Brainstorm: why mushy poops?

One big misconception in bowel disease is that less fiber is better. It has to be added slowly after a feeding of boiled white rice for a week or so to calm down the bowel. Most know the drill . First big bout of diarrhea withhold all food for first 24 hours (includes treats) Then small amts of the white rice maybe flavored with a touch of hamburger.  Small portions of the rice and increase as the days go by. After a few days the poop firms up. Now the big step.... Slowly add a little of his dog feed to the boiled rice. I mean small. Sometimes up to a whole week until you have all the portion the dog kibble. This is the bland portion. of the building up of the bowel. Slower you do this the better. NO TREATS   AT ALL They are very fatty.

  Finding a food that passes slower through the bowel helps the dog remove the excess water so a firm poop can be had. You don't withhold water but add fiber in the right amount. It can be flaxseed products like Platinum Performance which I have tried or others.

I hate to sound like a Rep for Eagle Pack but on their web site they have some good products for Transition. My Lab was a soft serve pooping dog until I learned about Eagle Pack.  Many people knock their product because they don't have ingredient panels like Timber Wolf Organic but Eagle's digestability is second to none. I am a Big rotate WDJ dog owner .     but finding a feed that works better than Eagle Pack takes a while and the rich foods can't be held long enough and the loose stool always comes back.   I would give Eagle Pack a try.. The Lamb, or the fish, but some people swear by the original Natural Lamb.  

Also TREATS that are rich and Fatty cause a lot of the problems.

Good luck.....

He may be eating too much if they are following the guidelines on the bag.  I know a lot of foods have almost double listed of what Willow really eats.  And, you mentioned he's gained weight (it sounds like he needed it at first). But, maybe they could try cutting him back and see how it goes.  Especially, if he's acting fine otherwise, this may save them on a ton of expensive testing.

fish n dog

I hate to sound like a Rep for Eagle Pack but on their web site they have some good products for Transition. My Lab was a soft serve pooping dog until I learned about Eagle Pack.  Many people knock their product because they don't have ingredient panels like Timber Wolf Organic but Eagle's digestability is second to none.

I'd feed him one of the IVD  Simple Formulas, or one of the Natural Balance allergy formulas, and see if that didn't straighten him out. I'd also use something like Prozyme to help out his GI tract. No rice in any of those foods, and they're super simple, low calorie, no frills foods. Both have worked for my supertouchydog, in the past (though she doesn't tolerate ANY kibble, any more).

Thanks, guys!!! I'm going to show all of these responses to the dog's owner (now that Thanksgiving stress has wound down) and we'll draw up a plan of attack. I'm not familiar with IVD, so I'll look into that! Same with Eagle Pack - I'll see where might sell it around here.

Here are pictures of him - don't you guys think he's looking pretty good?

Before: (about a month after they got him, and he'd been in a foster home for 2-3 weeks before that)

Now: (pardon his ridiculous-looking headlight eyes)

What a handsome boy!!!

I see the pinkness you're talking about, and I think I see some slight inflammation in that area. Poor boy's allergic to something, for sure.  Give him a big smooch on those Boxer lips, for me?

ETA: IVD is a prescription diet, made by Royal Canin. They have a dedicated facility *just* for these "sensitive" diets. No glutens ever enter the facility.  

Update! Once again transitioning to the Natural Balance allergy formula - sweet potato and whatever (fish?) - and according to the owner's phone reports, poops seem to be getting better. The big galoot is also thrilled by the kong his owner got for him (on my suggestion) and is now chewing on it instead of chewing on his pillow. I'm sure that's helping his GI issues, too!

As long as his excretions keep improving I think we'll hold off on the vet tests, but if this diet change doesn't help, we'll take him in for some blood samples. Thanks again for all the input :) 

Cita

Yes, he was treated twice for Giardia with Panacur, per vet's orders.

They didn't ask the vet about the pink skin/eyes, but that's a good idea, so next time he goes in I'll remind them to ask. 

We think that the rice is a trigger factor, because as bad as his poops are now, they were 10000 times worse on his previous diets (the only commonality of which was rice, as far as we could tell).

     That's interesting, that he was treated for Giardia with Panacur I have a tube of Panacur paste that I use on all my pups ... it's a broad spectrum de-wormer!!! Giardia is treated with a medication called Metrondizole, which you can purchase OTC at most pet supply catalogs under the brand name "Fish Zole". It definitely does sound giardia like, may not be allergies at all. I actually have an intestinal bug going around my kennel now, and two of the dogs have VERY red skin on the belly and lips, so I'm thinking that is just another symptoms of their upset stomachs. I'm treating them with amoxicillin ... which may also be an option for your friend's dog - he may just have an intestinal bug that he jsut can't shake. But if I were seeing stools like that on mine, I'd go with the Fish Zole just to be sure it wasn't giardia. JMHO.   

 You're probably right, I'm actually not sure if it was Panacur or not that was used, all I know is that he was treated for Giardia the way the vet instructed... twice. Since he's doing better with the Natural Balance I'm guessing it's some sort of food intolerance, maybe exacerbated by some intestinal funkiness. If he keeps doing better we'll just keep him on what he's eating and declare it a success - if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? :)

I just saw what Kelly said about to much switching..... Can you clear this up for me... Cause this could be my Zoeys problem. Natures Variety raw are big on vareity....and switching but honestly that is when I start seeing tummy problems around here and stool problems.

So Im thinking its best I keep the dogs on 1 food and 1 food only. I do this for Louie and he is doing great... I do it for Max cause he is my IBD dog.

What are your thoughts on Natures variety's philosophy of switching? I personally don't think that works for my dogs as I end up with tummy upsets.

Rotation is fine for a normal, healthy dog-------but if you have a dog with G-I issues, staying with one food for an extended period of time is desirable.  This will allow the gut to rest and heal.  Adding l-glutamine will help with this, as well---I know you use this with another of your dogs.  A daily dose of probiotics would be beneficial . 

My IBD guy ate NV canned Venison ------and only venison------for at least 6 months before I started adding variety to his diet.  He now does fine with nearly all protein sources with the exception of lamb and sometimes chicken----he mainly eats a raw diet, but I feed canned a couple of times a week.

Do what works best for your dog.

I'm no expert, but IMO if your dog does very well on one food and not very well when you rotate foods, it seems like your dog is telling you to stick with that one food. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and all that. If you're feeding a good quality food and your dog is happy and healthy, seems like a fine situation to me!

It is possible that when you're rotating you're not switching gradually enough - if you want to keep adding variety, try doubling the time you take switching your dog from one food to the other. See if that helps.

Cita

It is possible that when you're rotating you're not switching gradually enough - if you want to keep adding variety, try doubling the time you take switching your dog from one food to the other. See if that helps.

Well I guess Iv done a stupid thing cause when it came to raw I didn't gradually switch like I use to when the dogs were on kibble.... So its just an important I take it to switch slowly when going from chicken to beef?

Im still doing probotics daily with each meal and a digestive enzyme as well.

I don't take time switching, any more. I did, when mine were new to fresh foods, though.  

Just curious... where does this dog live? My boy is having the same problems for the last few months. Vet is thinking pancreas (insert doom filled music) Not trying to hijack the thread, but she has 3 other dogs in VB,VA area all with the same problem and all started aroung the same few weeks.

jane