Sensitive stomach (vet recommends special food)

tina.abrams · Junior Member Joined: 16 Dec 2005 Posts: 21

Wondering if any of you have experienced this-- Lucca has been diagnosed two times in the past with Giardia. The other day, she had soft stool with mucus..and we sent a sample to the lab...and she has no parasites (luckily.) However, the vet says she thinks it's food allergies and even though this only flares up every few months..she thinks we should switch to sensitive stomach type food.

Anyone else had this happen. I just don't understand if she has food allergies wouldn't she have runny stool all the time...and not every 3-4 months?

lauren46 · Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 9:30 am Post subject:

it has never happened to me, and I am no dog expert but I know of some good allergy foods, Riley is on allergy foods due to itchyness.

Dick VanPattens Natural Balance Duck and Potato
EaglePack Lamb and Rice (Riley is on this)
Canidae

Hope this helps!

gracielou · Posted: Sun May 14, 2006 7:11 pm Post subject:

I would think if it was food allergies she would have problems all the time however think about everything you give her and see if something pops into your mind that she just gets every now and then. Maybe at a friends house or whereever???
_________________
Linda & Gracielou
Valley Center, KS
http://www.4pawspuppies.com

movistar · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 5:59 pm Post subject:

my doodle had the same problem.... and I was in a condo at the time Shocked

I took him to a different vet who said it was food (the first was very focused on parasites or bacteria) the 2nd vet put him on a special food
with rabbit as his main ingredient... it was pricey but it worked perfect. during his 2nd bag I switched him to Nutro natural sensitive stomach and he has been on that ever since and is fine. still a little soft from time to time, but very doable!

good luck.

JenniferandMolly · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 6:40 pm Post subject:

Yes, it may be sensitive... the solution is to find a high quality food with very few ingredients. No corn, wheat, etc. No by-products.
California Natural is supposed to be great for this.

K9Summer · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 8:16 pm Post subject:

We had a very similar problem with Summer. She would go for about 3 weeks with semi formed stool (like soft serve ice cream, and it often had mucous in it) and then all of a sudden she would get explosive, watery diarrhea. We had a million tests run- everything short of a biopsy of her intestines, and she was put on many different meds. Everything seemed to work for a short period of time, but she still had bad episodes of diarrhea. We tried many different foods- nutro, solid gold, california natural (that was really bad because I think it is too rich), Eukanuba low residue (prescription food, she did really well on it) and nothing worked. We finally found Eagle Pack Holistic Chicken and Rice and after her first bowl of food, she had the most perfect formed stool. It really was like a miracle for us, after having so many problems for months. We didn't switch her over to Eagle Pack slowly because she was having so many problems any way, that her system was already upset! She has now been on it for about six months and she never had another problem. We now think that she has an intolerance to beef and wheat. It's hard to know if what works for one dog will work for another, but I definitely think its a food intolerance with Lucca. I would stay away from any foods with corn, wheat, soy... and some dogs can't tolerate beef or chicken. It's all trial and error. Get a new bag of food and see what happens. I recommend Eagle Pack because it worked so well for us, but there are lots of great brands out there. Good luck!

K9Summer · Posted: Mon May 15, 2006 8:22 pm Post subject:

Oh I wanted to add something-
Be careful of the treats you give her. Lots of treats have corn or wheat in them, and that may be a problem. I use Buddy Biscuits, the Veggie Madness or Sweet potato madness flavors, because they are both corn and wheat free. They are amazing and I don't know what I would do without them! I recommend them to anyone that has a sensitive doggy! Also, Zuke's treats work well too. Good luck!

Bridget, Summer, and Duke