[Heather H]

I need some help. I have a 1 year old large Rhodesian Ridgeback. We have had food issues from the beginning with him. The breeder had him on a mix of Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Formula and Diamond Naturals Large Breed Puppy. When we got him at 8 weeks we transitioned him to straight Taste of the Wild High Prairie Puppy Formula. Shortly after this transition he started having some difficulty having a bowel movement. He would go once regular, and then shortly after he would go again but it would be very skinny. Sometimes he would continue to try to go for sometime afterwards with nothing coming out. Our vet said it was probably just a nerve that wasn’t fully developed yet and that was making him feel like he needed to keep going. She said as long as he was having regular bowel movements, and he wasn’t vomiting, we shouldn’t worry and it would probably clear up on it’s own. At our five month check up, I brought it up again because it seemed to be getting worse. She did an x-ray and determined he was backed up, his stomach was still very full of food (even though it had been several hours since he ate) and he had several pockets of gas. She said there were a few places where his bowel looked inflamed and thickened. She put him on a pro-biotic and an anti-inflammatory pill for a week. It wasn’t any better on the medication. She was concerned that his stomach wasn’t emptying property and his waste wasn’t moving through the bowel as it should. She did a barium study to rule out any internal issues. Everything came back normal so she said it must be the food and recommended their in-house brand Prescription Diet D/D. After research, I decided not to try that kind, but instead find a food that was rated 4 or 5 that agreed with him. We spent the next 3 months transitioning to different foods. We tried other flavors of Taste of the Wild, Diamond Naturals Grain Free Beef and Sweet Potato, and one other, I can’t remember the name of at the moment. Some caused diarrhea, some made his bowel movement issues worse and he strained more. Finally, we tried Merrick Grain Free Buffalo and his bowel movements got drastically better. I still don’t believe they are 100% normal, but at least to the point where he wasn’t straining or trying to go for an extended time with nothing coming out. He has been on this for 4 with no changes or issues. I just bought another bag and it has caused HORRIBLE, uncontrollable diarrhea. We have taken it away, fed rice and pumpkin, twice. Each time we start mixing a little of the food back in, one feeding of less than 1/4 of a cup of food in 1 cup of rice/pumpkin mix, causes horrible diarrhea again. The second time we took it away we took him to the vet and she put him on a pro-biotic and an antibiotic. He was on those medicines and rice and pumpkin only for a week. When we reintroduced, it was the same thing. I have emailed the company. I’m not sure if we just got a bad batch or we need to switch foods. Should I just go buy another bag of Merrick and hope it isn’t the same batch and it works? Should I try the Chicken Merrick? My store only stocks a few bags at a time, and I am worried they are from the same batch. I have spent the morning researching foods. Some grain free options I have come up with that our local stores sell are: Blue Wilderness, Wellness Core, and Earthborn. I would be willing to order something but I have nothing except for the potentially bad Merrick to mix with so we would be starting something new without a transition. I am wondering now if maybe he needs grains or even if he could possibly have colitis and need a high fiber diet? Does anyone have some insight or suggestions for me? Thanks!

[Cassie P]

I’m not sure what’s wrong with your dog but I would suggest keeping him on a probiotic all the time to keep his intestinal flora at a healthy level. I feed my dog 4Health chicken and rice from Tractor Suppy and she has done great on it. I hope your dog gets better!

[weezerweeks]

Why don’t u try nutrisource. People on here have good luck with it. When my Bailey has digestive issues like diarrhea I use Perfect Form and it is wonderful. I think it’s made by the honest kitchen. I also order my food from cheweys and it’s a lot cheaper and u receive it super fast. Good luck.

[DogFoodie]

Have you compared the fiber levels of the foods you’ve been feeding? I quickly looked and saw the Merrick had 3.5% fiber (Buffalo & Sweet Potato). It could be that he actually needs less fiber. A regular poster here has had great luck with Victor (I think she used Hi-Pro) for her Doberman with frequent boots of diarrhea. Look and see if you have a retailer near you at Victordogfood.com, under the locate a dealer tab. Maybe more moisture would help also. I think I’d steer clear of grains, which can be inflammatory. Just some quick thoughts as I run out the door.

[Susan]

Hi sound like he has IBD, I would try a vet diet as these diets are formulated for these type of problems…they have to right amount of soluble fibersn the right amount of fat%..the diets you have mentioned have toooooo many ingredients, you will never fix the problem…
Every time your dog has diarrhoea you are causing irritation to the bowel & then this will cause inflammation of the bowel (Colitis).. My boy has IBD I have him on a vet diet, I had to in the end, even if you put him on a vet diet just for 3-6 months to let everything settle so you can start to work out ur next stop..this will not just go way..
You have to work out, does he have allergies to a certain foods, does he need a lower fat diet, does he need less fiber or less protein???
With vet diet they just have 1 hydrolized protein that has been broken down & 1 carb, I’d go back to vet & either try Royal Canin Hydroallergenic diet or their Allergenic diet or the Hills Z/D ultra or the D/D diets… like I said he doesn’t have to stay on these vet diets forever, just to calm everything down & let everything heal…. also boiled rice is a no no as the boiled rice irritates the bowel more, grounded rice is OK in kibbles buyt not boiled rice..if he gets diarrhea from pumkin, then I’d say he needs a low fiber diet, I feed the vet diet “Eukanuba Intestinal” not the plus just the Intestinal, its a low residue diet that breaks up real easy & digest real easy & is low in fiber…my boy wasn’t digesting his food he’d vomit it up 6-8 hours later that was the Royal Canin Hypoallergenic, he didn’t do well on any Royal Canine vet diets..the R/C didn’t seem to digest & the kibbles were very hard…. I have him on the “Eukanuba Intestinal” within 2 days poos were firm again, once he was pooing good I waited about 6months & tryed the premium foods from pet shops, He just doesn’t do well on them, vet said that they are formulated for healthy dogs that don’t have stomach & bowel problems….. Now I’m trying the Hills I/d Low Fat GI restore kibble, its suppose to heal & help the bowel, you don’t have to pay to see the vet again just ask the ladies at the front desk can you put him on a vet diet like the vet wanted before & google the vet diet food & see which has a low fiber, The Hills Z/d Ultra has more insoluble fiber & less soluble fiber so I haven’t tried it yet where the Hills I/d Low Fat GI restore kibble has more soluble fiber & less insoluble fiber… you need to work out is it his small bowel with the problem or his large bowel…. with the small bowel they need less fiber, if its the large bowel that has the problem, then he needs more fiber…..

There’s a really good group on Face Book called “Dogs With Inflammatory Bowel Disorder” you should join you get a lot of help from that site also another on Yahoo called “IBD Canines” a few ladies on the Face book group are going thru the same thing with their dogs, 1 was just put on the Royal Canine allergenic, I think its called & she is trying enzymes & has gotten her dog doing nice firm poos.. another lady is trying the Hills Z/d & her dog is doing really good now & remember only try 1 thing at a time, other wise you wont know what helped & what didn’t, if you need more help.. go to the Face book group, You will get help there……if you really don’t want to try a vet diet try the “Brother Complete allergy” egg recipes… here’s his link but after trying the Brothers complete & if it doesn’t work then please try a vet diet

http://www.brotherscomplete.com/VENISON-EGG-ALLERGY.html
a few ladies have their dog on the “brothers complete allergy” its working for their dogs & do not give any other foods while trying a new diet wait until dog is stable with no diarrhea.. Good Luck

[Susan]

I don’t know why the link wont come up I’ve edit 2 times just google Brothers complete Venison egg allergy” & his site will come up.. the Hills D/D rice & egg vet diet is very similar to Brothers Complete allergy diets…

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