Dry Food Causing Diarrhoeah?

[goldieneale]

I haven't posted in here for a long time. Have you heard of particular brands of dry food causing diarrhoeah? We have been using Natural Balance (DVP) and Akira has had a LOT of diarrhoeah. We were on Royal Canin before that and it wasn't much better. Could the dry food cause it? We never had a problem when she was on BARF patties but it ends up being quite expensive.

Any ideas?

[goldieneale]

Must just be my dog then. She is wormed regularly - advocate and the chewable allwormer 2 twice a year.

[puggy_puggy]

I've seen what I would call a firmish diarrhoeah caused by Eagle Pack Holistic in a dog. When the dog was on it the amount of poo she produced massive compared to normally.

It could be that your dog has some sort of digestive intolerence to some sort of grain that could be in the dry food. I know in humans that if thye have a certain intolerance to things they can get diarrhoeah.

Intestinal wormers whould be given every 3 months, so 4 times a year.

[Gretel]

I've been feeding Eagle Pack Holistic for quite a while now with no upset tummies until I increased the amount a lot for Ingrid cause she is feeding pups. If she does well on BARF patties how about feeding them as well as chicken carcasses, wings etc so you don't need to feed as much of the patties?

[nksyd]

Hi, I've noticed my labrador has been having a lot of really loose stools and she is on Orijen and I was wondering also whether that could be the cause. So any advice posted on here very welcome as it's very embarrassing when out on the daily walks / runs (excuse the pun....)

[Crisovar]

Anything you feed your dog no matter what brand or how expensive is capable of causing a reaction if your dog is sensitive to one or more of the ingredients.

Compare the labels, see what they have in common, try something else that has unique ingredients, see what happens.

[goldieneale]

Thanks for the replies. I have always thought she had an intolerance to something but haven't been able to find what it is and figured a good dry would be fine....but apparantly not.

Gretel you must have searched my posts!! lol We haven't used barf patties for a long time! Akira does love them though and they have been the best thing for her but they are too expensive for us being a one income family. I have thought about trying to make my own and have investigated it but it was too mind boggling. How many chicken wings do you think you would need to feed her if I only gave her 1 patty a day?

I would really love some help with feeding her as we have been struggling for sooo long and I just haven't found a solution that works for us. She is 3 years old and weighs about 30kg (so ideally needs to lose a few kilos).

In terms of intestinal wormers (I'm having a loss as to what they are called) but our vet said twice a year on top of her advocate.

Helen

[Saffis]

If you liked the barf maybe you could try raw feeding. I feed fresh raw pet minces (from butcher, no preservatives), chunks of meat offcuts, bones like chicken wings, thighs and lamb necks along with liver, kidneys, sardines and eggs. Vegies only when I prepare my own and give them a few pieces. It is very easy and my dogs are in great condition. If you give 'raw feeding dogs' a google you find heaps of info.

I am by no means an expert but did a lot of reading, hope it helps a bit.

Edited November 12, 2008 by Saffis

[Dogsfevr]

Diet is very individual & what may be "labelled" great doesnt mean it will suit each dog.

For example my boy doesnt do well on eagle pack hollistic,when i swapped all was perfect.

Finding the right diet can be challenging for some dogs,others have a cast iron stomach.

With my 2 slightly sensitive tummy boys both get different diets & i dont change it.It agrees & i stick too.

You could give.gut lining flora tablets

[Golden Rules]

If you liked the barf maybe you could try raw feeding. I feed fresh raw pet minces (from butcher, no preservatives), chunks of meat offcuts, bones like chicken wings, thighs and lamb necks along with liver, kidneys, sardines and eggs. Vegies only when I prepare my own and give them a few pieces. It is very easy and my dogs are in great condition. If you give 'raw feeding dogs' a google you find heaps of info.

I am by no means an expert but did a lot of reading, hope it helps a bit.

I'm no expert either but am inclined to think if your goldie did better on Barf, then try something along similar lines.

I tend to feed a prey model diet rather than BARF because I find it time consuming and mind boggling making barf patties and making sure I have 'the right balance'.

I have done a lot of reading and am confident what I give my goldie is perfectly fine for him, it's cheap for me and little or no preparation. I don't stop and think what should he have today, I just grab whatever comes out of the freezer first.

So, it's meaty bones, roo meat, lots of chicken frames (probably 70% of his diet), leftovers from dinner eg lots of roast pumpkin etc. Yoghurt, sardines, eggs get fed when I remember - but usually once or twice a week.

I'm busy so my goldie has to fit into my lifestyle and as long as you have a freezer, it works brilliantly, plus he is very healthy and he gets variety.

I also feed Orijien kibble when I run out of meat/bones. (Have also used Bonnie Light which was fine occasionally) and Ziwipeak food gets used for treats.

I don't see any harm in kibble occasionally as long as it doesn't affect him adversely.

Sometimes people get a bit caught up in what to feed and how much. If my boy starts to put on weight, I just ease off on the size of his meals (always twice daily). Observing your dog and what he does best on and how much, should be the way to go.

[goldieneale]

If you liked the barf maybe you could try raw feeding. I feed fresh raw pet minces (from butcher, no preservatives), chunks of meat offcuts, bones like chicken wings, thighs and lamb necks along with liver, kidneys, sardines and eggs. Vegies only when I prepare my own and give them a few pieces. It is very easy and my dogs are in great condition. If you give 'raw feeding dogs' a google you find heaps of info.

I am by no means an expert but did a lot of reading, hope it helps a bit.

I'm no expert either but am inclined to think if your goldie did better on Barf, then try something along similar lines.

I tend to feed a prey model diet rather than BARF because I find it time consuming and mind boggling making barf patties and making sure I have 'the right balance'.

I have done a lot of reading and am confident what I give my goldie is perfectly fine for him, it's cheap for me and little or no preparation. I don't stop and think what should he have today, I just grab whatever comes out of the freezer first.

So, it's meaty bones, roo meat, lots of chicken frames (probably 70% of his diet), leftovers from dinner eg lots of roast pumpkin etc. Yoghurt, sardines, eggs get fed when I remember - but usually once or twice a week.

I'm busy so my goldie has to fit into my lifestyle and as long as you have a freezer, it works brilliantly, plus he is very healthy and he gets variety.

I also feed Orijien kibble when I run out of meat/bones. (Have also used Bonnie Light which was fine occasionally) and Ziwipeak food gets used for treats.

I don't see any harm in kibble occasionally as long as it doesn't affect him adversely.

Sometimes people get a bit caught up in what to feed and how much. If my boy starts to put on weight, I just ease off on the size of his meals (always twice daily). Observing your dog and what he does best on and how much, should be the way to go.

I might just give that a go. So do they get two meat meals a day? i.e. meaty bone in the morn and chicken frame at night? Or just one meat meal and the other a mixture meal with some tuna/sardines egg and vegie mix?

[Golden Rules]

Sometimes people get a bit caught up in what to feed and how much. If my boy starts to put on weight, I just ease off on the size of his meals (always twice daily). Observing your dog and what he does best on and how much, should be the way to go.

I might just give that a go. So do they get two meat meals a day? i.e. meaty bone in the morn and chicken frame at night? Or just one meat meal and the other a mixture meal with some tuna/sardines egg and vegie mix?

Seriously, it's whatever comes out of the freezer first.

Yes, two meals a day. Often it's a large chicken frame for breakfast AND dinner (ie a whole one each meal) and when I remember there's eggs or youhurt, I'll make up a meal of maybe an egg and a tin of sardines, or egg and yoghurt, or leftover veges and yoghurt, or leftovers and an egg.

As long as there is no less than the equivalent of a cup of food, I know the dog won't go hungry.

Veges, eggs, yoghurt, sardines, offal etc probably make up 10 to 20% of my dogs diet - the rest is chicken frames, sheeps' necks, roo tails, lamb flaps - just whatever I can get my hands on at shopping time.

Just have a play around with it and see what works best for you and your dog.

[Saffis]

I do two meals too, approx 2-3% of their adult weight a day, so about 600g for one dog and 450g for the other split into two meals.

I dont weight everything now that I kinda know what that amount looks like, they get something meaty in the morning with the offal, egg or sardines and the meal with bone at night 'cos thats just how I do it! Offal should be about 10% of the diet, with at least half of that being liver so they get all the nutrients they dont get from the other food. Sounds complex but really isnt

Just do whatever works for you and your dog!

[goldieneale]

I do two meals too, approx 2-3% of their adult weight a day, so about 600g for one dog and 450g for the other split into two meals.

I dont weight everything now that I kinda know what that amount looks like, they get something meaty in the morning with the offal, egg or sardines and the meal with bone at night 'cos thats just how I do it! Offal should be about 10% of the diet, with at least half of that being liver so they get all the nutrients they dont get from the other food. Sounds complex but really isnt

Just do whatever works for you and your dog!

Are you adding any vegies in there or just the offal, egg/sardine? Thanks for mentioning the 2-3% - makes is a bit easier to get my head around quantities.

[Joypod]

I switched my two over to a combo of Orijen and Ziwipeak and both ended up with runny poo. I've counteracted it by feeding them a pre-packed BARF pattie each per day. They've got ground bone in them which is enough to firm up their poo.

They'd both been on a raw diet (with lovely small, non-smelly, hard poo's) but Gus was getting gastro too much and ending up in hospital which is why I switched them to raw. The only other thing I would have done to firm up their poo would have been to feed them chicken wings but they're a big no-no in our house these days because of fatso having such a sensitive tummy.

[goldieneale]

I switched my two over to a combo of Orijen and Ziwipeak and both ended up with runny poo. I've counteracted it by feeding them a pre-packed BARF pattie each per day. They've got ground bone in them which is enough to firm up their poo.

They'd both been on a raw diet (with lovely small, non-smelly, hard poo's) but Gus was getting gastro too much and ending up in hospital which is why I switched them to raw. The only other thing I would have done to firm up their poo would have been to feed them chicken wings but they're a big no-no in our house these days because of fatso having such a sensitive tummy.

So are you feeding one patty a day plus some sort of raw meat? Do you find that enough. That's what I'm thinking of doing because I don't think I have that many good suppliers of raw meat up here in toowoomba (will have to go looking again).

[Saffis]

I dont do the veggie slops like barf, just little chunks of what I dont need when I do my own vegies. I dont belive that it is as important as other things. Here is a link for some info I read when researching, the % is great isnt it, makes it easy

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/

eta: this one is good too http://rawfed.com/myths/feedraw.html

Edited November 13, 2008 by Saffis

[goldieneale]

I dont do the veggie slops like barf, just little chunks of what I dont need when I do my own vegies. I dont belive that it is as important as other things. Here is a link for some info I read when researching, the % is great isnt it, makes it easy

http://www.rawfed.com/myths/

eta: this one is good too http://rawfed.com/myths/feedraw.html

Thanks for those links. I went and had a look at a dog food place that sells a lot of raw food and he recommended dog mince (mix of roo, mutton and beef) and roo tail. Does that sound reasonable? I really need something that is not too fatty as she needs to lose a couple of kilos. He said the chicken carcasses were very fatty and really didn't have any meat so said I should avoid them if I want Akira to lose weight. I guess if I wanted to use chicken I could buy chicken wings or quarter chickens.

Does she have to have organs like liver?

I was thinking feeding her 250g of dog mince mixed with an egg and a roo tail for dinner? He said the roo tails weigh approx. 200g each. Also does $3 for 6 roo tail bits sound fine?

[Saffis]

Yep, roo tails are GREAT and so is that price! I get roo mince too and a mix of beef, lamb and chicken so similar to yours. I do not feed the carcasses either for the same reason...no meat...but a lot of people feed them as a base for meals. I feed wings or chicken thighs with the bone in. About one bone meal a day is fine, so a roo tail with one meal but not the other, too many and she might get a bit constipated.

Liver is a must. I forget what exactly it contains but im sure someone remembers! I give a handful sized chunk a week and maybe a kidney or two. Organs are really important for nutrients and vitamins like iron and all the B group etc. If she has not had offal before she may get runny stools, that is normal. If you feed it with a roo tail it might firm her up a bit. Start with small peices so she gets used to it without having it run right through her!

That dinner sounds good, similar to what I feed all the time Feel free to PM if you want more info

Edited November 14, 2008 by Saffis

[goldieneale]

Just an update...

I have been feeding Akira this diet for 6mths now and she is doing great! She has lost 6kgs so we need to beef up her food a bit more. She is now in a healthy weight range that her vet is happy with.