# Need new food for dog with loose smelly stools and horrible gas



## marie99 (Mar 21, 2011)

I have a 2 year old male dog, about 70 lbs, part Lab, part Red Heeler named Meatball. Last fall he developed a chronic case of loose smelly stools and horrible gas that was so bad we couldn't let him in the house. He's had loads of tests, 3 rounds of antibiotics, antifungals, probiotics and I finally realized it was food related because when he got really bad I would feed him a small amount of cooked chicken and loads of rice and it would stop until I put him back on kibble. I tried beef and rice and pork and rice and he did splendidly on all of them. White rice stopped him up.

My vets doesn't seem to know anything about dog food. My aunt has been using this clinic for 30 years and I'm prepared to say they must be at least average surgeons, but I'm new to this town and don't know anyone else. They think I should feed him Science Diet (a high fiber one), but I have doubts about that because I tried a dog I had years ago on the regular kind and I didn't think it was good for her. We've all finally agreed the dog just isn't getting enough fiber. Also his anal glands were impacted.

I've been feeding him Chicken Soup brand food. I found out about pumpkin by myself, and I'm dressing it up to trick him into eating 1/4 cup a day and that fixes the problem. He only gets kibble. No snacks, no leftovers, no canned food, no human food at all except the pumpkin.

But it seems wrong to me to feed him food and them feed him a cure for his food later. I just found Nature's Recipe Grain-Free Chicken, Sweet Potato & Pumpkin Dry Dog Food. Does that have enough pumpkin in it to be worth feeding him?

Also, I have another dog which eats the exact same thing because I put them out in the yard in the morning, give them food and leave them alone together. She's in good health no matter what she eats. She's a 1 year old, 20 lb. beagle/terrier mix. So anything he eats has to be suitable for her too. Even when I feed them inside, she tries to eat his food and they end up eating out of the same bowl at the same time. They are very close. They sleep in the same kennel. I got her to entertain him. It just isn't worth winding her up by trying to make her eat out of a different dish and he doesn't care what she does to him, so they eat the exact same stuff. He raised her, she thinks he's her mom and I'm not fooling with that. Whatever it is, a healthy small dog is going to eat it too.

One of the vets told me I could go to any pet store and just ask for high fiber pet food. But I tried a couple stores and the people that work there don't know which ones are high fiber. Maybe I should get one that is primarily rice since he did so well on rice. I'm very confused and I don't know what to feed this dog. No, I don't want to cook for him. I don't even cook for myself. Any thoughts you have would be helpful.


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## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

What do you mean by dressing it up to trick him into eating it?

I'm no expert but it seems to me that if the Chicken Soup and pumpkin is working I would stick with it. I would tend to look at the pumpkin as more of a fiber supplement to the food than as a cure for his food.


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## marie99 (Mar 21, 2011)

He won't eat pumpkin straight out of the can(I can't say I blame him), so I've been putting his probiotic powder on it to give it a flavor he will eat. That prescription is about to run out so I will have to think of something to give it a flavor a dog might like.


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## ZeeDoggy (Jul 16, 2010)

marie99 said:


> He won't eat pumpkin straight out of the can(I can't say I blame him), so I've been putting his probiotic powder on it to give it a flavor he will eat. That prescription is about to run out so I will have to think of something to give it a flavor a dog might like.


Have you tried mixing the pumpkin in directly with the kibble? That's the only way my dog will eat it.


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## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

Dixie likes hers mixed with a tiny bit of plain yogurt.


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## ceegee (Mar 22, 2011)

Have you tried uncooked chicken frames with some rice seeing your dog likes rice and I think you mentioned in an earlier post that the symptoms improved with the rice, you could mix in some vegies also if you wanted to. Maybe keep away from the kibble as this sounds to be causing the problem. May be worth a try, hope it helps.


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## Kodiak (Mar 14, 2011)

i would stay away from chicken based foods...generally stomach upsetscould be due to issues with digesting. Look into a lamb and give it about 3 months on new food to see if there are changes...although fish may be better to start with than lamb. And a grain-free wouldn't hurt, but i dont think its you rproblem. Chicken soup is a pretty decent food


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## marie99 (Mar 21, 2011)

I had wondered how people made dogs eat pumkpin. A lamb or fish food sounds like something he could try. Thanks a lot.


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## Amstaffbruiser (Jan 12, 2011)

Lamb used to be the catchall. What I hear now is that dogs have been developing allergies to it as well! Good luck though. The pumpkin sounds like it is working out just fine.


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## Kodiak (Mar 14, 2011)

big issue i hear about lamb is digestion issues...not really allergies. fish and fowl are more popular for that reason. lamb is cheaper than turkey or duck though


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