Help with loose stool/dog food recommendations

[COLOR=#000000]Reaching out to the group for some advice on dog food recommendations. My issue is my pointing wire haired griffon pup (almost 2 years old now) is having loose cow patty types of stool. Typically he goes one day of good stools then 2 days of flat cow patty types. i was on the loyal performance 30/20 formula but when the loose stools started about a year ago my vet said it was probably caused by the high protein chicken formula. So I switched to another canadian company called life time. I went with their lamb based protein diet and after six months he is still having the same issues. So i am looking to switch again. I feel that this all started when i switched from the puppy grade to adult grade type. Does any one else have a griff with digestion issues when they switched to the adult formula? Or does anyone have some other brands/formula i should research? My 9 year old setter mix has no problems with either food. Thank you for reading this and if there is anything else i should do i am all ears. Thank you!

Feed him some pumpkin pie filling when the stool gets soft. Sounds like he just needs a little more fiber. He does not have problems controlling his bowels does he? I mean he has control and it's just soft when he does have a movement right?

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Originally Posted by Snowwalker

Feed him some pumpkin pie filling when the stool gets soft. Sounds like he just needs a little more fiber. He does not have problems controlling his bowels does he? I mean he has control and it's just soft when he does have a movement right?

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NO, NO, NO ..... if you are going to try this to get things back on track, it is NOT pumpkin pie FILLING ..... it is canned pumpkin! Find it in the canned vegetable aisle not the baking aisle.

I would agree with your vet that the protein / fat ratio may have been too much for your dog's system. I would look at adding a probiotic to their food. Not yogourt as canines can have difficulty digesting dairy products and you already have an issue and not a "multi-biotic" like Forti-Flora .... there is a time and place for that but too $$$$$ on a daily forever basis. We add a small scoop of a powdered probiotic (Doc Roy's in our case) on a daily basis and have success, as our dogs are in and out of pond water and other communities drinking water while training and on the road trailing or hunting with no stool issues.

One size does not fit all when it comes to dog nutrition. I tried to feed my male Britt Purina Pro Plan and after 6 months and not getting solid stools gave up on it. It’s expensive to switch but it worked for me. I may try my new female Setter on it again but will drop it if it becomes a problem again. Stick with quality product and expirament a bit before making conclusions.
i have them both on Acana but with the recent controversy on grain free I am considering trying something else.

Our Lab breeder recommends TLC. I’ve always used that food with no issues for our labs....

I've been using Petsmarts Authority brand with my GSP. It has been pretty good for her, middle of the road $$.

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Not sure about things now but 20-30 years ago we'd feed our dog cooked white rice when they had issues. This might not be the best thing now though.

Besides food, your water may be an issue. If your on well water you may have enough minerals to cause the dog grief. Our dog gets the runs from the well up north but not from home.

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Originally Posted by Dakota Creek

NO, NO, NO ..... if you are going to try this to get things back on track, it is NOT pumpkin pie FILLING ..... it is canned pumpkin! Find it in the canned vegetable aisle not the baking aisle.

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Not sure were you shop but I buy my pumpkin filling in the same isle as the bean, peas, squash, etc. Right beside the squash in fact.


OH POOP! Light bulb on now.

This would make sense:

What I call pie filling is your "Canned" pumpkin.

What you call pie filling is what I call Pumpkin "MIX"

Pumpkin pie filling + Sugar + Nutmeg ( kills your dog)+ milk( also not good for pup) makes pumpkin mix.

My Griff is 2.5 years old. I started her on Pro Plan puppy but switched to Kirkland brand puppy food (and now adult Kirkland chicken and rice) due to soft stools from the Pro Plan. She had soft stools from table scraps (I only give her very small treats occasionally now) and with the onsite of an ear infection, weird I know. She maintains her weight and has lots of energy with a good coat.


RB

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Originally Posted by canadaman30

Besides food, your water may be an issue. If your on well water you may have enough minerals to cause the dog grief. Our dog gets the runs from the well up north but not from home.

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My lab had the same problem but now i use tap water from the city and all good

I had the same issue with my Pudelpointer. Breeder was feeding Nutrena Loyall. Mid Tier and not readily available where I live, so I weened him over to Acana.
Stools were same/consistent/soft for a while but seemed ok, until at a check up the vet said he had impacted and infected anal glands due to soft stool. we went through a rotation of high end brands, trying grain free, poultry free, "baked" kibble, etc, etc, for weeks, (along with a shot of antibiotics for the infection, and a round of forti-flora).
I wasn't able to find a kibble that worked, so broke down and tried a raw diet. Within a week, his stools were hard as rock, and barely bigger than my thumb (compared to MASSIVE kibble dumps). Left in the yard overnight, you can step on them and they turn to dust.
I feel like a vegan cross-fitter when I talk about raw food, but it worked for my pup. It's expensive and inconvenient, but it's good nutrition. I was using Canisource Grand Cru (expensive low temp dehydrated kibble) as training treats, and even more than a handful of that in a day, and his stools would go back to soft.
I'm feeding Big Country Raw, and the dog loves it. There are a couple pet stores selling it nearby, or they do direct sales with free delivery (with minimum order)
For treat heavy training sessions we use freeze dried raw food from Open Farms, which is also very expensive, but doesn't seem to bother his digestive system, and probably what I'd end up going to if I ever decided to not do raw anymore.

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Originally Posted by Snowwalker

Pumpkin pie filling + Sugar + Nutmeg ( kills your dog)+ milk( also not good for pup) makes pumpkin mix.

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This is exactly what I meant by canned pie filling .... should have stated no, no, no due to the sugar, etc, in the ready made pumpkin pie filling.

Thank you everyone. He can control his movements as he is in a kennel for 5 to 6 hours a day. But very gassy at night. Talk about a mood killer when he is lighting up the bedroom all night! every few days its a cow patty mine field out in the yard. Im counting 4 to 5 soft stools a day some times.

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Originally Posted by Dakota Creek

This is exactly what I meant by canned pie filling .... should have stated no, no, no due to the sugar, etc, in the ready made pumpkin pie filling.

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Canned pumpkin mix....most disgusting thing ever invented.

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Originally Posted by Snowwalker

Canned pumpkin mix....most disgusting thing ever invented.

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I beg to differ. My 7 month old son put me off of sweat potatoes after he ruined his entire outfit at a Blue Jays game several years ago. :silly:

I'm assuming you taken in a stool sample to the vet - the dog's. :) Loose stools can indicate Giardia or anther internal parasite.

Inflammatory bowel disease, food allergy/intolerance, intestinal parasites, clostridial colitis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth , pancreatic insufficiency
You should see your Vet again. If they have no other recommendations than diet change you could see another one.

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Originally Posted by kickingfrog

I beg to differ. My 7 month old son put me off of sweat potatoes after he ruined his entire outfit at a Blue Jays game several years ago. :silly:

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I am sure it was wonderful.

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Originally Posted by be2man

Inflammatory bowel disease, food allergy/intolerance, intestinal parasites, clostridial colitis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth , pancreatic insufficiency
You should see your Vet again. If they have no other recommendations than diet change you could see another one.

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Well said.

just an update. Thank you again for everyone's insight. My vet ruled out a parasite since I have two dogs that share a kennel through out the day. They share water bowls and food bowls as well. I am going to try switching to a raw food diet. Seems to be where my research keeps leading. Although I am going to have the stool tested just to ensure my Vet was right. Thanks again everybody!

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Originally Posted by Pigeoneater5000

just an update. Thank you again for everyone's insight. My vet ruled out a parasite since I have two dogs that share a kennel through out the day. They share water bowls and food bowls as well. I am going to try switching to a raw food diet. Seems to be where my research keeps leading. Although I am going to have the stool tested just to ensure my Vet was right. Thanks again everybody!

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I can testify that two dogs can share everything and yet only one get parasites. I’ve had it happen more than once.

Very true. I've seen that on one of my favourite vet show with puppies. 8 puppies , one dying with worm infestation , the other 7 healthy.

Dogs and people react the same way. family of 4 or 5. one gets sick with some type of ailment possibly due to something they ate, the rest of the family is ok.
We have 5 dogs at home [labs] 1 can get sick the other 2 are ok it happens many times.
Make sure your dog is thoroughly checked out by your vet, costly at times but that is better than a possibly dead pet in the near future.

I had a similar problem with my current 3 year old lab. From puppy to adult food. I switched him the same way and same food as all my other dozen dogs. He had bowel problems. I tried him on a grain free food (no grain no wheat, no rice) and he instantly became normal. Now , I switched all my dogs to grain free. Great results. I buy Kirkland brand grain free salmon and grain free turkey; also performatrim grain free duck formula. My dogs all seem healthier with grain free food. I also buy grain free biscuit treats.

Update #2
Latest stool sample came back negative. Cost me 17 bucks but at least now i know the vet was right. We are on day 2 of raw diet and there has been a major improvement. He went from 4 to 5 bowel movements a day to one. It no longer sticks to the grass either. I am surprised it only took 48 hours to improve.

It don't take much change some times..

An extra spoon of green beans or corn off the buffet can change things.. .if you know what I mean...:ashamed: