Food questions

[fayrow]

So I have a 10.5 year old pit Terrier mix who has bad digestive issues. I’m moving him from hills science diet sensitive stomach to hills Prescription I/d dry food this week(he loves the wet food but it’s way to expensive). I’m also adding some vegetables to his diet. I’ve started adding frozen green beans ,carrots, cucumbers, and pumpkin Totaling about a cup all together to his morning meal along with the hill science diet about a cup and a half (soon to be the I/d) and for his night time meal right now is half a can of the wet i/d 1 1/2 cups of the sensitive stomach (soon 2 been just dry I/d) a small amount of frozen kale and about 2 teaspoons of salmon oil. Is this ok or could I be doing more harm then good.

 

[mfinnergab]

@fayrow What are you concerned might be wrong with what you’re doing? Is there a diagnoses for the digestive issues or is it just general upset? What’s the intention with adding the vegetables? Just trying to get an idea of what you’re trying to accomplish to help guide you in the right direction

 

[fayrow]

@mfinnergab Basically from time to time like once or twice a year he gets diarrhea for a few weeks and vomits of and on I bring him to the vet they give me some wet I/d food and charge me about a grand and they don’t really give me a reason why he got sick and then he’s better for a few month I’m trying to avoid this cycle from continuing. My concerns are that I just over think every action I do so I looked up foods that can help your dogs digestion and I got the list of green bean kale eggs pumpkin carrots salmon oil etc. basically I’m just double checking that it’s alright to give this to him everyday because if I don’t double check it will just always be on my mind that I’m doing something that could be harming my dog. Also while he’s on the I/d food his poop are perfect when he’s off it they are kind of soft

 

[mfinnergab]

@fayrow Your diligence is commendable, honestly. Sounds to me like you’ve been caught up in the vet food racket though and stepping out of it will likely solve a lot of your problems. If you want to stick with kibble I would switch to a well sourced single protein food like Zignature, or consider something with a mix of well sourced protein like Origin, Fromm, or Acana. If you want to do wet I would again go Zignature and consider some others like N and D- the latter has an awesome digestion formula that works wonders in situations like yours. If you’re willing to step into the raw food world it would likely be the absolutely best for your dog and after transitioning on to it you will be dealing with perfect, small poops and the healthiest stomach your dog has ever had, but I recognize not everyone can take that step. When things are really bad Dave’s Pet Food Bland Diet is also a great option. No matter what you do I would just avoid poultry as it tends to be the source of a lot of digestive issues, avoid grain as much as possible, and keep up with that salmon oil. No matter what, you’re a great dog parent for going to these lengths to figure it out and that’s the most important part!

 

[pittsburgh14]

@fayrow If you're trying to improve his digestive issues, just make one change at a time. That way if the problem gets worse, you know that the one change you made is likely the cause. If you make too many changes at once and the problem gets worse, you won't be able to tell what's causing the problem.

 

[fayrow]

@pittsburgh14 Yea I’ve been giving him carrots and pumpkin for a while now I just wanted to make sure that gi ring kale eggs and green beans everyday wasn’t like a huge no no I’m introducing it in very small amount right now

 

[jether]

@fayrow Also, be aware that some dogs who have digestive issues and aren't seeing results with prescription diets have been known to have a chicken allergy. I would look into some food options that don't have chicken on the ingredients list. Or switch to a more raw diet so you have more control over the ingredients you are feeding.

 

[fayrow]

@jether He’s does great on the I/d wet food and every time he has issues and the vet gives me some he takes perfect shots and seem better over all