[Susana M]

My beagle have had history of digestive problems. Once I took to the hospital because he ate something ( we assumed was a whole plantain) they did a stomach reatment with charcoal.
A year ago I took him to the vet because he had bloody stools, in that occasion he recommended I/D science and diet low fat for digestive problems and sulfasalazine, he got better. Doc said that the problem was that he used to eat everything, which is eventually true. Besides that he gave him a dewarmer just in case. Second episode happened and the same treatment was given. I have to say that during this problem he looks down and his stomach makes noises that I’m able to hear from 10 feet of distance. If I take him out he eats grass like for 20 min.
At the third episode I brought my Beagle to another vet, they did same test on him and X-rays. Nothing abnormal. This vet recommended same food ( I/D low fat disgestive science and diet hills) and metronidazole. The point is that he had episodes every two o three weeks.
I had a concern about the food because I noticed that he was getting fat and very bad odor on his mouth. I read some bad reviews about that food and I decided to changed to Arcana Heritage, I did the transition during a week, but he is getting worse.

Please help me

[Susan]

Hi Susana,
Stop feeding the Acana, Acana is probably too rich for a dog with intestinal stress, it has organ meats, Acana is excellent for a healthy dog that doesn’t have intestinal problems.

Sounds like your boy has a few food intolerances & there’s an ingredients in the Hills I/d formula & Acana formula he’s sensitive too, this happened with my Patch when I rescued & adopted him 5yrs ago, he had rumbling, grumbling LOUD bowel noises, I’d hear him in another room, these loud noises are gases rumbling thru the bowel & can be painful, Patch would do the same eat & eat grass, then his vet said only let him eat about 2 mintues worth of grass then stop him eating grass, the long pieces of grass can tangle together & cause a blockage or the grass can cause diarrhea…
I have found a dry bit of white toasted bread is best to give when these noises are happening, dry toast seems to settle the stomach also liquid Mylanta, 1 teaspoon 5mls seems to settle the stomach & bowel aswell & stops the loud rumbling bowel noises..
Once you work out what foods he is sensitive too these rumbling bowel noises will stop…
Patch also had streaks of blood thru his poos some days, this was cause he was eating an ingredient that he was sensitive too & I didnt know it was irratating his bowel then 1 night he had diarrhea that turned into blood water, I rushed him to the vet 8am his vet said looks like he has IBD cause I had been there a few times before with stomach/bowel problems. Patch was put on a Hydrolzed vet diet Royal Canine HP & Metronidazole for 21 days the bowel needs to heal & rest but he cont digest the Royal Canine HP vet diet ended up causing other problems….
Patch hasn’t had no more problems as long as Patch doesn’t eat Chickpeas, Lentils, Barley, Oats, Beet Pulp for his bowel & Chicken Tapioca & Carrots cause itchy smelly yeasty paws ears & skin problems… Food Sensitivities/Intolerances can cause gas/wind, farts, sloppy poo, diarrhea, smelly yeasty ears, paws, skin, itchy skin, bum rubbing on ground, just depends on the dog….

Both of the vet you saw have given the Metronidazole which was good to heal his bowel but the vets should of prescribed him a limited ingredient kibble that was chicken & grain free either the Hills D/D Potato & Venison or the Potato & Duck limited ingredient formulas or the Royal Canine Select proteins, Potato & Rabbit etc…

Go to “Tractor Supply Co & look for the “4Health” Sensitive Stomach it has Egg & Potato very easy to digest limited ingredients & will help his blowel rest & heal…

Don’t feed any more kibbles that are higher then 27%-protein or high in Kcals per cup no higher then 380 Kcals per cup & don’t have too many ingredients cause there will be more chance that he’s sensitive to an ingredient the more ingredients there is & he’ll react…

then when he’s doing really well try the “4Health Sensitive Skin” it has limited ingredients & has Hydrolyzed Salmon & Pea flour very easy to digest ingredients, the Acana might have been too high in protein & very rich high in Kcals per cup, when a kibble is high in Kcals over 400 the kibble is more dense & harder to digest & when a dog has a sensitive stomach bowel it’s too hard to break down….
His smelly breath sounds like his stomach bowel is not working properly the Metronidazole will fix ths problem, my vet writes out a few repeat scripts of teh Metronidazole & I just take teh scripts to a chemist & get out, my boy still takes Metronidazole on & off if he starts getting his smelly fermenting breath, acid reflux or if I see he’s starting to do sloppy poos for more then 2 days I re start him on the Metronidazole 1 x 200mg tablet every 12 hours with food for 10-14 days then the next 10 days just give him 1x 200mg tablet with his dinner that’s for a 40lb +18kg dog but since he’s been eating the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb he’s been doing really well, I do rotate & feed other brands but this has taken me nilly 4 yrs to get Patch gut healthy again & if Im feeding him another brand kibble & he starts getting stomach/bowel symptoms I put him back on her TOTW Roasted Lamb kibble & he goes good again….finally after 2 yrs of trying all the vet diets I had joined a few face book groups for Canines with IBD, EPI & dogs were doing really well on ” 4Health” formula’s & “Taste Of The Wild’ Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb formula, TOTW Lamb has limited ingredients only has 1 meat protein Lamb, Sweet potato. potato, peas, egg, very easy to digest….

Always read the ingredient list before buying a new kibble, read what ingredients are in the Acana & the I/d formula & try & aviod these proteins & ingredients for now.. Continue with the Metronidazole stop the Acana take it back for a refund, only feed a very bland diet like the 4Health Sensitive Stomach or Sensitive Skin formula’s for now… or try the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb these formula’s do not have Chickpeas or lentils as these ingredient are harder to digest when te dogs stomach & bowel isnt working properly…
Good-luck keep me up dated with what is happening, hopefully he’ll be doing firm poos in a few days..

[anonymous]

Go to the vet, not just when he is sick. Annual checkups and lab work. Get a diagnosis and see what the vet advises.
Blood in the feces is not normal, eating grass is not good, something is wrong.
Best of luck.

PS: /disclaimer-and-disclosure/ excerpt below
Please be advised that we not veterinarians. For this reason, this website was never meant to be used as a substitute for sound professional advice.
Because the health of your dog can be directly affected by what you read here, you should always consult with a licensed veterinary professional before taking any specific action.

[Mary G]

I am so sorry you are going through this with your beagle. I also have a beagle with health issues. It could be your doggie is allergic to some of the ingredients of the food. If you can, find a vet that also knows about homeopathy and natural diets. I was feeding mine dry kibble but he had two health scares with his heart and high glucose. I went to a homeopathic veterinarian and nutritionist and am now giving him natural foods (with recipes provided by the vet) and of course following his instructions as far as supplementing him with powdered bone and multivitamin. He is doing wonderfully well. Of course it is more work because you need to cook the ingredients and then mix it daily but I am happy to do it if it means he is healthier and is getting less preservatives. Sometimes the dry kibbble is not for most dogs and something in them makes them sick. That would be another option where you control what you give him and they prefer natural food anyway. Try taking him to another vet and ask about that. On a side note, Royal Canin and Proplan have recipes for doggies with digestive issues but you must first determine what he might be allergic to. Hope this helps!

[Susana M]

Thank you very much for your time, your answer and details. I really appreciate it. I will follow your advices and will let you know. Thank you!!

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