Increase in stools?

[Stephnshawn]

Kaia use to go twice a day (after breakfast/dinner). Now she is going 3-4 times a day and the stools are bigger (not as firm and compact)

She is on her second bag of Wellness and I'm beginning to wonder if this is the culprit??? I mean it's suppose to be higher quality food but the difference between her "output" on this food vs California Natural is noticeable.

I've always associated more stool/bigger stool as an issue with the food. It's either that or the probiotics? Either way though her stool doesn't look as "healthy" (if that makes sense) as it did on the California Natural.

Thoughts?


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[Oh Little Oji]

Hi! It certainly could be the food. That would be my suspect, though you mention a probiotic. Was the probiotic started recently?

I have been dealing with too much stool production (too large and too many per day) as well as looseness. This is on a quality food that people around here have good success with. Your Wellness may be an even higher quality food than I use, so it is surprising to hear. If you want to, you could make the switch back the food she was on before and see if that returns her stools to how they used to be.

 

[Gelcoater]

I agree with @Oh Little Oji

All dogs are different.A food that agrees with one may not with another.Im not familiar with the Cali Natural but it sounds like yours may agree with it more?

What probiotics are you giving?And was it started recently?
Somewhat like tuning a race car or boat,one step at a time to extract results.
A switch of food and adding the probiotics may be a double whammie?

 

[Stephnshawn]

Yeah we started the probiotics about the same time we switched the food. But her stool increase has been just about a month now (she is half way through her second bag so maybe 6-7 weeks total.

Is there a big difference in probiotics? I know her food has it in it, maybe it's just too much?

I was desperate to start probiotics so I picked some up from Petco (vs ordering on Amazon). Saw immediate results with her gas so figured she was okay on them??

Well & Good Digestive Enzymes & Probiotics Dog Tablets, 90 count | Petco Store

Part of my problem with probiotics is 90% of them seem to have chicken/turkey/duck and she can't have that (As good as she is about taking pills I'm not sure I could get a capsule in her so I had been focusing on chewables).


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[Gelcoater]

Yeah we started the probiotics about the same time we switched the food. But her stool increase has been just about a month now (she is half way through her second bag so maybe 6-7 weeks total.

Is there a big difference in probiotics? I know her food has it in it, maybe it's just too much?

I was desperate to start probiotics so I picked some up from Petco (vs ordering on Amazon). Saw immediate results with her gas so figured she was okay on them??

Well & Good Digestive Enzymes & Probiotics Dog Tablets, 90 count | Petco Store

Part of my problem with probiotics is 90% of them seem to have chicken/turkey/duck and she can't have that (As good as she is about taking pills I'm not sure I could get a capsule in her so I had been focusing on chewables).


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Have you considered plain yogurt as a probiotic source?
You want yogurt with live culture.
It's simple,no pills,mine will eat it right off the spoon.
You could also mix it in with the food.

 

[Gelcoater]

I should have added,asking as there is no issues with dairy products

 

[Stephnshawn]

I don't know if she has diary issues. We use to give her allergy pills in cheese but that seemed to make her gas worse.

I could try it. How much do you give? Just a scoop?


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[Oh Little Oji]

Yeah we started the probiotics about the same time we switched the food. But her stool increase has been just about a month now (she is half way through her second bag so maybe 6-7 weeks total.

Is there a big difference in probiotics? I know her food has it in it, maybe it's just too much?

I was desperate to start probiotics so I picked some up from Petco (vs ordering on Amazon). Saw immediate results with her gas so figured she was okay on them??

Well & Good Digestive Enzymes & Probiotics Dog Tablets, 90 count | Petco Store

Part of my problem with probiotics is 90% of them seem to have chicken/turkey/duck and she can't have that (As good as she is about taking pills I'm not sure I could get a capsule in her so I had been focusing on chewables).


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I actually don't know anything about probiotics so can't add anything on that. I do know there are probiotic powders you can sprinkle on their food though. So, that would be different from a chewable or capsule.

 

[Gelcoater]

I don't know if she has diary issues. We use to give her allergy pills in cheese but that seemed to make her gas worse.

I could try it. How much do you give? Just a scoop?


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A tablespoon or so daily.
I would add more if the dog recently completed around of antibiotics.

 

[Stephnshawn]

A tablespoon or so daily.
I would add more if the dog recently completed around of antibiotics.

I think I'll try that. Just plain yogurt but does it matter if to nonfat or whole milk?

I'm also contemplating switching her back to California Natural. Her stool can't just be from probiotics, I just cleaned up the dog run and it just does not look healthy.


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[Gelcoater]

I think I'll try that. Just plain yogurt but does it matter if to nonfat or whole milk?

I'm also contemplating switching her back to California Natural. Her stool can't just be from probiotics, I just cleaned up the dog run and it just does not look healthy.


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Good question on the nonfat,honestly I don't know?
We use the plain Fage yogurt.

I looked at DogFood chat about your Cali Nat food.
They praised it as a good food for dogs with food allergies and or sensitive digestive systems.
The food has minimal ingredients and no corn or soy,read fillers.
It sounds good to me?
Maybe check out DogFood advisor?

Bottom line here is your dog seemed to do well on it by your observation.If the nutrients are there I would stick with it.

 

[Stephnshawn]

I'll try the Fage.

I only switched her from California Natural thinking perhaps rice was a culprit but there doesn't appear to be any benefit to the wellness lamb and oatmeal and then we have the negative stool issue. So back to lamb and rice I guess!


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[JanS]

Our dogs get a couple spoonfuls of Activia every day and they love it. I actually give them the vanilla flavor since I don't believe that brand comes in the plain.
I would avoid low fat since there are often times added things in anything low fat that might not agree with the dog.

 

[Rits]

The probiotics will have much more beneficial bacteria and a longer shelf life than the yogurt. If you go with yogurt, make sure the yogurt mentions live cultures. It is not uncommon for yogurt companies to pasteurize the yogurt after culturing, thus most of the bacteria and enzymes are killed off, so check the label. Also avoid xylitol...an artificial sweetener that is harmful to dogs!

Maybe try a different brand of probiotics as I'm sure not all probiotics are the same. It is possible that that kind has a lot of fillers thus making the stools larger? Or see how Kaia does without the probiotics and only on the new food, check how her stools are then, then reintroduce them to see if they are the culprit.

Fortiflora and Vetri-Science is recommended a lot on here by folks like @Archer I'm sure she'll have more input/personal feedback. I don't give any probiotics anymore as I feed raw and their enzymes are in their food. If they are coming off antibiotics or have stomach upset and need a boost to their gut flora I can give them kefir.

Hope you find the solution and her poo problem goes away! I too like you like to see smaller poops, especially ones that dry up in a few days and crumble away on their own

 

[Archer]

My guess is the food. She's gassy and her stool production has changed. Oatmeal is higher in fiber than rice, which explains the bulk increase and gas. Rice is also used for dogs with sensitive GI systems as it's easily digestible than other carbs. I would switch her food back. If she doesn't do well on it, I would change protein sources. Lamb is no longer considered an allergy protein and it's a pretty fatty meat.

I know many give yogurt with zero issues, but in giving it to mine I discovered that dogs can react to dairy. They lack the enzyme that allows them to digest lactose. Be careful giving her yogurt if she has a sensitive GI system. If so, you'll be better off giving a good quality probio. FortiFlora is fantastic. VetriScience is my second choice.

Be careful changing too much at once. It can upset their GI system and then you can't tell what change caused the upset. I would change foods slowly. If the stools stay bad, add the probios.

You might also consider checking her stool for parasites or bacteria.

Hope you find something that helps

 

[Stephnshawn]

Vetriscience is made with chicken (or duck, I can't remember right now) which she can't have .

Lamb has been a vast improvement in gas over salmon (looking to keep her fat content down). We are pretty much at lamb and possible whitefish (guessing the salmon was too rich which caused the gas but fish is good on the allergy side of things).

Bison is a no go, way to rich for her.

I have not tried venison but I haven't found a formula that doesn't have any "bird" meat in it.

I'll probably go back to California Natural and either do yogurt or try another probiotic. The only reason I switched for the California natural was to try something "grain free" for her allergies but it has not made any difference in that so clearly she doesn't have a rice allergy (which is shocking since she seems to be allergic to everything else ).

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I know a lot of it is trial and error but switching things on her is always difficult given her allergies.




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[Archer]

Have she had an allergy test to isolate what she's allergic to? I tested two of mine that were having allergic issues and knowing exactly what they reacted to helped.

 

[Gelcoater]

Vetriscience is made with chicken (or duck, I can't remember right now) which she can't have .

Lamb has been a vast improvement in gas over salmon (looking to keep her fat content down). We are pretty much at lamb and possible whitefish (guessing the salmon was too rich which caused the gas but fish is good on the allergy side of things).

Bison is a no go, way to rich for her.

I have not tried venison but I haven't found a formula that doesn't have any "bird" meat in it.

I'll probably go back to California Natural and either do yogurt or try another probiotic. The only reason I switched for the California natural was to try something "grain free" for her allergies but it has not made any difference in that so clearly she doesn't have a rice allergy (which is shocking since she seems to be allergic to everything else ).

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions. I know a lot of it is trial and error but switching things on her is always difficult given her allergies.




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For what it's worth,Archers knowledge base here is WAY over mine.Consider it much better advise.I had not considered the sensitive GI and lactose interaction or checking for parasites.
Like mentioned,some dogs are fine with it some aren't.
Notice she also suggests one change at a time,minus my race car tuning metaphor.

 

[Stephnshawn]

Have she had an allergy test to isolate what she's allergic to? I tested two of mine that were having allergic issues and knowing exactly what they reacted to helped.

Our old vet told us awhile ago allergy testing wasn't going to help much because about 95% of her allergies are environmental and we can't change that.

The only food she has a obvious reaction to is chicken and turkey (so vet said duck is most likely too, any bird really). I was sort of grasping at straws with the rice being an allergy culprit.

I will bring up testing to her new vet though and see what they say.

The bison being a no go is due to gas....anything too rich or high in fat/oil seems to cause gas in her. She appears to have a very sensitive GI track.


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[Archer]

For what it's worth,Archers knowledge base here is WAY over mine.Consider it much better advise.I had not considered the sensitive GI and lactose interaction or checking for parasites.
Like mentioned,some dogs are fine with it some aren't.
Notice she also suggests one change at a time,minus my race car tuning metaphor.

I wouldn't say that, Gel. You have a fantastic knowledge base. I have dealt with sensitive GI systems in 2 of my 3 Dobies. Both of my dogs are different. Each dog is different, like you said, some react to dairy some don't. Archer and Faith do. Aria doesn't. I was just sharing what I have experienced. Your advise was great