help with dog food

Question
Hello!  I am looking for some guidance regarding dog food, please. I adopted a 2 year old boxer/hound mix almost three weeks ago. He was a stray and was in a shelter down south for about one month before being transferred to a shelter here in NJ. He was only at the NJ shelter 3-4 days, was neutered, and then came home with me.  I started him out on 1 cup Wellness Super5 mix (chicken) with approx. 1/4 cup of canned food (Wellness 95% chicken in broth), twice a day. His stools were loose (expected that) but showed no improvement after a week or so.  I began adding a few kernels of Orijen kibble (chicken, about 10-12 pieces) to his food but no difference in his stools.  In fact, they seemed to get a litle worse. I eliminated an evening feeding to give his system a break and then went back to the same dry food with 2 tablespoons of pure canned pumpkin, no canned food. His next bowel movement was a bit firmer but then subsequent movements were loose again. I stopped adding the Orijen completely but the stools didn't improve. So, I bought a bag of Natural Balance sweet potato and fish and added 1/3 cup of that and 2/3 Wellness and a 1/4 cup of Wellness canned salmon. (I can hear you screaming IDIOT!) His stools got very loose and his urgency to go was even greater than before.  I skipped an evening feeding and for the past 3 days, he has been eating boiled chicken (boneless breast, plain) and white rice-- approx. 1 cup of rice and 1/3-1/2 cup of chicken, twice a day.  His stool yesterday was mostly firm, just the final end a bit sticky/soft. He has one small movement a day now. Before, he was going about 4 times a day. He went to the vet 2 days ago. The results of his visit are-- ear infection in both ears; small cyst  (round, pink growth) on his upper gum that will be watched, biopsy if it gets larger; stool sample was clean but put him on a de-wormer, just to be safe; needs to gain weight (he currently weighs 50lbs and is very thin-- visible rib, back and hip bones but not emaciated); everything else checked out good. Vet initially thought puppy food might be an option but then said to simply increase the amount of regular adult food. I am to give him a few more days of the rice and chicken and then slowly introduce the dog food again.  Vet suggested Purina or Science Diet but also said I could continue with the Wellness. At this point, I'm afraid to do so.  (My daughter's dog had some loose stool problems and she switched him to Pedigree and said that it firmed right up.) Now I'm thoroughly confused.  His appetite is very hearty and devours his meals in less than 90 seconds. (the rice and chicken, less than a minute).  His disposition so far is incredible--  laid back, wonderful with children, loves people, housebroken, he's even beginning to learn sit, down and wait..... I am amazed at my good fortune!! (holding my breath that he doesn't turn into cujo!)  Current medications are: 12ml Panacur for 5 days; Otomax 15gm, 2 drops per ear, 2x a day.  My apologies for the length of this post but wanted to give you a full picture. Any advice is greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

Answer
Mary,

Canned pumpkin is great but I wouldn't suggest using it right now. You need to see what food his system does well with and the pumpkin will mask the natural effect.

I encourage you to add a couple tablespoons of whole fat, plain yogurt to his meals or a probiotic supplement because surgery, stress, loose stool, and deworming has probably caused him to lose a lot of the beneficial bacteria in his digestive system. You can also find Slippery Elm at your local health food store and give him a few drops of that. It should help lessen the irritation in his digestive tract.

Deworming often causes loose stools but I'm guessing that the Panacur is complete since it has been a few days. Wellness is an ok brand but it sounds like you may have some sensitivity going on. The best thing to do is start with a very limited ingredient food. Since he is doing better on chicken and rice, try California Natural Chicken & Rice. Because he is so thin, start with the puppy formula (it has more protein and fat than the adult formula) since he needs lots of nutrients right now - http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products/default.asp?panel=ga&id=1252 Give him a week on this food. If he does well, add canned and see how that goes - http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products/default.asp?id=1273

Once he is at a good weight, you can look at the adult formula but keep in mind it is low in protein and should be fed with the canned. http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products/default.asp?id=62

You may also want to break up his meals to 3 times a day so he is not so hungry and not inhaling so much at one time. Boxers are barrel chested dogs and are at risk of bloat. Eating kibble too fast is suspected of increasing that risk.

Please feel free to follow up after you have tried the CN for a week if you haven't seen an improvement.

Best,

Tracie Fowler
www.TrianglePet.com