what should i add?

[nana]

we´ve had to switch huda(7 mths) from eagle kibble to nutro due to allergies. that was a bummer because we were really happy with that kibble, not to much gas, firm stool, and energetic pup. with the nutro shes still energetic but the gases smell really really bad and her stool which never use to smell now smell´s and is loose.

i was wondering what can i add to her meals to reduce this inconvience? we feed her twice a day, once in the morning and once at night.

[gmacleod]

Try a tablespoon of plain natural yoghurt with her food each day (or even separately as a treat) - the sort without any sugar, but with live bacterial cultures (acidophilous, bifidous, etc) in it. That will help to populate her gut with good bacteria, and hence cut down on the gas.

I have to say though, that loose stool and gas is really a sign of a food that doesn't suit the dog terribly well. Do you know what her allergy was to? There may be better options out there than Nutro, for your particular dog, that won't upset either her tummy or allergies.

Cancel the last question LOL - I re-read your previous post about allergies and possible foods. Well, it is worth seeing if the yoghurt does the trick. If not, I'm afraid you may end up searching for yet another food to suit her.

[nana]

thx for the suggestions, going to egt yogurt tomorrow. ive tried to get natural balance but no one imports it here. the other food that we can give her is the Royal Canin Sensitivity Control and Hills Canine d/d which are available here but i dont know if they are that much better than the nutro lamb & rice especially for their expensive price.

[gmacleod]

You're definitely right that Nutro is better than Hill's d/d. And you're probably right about the RC sensitivity control too (which, incidentally, used to be known as Innovative Veterinary Diets (IVD) before RC bought it). I've been trying to find the ingredient list for that - but no luck. LOL - it doesn't appear to be available in the UK, the French site doesn't list the ingredients, the US site is down - and I can't read Norweigan (which is the only place I've found an ingredient list so far). BUT: I note from this site (http://mantenoanimalhospital.com/royal_canin_dogs.htm) that the RC diets are duck/potato, venison/potato, whitefish/potato, bunny/potato. So there may be some hope there yet. LOL - I'll look and see if the US site is back up tomorrow, and we can get a look at the ingredients ;)

Anyway - for the problem at hand, in addition to the yoghurt, one thing that could help to firm up her stools is a tablespoon of fresh pureed or canned pumpkin added to her food. That will help if the problem is really just a food switch (sometimes diarrhoea does result from changing foods, especially if the change is done quickly). Won't help a lot if the problem is that the food doesn't agree with her system, but it's worth a try :)

[nana]

ahhh pumpkin never thought of that. ill try to see if the yoghurt and the pumpkin works. if im not mistaken the rc is made with capelin and tapioca. hopefully i just have to deal with kibble a little longer until i convince my husband to go BARF.

[nana]

just recieved an email from the canidae sales rep for spain and portugal!! im happy because ive read only good things about this kibble and it doesnt include the ingredients that huda is allergic to appicon appicon hopefully everything works out ill keep u guys informed appicon appicon

[gmacleod]

Great :) Canidae is an excellent kibble - one that gets some very good reviews :) I sure hope it works out well for you and Huda.