Dealing with sensitive stomach

[Natty Boh]

Natty Boh came from the shelter eating Science Diet Puppy. He did OK on it, but his stools were soft. He also came with Demodex and immature heartworms. The vet suggested I keep him on the Science Diet Puppy for a while. I did. Then I started to transition him to Wellness Core puppy. All was going well, until I had him on only the Wellness. He had loose to runny stools for an entire weekend. I tried brown rice and chicken, but found he did better on ground beef and All Bran. In addition, I gave him pumpkin. His stools firmed up. The vet said the puppy food may have been too rich and to start him on Adult Science Diet for Sensitive Stomach. I kept Boh on the ground beef and All Bran for several days. Then, I started mixing in the Adult Science Diet. Yesterday was his first day with just the Science Diet. Stools are returning to messy.

I am still giving him pumpkin. He loves pumpkin. What should I do about the food? He did not get to transition onto the adult food, so maybe that is the problem? I hate to up and switch his dog food again, but if this doesn't work, I have to do something. Any suggestions on food, or how to do some type of transition at this point? If his stools continue to be messy, I will go back to the ground beef and All Bran until I can figure something out.

Thank you!
Jan

[Mollys Mom]

Personally I do not like the Science Diet brand. Usually gives my dogs loose stool and makes them smell. There are a lot of food choices based on your preferences and $$. If you do switch do it gradually by mixing. The pumpkin definately helps.

[Cassie]

The last nearly 10 months since we got out Beag food was a huge issue-lots of episodes of diarrhea and some vomiting. We tried a variety of foods... wet, kibble, and home cooked. We tried dog foods that were pricey, Kosher, 5 star, and grain free with the same results. I finally decided to try Eukanuba adult maintenance, small bite (actually has a beagle pix on the bag)with added cooked chicken bits and chopped canned green beans-and everything has been perfect for the last 2 months. I went for the small size kibble since I saw that she was having some difficulty managing the larger size and dropped a lot out of her bowl and because the shape of the mouth is longer and narrow.

I switched to adult food when she was 6 months old-the vet recommended it as puppy food is too rich and makes them grow too fast affecting the joints.

[Clairebear]

I suggest a grain-free dry food. My dog has less vomiting since I switch her to a duck & potato or venison & potato food.


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[Natty Boh]

I totally agree with you guys. Science Diet is not cheap and it is not a good quality food. The only reason I agreed to feed it, is because Boh seemed to do well on it before. One thing I learned from my "food allergic" German Shepherd was to feed what worked. Orijen is one of the best foods out there, but it was too rich for my shepherd. I found she did best on fish based, grain free foods. Taste of Wild was one she could eat.

I had hoped to feed Wellness Core to Boh, but apparently that is too rich for him. Has anyone fed Taste of the Wild? If so, which formula? I was also thinking of Anamaet. Not sure of the spelling. A pet store had given me a bag as a sample and I have been using it as treats. It is not as high quality. It is about a 4 star. It is also one of those brands that I will probably have a harder time finding.

So, if I decide to switch brands again, how should I do this? Should I go back to the ground beef and All Bran and start gradually adding the new food? Should I continue on the Science Diet and start transitioning to the new brand? In all the times I have transitioned, I have never had to transition with the dog doing so poorly on the food I was transitioning from.

All advice welcome. Thank you!

[techie]

We mix the 2 kibble together for awhile. Rascal didn't do well on Science Diet either from the pound. So we bought her Costco Salmon and Sweet Potato. Then Iams (can't remembe which kind.) I think we will stay with the Iams.
techie

[Natty Boh]

Techie, so you mixed the Science Diet and the new food, even though your pup didn't do well on the Science Diet? I wasn't sure if I should just stop it. I will have to figure out what food we are going to use and start mixing it with the Science Diet. Thank you!

[My6beagles]

I've mixed food while changing to different brands and I've had to do a sudden change. No problems either way. I think it's a little easier on their tummy to do the gradual transition of food.


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[Natty Boh]

Since he hasn't had a real runny stool today - just soft, I'll probably do the gradual transition. Thank you!

[Mollys Mom]

You can always keep up with the canned pumpkin during the change over. Beags tummys tend to be pretty tough but I find that some of the high end foods are too rich for my kids. The 50/50 mix works good, even if its just for a few days to a week.