Another crazy plea for ideas- chronic soft poo

 Have you tried pumpkin and tripe? I mash up a can of Tripette, with a can of pumpkin, and a can of unsalted green beans. Easiest kibble topper, ever. They love it, and it improves Emma's stools, quite a bit, if they start getting gooey. She eats nasty, ol, predigested Z/D, but still occasionally gets gooey stools. It's probably from overfeeding, or the toppers she gets. Tripe is the best thing ever, though.

Yes, tried the pumpkin which as I recall didn't work for him.  I will see if I can find some Tripette around here or maybe special order some in.

I guess maybe I shouldn't worry so much about poo but it's a total pain to pick up, as it just smears everywhere.  Perhaps I need to back off yet on his serving amount?  He gets 1/4 cup twice a day plus a spoonful of topper (meat mix or kefir). 

shamrockmommy

had tried him on ProPlan sensitive systems and that actuall worked well. 

I'd go back to that.  Willow tried the Eukanuba you mentioned and it didn't work so great for her. 

 Emma is a little touchy about that. She doesn't get loose stools, really, just smeary, from being overfed. She gets overfed, because friends and family members get overzealous with "cookies" (which is just kibble, in a cookie jar) and her doing tricks, LOL. She's a piglet!

The tripe seems to help with any digestive troubles, and head off any stressy tummy. 

Thanks guys. I"m going to do some thinking over the next few days, see if I can't find some Proplan (I know TSC carries it but it's a 20lb bag, which would last a minpin for EVAH!) maybe they can get a small bag in.

Meantime, I will also look for tripe or tripettte (there is a butcher shop here that might have some) and back off his portions.  For his weight, he is suppsed to get 1/2 cup food twic a day. I already backed him down to 1/4 cup twice a day and he has goopy smeary poop.

 Emma eats less than half what the bag says, too. I just ordered her some vitamins, because I got paranoid about her getting what she needs. If I fed her what the bag says, she'd weigh roughly the same that I do

LOL Jennie. GObie would be enormous as well if I fed the recommended amount. In fact, I don't think I've ever fed as much as most dog foods tell you to because they all pork up so much.

Just decided to get him (and th girls) on petguard and just leave 'em alone! 

It's hard, I have a friend who does raw and she's been tellin me to keep with it but I can't keep up with the dire-rear situation it eventually causes.

Anyway, I'll stop my crazy obscessing now! LOL  Seems like I do this every few months.

How long did you try the probiotics for? Aesop took a few weeks, but it did clear up his poos.  All dogs are different, mind you.  And I gave him a spoonful of tripe and he ended up pooping like 5 times that day :p

Before we tried the probiotics, we did try pro plan, but he wouldn't touch it. We tried for a week before he started dropping weight and we gave up (but that means nothing, as he barely likes food.  He likes his TOTW fish formula and that's pretty much it)

ETA  that he also does not get toppers, since there are too many things that can give him digestive upsets

I have used probiotics for several weeks at a time. The last time I used them was years ago because it didn't seem to help... Maybe I need to try it for longer?  I may stop over at the HFS, they have a small selection of dog related supplements.

I  also use kefir which is full of live probiotics itself as well.

I am starting to think he's being overfed somewhat between the treats and the toppers added.  Although he is still on Freshpet Select until Friday when my PetGuard is supposed to come in.  

 If you guys have been keeping up with how I've been all over the place with feeding the last few months, we could see how that is messing with his GI system as well!  I am such a worrywart when it comes to feeding my guys the "right" or "best" food.  And I'm very easily persuaded to change too, so I need to stay off other forums LOL. The dogs were fine on Petguard early in the year but my sister convinced me Cal Natural was the way to go (besides it was local and cheaper) but then the yeast infections started in the bichons and the scratching..) so off to sojos and raw and cooked and petfresh... just too many changes and I need to get them doing well on one thign and leave it alone.

Smack me :)

You can and should use probiotics long term.  My dogs get a probiotic/prebiotic every day. If your dog/s has/have chronic poo problems and yeast problems, I would add a probiotic daily.  Obviously the gut flora is off balance and it will likely take more than a few weeks to re-establish and maintain  balance.  I use a human product for my dogs (usually NOW 4x6 or Jarrow formulas).  I know many people have a good success with Purina's Forti-Flora, as well---you can get that from your vet.

I see that you do use kefir and yogurt---and while they do contain beneficial bacteria, they are dairy and many dogs are lactose intolerant--this can cause soft stools.  Mine do not often have issues with dairy, unless they have had too much, in which case I will get softer stools.  If I were in your position, I would add the probiotic, but cut out the dairy.

It sounds as if you have had good luck with the Petguard in the past, so getting them back on that with a probiotic and fresh topper sounds like a good plan of action (I would nix the dairy for the time being)---keep in mind that you need to cut back on the kibble portion when adding fresh toppers, or you will get the overfeeding softish stool.  Good luck.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I'm going to get a probiotic for him and keep him on that, really watch his portions/toppers and cut out the kefir for a while and see how he does.  If not, i"ve bookmarked that page and will try that option if needed.

Thanks again :) 

 I use human probiotics, from the refrigerator section. Specifically, they get Solaray Multi Dophilus. It is soy and dairy free, and is a strong enough dose for a dog.