[Tom P]

My 11 year old mini dachshund has been fed Orijen for her whole life, with no problems whatsoever. A month or two ago she began having really bad diarrhea. Over the course of 3 weeks we took her to an emergency vet 3 times, and each time they gave us some antibiotics and plain wet food. Although it helped, her poop was still not back to normal. Throughout all of this my dog was acting perfectly fine, no change in energy or behavior, just diarrhea.

I was finally able to make it in to my normal vet, who explained to me that, as weird as it seemed, a dogs system can indeed change pretty radically in a short period of time, so it isn’t super unusual that a food which she had been fine with for years and years would suddenly upset her stomach. She prescribed me Hill’s dry kibble for sensitive stomachs and another round of antibiotics.

The antibiotics finished up long ago and she’s been eating Hill’s ever since. Her poop still is not back to the way it was, it’s definitely goopier and softer than it used to be, but whatever. However, I just don’t feel right going from a super high quality food like Orijen to Hill’s. Besides the nutritional content, Orijen is just more reliable in terms of not having to worry about recalls, etc.

Is there a high quality, more reliable brand that makes kibble for sensitive stomachs, prescription or otherwise? Am I worrying too much over nothing?

[Susan]

Hi, some dogs cant handle the higher fat & higher protein & need a diet that’s lower in fat & lower in protein…which Hills vet diet was she put on?? she should be doing nice firm poos now, she must not be on the right vet diet, all vet diets are money back & you can change over the vet diet for a different formula or brand but some vets just sell the 1 brand of vet diets….. if she was doing nice firm poos now, I always look at the fat % Protein % & Fiber % & then look for a limited ingredient kibble that’s around the same percent, have a look at “Canine Caviar” Special needs the fat is lower & so is the protein, probably the fat & protein was too high in Orijen ….

Special Needs

Also have a look at “The Honest Kitchen” ZEAL
http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/dog-food/zeal
you can also try their sample I think they’re 2 for $1

If you want to stay with a vet diet, so you have a diet to fall back onto when a food isn’t working & something happens (Diarrhea) I have found Royal Canine vet diets to be the best for Intestinal problems, my boy eats the Royal Canine Intestinal Low Fat on & off……..Most of Hills intestinal & food allergies vet diets are higher in in-soluble fiber & some dogs don’t do too well on high in-soluble fiber diets, the Z/d Ultra & I/d Gastro made my boy poo yellow slop, just one big cow patties, & I couldn’t pick it up..

I feed a kibble for breakfast & I feed a cooked meal for dinner, Chicken breast & Sweet Potato sometimes mashed carrot & broccoli.. I cook & make up sections 1 cup & freeze the chicken breast…. I’ve been buying the Aldis baby food Organic Monkey Sweet potatoes & Carrots there’s a few different ones, I add a couple of spoons of the Sweet Potato to 1 cup of chicken breast then put in a blender & blender for a 5-7 seconds ……Cooked meals are fresher & are heaps better then any over processed kibble… even wet tin foods are good if you buy a good brand, I’m going to try the Wellness Complete Health wet tin foods or the Wellness toppers, but be careful with the fat %, as its different to kibble fat %, if it say’s 5% fat then when converted 5% fat is about 22% fat if it was a kibble, so I stick with 4% & under for wet tin foods, Wellness also have their Small Breed wet tin & kibble, Patch was eating the Wellness Small Breed Healthy Weight then it was discontinued at my Pet Shop….Now he’s eating the Wellness Complete Health White Fish & Sweet Potato kibble & sometimes he loves his vet Diet Royal Canine Intestinal Low Fat, I let him pick what kibble he wants to eat in the morning…
http://www.wellnesspetfood.com/index.aspx

[crazy4cats]

Hi Tom-
Sorry to hear about the troubles with your pup. My dogs also have struggled with sensitive stomachs. Have you tried any digestive supplements at all? I’ve used Gastriplex by Thorne, Vetri-Pro BD by Vetri-Science, Perfect Form by The Honest Kitchen. I think Perfect Form is the best, but it does have a strong odor which may turn off your dog. You can read about these and other issues at http://www.dogaware.com and click on the digestive disorders tab. I have had the best luck with Victor and Whole Earth Farms kibble. I also add a little commercial frozen raw, tripe or egg to their meals to bump up the nutritional value with no digestive upset.

I agree with Susan, that you might want to explore a different brand of Rx food such as, Royal Canin if you want to continue with that route. Good luck!

[Pitlove]

I agree with both Susan and C4C about looking into another RX food if Hill’s isn’t doing the trick. Also, not that I think Hill’s is a great food (ingredient wise), but it is a nutritionally sound food. So you don’t have to worry about your dog not getting the nutrients he needs on the RX diet.

A non-RX food you could look into is NutriSource. I’ve recommended it at my work to a lot of pet parents with dogs who have sensititive stomachs and I’ve yet to have them come back and say it didn’t work.

Oh I also wanted to mention that I find that for my dog, he does better on a grain-based food. My personal feeling- and many will disagree- is that once cooked, brown rice etc is a bit easier on the stomach than super starchy peas and potatoes.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 5 months ago by Pitlove.

[Tom P]

Thanks for the replies, guys! I’ll give my vet a call today and see if there’s anything else they can recommend.

[anonymously]

Before you go nuts changing the diet various different ways, consider making an appointment with an Internal Medicine Specialist, preferably a vet that specializes in geriatrics. Some additional testing may be in order.

PS: I always return to Nutrisca Salmon and Chickpea (canned and dry) for my dog with a sensitive stomach. Check Chewy . com

[Author]

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