Tough situation with my female boxer?

Question

I have a female boxer 1.5 years old. May of last year, she had an en-strangulated colon, and a big portion of her large intestines was removed. She has always had digestive issues, but since the operation, is has been very hard for her to gain weight. The issue is if I feed her to much, she has diarrhea, and if I don't feed her enough, she's not gaining weight. She has always been fed high premium food (Canine Caviar), until recently. Canine Caviar decided to use dark meat chicken and it's been giving her diarrhea. I switched to Solid Gold "Barking at the moon", and it's been one week, and she still is having diarrhea. I just realized that Baring over the moon is a high protein, low carb dry food which is not what she needs to gain weight. I have to soften her dry food or else she gets diarrhea. I can't seem to find the right combo to get her to gain weight & curb the diarrhea. My girl looks sickly, but energetic and playful. I have tried Canidea, Evo, Prescription I/D, Wellness, etc. I don't know what else to do. I feed her 1 cup, wait an hour, and then feed her a second cup Morning / Night (total of 4 cups per day). Since she has digestive issues, I figured to not shock her system with 2 cups all at once with each feeding.

Things she never could digest: Rice (goes right through her), Hard dry food, hard carrots, basically anything hard.

I have spoken to my vet and he's basically out of answers. I want my girl to gain weight, but I can't seem to find the right food for her that will stop the diarrhea, and have her gain weight.

Really need help here, please! I love her so much, and she has been though such a rough puppy hood.

Rob

Answer 1

Your dog has what we call in people "Short Gut Syndrome". Because a large portion of her large bowel was removed. One thing that helps people with short-gut is to take acidophilus to help keep up the normal flora balance in the bowel. I'd definitely have your dog on a ProBiotic made for dogs. Not just the one in the food, but a seperate suppliment. Remember when changing anything about her diet, you'll need to do it twice as slow as a normal dog. It may take 2 months for her to transition to a different food. Smaller more frequent meals will work best for her. I think a fiber source added to her food will help too, pumpkin or maybe even something like Benefiber. Stick to a food choice for a few months. Supplementing her with chicken is a great idea for weight gain. Give it some time. Good Luck.

Answer 2

Hi Rob,



Here is a website to try... www.thehonestkitchen.com they have the best food out there but it is pricey. Well, I can't say the best because there are good products everywhere, but I think your pup needs to go on a raw food diet. You can call them and tell them the symptoms and they will give you amazing, free advice!



Also, what works wonders is acidophilus. Feed her yogurt with live cultures every day (a couple tablespoons) or even put the capsules in her food when she eats. The protein/fat combo is what is going to help her gain weight. The carbs are for burning off energy. Please no matter what food you try (as long as it doesn't have corn!!) at least try the acidphilus/probiotics. Should help with the diarrhea.



Good luck!

Answer 3

You've tried several foods, but how long do you give each food? It's important with any dog to spend about two weeks transitioning to the new food, and it's obviously doubly important if your dog is very sensitive. And even then, I've known relatively normal dogs who still take as long as three months for their stools to firm up after a switch. That's another reason why the dark meat might be giving her diarrhea, it was a shock to her digestive system just as a sudden switch to a new diet would be, that's all. You can also add Eagle Pack Holistic Transition powder to her meals when she's getting used to a new food.



Pumpkin is binding and is often helped to firm stools. I'd try adding about a tablespoon of pure canned pumpkin to every meal, if you can.



"Satin Balls" might be worth a shot to help her gain weight:

http://theherbs.info/Pets/satinball.html

Answer 4

BARF (bones and raw food) model of feeding.

It's a raw food diet and you make the food yourself, as long as you know how to get the right nutrition into the food you can keep all the foods that cause digestive issues out.



ADD:

Pros:

More closely resembles a dog's natural diet. May resolve chronic problems such as allergies, digestive disorders, diarrhea.

Very palatable.

Raw bones keep dogs' teeth clean.

Free of preservatives and chemical additives.

Rewarding for owner if the dog thrives on the diet.



Cons.

Time-consuming to prepare (although frozen and dehydrated options are much easier).

Inconvenient, especially when traveling(dehydrated options work well for traveling).

Dogs can react adversely to bacteria and/or parasites that could be present in raw meat.

For this reason many vets advise against the BARF diet.

Preparation can be repugnant for some owners, and people must be careful when handling raw meat to avoid bacteria (again, frozen and dehydrated options are easier to handle).

Vegetables and fruits must be finely ground to be digestible.

Frozen and dehydrated options, while easier, can be more expensive and take up more storage space.



Personal add, you can make the foods in bulk and freeze the meals yourself, this way it's still as cheap, easy to get since you only have to thaw the food, and the freezing kills all the bacteria.



ADD: I've been looking through some books and I found this recipe, it isn't BARF but it's for sick dogs or dogs with digestive problems. It's only short term (a couple of weeks) but is supposed to help with underweight dogs and digestive problems.

Breakfast:

1 hard boiled egg, mashed

! cup cooked oatmeal

1 teaspoon eggshell powder

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast.



Dinner:

1 cup cubed chicken

1/2 cup rice

1/2 cup finely chopped broccoli or carrots

1 tablespoon flax seed oil

1 Pinch of ground vitamin C powder



ADD:

Healthy Homemade Food

Healthy Food:

Raw or cooked lean cuts of boneless poultry, beef, lamb, whitefish like cod, and fatty fish like salmon and herring.

FInely chopped or ground raw vegetables, including carrots, broccoli florets, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, and leafy greens (collards, mustard greens, brussels sprouts, romaine lettuce, spinach).

Cooked grains like rice, barley, bulgur, polenta, oatmeal and pasta.

Raw, scrambled, fried (in canola oil), hard-boiled, or poached eggs.

Bits of fruit like blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, melons, apples, pears and bananas.

Healthy people meals like stew or soup with meat and vegetables (not onion soup or onion pieces), egg salad, and tuna salad.



Common allergies: Chocolate, onions and garlic (garlic is only a problem in REALLY large doses, in small doses it's beneficial), raisins and grapes, alcohol, corn and soy.



ADD: I was just going through my biology books and I don't think the diarrhea can be totally stopped. The large intestine is where stool is compacted and made firm since this is where water is re-absorbed.

I think raw feeding will help, but I do think that her stools will always be at least slightly loose.

A significant boost in calcium may help though, it causes the oxygen to eat away at the stool quicker, making it dusty and less wet.

Answer 5

that was a good answer, you can also give her some nutri-cal which will stimulate her appetite