# Help! Trying to find a food for my puppy that does not cause diarrhea



## Lisa O (Mar 22, 2013)

Hi,

I am new to the forum.

My gorgeous 16 week old pup Harvey is having terrible problems with diarrhea. When he came to me from the breeder he was eating Beta Puppy. However from day one he had awful diarrhea. The vet recommended that we give him Royal Canin Sensitivity Control and try to wean him on to another food once the diarrhea had stopped.

He does not have diarrhea when he eats only sensitivity control. We kept him on this food alone until the diarrhea had been under control for several weeks and then tried to gradually wean him onto James Wellbeloved puppy (this was recommended by the vet). This caused diarrhea and terrible wind. After a period of feeding sensitivity control only once more we tried to wean him onto Orijen. I read that this was an excellent food and useful for digestive problems as it is grain free. However he has diarrhea and terrible wind again. I am now giving him Prokolin to help his digestive system.

Can anyone recommend a good quality food that is easy for Border Collie puppies to digest? I am considering Acana, Eden, Wainwrights or Simpsons. I am so desperate to find a good food for his tummy so any suggestions are welcome.

Lisa x


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

I'd go for a white fish and potato-based food such as this James Wellbeloved Adult Fish and Vegetable Kibble 10 kg: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies, as these ingredients are less likely to cause stomach upsets, or one with hydrolised protein (sort of semi-digested). Have you tried home cooking?
Chicken, beef and cereals are common culprits in these problems. You have to be careful about treats, too. Many people recommend feeding raw and get good results.

The 'old' Orijen seemed to be more digestible than the new formula. I don't buy it any more, it gives one of my dogs the squits when she's normally OK.

Wind can be helped by charcoal tablets. Addition of Protexin probiotics can help, or Bionic Biotics. Slippery Elm powder (or Dorwest Tree Barks Powder) can make a significant difference too.


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## IncaThePup (May 30, 2011)

Hi

I have Border Collie puppy whose also had tummy issues since getting him at 9weeks he was also started on Beta puppy and had a rash and constant itching. 

We tried Wafcol which was meant to be grain free but his poo's got worse the longer was in it ending up in liquid squits. vet thought it was a bug went on bland chicken and rice ..got his poo's firm..tried again same thing. I later found on here wafcol contains soya which dogs can have difficulty digesting.

He's tried Eden, made his poo's absolutely rank then he started eating them, and then my older dogs poo when she was also trying the Eden. His poo's did firm up on that but my older dogs became looser.

He tried Bob & Lush Duck with potato and peas and the lamb and carrot wet. he enjoyed them and they look and smell not bad for dog food! The longer he's been on them the looser his poo's have been getting and he has hyper episodes. 

The vet thought red meats maybe too rich and recommended an Hills but its a chicken flavoured soy food with rice so I found one with proper chicken in and rice and hoping to start that soon. 

For now he's using a sample of working dogs HPR Hydrolysed Fish & Potato which is cheaper than the Hills & Royal Canin Hydrolysed ones and better ingredients! They send quite a generous size sample too. He was calmer after dinner and not pooped in huge volumes yet and now 5 hrs after his tea (usually shortly after so wasn't really digesting his food properly).

I would like him to be on proper meat based one though if possible so hoping the chicken one works out as it has real human grade chicken and as the first ingredient. 

Applaws is meant to be a good one but also contains egg which I wanted to avoid as currently removed dairy from his diet till we worked out what he had problems with. I liked the look of Canagan too but both the chicken & game food contain egg too (but not the fish one).


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## Lisa O (Mar 22, 2013)

Hi

Thanks for your replies.

I have had the same problem with my pup eating his poos. Inka the pup it sounds as though you are having as many problems as me! I will look into the foods you have both suggested and the charcoal tablets.

Lisa x


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## IncaThePup (May 30, 2011)

The poo eating is really gross!  JJ never showed any interest in his until we started the Eden. I wasn't sure if it was combination of so many meats/protein sources in the food, just the eggs..with the poo smelling so bad as obviously it's in concentrated form in the kibble.

He has done it on occasion with the Duck & lamb food, and poo'd quite huge volumes on that having the duck in the kibble with their wet lamb on top everyday. My vet though maybe red meat too rich. Not sure if duck is classed as a 'red meat?' but its darker and richer than chicken


so gone with white meat, lower protein, no egg based food as I really can't stand the poo eating long enough to eliminate them one by one..lol!  

Maybe try asking for some samples? Working dog HPR send a decent size sample though the kibble is huge, I had to soak it. 

We got decent size sample from Vitalin for their chicken & potato maintenance (cereal free) food too. 

The one I got.I thought I got a voucher off when I decided to buy so put it through (same as Bob & Lush) then realised I didn't get a trial pack they just apply the voucher to 15kg bag of food so can't even try a smaller bag first! 

Hope you get your puppy sorted. I think I should have left older dog on James Wellbeloved Senior and put the puppy on their cereal free adult version but unfortunately got swayed by the 'green foods are best' and people telling me their food was the best food on the market etc. (to the point they recommend people starve their dogs until they eat it on their FB page) when people have commented that their dogs have gone off it or won't eat it! ...3 days is a long time to starve your dog into eating a particular food! ..(don't they class that as cruelty these days??  )


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## 912142 (Mar 28, 2011)

Can I suggest you have your pups poo sent for analysis - there is a possibility that your pup may have guardia or similar and rather than make things worse by continually changing diet it might be better to rule out other things first.

In the meantime it wouldn't do any harm to give your pup a little probiotic yoghurt which will balance out the bacteria in the gut.


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

912142 said:


> Can I suggest you have your pups poo sent for analysis - there is a possibility that your pup may have guardia or similar and rather than make things worse by continually changing diet it might be better to rule out other things first.
> 
> In the meantime it wouldn't do any harm to give your pup a little probiotic yoghurt which will balance out the bacteria in the gut.


I agree. I would want to rule out guardia, campylobacter, etc. first and foremost.

Having said that many collies have food allergies or intolerances as I know to my cost. My 11.1/2 yr old bitch has had awful problems most of her life which are still ongoing.

I've found Arden Grange seems to suit my dogs best from puppy, adult to senior.


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## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

Can I suggest that you keep him on the Sensitivity Control for a good few weeks before trying anything else? If I've understood you right you've had a period on Sensitivity Control, then JWB, then Sensitivity Control again, then Orijen, and presumably back on Sensitivity control, all in a matter of a maximum of 10 weeks?

At that age future intolerances can be caused if you chop and change food too much, and he hasn't really had long to settle on the Sensitivity Control on it's own. Personally, I wouldn't be worried about an infection if his poo is OK on Sensitivity Control. I don't think these bugs are selective depending on what type of food they're fed.

If it's the ridiculous cost that's putting you off the Royal Canin, I buy it from Chemist Direct - Google for a discount code and you can normally get 10% off their website price, which is already much, much cheaper than your vet will be charging you.


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## IncaThePup (May 30, 2011)

What is the kibble size like on the RC sensitivity control PennyGSD? just out of interest? 

I got sample of the Hydrolysed Fish & potato from working dogsHPR and the kibble is huge!! can't really use it as small treats for their treat puzzles and I struggle to break it in half. 

Although noticed a big difference in both their tummies and poo's after one meal on it... small firm poo's which are now impossible to find in several inches of deep snow in the garden.. lol!  

I've just taken JJ off the Duck kibble though (Bob& Lush) and I believe they changed the formula from blue whiting to duck? I have seen some Blue Whiting but I don't know how easy it would be to keep getting in future if discontinued so don't want to start him on it. 

We'll see how he does on this new one as I got 15 kilo's of it to get through but I might gradually ease him onto JWB after he's got through this and put them both on the same one that's easier to get in most places and not too badly priced. 

My vet thought Giardia though JJ has been wormed with Panacur which I was told was the best wormer for Giardia.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

912142 said:


> Can I suggest you have your pups poo sent for analysis - there is a possibility that your pup may have guardia or similar and rather than make things worse by continually changing diet it might be better to rule out other things first.
> 
> In the meantime it wouldn't do any harm to give your pup a little probiotic yoghurt which will balance out the bacteria in the gut.


As this pup was OK when on the sensitivity control food, giardia or campylobacter infections are very unlikely to be involved in this case.


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## PennyGSD (Apr 16, 2012)

IncaThePup said:


> What is the kibble size like on the RC sensitivity control PennyGSD? just out of interest?
> 
> I got sample of the Hydrolysed Fish & potato from working dogsHPR and the kibble is huge!! can't really use it as small treats for their treat puzzles and I struggle to break it in half.
> 
> Although noticed a big difference in both their tummies and poo's after one meal on it... small firm poo's which are now impossible to find in several inches of deep snow in the garden.. lol!


That's really good news about the Working Dogs HPR. One meal is not really enough to base anything on, obviously, but it bodes well for the future if you continue to struggle to find another food that suits JJ.

The Sensitivity Control is pretty average I think. Not tiny, but not too big. I think it's about the same size as the JWB grain free foods, or the samples we got from The Natural Dog Food Company. It's been a while since we've attempted to feed him anything else, but I remember the F4D we've tried in the past was much bigger. Although this was a while ago when they didn't have quite so many options.


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## Twiggy (Jun 24, 2010)

Burrowzig said:


> As this pup was OK when on the sensitivity control food, giardia or campylobacter infections are very unlikely to be involved in this case.


OK although Cambridge Vet College insisted my dogs were all tested when Leafy was on Royal Canin hydrolysed.


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## 912142 (Mar 28, 2011)

Burrowzig said:


> As this pup was OK when on the sensitivity control food, giardia or campylobacter infections are very unlikely to be involved in this case.


Not necessarily - it could still be guardia or similar causing some of the problems - depends where in the life cycle it was.


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## Kc Mac (Jul 26, 2011)

I would suggest staying on the sensitivity control for a couple of weeks after the diarrhoea has stopped and pup is producing normal stools, then start changing over to whatever food you choose.

When changing over take it slow, and over 2 weeks if need be! Having my old girl suffer severe colitis I have taken nearly 3 weeks to change back to her regular diet . It's proved expensive but its better not to rush 

Also bear in mind pups system has taken a serious battering now with the stress of moving, I assume vaccinations and worming, and now a few changes of diet all in 8-10 weeks  I would be giving some probiotics daily to help balance the gut. If the Protexin ProKolin has helped then look at the Protexin Bio Premium, its about £10 online at Viovet. The Bio Premium is a pot of powder and is something I always have in the dog cupboard 

The pup I'm currently raising is on the Natural Dog Food Company


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## glenm (Jan 13, 2013)

Sam, out BC started on Beta. But he had very bad diarrhea on this.
We temporarily moved him onto plain chicken, and then started introducing Millies Wolfheart (Salmon).
He improved on this, but was still not 100%.

We have recently moved onto the Countryside range that Millies do (lamb, duck, rabbit) and this seems to agree with him much better, he is fine on this.

We just have to make sure that we only give him pure, natural treats, anything with additives, grain or unknown ingredients are best avoided, even in small quantities. So, just paddywacks, dried fish skins, dried tripe etc.


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## wee man (Apr 8, 2012)

I know this type of problem/thread gets many different ideas and suggestions and everyone will have yet another idea!
Do you know when your puppy was last wormed ? have you ever wormed him since he has been in your care?
All these kibbles are a convienence feed of the 20th century. Too much changing brands too often can cause your tummy upset. 
If you find something that works then stick with it and don't change again. 

Have you ever considered changing to a raw feed. Our dogs are canines and some tummies react better with the natural bacteria that will be found in meat, which is a natural food for our friends. Try using white meat or rabbit or even fish, but at the moment feed it cooked as this will put less strain on the digestive system, also introduce some "natural live" goat's yogourt, this will help replace the live bacteria that may be missing in your puppy's gut. Also boil some economy rice to add, boil until it becomes stodgey to mix with your meat, but don't rinse it!
Chicken wings and carcuses fed raw with bones in can make the poo's very white and firm and sometimes crumbly, this is fine as this firmness will help the anal glands work properly too. Most good pet stores will sell frozen mince and even just a little each day added to which ever type of food you choose, will assist with your dogs health.
Good luck with your problem, I hope you get it sorted soon.


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## Labaker05 (Sep 5, 2012)

When we got our puppy at 8 weeks he has the same problem. We found out that he hadn't been wormed properly by the breeder so he was given wormer that treats guardia at the same time. The vet also but him on prescription diet 'hills r/d'. After a week or so his diarrhoea settled, we continued to feed him the prescription diet for about a month and then weened him back onto his lamb James well beloved. From then on he was absolutely fine, however he could not eat anything other than his food i.e treats or human food.

We now feed him Arden grange as we found that pedigree bought JWB and felt we no longer wanted to feed him it. He can now eat anything!! 

I agree with the comments that other people have made that at that age puppies have a stressful time and their tummies are sensitive. To be honest I would recommend taking him to the vets and double checking that there is no problem. But would recommend Arden grange! Bailey loves it!!


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## JimJamz (Mar 15, 2008)

Our Pup is on 'Natural dog food coompany' Chicken & Rice puppy dry food and she is doing really well on it


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## IncaThePup (May 30, 2011)

Labaker05 said:


> When we got our puppy at 8 weeks he has the same problem. We found out that he hadn't been wormed properly by the breeder so he was given wormer that treats guardia at the same time. The vet also but him on prescription diet 'hills r/d'. After a week or so his diarrhoea settled, we continued to feed him the prescription diet for about a month and then weened him back onto his lamb James well beloved. From then on he was absolutely fine, however he could not eat anything other than his food i.e treats or human food.
> 
> We now feed him Arden grange as we found that pedigree bought JWB and felt we no longer wanted to feed him it. He can now eat anything!!
> 
> I agree with the comments that other people have made that at that age puppies have a stressful time and their tummies are sensitive. To be honest I would recommend taking him to the vets and double checking that there is no problem. But would recommend Arden grange! Bailey loves it!!


I've been looking at Arden grange 'performance' for JJ and their 'light' for Inca as several other collies I know also seem to do well on this food!


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