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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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K9 Cuisine is a provider of premium dog food. We’re committed to providing our customers with the knowledge, and the products, to help their faithful friends be the best they can be.
Tags: ask the expert, diarrhea, fiber, fiber responsive diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, prebiotics, probiotics, soft stool, stool problems
Posted in K9 Care, K9 Expert Question, K9 Health | No Comments »
Ask the Expert on SIBO and Diet
May 16th, 2009
The Question:
Name: Kathy Beth Moraino
Pets species and breed: Canine – border collie/retriever
Pets age and weight: 1.5 years/60lbs
Pets health status: Excellent
Are they spayed or neutered? Yes
Brand of food: Taste of the Wild and a raw food diet
Animal owned for: 1 year
“I was inquiring about a premium dog food recommendation. My dog has SIBO. He has done well on a raw dog food diet and on does best on a kibble that is venison. I feed him kibble in the morning and raw meat/organs/bone at night. I feed the kibble just to make sure he is getting all the vitamins and minerals he needs. He was originally eating Wellness Venison but rejected it after a month. He liked Taste of the Wild Venison and bison at first, but then rejected it after a month. I was wondering if you could recommend a brand of food for him. Pre-made raw food is too expensive to feed all my dogs. Thank you.”
The Answer:
“Thanks for your question Kathy. I am glad you are supplementing the raw dog food diet with a well balanced dog food to provide your dog the right nutrient profile.
It is important to choose a dog food with high QUALITY ingredients. Poor quality proteins (rendered meats/meals/some by-products) are less digestible than real muscle meat and these poor quality proteins are often associated with adverse food reactions (diarrhea, stomach upset, etc).
Another ingredient to watch for is fillers. Fillers are usually carbohydrates like corn and rice that are added to a food to “fill” up the bag and add calories. It is cheaper for pet food companies to use these fillers than other types of carbohydrates and protein. When included in dog foods (in excess) these fillers can have negative metabolic effects and often contribute to obesity in pets.
In addition to these things, I choose dog foods based on a number of factors, including:
- Recognizable ingredients. Real meat (no by-products) and real vegetables when I read the label and look inside the food.
- Natural foods–by definition means they cannot contain artificial dyes, colors or preservatives
- Alternate carbohydrate sources like sweet potato
The food you have been feeding (Taste of the Wild High Prairie Canine Formula) contains bison, venison, lamb/chicken/fish meals, and potato/sweet potatoes so I know what ingredients he seems to do okay on. A couple of names you might try include:
If your dog continues to reject each new diet that you provide, you should see your veterinarian. Many dogs with SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) actually have an underlying inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) condition that may require medication to treat. See my article at http://www.halopets.com/pet-education/pet-articles/Inflammatory-Bowel-Disease-in-Dogs.html to learn more about IBD in dogs.”
Hope this helps.
Dr. Donna Spector
Tags: Dick van Pattens Natural Balance LID, Diet, Eukanuba Naturally Wild New Zealand Venison and Potato, Evo, IBD, inflammatory bowel disease, SIBD, small intestinal bacteria overgrowth
Posted in K9 Expert Question, K9 Health, K9 Nutrition | No Comments »
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