[Jennifer W]

I have a 14 month old intact female Giant Schnauzer from a very ethical responsible breeder (spent 2 yrs on wait list for a pup). You may or may not know that Schnauzers can have a defect in their gut (the exact cause is unknown) that makes it very hard to digest fat and puts them at increased risk for pancreatitis or worse, a condition called Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis (HGE) which can often be fatal and when not fatal becomes a chronic life long health battle. Since my girl has had 3 bouts of bright red bloody stools that got her sent to after hours ER vet, I have put the fear of God in me about what she gets her mouth on. The breeder feeds Purina Pro Plan (which is one of your top 10 picks) and gave me a pretty thorough “feeding plan” to adulthood. Ordinarily the breeder would have her on 5-6 cups per day of the Large Breed Under 2 Years and that’s what she’s been on up til recently. I’ve switched her off the chicken/rice one to the Salmon/rice (still Pro Plan under 2) (it has a German Shepherd on the bag).

Anyway, I did this because she just never has firm poops – and I mean never. It isn’t diarrhea, but it’s mushy enough that it’s difficult to pick it up with a poop bag. It just kinda mushes everywhere. At least once every other month or so she’ll have a bout that requires several meals of white rice and pumpkin along with 2 doses of Imodium to quiet her gut down. She’s not a huge fan of food so I just leave her bowl full and she eats when she feels like it. Her poops smell far more than my Corgi’s poops (she’s on Nulo Weight Mgt), but I wouldn’t say they smell particularly foul. She’s perfectly healthy otherwise and her weight is good – very pronounced waist, but you can’t see or feel ribs when petting her sides. But, becuz of my fear of HGE and the chronic soft stools I’m wondering if I should consider something different. I fed my GSDs a raw-ish diet of small about of high quality kibble (for bulk), mackerel filets, Icelandic sardine oil, Sojos Mix a Meal, and a GSD specific vit/min supplement. My Corgi also gets the sardine oil and 2-3 mackerel filets per week. My last GSD was 19 generations OFA Good or Excellent so I know that diet works, but I’m worried about what all that fish oil might do. I’m just at a loss for what’s the best approach. I’ve even thought about taking her to a gastroenterologist at A&M, but my local vet said they don’t what causes this in Schnauzers so there’s not much they do but treat it symptomatically and watch what she ingests. Cheerios and cheese are the only training treats we use also. She prefers Munster over cheddar or Swiss. ;o) Any thoughts?

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