# special food for diarrhea??? advice please.



## PeppersPop (Apr 13, 2008)

Pepper has had diarrhea pretty much since we got him two months ago. He got diarrhea and was put on a homemade diet of chicken and rice and when he started having normal poops, we tried to switch him back onto his old food but the diarrhea came back.... so back to the chicken and rice. When he started having normal poops, we tried to switch him onto a new type of dog food.. high quality low allergen.. but the diarrhea came back. He's back on chicken and rice again.

I don't mind cooking for him, but he's not going to get all the vitamins/minerals/nutrients he needs from plain chicken and rice and since this has gone on for so long, the vet wants me to put him on Science Diet I/D canned food which is prescription food for dogs with intestinal problems.

It seems that a lot of people on this forum do not think highly of science diet. I have also read some stuff about science diet in relation to the big pet food recall. Because of the quality concerns and the cost, I am a little bit hesitant to switch him to this.

I am wondering if people might be willing to share their experience and/or opinion about Science Diet and also if people know of any other dog foods with an I/D type dog food, please let me know.

Thanks,
Sid and Pepper


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## Franny Glass (Apr 23, 2008)

I work in a large kennel, and have to feed boarders i/d frequently. The stress of the kennel can give them diarrhea, especially when it's packed and loud. I personally detest science diet and the associated hill's prescription diets, but it's a good short term solution. It's better than diarrhea anyway. I'd try feeding him that while you search for the true cause of his intestinal upset, kinda like a bandaid.

One dog in particular, a golden retreiver who now belongs to me, ate i/d dry food in the kennel exclusively for about 6 months. It made him STINK, and I have no idea why. It also made his coat greasy and his breath smell bad. Once I went through an elimination diet with him and found out what caused him to have diarrhea (and subsequently avoided that stuff like the plague), he was back to normal and eating high quality food. Diarrhea free.

Purina makes a similar prescription food called gastro-ENteric (Purina EN), but I have little faith in its quality either. It's most similar to hill's w/d, which can also be a half decent short term solution to diarrhea.

Are his poops totally normal on just chicken and rice, or still slightly soft?


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## luv4gsds (Jul 27, 2006)

Has the vet mention whats causing your pets diarrhea?


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## RRM_Mom08 (May 5, 2008)

Ok with the chicken and rice that he is on I would recommened a good quality puppy vitamin (www.drsfostersmith.com have some for good prices) also when you switched him back did you add the food very gradually 25% the first couple of days then so on ? You could also try adding canned pumpkin to the food while you are doing it to help keep the fiber and stools firm


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## PeppersPop (Apr 13, 2008)

No. He's had at least 4 negative stool samples in the past 2 months, been de-wormed, and has no health problems otherwise.

When I talked to the vet yesterday, he told me that GI problems can come from many things and that sometimes it takes a long while to resolve. He said something about Pepper being 75% better, and that at 75% you can have normal stools, but that doesn't mean he's better. And that most likey with the chicken and rice, he is improving but not cured. So supposedly, I am supposed to feed him I/D for a month or so and hopefully he wil get better.

It's quite possible that this is some kind of allergy/intolerance. The vet has mentioned it but says to wait until after the I/D food trial before we look at elimination diets and allergy testing.

Thanks,
Sid



luv4gsds said:


> Has the vet mention whats causing your pets diarrhea?


Against the vet's advice, I have been giving him a doggy vitamin. I'm not sure what brand. 

I asked about giving Pepper a vitamin when we first started with the chicken and rice, because I don't think it has all the nutrients he needs, and at that time, she said that he was fine on the c&r for a couple days and it would make it more difficult to figure out the cause of the diarrhea.

But two months and several chickens later, I have discovered that the vitamin does not make him any better, but also doesn't make him any worse.

Both times that I tried to put him back on regular dog food, I tried to switch very slowly... I could not get past 10 kibbles with either brand of food. I was giving him 5 kibbles with breakfast and 5 kibbles with dinner and within 24 hours, the diarrhea came back.

I might start giving him pumpkin, though I think I want to try the I/D first. He is fine on the chicken and rice so I am guessing the diarrhea is a reaction to something in the foods we've tried.





RRM_Mom08 said:


> Ok with the chicken and rice that he is on I would recommened a good quality puppy vitamin (www.drsfostersmith.com have some for good prices) also when you switched him back did you add the food very gradually 25% the first couple of days then so on ? You could also try adding canned pumpkin to the food while you are doing it to help keep the fiber and stools firm


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## winniec777 (Apr 20, 2008)

Your vet is right about it taking a long time to figure out what is causing the diarrhea. Our dog had giardia (very hard to detect - fecal samples can come back negative even when your dog has it) and, as we discovered, is allergic to protein -- either one of these can cause diarrhea. The Hill's Prescription z/d diet is the only thing we've found so far that keeps the diarrhea at bay (4 weeks and still all solid). The vet said she can still develop an allergy to this food -- we're praying that she doesn't. We've tried just about every other good commercially available food over the last 2 years, including all the supposedly allergen-free ones. None of them worked. Not sure what we'd try next. Home cooking is out unless I can figure out how Hill hydrolizes the chicken in their processing -- making the protein so small that it is no longer an irritant is what makes this food work for our dog.

In any case, re the Hill's food: I'm not a veterinary nutrionist and I haven't run into one that will tell me that the Hill's food is bad. I've not seen any Hill's or Science Diet dog foods on the recall list (cats, yes -- go here to check: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/petfoodrecall/index.cfm). A lot of people on these forums seem to have a bad opinion of it, based on a reading of the ingredients list. I think I'll stick with the experts I've talked to and trust that the food that is working for my dog and that my vet recommends (and feeds to his dog) is good for her. I can say that my dog wouldn't eat the i/d - she just wanted to roll around in it. Guess she thought it was good and stinky! RE the cost -- the prescription food is not that much more than what we paid for good quality foods like Eagle Pack or Artemis -- $28/case of 12 cans and I think $30 for a very large bag of kibble. The extra $10-15/month is worth it if it makes my dog feel better.

Question: did your vet put your dog on metronidazole and/or prednizone to help stop the diarrhea? With our dog, the medication is the only thing that stops the diarrhea when she has a flare-up. Bland food alone isn't enough to calm her digestive tract down when it's inflamed. We would put her on chicken and rice along with the medication for 4-5 days and then take another 4-5 days to put her back on regular food once the diarrhea was cleared up. Sprinkling Holistic Solutions from Eagle Pack (get it at a feed store) on the food can also help. It helps restore the natural balance of the digestive tract.

Bottom line: I don't think you're doing your dog any favors with the chicken and rice. I think you need to find a food that works. We tried all the good commercial ones first (links below) and then went with Hill's. It just takes A LOT of patience -- can take several weeks just to see if the dog will tolerate one new food. Even then, there's no guarantee he won't develop an allergy to it since allergies develop over a long period of time. But it's worth trying and many people have luck with these foods without having to go the prescription route. Our dog is part of a very small percentage that is actually allergic to protein. Good luck & let us know how it goes.

Links:
http://www.eaglepack.com/Choose/ChooseDog.html -- go for the single source protein foods like duck & potato, lamb & rice, etc. Most allergies are to wheat, corn, dairy, and beef -- try staying away from these ingredients.

http://www.artemiscompany.com/products_detail.asp?product=adult_dog -- this is not single source protein, but the Fresh Mix has no wheat or corn.

http://www.naturapet.com/search/ -- California Natural -- again, single source protein food with no wheat or corn.

There are a lot more foods out there like this -- these are just a couple that we tried.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

When I brought Beau (rescue) home, he was nearly emaciated, weighing not even 40 lbs. (a 16-month old male Standard Poodle!), with severe GI problems (gagging, vomiting, w/projectile diarrhea). 

We did a liver detox, I put him on a probiotic supplement, and fed him fresh ground lamb, poached, and white rice. To that, I added canned pumpkin, then gradually added plain, live culture yogurt. I kept a daily journal on him, and hand fed him very small amounts, up to 7 times a day. 

In the meantime, the vet did all sorts of tests - fecals and others (i.e., Addison's), but everything came back negative. In the end, based on observation and in looking back on daily journals, I concluded it was stress related, though he did have some food sensitivities. 

I gradually added Wellness Duck and Sweet Potato, which he did well on, along with California Natural, and was able to cut back to 3 meals a day, with 2 snacks. Today, he's on Innova EVO, with fresh poached meats and steamed vegetables.

You might want to seriously consider discontinuing the dog vitamins for now. 

Best of luck to you! Keep us posted on how it's going.


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## Dooly (Nov 8, 2007)

I rescued Chino back in October. He is a lab/retreiver mix. He has had constant stomach issues since day 1. I have tried several foods with no progress. After many many many many visits to the vet, at the last visit he had worms. They said that he has probably had it since before he was rescued and it just never came up in a fecal test. Ever since he has been finished with his treatment, no issues.


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## Chicster (Jan 17, 2008)

Cody had some really runny poop when I first got him. His breeder told me to give him some Kaopectate and it worked wonders! You can get it at any drugstore, just use regular flavor. I mix a little in with his food when his poop gets soft and it calms his tummy. It doesn't constipate them, just soothes the upset tummy... I'm assuming it's similar to the pumpkin additive.


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## melgrj7 (Sep 21, 2007)

Have they tried deworming for long than the usual dose? Sometimes they may have something that doesn't show up. I now a few people whose dogs were having horrible diarrhea problems, fecals always came back clean, they dewormed according to the normal protocol a couple of times. Finally as a last ditch, what the hey, effort their vets gave the dogs dewormer for a double length of time, and the diarrhea stopped.

EDIT TO ADD:

Allie gets diarrhea very easily, we have found this to help her a ton: Tummy Trouble


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## PeppersPop (Apr 13, 2008)

Pepper has been de-wormed plus had 4 negative fecal tests. I'm sort of aggravated with the fecal tests tho, with humans, it's standard that testing for worms/parasites is done using stool from, at minimum, 3 separate bowel movements with stool taken from several places in each movement... with dogs it seems to be a one shot deal. I did think he had worms at one point, but it turned out to be undigested bits of food.

His poop is 100% normal now... after 7 days on Hill's prescription i/d food. And by perfect, I mean joke store chocolate doo-doo perfect. 

At this point, I'm pretty sure its not worms. I'm going to give him a couple more days of wet food, then transition him to the i/d dry food, and then maybe try to find a dog food him stomach tolerates better---suggestions?

Thanks for all the help.




melgrj7 said:


> Have they tried deworming for long than the usual dose? Sometimes they may have something that doesn't show up. I now a few people whose dogs were having horrible diarrhea problems, fecals always came back clean, they dewormed according to the normal protocol a couple of times. Finally as a last ditch, what the hey, effort their vets gave the dogs dewormer for a double length of time, and the diarrhea stopped.
> 
> EDIT TO ADD:
> 
> Allie gets diarrhea very easily, we have found this to help her a ton: Tummy Trouble


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## Mac'N'Roe (Feb 15, 2008)

Well, I'll tell you about my experience. My dog Roe came down with an awful bout of watery diarrhea after about 1 1/2 weeks on Canidae and a treat she doesn't usually get. I'm not sure if it was the Canidae or not. I cooked bland diet for a week and then tried to gradually give her canidae in small amounts. Diarhhea would come back immediately. (she was on meds during this time too). I went back on a bland diet and the vet suggested the i/d food. I decided to try to go straight to the new food instead. I asked around here about i/d, and some folks I respect assurred me that if the pup has diarrhea, this is a good alternative for a short term. 

From a suggestion on this forum, I switched to California Natural. She did better, but still had soft stools bordering on diarrhea. I began giving her 1/2 tbsp of pumpkin at each meal, and she now has regular poop. While I was gone, my BF didn't give her the pumpkin (i guess he decided there wasn't a REASON I was giving it to her ), and she had diarrhea. I reminded him of why she was given pumpkin, and she was better the next day. 

Pumpkin - I swear by it!!!!


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## Purplex15 (May 28, 2007)

i work in a boarding facility and the owner always has a big bag of i/d on stock for dogs that get the runs. if they are on it for a few days, it pretty much always makes the diarrhea better. once its firmed up we switch them back to their own food and see what happens. however, if you look at the ingrediants, you will seer that it has horrible ones. the first ingrediant is corn. i have no idea why this food, and any other "prescription" diet works, but i guess it does. i would not feed it to my dog unless i had to. of course vets arent going to bad mouth it, they are endorsed by sd. technically speaking, it isnt a good food, and most of the ingrediants in it are terrible. but for whatever reason, it does clear up diarrhea. it sounds like it is working for you, so i would use it and try to switch to something else in about a month or so. at least if the diarrhea comes back, you know what to feed him to eliminate it.


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## Muddpupppies (May 30, 2008)

Well when you tried switching back to the kibble what kibble was it. you should try a grain free diet if that doesnt work then raw ( if u want to try) if those dont work your dog could have a problem just with processed foods. Also the pumpkin will work too! Also you should probably get your dog on some sort of Digestvie Aid! There are many out there. I really dont like Science Diet foods b/c it just maskes the problems, and the ingredients are crap. 

Megan


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## PeppersPop (Apr 13, 2008)

Pepper had watery diarrhea once or twice, but for the most part it was just really soft/loose and full of mucus.

His diarrhea came out of the blue...no changes in food or treats.

It's a mystery, that's for sure. What medication(s) was your dog taking?



Mac'N'Roe said:


> Well, I'll tell you about my experience. My dog Roe came down with an awful bout of watery diarrhea after about 1 1/2 weeks on Canidae and a treat she doesn't usually get. I'm not sure if it was the Canidae or not. I cooked bland diet for a week and then tried to gradually give her canidae in small amounts. Diarhhea would come back immediately. (she was on meds during this time too). I went back on a bland diet and the vet suggested the i/d food. I decided to try to go straight to the new food instead. I asked around here about i/d, and some folks I respect assurred me that if the pup has diarrhea, this is a good alternative for a short term.
> 
> From a suggestion on this forum, I switched to California Natural. She did better, but still had soft stools bordering on diarrhea. I began giving her 1/2 tbsp of pumpkin at each meal, and she now has regular poop. While I was gone, my BF didn't give her the pumpkin (i guess he decided there wasn't a REASON I was giving it to her ), and she had diarrhea. I reminded him of why she was given pumpkin, and she was better the next day.
> 
> Pumpkin - I swear by it!!!!


When I adopted Pepper, he was eating Science Diet adult food, with no diarrhea. I wanted to give him time to get settled in before switching him to a better food, but he started with the diarrhea before I could do anything.

When his stools got back to normal (on bland food), I tried to put him back on the Science Diet, because I knew he was able to eat that at one point with no problems... but the diarrhea came back within 24 hours. I put him back on the bland until his stools were normal again and then tried putting him on a different food--"Dave's Naturally Healthy Food" from a local health food pet store. It has no wheat, corn, beef, or soy and is supposed to be good for dogs with allergies. It's got probiotics in it too.

Raw is not an option at the moment... I don't have the money or the fridge/freezer space.

The vet seems to think that a month on i/d will get his stomach back on the right track so that I can put him on some other type of food... and since the i/d is working for him, I'm going to leave him on it for the time being.

When you say that science diet food just masks the problem, I'm not sure what you mean. Do you think that pumpkin or digestive aid also masks the problem and if not, what is the difference between using i/d vs. pumpkin/digestive aid?



Muddpupppies said:


> Well when you tried switching back to the kibble what kibble was it. you should try a grain free diet if that doesnt work then raw ( if u want to try) if those dont work your dog could have a problem just with processed foods. Also the pumpkin will work too! Also you should probably get your dog on some sort of Digestvie Aid! There are many out there. I really dont like Science Diet foods b/c it just maskes the problems, and the ingredients are crap.
> 
> Megan


I wish I knew why it worked.  But it sure does.

The vet wanted me to give Pepper a homemade bland diet at first. The i/d prescription food was mentioned, but it was more of a "we'd prefer you to feed him homemade bland food, but it's available if you are unable to prepare it yourself." After the second failed attempt to get him back on regular food, I was told that I should switch to the i/d because its more nutritionally complete than just plain chicken and rice--more vitamins/minerals.



Purplex15 said:


> i work in a boarding facility and the owner always has a big bag of i/d on stock for dogs that get the runs. if they are on it for a few days, it pretty much always makes the diarrhea better. once its firmed up we switch them back to their own food and see what happens. however, if you look at the ingrediants, you will seer that it has horrible ones. the first ingrediant is corn. i have no idea why this food, and any other "prescription" diet works, but i guess it does. i would not feed it to my dog unless i had to. of course vets arent going to bad mouth it, they are endorsed by sd. technically speaking, it isnt a good food, and most of the ingrediants in it are terrible. but for whatever reason, it does clear up diarrhea. it sounds like it is working for you, so i would use it and try to switch to something else in about a month or so. at least if the diarrhea comes back, you know what to feed him to eliminate it.


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