Loose stools

Evening all. After reading and learning about dog foods. I swtiched about three months ago. I am feeding Diamond Adult large breed. However I am still having problems with predominately loose stools. She has always walked and pooped, walked and pooped more, driving my husband crazy, but with the looser stools, driving us both crazy. Should I look into switching again? She is 18 months old and 65 pounds, looks great and healthy except for the stools. They are lighter colored than the other dogs, changed color since the introduction of the new food. None of my other dogs have this issue, all different dogs, ages and breeds? Something I am not aware of in the OES? All advice and info would be helpful.
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Your house sounds like ours, with all the different breeds and sizes - I peeked at your pics. We also have Chewie the OES, a basset, a Min Pin, a large rat terrier (more feist sized) and a blue tick coonhound.

I have all ours on one food, for the most part.
I rotate, and the two I always rotate are the Canidae ALS and the Nutro Lamb and Rice. Occasionally I try a different brand.

Chewie gets half portion of what the others are getting, and the other half is California Natural Puppy. The CN Puppy is the highest kcal/cup food I have found, important as Chewie isn't a big eater and I am trying to get him to gain weight. He is naturally an active and slim dog, unfortunately the breed ring likes them a bit heavier. He is 2 1/2 yrs, 24" and at an all time high weight of 73#. 75# is my goal - we are almost there!

Chewie only gets loose stools is I over fill him or feed him too rich of a diet. By trial and error, the current foods and 4 cups total per day is our secret.
My sheepie has this problem a lot of the time. If you can with the other dogs in the house, try to feed her about 3/4 white short-grain rice (i.e. sticky rice) and 1/4 of the food. This should help things a bit. My vet also suggested instant mashed potatoes, and if it's really bad, boiled skinless chicken with the rice (no dog food).

You can also give the dog pepto-bismol or immodium-ad, but that won't get to the root of the problem and might make it worse, but in a pinch it will work. You also have to be very careful with the other pets and with her around the immodium, as they can frequently have bad reactions to it. Another thing that helps is probiotics once a day. The Hills Prescription Diet i/d for digestive issues helps a lot too, but it's very expensive.

Hope this helps! And you and your husband have my sympathy. I almost lost my mind in the fall when nothing was working for Eleanor Roosevelt the Luck Dragon. I felt like my whole life had become about poo! Good luck with her and keep us posted.
Not sure what you've tried, but we tried a zillion foods with Fozzie. The key to our successful poops for almost a year...Wellness Core Dog food in the fish variety. This is a wheat free and wheat gluten free dry dog food and is our life saver. Within in a week, nice firm poops and no diarrhea. It's been great!
You might want to try a single protein food, that only contains one meat source, preferably one that your dog hasn't eaten before. Oscar does the best on venison and rice, but there are also single sources like rabbit or fish. Basically, you want a dog food that doesn't have beef, chicken, lamb, wheat or corn, as they can be common things that trigger tummy issues in sensitive dogs.

If you are trying a food switch, please do it slowly, over a week to ten days. Start out with 3/4 portion of the old food with 1/4 portion of the new and gradually increase the new food. If she gets worse, discontinue the new food.

Tummy issues can be so frustrating, so good luck on your quest.

Laurie and Oscar
I would suggest going to a one source protein diet and gradually work other things in to see what agrees with him and what doesn't. Maybe start with rice and chicken. I also think even if fecal tests have been negative deworming can't hurt and often solves stool problems in a day.
Thanks all. I am driving to Columbia, (2 hours away) for a trip with Abbey to a town that carries that food. Goning to read labels and hopefully try something else. Thanks for the suggestions. I will try it due to the fact I pulled in the garage tonight, not seeing the poop ALL OVER and runn ing it over. My garage stinks!
I have been mixing the rice with her food....IT'S WORKING!
:clappurple:
That is wonderful news :D
Try 2 tablespoons of canned pumpkin mixed in with each meal. Nelson had a loose problems for 2 months no matter what we fed him. He is fine now. Also he is snacking on raw carrots.

G
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