best dry dogfood for sensitive stomach

I know of a few GSD's with sensitive stomachs that do well on Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice.  It is a very simple formula.
 
 

Well I`m really hoping that the meds he`s on will cure him.
I really have to wait and see, its 10 days of meds.
I dont want to change his diet just yet or we`ll never really know if hes cured or not.
went down to look into dogs foods, Armstrongs has all the quality foods that most on the forum speak of. this is pic of him when he was a wee boy, seems like just yesterday.

ORIGINAL: jennie_c_d

I'd try one of California Natural's formulas, or one of Natural Balance's allergy formulas. One protein, one carb, no spices or anything fancy.

I hope you find something that works for him, long term.

I would try the aboved mentioned too.  I used to work at a pet supplies store.  After going through the same issues with repeat customers again and again, I came up with a stragegy when for dogs and sensitive tummies/loose stools.

First off, are you giving rawhide?  If so stop.  I don't know how many times a customer would go through a million food changes before I found out they gave rawhide.  They stopped the raw hide and no more tummy issues.

If you aren't feeding rawhide, try feeding a basic dog food.  Like the above mentioned with one meat source and one grain source.  Another suggestion in the "basic" category is Eagle Pack Holistic Lamb.  This food also contains "digestive enzymes" and Eagle Pack makes a digestive enzyme powder for dogs with diareah.

If that doesn't work, have an allergy test done on your dog.  Or if that is too expensive, just try a dog food with an odd meat source.  Like Natural Balance Venison and Brown Rice or Troat and Sweet Potato.  Pinnacle makes odd meat source foods too, so does Solid Gold.

If that doesn't work, try a grainless diet.  Some dogs just cannot tolerate grains.  Innova Evo is a dry food without grains, so is Solid Gold Barking at the Moon, and Nature's Variety Raw Insticts.

If that doesn't work, your last option is raw.  Some dogs can't handel the processing done to dry foods.  They need the "enzymes" in the raw.  Nature's Variety and Nature's Logic make made raw diets.  Invest in a freezer.

Of course you really can do any of these in any order, but from the retail point of view, I listed this from least to most expensive.  Or atleast most inconvienient for the customer.

Always give the switch a couple of days before you give up.  It can take 3 days for the stool to show some signs of solidifying.  But if it causes immediate blow up diareah, then stop feeding it.

Pumpkin will solidfy stool too.  Oh and Eagle Pack also makes a holistic transition formula that will aid in transfering over to new foods.

Hi JoJo
Thanks for all your advice, we have never given jake rawhide, pig ears yes.
But we stopped that months ago, thought that might have been the problem, he has never had any table scraps either.
Im really hoping that these meds will help him, maybe he just has a bug in his intestine.
but we are looking into thse dog foods, in atwater theres a great little farmstore that carries all these different dog foods.first he was on Innova , turkey and chicken, thought maybe he was poultry sensitive, switched to lamb and rice, better, but not good enough so we`ll keep trying.[]
he`s such a smart buddy, just look at those eyes, theres trouble in there lol.
 

I find that cream of wheat cereal interesting.  Over a year ago I started having major stomach issues.  I had to see a gastro and had an endoscopy to confirm it was (thank goodness) only gastritis and not something more serious.  I had more indigestion and stomach ache rather than the other end!  But I was living on cream of wheat cereral for months.  If not for that, I might not have made it. I had lost over 20lbs in two months time because I couldn't eat.  That cereal got me eating again!  Along with a ton of Zantac.   It is so easy on the stomach and so calming.  No clue why -but it tastes good too.  To this day I have it a couple mornings a week for my breakfast.  Also when looking into kibbles to use, remember that the smallest kibble size you can get is the easiest for the dog to digest also.  So if your considering a couple different brands, check the size of the kibble too.  Dogs don't always chew the food and the larger chunky kibbles are hard on the stomach to work on.  That is why pro plan sensitive foods are very tiny in size.  Does anyone know the difference between brewer's rice and white rice?  Thanks!

I would also add a digestive enzyme (I've had the best results with Prozyme, even though it's plant based, it keeps the weight on my sickly dog better than anything else), starting now, if you think he can handle a mild change. They really do make a difference. I can say that using digestive enzymes quite possibly saved Emma's life, at one point. The vet had nothing else to offer, and I was frantically searching the internet, and saw a suggestion for enzymes. As soon as I started adding them to her food, she became more responsive, and started gaining weight. Definitely a good thing, to take the workload off of a sensitive belly.

You know, as i read all these posts, I got to thinking and I think I would stick with the diet the vet gave me at least for a while.  This vet did not put the dog on any brand of food like Science Diet, but home made and I have an idea he/she knew what he/she was doing (can't remember if you she he or her).
 
I had not thought of it until reading the post by losingsusan, but I was 17  (back in '63) when i caught the mumps and got the flu on top of it and was, pardon the pun, sick as a dog and didn't keep anything down.  I even threw the meds the doc presecribed to settle my tummy.  And when I did finally start to  eat, it was cream of wheat I ate, and I ate it with a dab of butter and some milk, no sugar at all.  Sweet stuff didn't settle well for a couple of months. I also still eat cream of wheat and i also eat cream of rice which I love.  Only i add sugar now. 

You know, as i read all these posts, I got to thinking and I think I would stick with the diet the vet gave me at least for a while.

I think the OP is going to do that but she wanted to know which dry foods would be good to try after his system calms down. Your illness reminds me of a bad flu bug I had back in the 50's when I was about seven; I couldn't keep anything down at all. After more than a week of this our regular doctor had my parents take me to a specialist . She had my parents give me a few tablespoons of Pepsi several times a day for a few days to settle my stomach, then I went on to eat Jello, hot cereals, etc. I have never heard of another doctor recomending that, but it worked. Having either the mumps or the flu is serious but having them together had to be absolutely miserable; no wonder you couldn't keep anything down for awhile.

I was a senior in high school and I was sooooooo sick.  My boyfriend lived in the next little town 9 miles down the road and he worked in the "city"  (50,000) 10 miles up the road.  He would stop by on his way home  and just sit and hold my hand and I mostly slept.  Mom was so impressed with him that he wanted to be there everyday and risk the flu--had had mumps.  I looked like death warmed over ( a couple of times at that) but he would tell me i was beautiful.  Reckon love is blind.

Here is a great site on IBD, very informative regarding diet.[]
[linkhttp://www.dogaware.com/specific.html#ibd]http://www.dogaware.com/specific.html#ibd[/link]

ORIGINAL: losinsusan

Does anyone know the difference between brewer's rice and white rice?  Thanks!

Yes, Brewers Rice is rice left over or by product rice from a brewery (beer). I don't know the nutrition specs though.

I really want to thank you all for all your loving advice, it means so much to us.
thank you

ORIGINAL: jojo the pogo

Yes, Brewers Rice is rice left over or by product rice from a brewery (beer).

Not exactly. It's the exact same stuff brewers use, not their leftovers. Actually it's just regular white rice, just smaller. Brewers rice is broken pieces of rice that are 1/4 to 1/2 the size of a regular grain. Companies sell these broken pieces for pet food, and for other uses, including brewing.http://www.riceland.com/food_ingredients/broken.asp

After my Gordon was neutered, he had very loose stool and he lost weight, about 8 pounds in one week, although he was eating his food.
My Vet gave me Royal Canin intestinal- and after two days everything was fine again- Intestinal calmed the stomach. I returned to the old food, because Intestinal is quite expensive. But it's a special diet for dogs with a sensible stomach. You can feet it for a few weeks, or for longer time. I dont know if its available in USA, but thats my suggestion, because it helped my dog stop loosing weight, getting a better stool and it stopped flatulence.

ORIGINAL: *Belfleur*

After my Gordon was neutered, he had very loose stool and he lost weight, about 8 pounds in one week, although he was eating his food.
My Vet gave me Royal Canin intestinal- and after two days everything was fine again- Intestinal calmed the stomach. I returned to the old food, because Intestinal is quite expensive. But it's a special diet for dogs with a sensible stomach. You can feet it for a few weeks, or for longer time. I dont know if its available in USA, but thats my suggestion, because it helped my dog stop loosing weight, getting a better stool and it stopped flatulence.

Royal Canin's prescription food is available in the US, but most vets carry Hills Science Diet prescription foods because they get a bigger kick back from Hills than Royal Canin/Walthum.   Which is sad, because Royal Canin's prescription foods have far better ingredients.

You can, however, get Royal Canin prescription foods from any Pet Smart that has a vet clinic.  You just have to have a prescription from you vet.