned dogs with IBD often respond well to adding fiber (and suggested Metamucil), but I thought a combo like this would be good.

Her stools turned around (from soupy, no blood (she was also on steroids at the time), to nice shaped formed poops but with a little blood). The only reason we stopped that particular brand was because she had a little reemergence of blood and I noticed after the fact it had natural chicken flavoring in it (and we're suspicious chicken is a culprit). 

So we've since stopped the Get Naked Brand, picked up Metamucil (an unflavored fiber supplement of JUST fiber), and another probiotic mix (of JUST probiotics and enzymes with no flavor or other additives. I can't remember the brand offhand, but we literally just started this new probiotic so we'll see how it goes. 

I'm very hopeful. We also definitely went with the Natural Balance LID Potato and Duck formula because, hey, she actually likes it! And I know she's never had Duck or Potato before, so we're hoping if she had an allergy, these are safe ingredients. Also a few of the other brand "LID" diets people mentioned, I noticed actually had multiple carb sources, so I steered away.


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