[Tara M]

My 11 month old GSD mix has been dealing with chronic diarrhea for about 3 months now. My vet first prescribed antibiotics, Pepcid (for constant grass eating) and Proviable-DC with a tentative diagnosis of beginning signs of IBS or IBD due to high level of bad gut bacteria. She was on Authority Large Breed Puppy (chicken formula) when symptoms first started, the we transitioned to the Lamb & Rice with the same results.While on the antibiotics, Shyla’s symptoms were resolved but within 5 days of finishing, she was right back where we started. Our vet refilled the Pepcid and antibiotic with longer dosage time with a recommendation for a prescription diet. I know my vet uses Hill’s ( a brand I do not trust) and I’m not in favor. I am really wanting Shyla to be completly off the antibiotics and know it is time to go grain free and work from there to determine if this is a food intolerance but am lost as to which would be the best for her, especially when I’m on a budget with three rescues in the home. I need a good quality food but affordable as due to her weight class, she requires 4 cups of kibble daily. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated to this novice dog mama.

[Susan]

Hi Tara, my Patch also has IBD, & he’s on the Vet Prescription Diet Eukanuba Intestinal & a good Probiotic this was the only kibble that stable his diarrhea, cause the fiber is only 1.75% Iams makes a low residue kibble but its different to the Eukanuba it has By-products & the fiber is higher, Ive had Patch on the Eukanuba Intestinal since August 2013 to rest & heal his bowel, the vet said 1 year just the Eukanuba Intestinal nothing else, but last December I started trying another kibble which gave Patch real bad diarrhea I think it was the fat% or the potatos so back to the Intestinal then I tried the Holistic Select senior kibble Chicken Meal & rice I got the senior cause the fat % was only 10% & fiber 3.50% protein is 26%…but Patch also get Stomach acid reflux so now Im trying the Wellness Simple Duck & Oatmeal kibble as we just got it in at our Pat Barn he’s still on his Intestinal…. The Wellness Simple Limited ingredient has Lamb & oatmeal, Salmon & Potato grainfree Turkey & Potato… he’s the Wellness site http://www.wellnesspetfood.com all their products will come up, but few people on this site use Pure Balance or Racheal Ray Grainfree from Walmart..or there’s “4 Health” from Tractor Supply but make sure you look at the Fat % & Fiber % my boy has trouble with his Small Intestine so he needs less fiber if ur girl is having trouble with his large intestine she’ll need more fiber but having stomach Bacteria Id say its her small bowel like Patch… Patch had the H-pylori Virus last year & had to take Metronidazole to clear his bacteria up.. the Eukanuba has FOS thats suppost to help with stomach Bacteria also a give a good probiotic… even if you use a prescription kibble just until her bowel heals then like Im doing slowly try to introduce another kibble thats not a vet prescription diet, but when things go bad again u know u can fall back on his vet diet…

[crazy4cats]

Hi Tara-
Since you said he has bad gut bacteria, I’m assuming that you have had a fecal test done. It is common for a pup to get Coccidia and/or Giardia. Hopefully, those have been ruled out. I had a problem with loose stools with my dogs and feeding grain free Victor and adding probiotics, digestive enzyme and a supplement that contains slippery elm is very helpful. Victor is a budget friendly 5 star grain free food.
I feel like you need to figure out what is causing the diarrhea. Whether it be parasites, food intolerance or IBS, so you can fix the issue.
The dogaware.com website has a lot of great info on their digestive disorders thread. I wish you the best. It’s not a very fun issue!

[Tara M]

Thank you for your replies. Yes, a fecal test was done to rule out parasites and any other known causes and none was found, which is why the tentative diagnosis of IBS/IBD. She is currently on Proviable-DC probiotic as well. I will be checking out the dogaware.com website. I am hoping to find a supplier in my area for the Victor’s as I have read the reviews and looks to be what I am looking for since I know going through the vet’s for food would cost a small fortune, as I have already spent a great deal in just the three months since all symptoms started. Any thoughts on adding unrefined organic coconut oil to her diet? I have heard this can be really good for digestive disorders as well.

[crazy4cats]

I just recently bought some (coconut oil) so I don’t have any real experience with it other than I think it tastes yummy! Lol! I mostly used supplements with slippery elm, l-Glutamine, DGL, and similar. The coconut oil is supposed to be very good for them. Give it a try! Also wanted to tell you that when I feed my dogs Victor with Northwest Naturals mixed in, their “output” is awesome! I only feed a few times a week because it is expensive and I have a lot of canned I need to go through. There are other frozen raw nuggets, such as Nature’s Variety that you could check out also.

[Author]

Posts