My one-year-old labrador retriever has had trouble with loose stools since I got her at six-weeks-old. She’s been routinely tested for all possible parasites and bacterias. Results were negative. Other than the loose stools she is happy, active, and otherwise healthy. We have fed her bi-product free dry food since bringing her home as a puppy. We started with Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul Puppy Food and then switched over to California Natural Chicken Meal and Brown Rice puppy and adult food. The California Natural, we were told, was easy for dogs to digest because it contains fewer ingredients. My lab loves it, but the loose stool problem persists.
The vet finally suggested we try a high fiber food. California Natural is about 1.7% fiber. Any suggestions for a higher fiber diet that is bi-product free? I looked at Orijen, but the protein percentage was a whopping 46% versus the typical mid to low twenties.
A few of you mentioned that you thought my vet was wrong in saying that fiber would help the loose stool problem. I did some research and spoke with the vet. Here is what I found…
There are two types of fiber and they accomplish very different things. Insoluable fiber bulks up a stool, absorbing liquid in the colon. Soluable fiber ferments into a fatty acid gel, lubricating the colon and softening the stool for easier passage.
So, in essense fiber both firms stools and softens stools. Every body requires a different amount of fiber — a different balance. The food I am feeding, the vet explained, has a very low percentage of fiber compared to most brands. This is why she suggested a higher fiber content. Through experimentation, we should be able to find a fiber content that best suits my dog’s digestion system.
Thank you for all of your advice. Cheers!
If you are happy with the food you have chosen, and need to add fiber, try adding Bran Buds (available at any grocery store) or Metamucil to her food (start with a tablespoon, and work up or down from there). I have had the same issues with one of my dogs-the California Natural is the only food my dog was able to tolerate. Some other options for bulking up stools are adding cooked oatmeal to the food or cooked brown rice.
Your vet has everything backward. More fiber will make your dog GO and have soft stools.
My dog had the exact same problem as your dog and I switched his food 4-5 times always in the Holistic section when finally, after 18 months of frustration I gave him a food that was not holistic (royal canin) and on that very first day his stools were normal. Problem was, holistic food contains fruits and vegetables and it’s TOO MUCH fiber for a dog.
It sounds like every food you’ve had her on has contained chicken. My last dog was a black lab and he was allergic to chicken. Any kind of chicken, dry food, treats or actual meat caused him to have loose bowel movements. Try switching her to a food containing lamb, beef or fish instead, this worked for us and we never had any problems again.
Your vet has it wrong – the more fiber or grains in a food the looser the stool. My dogs (especially my Bluetick who has a grain allergy and had to go grainless) had issues with stomach upsets, diarrhea, and large soft stools. Some dogs tolerate grains well, like my Shepherd mix – who never had an issue, but she has increased energy on grain -free food, and they can’t believe she is 13. But anyway – after I changed everyone over to grain free – it was no longer a chore to clean up the yard as their stools were small and compact. Plus no issues with digestive issues or diarrhea since. I was feeding Orijen but went to Taste Of the Wild because it was 20.00 a bag less (economy) and the dogs do just as well on it as they did the Orijen. I still can feed 3 large dogs for a little over 2 weeks on it as you don’t feed as much as you would Eukanuba (that has grains but is about the same price). I feed TOTW High Prairie Formula and it is 32% protein. Here is a link:
http://www.tasteofthewildpetfood.com/