Boston Terrier Loose Stool

Question
QUESTION: Hi Catherine,
I have a 6 month old Boston Terrier and he has had loose stool pretty much since I got him.  I brought him home at 8 weeks old and was feeding him Eukanuba like the breeder.  His stool was a little firmer back then, but I switched him to Blue Buffalo when I heard that it was a better formula with higher meat content and less filler.  I wanted to try him on some better food, especially since his stomach is finicky and he has a lot of gas, which is a problem for his breed I guess.  He has been on the Blue Buffalo brand now for about 3 months.  His stool varies in looseness, but on the whole, it rarely is any firmer than mashed potatoes.  

I was wondering if you had any suggestions on what food he should be on.  I believe that his stomach doesn't handle beef well, but other than that he seems to be ok with all other kinds of food.  He has no other health issues, no worms, or anything. Just loose stool which is hard to clean up.  And bad gas.

What food brand do you recommend?  Is a home diet a better option?  Would adding probiotics to his food help firm up the stool?

Thanks so much for your help! I look forward to hearing from you.

ANSWER: Hi Hong-An,

Bostons can be sensitive, and yes,a  home made diet is a great idea, but it has to be formulated and supervised by someone like myself, who knows how to balance and adjust nutrient levels for a growing dog, and especially a sensitive one. With  commercial diet it's hard to say, I would think about using a growth diet with less grain, or different fiber..many options available. Let's start with this; what Blue formula are you using?
I looked at one of the puppy diets and while it's a nice enough food, superior to Eukanuba, there IS a lot of gluten (barley, rye) in it. I might look for a similar food without the rye at least.
Your puppy could also be sensitive to chicken, I see a lot of this with small breeds.

Right now, I'm liking this product for your baby:
http://www.championpetfoods.com/acana/show-product.php?formulation=pfd

Is this product available  where you live?
Let me know, I'm here all week..
All the best, Catherine




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Catherine,
I am using the Blue Buffalo Chicken and Brown Rice for puppies (http://www.bluebuff.com/products/dogs/lp-puppy-chick.shtml). I have heard great things about this brand, but you are right, it doesn't seem to be agreeing with my puppy.  I will look out for food without rye.

I am from Fountain Valley and there is a store that caries Acana around.  I will look into this, but my searches on the internet show that this food is pretty expensive.  I will give it a try and see if things are better for my pup.  I have also heard that sometimes grainless foods can cause loose stool as well because there is less fiber to hold it together.  Would adding probiotic pills help with this? I have read on the internet that it has helped some owners,  but the vet said that they have no evidence that it works or doesn't work.  Thanks for your help!

Answer
To be honest Hong-An, with all these questions I can only repeat that dogs are individuals and what is optimal for one system may not agree with another. There are absolute  nutrient requirements, which are pretty static, and then there's bioindividuality. Lower fiber formulas are great for some dogs and not optimal for others. With vitamins and minerals we know there are minimum requirements and recommended  allowances, but with fat, fiber and protein it's much more open-ended.

If you were able to locate the Acana, I'd love to hear how your puppy is doing on it.
All the best, Catherine