What is your go-to dog food for sensitive stomachs?

[LadyBug]

One of my dogs has a sensitive stomach, and I still haven’t found a food that truly works for him. It has been a long process as I try to give them time to see how he transitions. He doesn’t ever have accidents in the house, but when he poops it starts more solid/firm and gets softer towards the end. Sometimes it’s just very soft. Other times, like yesterday at lunch, it ends with diarrhea-like consistency and it takes him awhile to feel like he’s “finished”. So, time for a change.

Right now he is eating Horizon Complete All Life Stages dry food for breakfast/dinner. Lunch is Wellness Core Grain-Free Original.

Yesterday I bought a bag of Earthborn Holistic Primitive Natural Grain-Free to transition him to. I like the idea of finding him a consistent breakfast/dinner food that he does well on and rotating lunch, but right now my focus is simply finding something that he tolerates.

Fecal has been clean in the past, although he hasn’t been tested recently (he’s a rescue and had roundworms when he came to me). He’s on monthly heartworm preventative (Sentinel, which also covers round/hook/whip worms). I added diatomaceous earth in an effort to maybe clear anything else up. No change with that and he’s been getting it probably 2 months.

What foods have you had success with?
What ingredients are common irritants that I should try to remove or avoid?
Any other suggestions on things I could try or am missing?

Oh, and he’ll literally eat anything. He’s not picky at all!

[Finding_Serenity]

I’m not terribly familiar with all the different types of sensitivities, but what follows is our dog (who is our first with sensitivities):

We feed ours Blue Buffalo Freedom in the chicken. She’s had reactions to even some of the “all natural/organic/sensitive dog” foods. She definitely has a grain reaction, but even some of the “Grain free” ones we have to avoid, and some salmon products set her off too. So far all fresh fruits and veggies are a go though

I know at one point the vet had us giving her plain greek yogurt (the kind with all that nice bacteria for your guts in it) after a really bad round to help her guts “reset”.

Hope you manage to figure it out! Really stinks to know they’re not at their best and its hard to figure it out since they can’t talk.

[french_fry]

IME some of the really high end foods are too rich for many of the just off the streets rescues that have come through my house.

I’m not recommending feeding Alpo or anything, but once I switched from Blue Buffalo and similar to Diamond Naturals Lamb and Rice I saw huge differences in how mine were tolerating their food.

I also really like Natural Balance both for food sensitivities and dogs that tend to need slightly blander diets.

[Simkie]

I’d try this:

http://acana.com/our-foods/singles/lamb-okanagan-apple/

[Tornado_Run_Farm]

I have a white boxer rescue that had terrible IBS when I first got him. What my vets told me and what is key for him is to stay consistent for all feedings. I feed dry TOW salmon mixed with 1/2 can of Nutro rice & chicken. For those occasional times when he has a bad bout of IBS, I remove the TOW and mix the Nutro chicken & rice with boiled white chicken & rice from the stove - that works for him and gets him through those bouts very quickly.

[LadyBug]

Thanks, all. I always try to feed something higher quality, so I think I’ll try the Acana next (thanks, Simkie) if this Earthborn Holistic doesn’t work. That looks promising. However, french fry has a good point with the foods just plain being TOO rich. I’ll keep that in the back of my mind.

Thank goodness this isn’t severe enough that he’s having accidents in the house, and I’ve never had to go the hamburger or chicken with rice route to get him under control (been there, done that with fosters, TRF!). I just haven’t been able to find the perfect fit that makes his digestive system totally happy.

[pezk]

Arcana chicken and potato. Has worked for quite awhile.

[RacetrackReject]

Blue Buffalo makes my sensitive stomach JRT horribly ill. He eats Wellness Core Small breed, twice a day with a small spoon of tinned food mixed in. The tinned food is typically Wellness Core chicken/turkey variety, or Instinct Rabbit (which he loves!). This little guy has had stomach issues off and on for years but this combination has kept him with little to no issues. People food doesn’t seem to set him off, just pet food.

[french_fry]

If you’re looking for an intermediary between super rich and “_____ and rice” the Diamond grain free line might work. They have beef and sweet potato and chicken and sweet potato and a sweet potato puppy food really helped one of my street dog foster puppies transition into better quality food.

[Nezzy]

lower protein seems to help a lot. under 30%. I also have been cooking for my dogs for 2 yrs so i am able to keep the preservatives out.

[Velvet]

[QUOTE=Simkie;8517029]
I’d try this:

http://acana.com/our-foods/singles/lamb-okanagan-apple/[/QUOTE]
Yep, ACANA or Orijen (same company).

[Velvet]

Just one note. The reason I like Orijen and ACAN is because they are the brands that are involved in all aspects of food production from where it is farmed to handling it at a private processing facility where there is no risk of cross-contamination. I prefer brands like that. It’s safer and has much better quality control. Especially if your dog has some specific allergies or issues with certain types of protein. The big brands that are being mentioned out here usually share processing facilities. Just an FYI.

[french_fry]

[QUOTE=Velvet;8517310]
Just one note. The reason I like Orijen and ACAN is because they are the brands that are involved in all aspects of food production from where it is farmed to handling it at a private processing facility where there is no risk of cross-contamination. I prefer brands like that. It’s safer and has much better quality control. Especially if your dog has some specific allergies or issues with certain types of protein. The big brands that are being mentioned out here usually share processing facilities. Just an FYI. :)[/QUOTE]

This is very true, but there is also a big difference between reacting to protein content/richness of a food and having a food sensitivity or allergy.

It’s unclear which the OP is dealing with but having seen a lot of dogs that are the former, sometimes the very best food is not the very best thing for them.

Ultimately it’s going to be a bit of trial and error and it comes down to what works best for your dog. Mine is thriving on a “big brand” food (and again, we’re not talking Alpo here) and didn’t do well on the Orijens and Acanas of the world.

[Beckham03]

Have more sinister things been ruled out? BW? Ultrasound? Current fecal as well.

My older rescue pittie can’t handle grain free. After ultrasounds and everything clear, I put the dogs on Fromm Adult Chicken and Rice and everything has been fine for a year, knock on wood. This food also does well for my parents sensitive Jack Russell.

[KTRider]

I have the queen of sensitive stomachs, and she’s done very well on Acana, both the single protein like lamb and apple, or their blends like grasslands, ranchlands, etc. Plus, as noted, I like that they are not on shared processing equipment. And I think they source nearly all ingredients from North America, except maybe lamb from New Zealand and something from England. Nothing from China.

I also give her probiotics every day. I use Pro-Pectalin tablets.

[AKB]

Taste of the Wild Lamb worked for our girl

[LadyBug]

Sounds like Orijen/Acana should definitely be our next brand to try. Thank you all for the feedback! This dog is healthy and very active otherwise (if not a little anxious sometimes, which probably plays a part in all of this), so I don’t feel like this is something I need to rush to the vet for. I’ll certainly bring it up next time we’re in for a routine visit because at the very least it probably wouldn’t hurt to do another fecal.

[ThreeHorseNight]

Have you tried probiotics? I use the Purina Fortiflora and it has firmed things up considerably.

[Knubbsy]

[QUOTE=Simkie;8517029]
I’d try this:

http://acana.com/our-foods/singles/lamb-okanagan-apple/[/QUOTE]

Second this. My special snowflake sheltie loves this. We’ll cycle in Acana Pacifica and Ranchlands occasionally but this low enough in fat and protein to not bother her (unlike Orijen) and it doesn’t include potato, corn, grains (including rice), or any poultry/poultry product which are on her allergy/intolerance list. Other sheltie owners have found Orijen too rich for their dogs’ systems. She gets a clean bill of health (except her allergies), and it gives her enough energy to maintain weight with running and herding.

[Riley0522]

I have a Pittie/Mastiff/Boxer something or other mix with really rough IBS and we manage him on Earthborn Holistic. I agree with the previous poster who said consistency is key. I’m not sure why you want to feed different types of food, but I would stick with one. I also add some canned pumpkin if he’s having a particularly rough week. We have been able to maintain a good weight with mostly normal stools with feeding only one type of Earthborn and one type of treats. This dog eats very regimented and if he gets anything else he will be in a flare (for example my husband gave him a small piece of steak and we had a week of diarrhea).

We also give him 20mg Pepcid QD when he’s acting iffy stomach-wise. If he does have a flare we do 3-4 days of boiled chicken and pumpkin, NO rice as it can be very caustic to an inflamed gut and then slowly add his kibble back in over a couple of days.

I also agree that some of the real high end stuff (Wellness Core, Acana) can be too rich for these dogs.