Hi Lindsay,
Sometimes diarrhea may not be food related, “Food Sensititivies”
the diet you were feeding probably has caused an imbalance in his intestinal tract, causing too much bad bacteria over growth….
I have a dog with IBD, Environment Allergies & Food Sensitivities, my boy does excellent eating Sweet Potatoes, Potatoes but doesn’t do well eating Lentils or Chickpeas he gets bad diarrhea from lentils & chickpeas cause bad gas & sloppy poos…
Dr Greg Aldrich PhD, Research Associate Professor at Kansas State University, Pet Food & Ingredient Technology,
found Legume Seeds carry significant quantities of FERMENTABLE OLIGSACCHARIDES, In small amounts these may be beneficicial to the animal BUT large concentrations of Legumes can become an issue & have significant impact on level of fermentable fiber in the colon, limit legume seeds, no more then 20% in a dogs diet…
I’d say this is what has happened with your boy & is still happening & diarrhea isnt clearing up, his diet has caused floral imbalance & has affected the balance between beneficial bacteria vs.harmful bacteria in his intestinal tract.
this is why your vet has put him on Purina Fortiflora, but your dog needs something stronger?
…Make sure fiber % is under 5%, his diet is not too high in fiber, a dogs digestive tract is short & they don’t need all this fiber in their diet, alot of these newer grain free dry kibbles are higher in fiber cause of all the Legumes….
…My boy will eat the same kibble & have NO problems with his IBD then all of a sudden he starts racting doing very sloppy, smelly poos or gets bad diarrhea & has bad gas (farts), its either from his environment allergies are so bad & puts his immune system into over drive his vet said causing a bad IBD flare, it always happens late March, the end of Summer (I live Australia).
My vet said she see’s us every March & showed me her computer screen & we visit her around the same date every March these last 5yrs needing medications, this is when she said to keep a diary, then over the years you’ll start to see a pattern with his Environment allergies, but sometimes when Patch has sloppy poos or has diarrhea the vet says he has too much bad bacteria… I think she knows when she asks what colour is his sloppy poos, too much bad bacteria, normally dog does yellow smelly poos its Small Intestinal Bowel Overgrowth, (S.I.B.O)…Big Dark cow paddy poos are normally a large bowel problem..
Patch gets put him on Metronidazole 200mg for 3 weeks, 1 x 200mg tablet twice a day, every 12 hours with a meal for 2 weeks, then the next week he just takes 1 x 200mg tablet with his Dinner for 7 days.
Metronidazole kills the bad bacteria in stomach & bowel, I change & rotate his diet but when he’s doing diarrhea from Environment allergies & his immune system has gone off the rails & is over reacting, I just feed him what he’s been eating cause his diarrhea isn’t caused by too much bad bacteria in gut…
You would have seen on the news lately about Legumes, I wouldn’t be feeding my dog a high Legume diet & Zignature is very high in Legumes, till FDA works out why Legumes are blocking Taurine in dogs diet…..
How did you work out he can’t eat Chicken, Sweet Potatoes & Potatoes?? I thought the same 4-5 yrs ago when I first rescued Patch, I thought Patch couldn’t eat Potatoes & for 1 yr I didnt know what to feed Patch, it was a nightmare until 1 lady that worked at Pet Shop told me to start adding 2 tablespoons of boiled potato to his meals or give 2 tablespoons of boiled potato for lunch as a treat daily & see does he get diarrhea?? & she was right he was not sensitive to potatoes or sweet potatoes, they firmed up his poo’s lol.. I look back now & I think it was the fish in the Eukanuba FP- Potato & Fish vet diet I started to introduce, something was off making Patch very unwell with bad diarrhea, I bought Eukanuba FP for his skin allergies, poor Patch had bad diarrhea for 1 week straight, we couldnt clear up his diarrhea, so he couldnt eat no food for 48hours, only given an electrolyte drinks, then take Metodinazole twice a day & then was put onto Royal Canine Low Fat Intestinal wet can food only, its pork, corn & rice, then when course of Metonidazole tablets were finished, he was put on Protexin Probiotic powder for 6months…
Have you done a proper elimination food diet? this can take up to 6 months or you can use a Hypoallergic vet diet, then when dog is doing well, you start adding 1 new ingredient with the vet diet & he cant eat any treats nothing just the Hypoallergenic vet diet & then introduce 1 new food every 6 weeks…
I’d see your vet again & tell him his diarrhea isnt clearing up, ask can you try a 21-28 day course of “Metronidazole” to kill the bad bacteria, then when the Metronidazole course is finished start giving the Purina Pro Plan Fortifora again give without any food, best to give probiotics inbetween meals or first thing of the morning when stomach acids are low, not high, when you’re digesting your food your stomach acids are higher & kill the live probiotics…I was mixing 1 teaspoon probiotic powder with 10-15ml water, swirling water & dissolving powder in bowl & then Patch would drink it, mid morning inbeween meals he thought he was getting a treat….
What meat protein does he do well on?
I’d look for a Freeze dried or Air dried food like “Ziwi Peak” – https://www.ziwipets.com/catalog/ziwi-peak-dog-nutrition
or look for a limited ingredient kibble that has just 1 single meat protein you know he does well on & make sure omega 3 & 6 is balanced properly, Omega 3% should be around 1/2 of what the Omega 6% is, this is why vet diets are good as they’re properly balanced.
I normally suggest Sweet Potatoes & Potates for diarrhea as dogs normally do firmer poos on potatoes, even vet diets have potatoes for the Skin & Stomach health, Royal Canine has their Select Protein formula’s & Hills has their D/D formula’s, but he cant eat potatoes, is this cause he’s sensitive to them & gets yeasty ears & skin or does he get diarrhea??
a dog only gets yeasty skin paws & ears when he is sensitive to an ingredient & then he reacts causing stomach or skin problems or Environment allergies can cause yeasty skin ears & paws…
Maybe ask your vet for a Intestinal Health vet diet or a Hypoallergenic vet diet to help balance gut flora for healthy gut & take the Metronidazole then after he’s doing really well after 4-6months then I’d look for a limited ingredient kibble that has healthy grains, if he cant eat sweet potatoes & potatoes…
then once you find a few different brands he does well on the start rotating between different brands, so he isnt eating the same dog food 24/7 & if something is wrong with one brand he’s eating your rotating his food every 2-3 months & not causing any health problems….Rotating foods strengthen immune system/gut aswell..
* “Wellness Simple” LID Lamb & Oats or Duck & Oats -https://www.wellnesspetfood.com/natural-dog-food/simple-dogs
* “Wellness Core”
Core Dog Products
* “Farmina” has LID or Farmina Vet Life – https://www.farmina.com/us/d-dog-food.html
* “Natural Balance” LID Lamb & Rice
