[BRT]

All,

I have a 7 year old male maltese/toy poodle. He’s 19 lbs and has always had tummy and allergy issues. I’m currently feeding him Fromm Grain Free Game Bird dry, with a teaspoon of canned mixed in.

Twice a week for the last three weeks he’s had terrible diarrhea. He’ll eat grass like crazy and then his poop will be loose and mucousy. He’s fine otherwise. The first week it happened I thought it was just a fluke, so I gave him a bland diet and he was back to normal in a couple of days. It happened again last week so I took the stool in to the vet for a fecal test. Everything came back neg, even giardia. I didn’t feed him for a whole day, then a bland diet for a day, and he was fine for the rest of the week.

Now, this morning, when I took him out he was eat grass like crazy and his poor stomach was making noises. Again, he had loose, mucousy stools. He didn’t want any breakfast, but drank water. Other than the diarrhea he seems fine. So, I don’t know if I should take him to the vet or wait.

I would love any thoughts. I have some extra Fortiflora at home, which I might give him with his dinner.

Thanks!

[Mom2Cavs]

I’ve gone through this kind of thing with Laverne, one of my Cavaliers. She had diarrhea/loose stools and rumbling stomach and inappetance, along with anal gland problems, tearing, licking forearms and scratching her sides. What helped was definitely adding probiotics/enzymes to her meals and also taking her off all poultry. She is much better now. I also went through various foods to find one that did the “trick”. It took awhile. I know the food I’m currently feeding is not recommended by people on this site due to it being a Diamond food, but it has seriously worked for Laverne, and the other dogs are doing great on it, too. I’ve been using TOTW Pacific Stream and I’m also now mixing in their Sierra Mountain flavor. I do add canned food as a topper (a couple tblsp.) with each meal, plus probiotics/enzymes. The cans I use most are TOTW (poultry free) and Wellness stews/Simple line (poultry free). I’ve also started adding some coconut oil…no real reason, except I had some on hand and just wanted to use it up….and it can’t hurt. The dogs poop twice a day and there is no licking, itching, coats are good and soft, no anal gland problems, tear staining, etc. Their energy is fine and they love the kibble, even eat it as treats. I will keep feeding this food as long as it works. I am aware of Diamond and will be vigilant. Sorry, I went on too long, lol! Anyway, the point is that you should probably try a different food, preferably one without at least chicken, start adding probiotics/enzymes and go from there. While I love Fromm, and I used to feed it quite a lot, I think it has too many ingredients, at least for my dogs. They never did all that great on it, come to think about it…..stool quality was never the way it should’ve been. They also liked it but never loved it. Great company, though! Another thing I would like to mention….when my dog started having a rumbling stomach in the morning it helped to give a snack right before bedtime. I used to use a biscuit treat of some kind, but now I just give about a tblsp. of their kibble. I don’t think I need to do this anymore, but they are used to getting it and no harm done, lol.

[BRT]

You dog sound just like mine. I have to take him to the vet to have his anals expressed monthly, plus he’s always licking/scratching his tummy, and has tear stain issues. I’ve used Angel Eyes for the tear staining and it helps tremendously.

I used to feed him Natural Balance Venison and Sweet Potato, which he did find on, but switched him over to Fromm over the summer after reading stuff on here. I’m seriously considering going back to NB. The only complaint I had with that is that he had really hard, small stools. I also use Wellness stew as a topper.

It’s funny that you mentioned coconut oil. I actually gave him a 1/2 teaspoon of coconut oil in his food three weeks ago and that when the diarrhea started. It’s been once a week since then. I haven’t given it to him since, but he gets his Omega 3 vitamin ever evening.

He already gets a biscuit before bed, so I don’t know what’s causing this issue. I’ll probably give him a teaspoon of pumpkin when I go home for lunch and buy him some rice.

What probiotic/enzyme do you use for the dogs?

Thanks!

[DogManDan]

heya BRT, I hope your dog will get well soon… is he still on the on the same food diet as before? what changes have you made since then? I’m trying to understand these things so to avoid having to encounter this problem in the future.

[BRT]

Hi there,

Here’s an update. I took him to the vet on Friday evening and they checked him out and did fecal cytology and found an overgrowth of bacteria. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the name of the bacteria. The vet said that’s what’s causing the vicious cycle of diarrhea, but she was uncertain of what caused the overgrowth since his fecal was negative for parasites. It’s a bacteria that’s normally in their gut. So, he’s on metronidazole for 10 days along with Fortiflora. He was on a bland diet for a couple of days. I’m just now slowly switching him back to his normal food.

I’m going to stick with Fromm, but once he’s 100% better I’m going to switch him over to the regular Fromm. Hope that helps!

[Mom2Cavs]

Was the bacteria clostridium? Anyway, probiotics/enzymes daily can help keep the balance of bacteria in check. I would use it with the Fromm once you have him back on it. I use a few different brands of probiotics/enzymes, switching it up every now and then. Right now I’m using Wholistic Pet Digest All Plus, which I like a lot. They get it with every meal. It mixes in great with canned food or water. I’m feeding TOTW Pacific Stream topped with canned food. I’ve also started giving them a Fresh Factors chew from Springtime Inc., which is a whole food vitamin supplement. This is mainly for my Mixed Breed, Lucy’s, benefit. She has cancer. But, it doesn’t hurt the Cavs at all to get it. I have to give Lucy’s with cream cheese, but the Cavs take the Fresh Factors like treats. I actually don’t give the coconut oil all the time…I’m very inconsistent with it actually. Bad mom :). I am also thinking about trying Fromm again…the Beef Frittata grain free…and if I do, I will mix it in very, very slowly.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[BRT]

Mom2Cavs – I’m going to check out the probiotics your recommended. I incorporated more of his kibble into the food this morning. My plan is to get them off of canned food and just use a teaspoon of pumpkin in their food daily as a topper. They love pumpkin!

I tried the Fromm Beef Frittata grain free with them and my maltese/toy poodle did not have a good reaction to the beef. His bottom was very itchy and his poops not so good, so that’s how ended up on the game bird.

I actually looked into Fresh Factors, but haven’t tried it. My older boy get a glucosamine supplement and they both get an Omega 3 vitamin. Will definitely look into a probiotic.

Have you tried apple cider vinegar with your dogs?

[Mom2Cavs]

BRT….Sounds like you have a good plan. Mine don’t seem to like the taste of pumpkin lol. I tried ACV years ago with my 2 mixed breeds and Lucy WOULD NOT take it in any way, so I gave up. Haven’t tried it since. I used to have to give my boy mixed breed, Desi, a joint supp. due to both rear luxating patellas. I gave Springtime Joint Health chews and they worked great for him. I like all Springtime supplements. But, Lucy doesn’t like Longevity at all lol. So I just use their chews and their Omega 3-6-9 (when I use an omega supp., that is). I started adding a little of the Beef Frittata in and so far, ok. But I am so worried it’s not gonna go as well as I hope with the Fromm. They really do well with the Pacific Stream, though I think Lucy is not doing as well as the Cavs with it. It could be the fish protein with her. My cat, Princess, does really well with Earthborn, Fromm, Tiki Cat canned food and loves Instinct, Orijen and/or Acana dry. I just bought a bag of Fromm Gamebird for cats and she is loving it! She is fed canned am and pm and the dry is left out for her to graze on.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 6 months ago by Mom2Cavs.

[Char]

Please ask your vet to do a blood test for EPI (Exocrine Pancreatic Insuffiency). It can cause the diarrhea issues – has your dog lost weight? Also contributes to small intestine bacterial overgrowth. There’s an excellent site called epi4dogs with a wealth of info if you want to know more. EPI can be controlled with the right food (varies from dog to dog) and the addition of pancreatic enzymes to each meal. We recently adopted a GSD with EPI. 🙂 We feed TOTW Pacific Stream and will be adding pumpkin and coconut oil in the near future.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by Char. Reason: Added info

[DogManDan]

good to hear that they have found out whats causing the problem…. hopefully they will recover soon. About the apple cider vinegar, i’ve been reading all about it online and it seems a good alternative supplements. any brands that you would recommend? I think i read some saying that the best one’s must be fermented and unfiltered. I Don’t think mine loves pumpkin too 🙂 they would just sniff on it and walkaway.

[BRT]

Here’s an update: He’s finished his round of metronidazole yesterday. His poop is formed, but soft. I can picked it up, but some of it will stick to the grass. Now, he doesn’t want to eat his kibble by itself or even with a little pumpkin. He only wants the canned food that the vet gave us. He did eat breakfast this morning. This evening he vomited bile and when I took him out for a walk he just wanted to eat grass again. But, he didn’t poop.

For dinner I gave him some of the canned, which he gobbled up. He’s alert and is barking at everything as usual. He’s still chasing his brother around, but he just seems more tired than usual. Right now he’s just resting on my lap. I guess he just wants some extra TLC.

I’m taking him back to the vet on Fri. She might do bloodwork. They want me to continue with the canned food and Fortiflora until I get him into see his vet.

My poor boy. I hope he feels better soon.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 5 months ago by BRT.

[BRT]

DogManDan: I actually use Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar. I make the drink that’s on the bottle.

I haven’t given it to the dogs yet. I think you have to start really slow with it if you’re going to try. Good luck!

[Author]

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