[raam]

Hi, my 6 month old Belgian Malinois pup has had three bouts of giardia. Every time he was on Panacur, he lost interest in his food and it stayed that way after, preferring to starve himself rather than eat. In his short life I switched him from Blue Buffalo Wilderness LBP to Fromm LBP, and then after his last bout switched to Farmina LBP.

He initially went nuts over the Farmina, so I was surprised he lost taste for that as well (he always found the BB and Fromm a bit ‘meh’ to begin with). Before the giardia he also had beautiful solid, dark poops after switching to Farmina, though it hasn’t solidified since (although he was tested negative at the last fecal checkup).

I was hoping it would change with a strict feeding schedule (it’s there for 15 mins, then I take away), but it has been a month and a half and he still dislikes the kibble, only eating a minimum. I now mix it with a bit of wet food because he was getting too skinny.

Any people with similar situations or advice? I feel stuck between wanting to stick it out or switching yet again (I was considering Acana LBP).

Our trainer suggested he might be allergic to chicken, but he has no symptoms other than mushy poop and a dislike for his kibble.

[Susan]

Hi, can you cook for him & only give him a little of kibble also can he eat wet food without having diarrhea, then give him the wet foods intstead of the kibbles..I cook chicken & pumkin & freeze about 2 weeks worth & take out the night before for breakfast then I give kibbles for lunch & dinner.. I cant give wet foods as the fat% is too high & Patch gets Diarrhea…maybe try a kibble with less Fat % protein % as Farmina has high fat% & Protein % maybe it makes him feel ill & he has stopped eating the kibble…dogs are smart if something disagrees with them.. Have you tried raw he might prefer raw…..Kibble was made for us humans easy & quick way to feed opur animals, kibble isnt that good for dogs its processed over cooked & hard on their digestion..

[raam]

Thank you for your reply, Sue!

I think you are totally onto something. I just realized while reading your reply that a factor that might have contributed could be that I use Ziwipeak Lamb as training treats. They, too, are very rich. I did cut down on his regular food intake to level it with the Ziwipeak, but I guess in the end having two rich foods together could have been too much. For the last three days I used a different training treat for variety and while still mushy, his stools seem to have a little more form.

So I think I will end up making the switch to Acana and use lighter training treats.

[raam]

Oh, and while I applaud those who take the time to cook for their dogs or feed raw, it is not an option for me. I’m a vegetarian and while I do believe dogs need meat and happily feed it to my pup, handling it directly in its raw state is just one step too far for me, so I prefer a high-quality kibble.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Raam-
I too, have had some battles with Giardia. During that time I never knew if they were suffering from a food intolerance or if the Giardia was back. It was very stressful. Luckily, they have been negative for about 9 months. They were also treated several times with panacur and antibiotics. It has taken a long time to get their tummies back to normal. They have always been interested in eating though, thank goodness! I am feeding them Victor grain free with a variety of toppers with good luck. However, I do use various supplements which have also helped soothe their tummies. Much information can be found on dogaware.com with digestive issues. It is a great site. Many of the supplements that I’ve used are made by Vetri Science, Thorne, Animal Essentials and Honest Kitchen. As Sue said, it might be best to start with something bland and work your way back to a better kibble. Good luck!

[Susan]

Hi, I just read C4C post & I remembered Patch is on a probiotic, is ur boy on a good dog probiotic for his tummy & bowel, the probiotic helps their digestive tract thats what Patches vet gave Patch he was put on Vet Prescription Eukanuba Intestinal & protexin Probiotic for 5months vet wanted Patches bowel to heal…I couldnt give him anything else no treats nothing just the Eukanuba Intestinal kibble she wanted him on the Intestinal for 1 year but after 5months I started to slowly try other kibbles so slowly just adding about 1/4 cup to his Intestinal cup then if I saw his poo start to go sloppy I’d stop the new kibble & just give his Eukanuba & take the kibble back as they are guaranteed.. now I just use his kibble as treats, that way I know he wont have the runs or sloppy poo, Ive finally found ‘Holistic Select’ kibbles they are lower in fat % about 13% but Im using the senior chicken & rice its 10% fat & fiber is 3.50% Ive just been slowly mixing with the Eukanuba Intestinal so far Patch is doing really well I also give a little bit of banana or apple as a treat only natural foods no processed treats…I hope you find the right food but only try 1 thing at a time then u know whats causing the sloppy poo..Good-Luck

[raam]

I do use a probiotic, the dog variety by Jarrow Formulas, and a digestive enzyme and probiotics mix by NaturVet. They have had no effect.

Interestingly, a friend gave me one satchet of the Fortiflora probiotics by Purina. Not my first brand of choice, but the day after I gave it, his first poop was solid. The rest was still mushy, but I ordered some off Amazon to try it. It will arrive tomorrow, so fingers crossed.

I also give him some holistic drops by Amber Technology to prevent reinfection with giardia.

Today things were already a bit better. I’m leaving the Ziwipeak for a while and used some light cheap turkey roll treats for training instead. I’ll wait a few more days with the new probiotics coming in to see how things go. I’ll also check out the brands and websites you mentioned!

Fortunately aside from the soft poop, he is happy, healthy, playful and super lovey-dovey!

[raam]

Hmm, Acana LPB is not sold in the States. Initially my local pet supply store said they could have it ordered. So I guess I’ll stick with Farmina a little longer and see how things go. His poop seems to get a little better, very slowly but surely.

I find it hilarious how poop-obsessed I have become and how poop has become an acceptable conversation topic with people you just met at the park 🙂

[crazy4cats]

Don’t worry, it’s an obsession at our house too. We have set up several grading methods to describe it. LOL! It’s not, “How was your day today?” It’s more like, “Did the boys have blue ribbon poop today?” Yikes!!!

[raam]

Haha, do they have a preference for blue crayons to create such colorful poops?

My boy just ate about a quarter of a tub of vaseline. Doh! Diarrhea plop plop…

[Jackie B]

/forums/topic/large-and-giant-breed-puppy-nutrition/

Make sure and check out the large and giant breed puppy food discussion. You can add a little canned plain pumpkin to his food also, that should help with his stool (as long as he doesn’t have worms or giardia, etc).

[Author]

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