My Shih Tzu Charlie has been on a raw diet for over a year. When I switched him to raw, I completely cut out grain from his diet - except for the barley in his Newman's dog treats. The only time he has ever had diarrhea was when I changed his kibble when he was a small puppy. After I switched him to a raw diet he has had absolutely no diarrhea and has been really healthy. We recently got another Shih Tzu (Duke) who has digestion issues (I've started him on some enzymes which have helped a lot.) I took him in to the Vet. a few days ago because he was having severe diarrhea and the Vet. asked me what I was feeding them. When I told her raw, right away she expressed her concerns about Salmonella. I didn't feel like arguing with her even though I had done a lot of research before deciding to switch to raw. Anyway, she recommended that I give Duke some brown rice with cottage cheese for a couple of days. I made a lot of the brown rice, so I decided to throw it in with the meat and I've been feeding it to both dogs for about 4 days. Well, Duke's diarrhea got better almost right away, but now Charlie has the runs. I noticed a lot of rice in Charlie's poop I also saw blood which scared me so I took him to the Vet. right away. They are testing his poop for Salmonella, but I feel that it is probably from the brown rice. They said that the rice is too bland to cause diarrhea, but because Charlie hasn't had rice for a long time, (I don't know what I was thinking giving it to him) maybe it was too hard on his tummy. I fed him the rice for over 4 days before he showed any signs of a problem which I think is strange. Of course, I started him on the pills from the Vet. that will kill any bacteria he may have and help with the diarrhea, but I'm curious to know if anyone thinks it was the brown rice that did this to him.