[Melodie G]

Hi all, I am a first time poster here. We have a 3.5 year old black lab named Bauer. Since day one of having him we have been dealing with GI problems. We along with our Vet have been trying to get this under control (switching foods, drugs, B12 injections etc.) for the past 3 years and nothing seems to help. It started off as diarrhea and then diarrhea with bloating, then just bloating. And when I say bloating I mean soon after he heats he balloons up like the good year blimp it’s bad. Every time we think we have it figured out bloating and/or skin rash come back. He is currently on a vet prescribed food (I know you guys think this is bad) it has helped with the bloating and gas quite a bit but it is still there. We are also wetting his food and raising it (he is really tall), which seems to be helping more then the food itself (more improvement since doing this). His poops on this one are fantastic and small! While this food right now is OK it isn’t perfect and also costs almost $130/bag OUCH! Below I will list all of the foods we have tried along with what problems we noticed. My question to all of you is do any of you have any suggestions? What kind of food should we try next? Is there anything else you have had any luck with to help with bloating?

1. Royal Canin puppy – he came with this food and we got him off of it right away.
2. Royal Canin Labrador – Uncle had good success with this so we thought we would try. It gave him bad diarrhea.
3. Hills prescription – Vet Recommended and did not help got off of it quickly.
4. Natural Balance LID sweet potato venison or bison – Can’t remember which one, this one helped with the poops for a bit then not so much and then the bloating started.
5. Go sensitive lean and shine Salmon – Worked well for poops and bloating for a while. It wasn’t perfect but it worked. Then the bloating got really bad (around the time my daughter started solids and even after keeping him from all human food the bloating still continued) and the rash started.
6. Purina pro plan Vet HA vegetarian – Like I said before works better then the rest but not perfect and uber expensive.

I would like something that works like number 6. at the very least and something that isn’t as expensive. We go through a bag every 3 weeks.

[anonymous]

Consult a Veterinary Internal Medicine Specialist. If you have not seen improvement within a reasonable amount of time from treatment by the regular vet, I think it’s time to step it up a notch. Don’t you? In fact, why not ask your vet for a referral, from what you described, food is not going to fix this. Further testing is needed to diagnose the dog, preferably by a specialist.
Do you even have a diagnosis? Thought so. That is the first thing you want, 3.5 years and no diagnosis? There is no cheap way out of this, but, once the dog starts treatment, hopefully you will have a smooth run.

PS: There is nothing wrong with prescription food. Bloating and gas are symptoms, not a diagnosis.

[Susan]

Hi Melodie,
you need to see a proper IBD vet, one that specializes in IBD, also have biopsies done to see WHY this is happening with your boy?? I can fully understand what your going thru, I have a IBD Staffy with skin allergies & food sensitivities.. have you joined any Canine or dog IBD groups on Face Book?? you’ll get a lot of help or there’s a UK IBD group as well…
After trying most of the vet diets that fixed the sloppy poos but caused skin problems or bad acid reflux & vomiting & bloating some vet diet kibbles just sat in his stomach & he’d vomit it back up 7 hours later & these are vet diets that don’t digest???..
I finally found “Taste Of The Wild’ Sierra Mountain, Roasted Lamb kibble for my boy last year thru the EPI f/b group, you need to work out does your dog do better on LESS fiber or a diet with MORE fiber, my boy does better on low fiber diet & a low carb diet, normally dogs with IBD do better with less fiber especially if they are bloating & low carb diets, get a small bag of “Holistic Select” Adult/Puppy, Salmon, Anchovy & Sardine Meal Grain Free kibble its low in carbs 28% fat is 13-14% & just has fish as the protein or try the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb kibble it has the matching wet tin food as well & the TOTW Roasted Lamb kibble is a single protein kibble, it just has Lamb no other proteins, don’t feed any kibbles that have more then 1 protein or too many ingredients, wet tin food is better but watch the fat% as the fat% is different to the dry kibble fat% stay around 4% fat & under for wet tin foods, that’s around 14-16% fat if it was a dry kibble.. but only feed 1 thing at a time wet or dry till you work out if it agrees with your poor boy..
I rotate Patches kibbles now he can’t stay on the same kibble for too long, 1-2 months he starts reacting with pain & starts whinging, & now he cant eat his cooked lean pork rissoles anymore, vet said it’s his IBD & he gets put back on Metronidazole (Flagyl) for 10-21 days, so now I’m trying the Hills vet diet I/d Digestive Care wet tin food, Ijust feed it for 2 of his meals, I feed 5 small meals a day, he can NOT eat more then 1/2 a cup of kibble at 1 time he does the same & bloats & gets PAIN & whinges for me to rub his stomach pancreas area, so he gets either TOTW Lamb, Canidae Pure Wild Boar, or Holistic Select Salmon, kibble 1/2 a cup at 7am then at 9am 1/2 cup same brand kibble again then 12pm 1/2 a small tin of the Hills I/d wet food, we are trying the Hills wet tin Vet Diet & the vet just ordered today the Royal Canine Hypoallergenic wet tin food to see if he does better on the Royal Canine cause with the Hills I/d wet tin Patch gets his red paws from the chicken, corn starch & I have to take out all the carrots cause carrot makes his ears itchy but he doesn’t get his pain on the Hills I/d Digestive Care & at 5pm he gets another 1/2 cup kibble & 8pm the other 1/2 Hills I/d wet tin food heated up in micro wave, feeding 5 smaller meals a day & daily walks as well Patches pain seems heaps better, soaking his kibble in water cause bad acid reflux for Patch, then I read it’s no good soaking kibble & leaving any water in the kibble bowl, so I stopped doing it… have you tried the Vet Diet “Eukanuba Intestinal” Low Residue kibble?? its very very low in low residue fiber & the kibble breaks down real easy like the TOTW, Canidae & Holistic Select kibbles do….
I do my kibble test, get a glass of very warm water now put 2 kibbles in glass of warm water, a good kibble will float to top of water & a good kibble will only take about 15mins – 40mins to soften all the way thru do not feed any kibbles that take longer then 50mins to go soft all the way thru take the bag of kibble back & say ur dog wont eat it, most kibbles have a Palatability money back…I’m always asking for sample emailing kibble companies for sample so I can test the kibbles & see if they go soft within 40mins..
I asked one of Patches vets could he do a Endoscope & biopsies 3 yrs ago with Patch to see what was wrong, they put camera down the throat into stomach, it’s painless I just had it done yesterday & they get biopsies from stomach & sometimes the vet can go into the small bowel & get a biopsies as well if the flap isn’t shut, if you can afford this do it, biopsies tell you so much, you will get some answers what’s happening, why hasn’t your vet tried more vets diets you have just tried Hills & Purina HA which is like the Hills Z/d formula, Royal Canine has a better range of vet diets & has their Hypoallergenic wet tin & dry kibble, Hypoallergenic kibbles break down easy & the stomach doesn’t have to work as hard, You might have to do what I do by the end of the month, I have to start a new kibble formula, TOTW has been the only kibble he does real well on no itchy skin, firm poos & NO stomach pain, maybe give the TOTW Sierra Mountain Roasted Lamb a try, it has the least ingredients or TOTW Pacific Stream, Smoked Salmon kibble or TOTW wet tin food, but I’m pretty sure the America TOTW Pacific Stream has Garbanzo beans (Chick Peas) these can cause gas, wind & bloating, I try & stay away from Lentils, Chickpeas….. Costco has their Kirkland Signature, Salmon & Sweet Potatoes it’s made by TOTW & heaps cheaper then TOTW, you know the Purina HA works so there’s 1 kibble to rotate with when he’s going down hill again & seems unwell, you just need to find 2 more kibbles, I use the kibbles mentioned above, Spring/Summer I feed the Holistic Select Salmon/sardine kibble cause of Patches skin allergies the extra Omega 3 is good for their skin & stomach/bowel… I’m leaving the Purina HA till last it’s the only vet diet Patch hasn’t tried yet, we have just gotten the Purina HA here in Australia…
Keep us up dated, I’ll post the links to the dog IBD f/b groups tomorrow, I have to go to bed it’s late….

[crazy4cats]

Hi Melodie-
First of all, I don’t think prescription food is terrible if your pet has a medical condition requiring it. Especially a life threatening condition, such as bloat. If his stomach twists while being bloated, he could end up in an emergency condition needing surgery to save his life. Have you ever discussed adding a little canned food to his kibble with the vet? I’ve read that it may cut down the possibility of bloat along with not a lot of exercise or activity after eating. I also think that it sounds like more tests need to be done to figure out exactly what is causing this issue. Scary stuff!

I feed my cat Royal Canin Rx kibble along with mostly canned food due to his tendency to form crystals in his urine. I’m not taking any chances on another blockage. The food is expensive and the ingredients seem weird to me. But…the food is keepng him flowing like a horse!! Good luck! I hope you find something that works!

• This reply was modified 7 years ago by crazy4cats.

[Melodie G]

Thank you all for your replies. The food seems to be working better now that we have been wetting it for a few weeks now. I spent a few days away in the hospital with my 1.5 year old and noticed that Bauer was also doing better while we were gone. People food really seems to be a trigger, and with her not being there to drop things, I did notice an improvement. For now we will stick to this food and maybe in the future I will try another food and wet it so that we can have a rotation of food. Because like I said before he did well on one for a while and then it just didn’t work anymore. So I think a rotation is what we will need. We try to keep him outside while the kids are eating but that doesn’t always work. I will just have to try harder to keep him away from people food, which won’t be easy for the next little bit with a toddler but we will do our best.

[pitlove]

Hi Melodie-

Glad you at least found one common denominator with his symtoms (people food). One thing to consider about your idea that a rotational diet will fix the issue because he will do well on a food for a short time and then have symptoms again…a rotational diet could simply mask the symptoms and not let you know if he is actually better or not. The goal should be to know that there is a food he CAN eat long term with no symptoms.

It may still be wise to pay the money to see an internal medicine specialist and have en endoscope and biopsies done of his GI tract.

[Author]

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