[Bethany C]

So a little over 2 weeks ago I found a 2 year old black lab while camping. He eats fine and he drinks fine, we have had no issues trying to get him to ingest anything. But he has had diarrhea since switching him to puppy food which is what everyone told us to do because of the high fat and protein content. But his poop is liquid now. There is no scooping it up possible. We have him on Purina Puppy Chow (Yes I know Purina just awful, even though we have two 13 year old dogs that have never had a health issue, no weight problem, and run miles every day on their own freewill). From the day we got him his poop has been soft but at least looked like poop. Now it is just liquid. He has been to the vet and everything checked out fine so now I’m just looking for a good DOG food, not puppy. The fat in the puppy food I think is doing more harm than good for he poops huge piles multiple times a day yet we are feed him the correct amount. I know a family that uses victor dog food, but all three of the dogs have the worst breath you could imagine. I can not even stand to be near them if their face is not turned away from me. I am not saying it is the dog food and I would actually love to know if anyone uses Victor and their dog’s breath does not stink. Also the dog food I am looking at is Taste of the Wild. If anyone has any idea of a good weight gaining food that would be awesome! (preferably one that doesn’t make their breath stink lol) Also my boyfriend and I are still in school so we need to stay in budget and not get a food ridiculously expensive. The 40lbs bag of Purina was $22.

• This topic was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by Bethany C.

[Freddy w]

Hi
When I have a issue with one of my dogs the first thing I do is get a can of pure pumpkin from the store

And feed them 2 table spoons once in the am then once at night
Then I boil chicken and feed them that for a few days
Nooooo bones!!!!

If that does not help call the vet
Could be worms causing that

But try the pumpkin

[Freddy w]

As far as dog food my choice is Acana dry
It can be found on chewy.com

But get that diarrhea under control first please

You can also try 1 table spoon of pepto bismol
Once in the am and once at night

But try the pumpkin and boiled chicken
Remove as much skin as you can

Let’s us know how your dog is doing 👍🐾🐾🐾🐾

[Freddy w]

http://www.chewy.com/s?dept=all&query=Acana&nav-submit-button=Submit

[Susan]

Hi, read the protein % & the fat % when buying a kibble I have to sick with kibble with 26% & lower for protein & 13% & lower for fat % fiber 4% for my boy or his poos are slop…
I don’t know how high the fat, protein & fiber is in the Victor dog food,
You need to get his stomach & bowel use to a protein around 24%, fat around 12% & fiber 4%… then when he’s doing real well slowly introduce a higher protein kibble,

Rachael Ray Nutrish Grain Free Salmon & Sweet Potato….the protein fat & fiber are good sold at Walmart……
http://nutrish.rachaelray.com/dog/dry-food/zero-grain-salmon-and-sweet-potato

or Wellness Complete Health….I’m feeding the White Fish & Sweet Potatoes it has no peas….
http://wellnesspetfood.com.au/dog-wellness/dry-recipes/#product_listed_2

If his diarrhea doesn’t clear up you will need to see a vet to get some Metronidazole a antibiotic for the bowel….

[Bethany C]

We tried kaopectate and it did nothing but make his diarrhea even darker. That is another reason why I am just ready to switch his dog food. I feel like giving it to him for 4 days should have at least hardened it a little bit. I will try the pumpkin and Pepto bismol. The pepto was going to be the next step. Thank you!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Bethany:
What a lucky puppy!!!!

What is your budget? Where will you be shopping, brick and mortar, on-line?

If there are no underlying health issues fresh dog appropriate foods and/or canned foods can help with weight gain.

Did the Vet specifically check for giardia and coccidia? These are sometimes hard to detect and the tests might need to be repeated to be certain they are not the issue. Here’s some info:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=2386
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=680

I would be more inclined to think a dog with bad breath has stomach or dental health issues. Tarter can build up and create quite an odor if an owner is not brushing their dogs teeth regularly.

[Bethany C]

Our budget is to hopefully stay in the $40-$50 range for 30-40 lbs of dog food.
No our vet did not check specifically for those parasites and we will probably switch dog food first then get the dog checked for any other parasites if the switch of food does not work. And we have a place called Mitchells pet supply here in Wichita, KS which sells Taste of the Wild and Victor, but I can shop online as well if I need too.
The back story to Buddy was he was thrown out of a truck with another Yellow lab while going down a major highway a month before we found him. So he is literally skin and bones but the vet checked him all out and said he was good to go other than the severe malnourishment.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Bethany-
I regularly feed my male golden labs Victor kibble. I have fed both the grain free joint health and the healthy weight formula. I think it is one of the best values you can buy. And…my dogs breath do not stink! I also rotate with Whole Earth Farms kibble with various toppers.

My dogs had a rough start due to multiple bouts of giardia and coccidia and have sensitive stomachs now. They do well with these foods. I have used Perfect Form, Gastriplex and Vetri-Pro BD supplements to help heal their tummies.

I’m sure glad you are rescuing that poor pup. Good luck!

• This reply was modified 8 years, 6 months ago by crazy4cats.

[Bobby dog]

What a terrible story, but a happy ending! That is a great budget for kibble IMO.

The protein & fat %’s in Puppy Chow are average, the fiber might be just a little more than other kibbles depending on what recipe you’re feeding. It averages 27% protein, 10-12% min. fat, and 4-5% fiber. Sometimes changes in any of these percentages can cause digestive upset. Something to keep in mind when deciding on a new food. Kibble in higher price ranges usually have a higher meat content so protein and fat percentages will go up along with calories per cup. One other thing to keep in mind is overfeeding can also cause digestive upset. If he is skin and bones I would work with my Vet to figure out the calories he needs to add healthy weight in a reasonable amount of time.

Check out Victor you should find several formulas to fit your needs within your budget; maybe the Chicken Meal w/Brown Rice. Looking at the Mitchell’s site I see they sell Purina Mills, Inc. They may sell their dog food lines, PMI Nutrition. I feed some recipes from their Infinia and Exclusive lines, these would be in your price range.

I also feed Nutrisource, Fromm, Precise, some Pro Plan recipes, Annamaet, Wellness Core, Nature’s Variety, and Rawz.

If you decide to buy on-line I regularly order from Chewy, Petflow, PetSmart, and Petco. They all have great customer service and prices.

I don’t feed Diamond products at this time due to their recall history; they make Taste of the Wild and manufacture some Solid Gold recipes along with some other brands. They have allot of affordable foods, if you decide to feed one of their products or anything they manufacture I suggest signing up for recall alerts:
/dog-food-recall-alerts/

I recommend adding moisture to kibble even if it’s just water. Adding fresh or canned foods could help with his weight. Some budget friendly canned foods are Wal-Mart’s Pure Balance Stews ($1/can), Tractor Supply Company 4Health Stews (.99/can), and if you have a Costco membership Kirkland Signature Nature’s Domain (.80/can) you have to buy it by the case. Each are 4-5 star DFA rated. I don’t recommend Pure Balance 95% or 4Health Grain free canned foods due to the high fat content.

This is a download I use as a guide for adding fresh foods to a kibble diet:
https://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=DN330EBK

[C4D]

Hi Bethany C,

Wonderful luck for your pup to find a caring owner like you!

The others have given you some very good information. I do foster very underweight dogs and dogs with various parasites as they come from very rural areas. The giardia or coccidia that Bobby dog could be a very real possibility. I’ve had foster dogs that tested negative the first time and it was found on a more thorough or subsequent testing.

The best way to see if the dog has an issue of parasites is to put it on a very simple boiled chicken or boiled hamburger (strain the grease) and plain white rice diet for a few days. This should get the tummy back on track as it is a very bland diet. You could add a spoon of pure pumpkin to the mix also. If you don’t see an improvement on the diarrhea within a few days on this diet, you should have the dog’s stool tested again for parasites, including hookworm, giardia and coccidia. I’ve found hese particular parasites seem to cause the most problems with weight loss and loose stools. Tapeworm is also a very real possibility that isn’t caught in a normal stool sample, almost a guarantee if the dog had fleas, but it doesn’t usually cause diarrhea. The tests are not very expensive. Unfortunately, if it’s a parasite issue, no amount of dog food, no matter what the quality, will help until the parasites are gone.

If the dog does well on the bland diet, you can slowly introduce a nutritious food. We all want our really thin dogs to gain some weight, but you have to do it slowly as their system isn’t used to being well fed. I find that by slowly increasing my foster’s portion, they will put the weight on, but it takes time. Too much food too fast just overwhelms their system and cause more diarrhea. Many rescues advise adding a bit of extra carbohydrates like rice, oatmeal and/or sweet potatoes, along with their regular dog food, to help increase weight. Canned food also can help, but again, it must be added slowly to prevent GI upset. Satin Balls are another rescue trick that might work, once you have the diarrhea under control.

Here’s a link to the recipe:

http://www.gpalouisville.org/Recipes.htm

Some other budget friendly dog foods are Pure Balance (Walmart, made by Ainsworth pet food company), Sportmix Wholesomes or ProPac Ultimates (Midwestern pet food company). These foods aren’t as cheap as Puppy Chow, but their are so much healthier. You feed less of these formulas, so they aren’t as expensive as they seem. C4C and BD are correct. Bad breath is a symptom of poor dental health or some other issue.

Good luck with your rescue and keep us posted!

[Bobby dog]

Hi Bethany:
One other kibble that might fall in your price range is Eagle Pack. I haven’t fed any of their kibble, but I plan to try the reduced fat and a few other recipes at some point. Their canned foods are in my dog’s winter food rotation and he absolutely loves them.

Hi C4D:
Bobby absolutely loves oatmeal. He gets a tad every now and then in a home made recipe I make for him. That’s good to know rescues suggest it for weight gain.

[crazy4cats]

Hi Bethany-

Here is a link that I use when my dogs’ have digestive upset:

http://www.dogaware.com/health/digestive.html#diarrhea

I mentioned some supplements that I used to heal tummies earlier that I learned about on this site. I find that pro-pectalin works really well for diarrhea. But, I want to caution you that if your new dog does have parasites or worms that are causing the diarrhea, stopping them from pooping is not good for them. They need to get rid of the “bugs”.

However, I’m sure it also has a lot to do with not eating properly for a month and the dog food is new to him upsetting the tummy.

BD mentioned Eagle Pack above. I have fed that as well and had good results. It is just not as available in my area and I forget about it.

Have you had any progress yet?

[Bethany C]

So I am going to try the pumpkin chicken and rice. About how much should I be feeding him a day?

[C4D]

How big is your dog?

[Bethany C]

He is a 2 year old black lab 35 pounds

[Susan]

Hi, just feed the chicken & rice first & see if poo’s firm up, then when poos are firm add only 1 spoon pumkin, pumkin can either make your dogs poos firm or sloppy. Pumkin is high in fiber,
I feed sweet potatoes instead of boiled rice, rice ferments in the stomach & goes thru my boy & he gets diarrhea & pumkin makes his poos orange & very soft so I can only add about 1 teaspoon of pumkin with a meal.

Your better to only feed 1 protein the chicken & 1 carb rice or boiled potatoes, this way you will know what foods are OK & what foods he can’t eat…..just incase the pumkin gives him diarrhea…
If after feeding the chicken & rice & poos are firm then add 1 spoon pumkin & you will know from just adding 1 spoon of pumkin to each meal if he needs more fiber or less fiber, if his poo’s go sloppy then he’ll be like my boy & needs less fiber but if his poos are firmer then he needs more fiber in his diet….

Patch weights 39lbs 18kilos I feed 1 cup (95grams) boiled chicken breast & 1/4 cup (35grams) boiled Sweet potato put in a blender for about 5 sec for Breakfast & the same for Dinner, then lunch 1/2 cup kibble his Wellness Complete Health White Fish & Sweet Potatoes, then again around 7-8pm I feed another 1/2 cup Wellness Complete Health White Fish & Sweet Potatoes kibble…
Patch has problems keeping on his weight, so far he’s gained 1/2 kilo & I’ve only started feeding the Wellness under 2 weeks ago…..his poos are nice & firm, he’s doing 2 poos a day some afternoons he’s been doing the 3rd poo a day…..

[Anonymous]

I think your dog should use dog food for weight gain. As far as dog food my choice is Acana dry, introduced by my friends: https://pawpawlover.com/best-dog-food-for-weight-gain/

[Author]

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