diarrhea in our 4 month Golden

Dog Food Advisor Forums Diet and Health diarrhea in our 4 month Golden

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  • #62637 Report Abuse
    Bryana A
    Member

    I’ve been reading and am learning I have a lot to learn!! Here’s our pups story. He was started on Iams after being weaned from his mother. The breaded gave us a free bag of this when we brought Rusty home. It was a puppy and large bread formula. He did fine until 1 month ago. We had him vaccinated for Lyme’s due to where we live and he immediately starting having 2+ diarrhea accidents a night. We consulted with our vet. I was sure it was the Lyme’s vaccine…. The vet felt it was the food. We’ve spent the last month struggling. We used a wet food by ID and probiotics at our vets recommendation. We then transitioned to a dry ID gastrointestinal food at our vets recommendation. When I read the ingredients though I’m terrified. We’ve now tried going to 2 different limited ingredient dry foods and each time he has diarrhea and accidents at night. So the vet tells us to go back to the ID food. It’s ridiculously expensive and mostly corn….this just doesn’t seem right to me. I’d appreciate any help with this topic and where to try next for our pup!!

    #62638 Report Abuse
    Bryana A
    Member

    Clarification. It is a Hill’s Science diet ID food we have been using.

    #62654 Report Abuse
    DogFoodie
    Member

    Hi Bryana,

    I also have a Golden who started out much the same way as yours. I believe the vaccinations may have contributed to some of his early issues. It was my intention to spread vaccines out and I recall once the vet acted like, “Oops, I actually got a combo vaccine ready.” Of course, I let it go. I wish that I had insisted and that I hadn’t gotten unnecessary vaccines. My Golden had an infection in each ear at just a few months old and was at the vet sick with lethargy and diarrhea. I suspected vaccinosis. Yes, the vet put him on the I/D garbage as well. Since I can’t change that now, I only vaccinate for rabies and I titer for immunity to core vaccines.

    As for food, my Golden had digestive issues as a young pup also. It seemed everything gave him diarrhea. Plain canned pumpkin can help firm up loose stool. Goldens are known for having sensitive stomachs and food intolerance / allergy issues. I’ve determined that my Golden has food intolerance issues. He cannot have fish, flax, tomato, chickpeas or lentils. He does better with moderate protein, fat and carbs and a bit lower fiber. I’m not suggesting your Golden has these same intolerance / allergy issues, but it’s my guess he’s intolerant of something and what you’re saying is the end product. You have to figure out what they are, which is the tricky part and it takes a lot of time. Can you compare any ingredients in the food he was eating too see if there are common ingredient that could be the culprit?

    Also, your Golden is a large breed puppy that has unique nutritional requirements. You must feed him a controlled level of Calcium. You should also avoid over-exercising him to avoid stressing growing joints and you should also keep him lean while he’s growing.

    Here’s a link to another thread in the forum that explains this in more detail, read the first few pages at least: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

    On page 36, there is a Google document with a list of foods with appropriate Calcium levels for large and giant breed puppies. It was posted on 10/22/2013, at 4:22 PM by Hound Dog Mom. You should choose a food from this list: /forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/page/36

    One food in particular that I might suggest is Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet Turkey.

    #62655 Report Abuse
    DogFoodie
    Member

    Here’s a great article that Dr. Mike just published on the review side that explains in simple terms the special nutritional requirements that a large breed puppy has: /best-dog-foods/best-large-breed-puppy-food/

    #62657 Report Abuse
    Jade T
    Member

    I’m having the same issue with my 4 month Jack X and it’s been going on for the past week, diarrhoea only in the night. Vet also has said to us about gastro food or home cooking. Crazy because he has been fine eating Burns puppy food since 10 weeks old and no issues so find it really strange this is happening now and could be related to his food. Let me know how you get on!

    #62662 Report Abuse
    crazy4cats
    Participant

    Hi-
    I have two lab/retriever mix dogs that have had intermittent loose stools issues since I got them at 8 weeks also. Although they had bouts of Giardia and coccidia. They also were most likely over vaccinated because I didn’t know any better then. Anyway, their stools still seem a little loose in the evening compared to the morning. Especially after exercise. As mentioned above, plain canned pumpkin is helpful. But, I also found that canned Fruitables for digestive disorders is even a little better. It is pumpkin with some other additives that are helpful with calming the intestines.

    I have found the website http://www.dogaware.com is extremely helpful with some ideas to combat these issues. Click on the health tab and then find the digestive disorders section. Good luck!

    #62666 Report Abuse
    Dog_Obsessed
    Member

    You’ve gotten some great advice here, I just wanted to add that it could be helpful to add a digestive enzyme, such as Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen or the ones from NaturVet.

    #62766 Report Abuse
    Bryana A
    Member

    Thanks so much for the comments. I’ll keep people posted on what works!

    #69454 Report Abuse
    Karen L
    Member

    My dog has sensitivities to several ingredients found in most high quality dog foods. I have exhausted myself reading ingredients of different dog food manufacturers, and the foods recommended by Spectrum still have one or more ingredients on the list my dog can’t have do to intolerance issues. Here is what he cannot have in food: Eggs, Oats, Kelp, Green Peas, Pork, Venison, Soybean, Peanut, Kelp. The least tolerated with a very high number are Eggs and Oats.

    I’ve read a lot from ‘Dog Obsessed’ and “DogFoodie” and I would greatly appreciate their input/feedback/recommendations, as well as anyone else. Thank you.

    #69460 Report Abuse
    Anonymous
    Member

    That is quite a list, I would go to a homemade diet. I would also consider consulting a homeopathic veterinarian or an animal nutritionist….or a specialist (dermatologist/allergies) depending on your treatment preferences (if you haven’t done so already) and if the problems continue.
    Have you tried a little boiled hamburger and white rice?
    See my posts in other threads for links that might be helpful.

    Ps: I had a pup that had loose stools till she was about 8 months old…and then it just stopped. I had tried various foods, I never did get it diagnosed.
    I wondered if it had to do with all the vaccinations she had received and maybe her immune system was out of whack.

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