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Ask the Expert – Soft Stool

October 22nd, 2009

Name: Lynda
Pets species and breed: Toy Poodle
Pets age and weight: 10 lbs., 10 yrs. old.
Pets health status: Excellent
Are they spayed or neutered? Yes
Brand of food: Wenaewe
Animal owned for: Since her birth

Question:

Her stool is mushy. It has been going on for most of the last year and a half.  I took her to a high tech animal hospital in Downers Grove, IL where they ran all kinds of tests on her. They said she was in great shape and that I should add a teaspoon of Benefiber to the wet food in the mornings and to the dry food I give her in the evening. At that time, she had been on prescription vet food - salmon and potato – and when I learned they had no solution other than Benefiber, I tried Wenaewe, which she has been on for over a year.

The Benefiber does not work, and I don’t know what else to try.  Thank you!

Answer:

Dear Lynda,

Many dogs are plagued with soft stool problems, and the solution can be easy–such as adding fiber to the diet–or more complicated, depending on the problem.

I am unsure what tests your vets have run but “fiber-responsive diarrhea” is a common condition in dogs. Many dogs require more fiber in their diet to maintain digestive health as they age. Fiber can improve the stool consistency and it helps produce fatty acids that nourish the colon and discourage the overgrowth of potentially harmful bacteria.

There are two types of fiber: soluble and insoluble. Neither type of fiber is digested by the body and therefore can have beneficial effects on colon health. Soluble fiber forms a gel when mixed with liquid, while insoluble fiber does not–it passes through the intestine largely intact. Benefiber is classified as a strictly soluble fiber. Dogs with “fiber-responsive diarrhea” often require a healthy mix of both fiber types or just insoluble fiber in order to have improvement in their stool. Good natural sources of insoluble fiber include wheat bran, whole grains and certain vegetables (root vegetables and skins). This form of fiber may be “just what the doctor ordered”.

Also consider selecting a food that has both prebiotics and probiotics that help promote excellent intestinal health. Read my article here to learn more about the addition of these to your dogs diet here.

If your dog still has no response, speak to your veterinarian about Inflammatory Bowel Disease, as this is another common problem that often causes diarrhea. You can read more about it here.

Hope this helps.

Dr. Donna Spector

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Tags: ask the expert, diarrhea, fiber, fiber responsive diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, prebiotics, probiotics, soft stool, stool problems
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