# Help! need advice



## stardoc (Jul 18, 2011)

Hello fellow poodle lovers!
I need some food advice. My toy poodle always had a bit sensitive stomach. Originally she was on home-made food until she lost interest in it. I switched to Blue Buffalo kibble and Ceasars for wet food once a week. She was on that for about 3 years. Lately we are back to having problems - liqupooping (it's not diarrhea, just really soft stool) and throwing up yellow foam. I am getting a bit tired of cleaning dog poop out of carpet on weekly basis. Tonight she woke me up twice - at 3 am to poop and 6 am to barf. Pepto only provides a temporary relief. Any sort of dairy causes her real diarrhea, so yogurt is not an option. 

Is there a brand of kibble that is better for sensitive tummies? I really don't want to go back to making her homemade food again.


----------



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Hi stardoc! That sounds like a frustrating situation and also a bit concerning. I think the first thing I would do if I were you is bring your toy poodle in for a thorough vet checkup, just to rule out anything like an illness. I am not a vet or anything, but the combination of the soft stools and yellow foamy vomit would make me want to rule out pancreas or liver problems for starters.

Then, if all checks out, I'd eliminate the Caesars from your pup's diet and go back to the very basics (just one type of food - the BBkibble would be fine if she has been doing well on it), and see how things go for a few days. If her stool firms up, then you know it was the wet food and can carefully try one new thing at a time. 

P.S. If you are concerned that in fact she is not doing fine on the BB kibble anymore, then try another kibble (many people have good luck with Fromm, Acana and Nature's Variety Instinct) and start with one protein (lamb is often a good choice, because chicken is often a culprit for tummy sensitivities for some reason).

Good luck! I hope your little one feels better soon and you get some relief from the frequent accidents!


----------



## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

I find freeze dried raw to be the absolute best food for poodle stomachs.


----------



## MiniPoo (Mar 6, 2014)

It would be good to eliminate pancreas and liver problems. Dogs with those problems need low fat diets and sometimes digestive enzymes.


----------



## aasteapots (Oct 6, 2013)

have you tried pumpkin to help with the loose poop?


----------



## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

Were you cooking the homemade food? That kills the enzymes in meat. My spoo almost died on kibble. We have been raw for almost 6 years


----------



## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

kontiki said:


> Were you cooking the homemade food? That kills the enzymes in meat. My spoo almost died on kibble. We have been raw for almost 6 years


All enzymes and other proteins in food are denatured (rendered nonfunctional) by the acid and pepsin in the stomach. Denaturing by cooking generally makes it easier to digest the food and obtain maximal nutrients from it. There is no value for enzymes in food other than the nutritional value of the amino acids. When we use things like pineapple juice and other enzymatic meat tenderizers on our food the function of those enzymes ends when we cook or if a food eaten raw when we consume that food. This does not mean that there aren't different nutritional contents in raw vs. cooked foods. For example, many phytochemicals' benefits are diminished by cooking. One notable exception here is the lycopine in tomatoes which becomes easier to access by cooking.


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I'd get a vet check-up first thing. Then perhaps a single source protein for sensitive tummies would help. I had a dog with some kind of sensitive tummy and I gave him **** Van Patten's Natural Balance for sensitive tummies. It really helped. 

I feed raw now too. But I always fed kibble and/or canned and I've had dogs that lived for 18, 15, 14 years on the stuff...even Purina. So, they may not be making it very well anymore and things have happened so much as far as recalls and so forth that I've become very inclined to go for a home prepared meal. Some of what I read about commercial food is really scary so I see Kontinki's point. But I don't think a better, premium commercial food is going to necessarily kill your dog. Lots of dogs survive off of commercial food. _How _healthy they are is a controversy but it's a personal choice. Some of those are cooked at low temperatures so vitamins and things aren't destroyed. My dogs loved Taste Of The Wild, but that has a lot of ingredients so I wouldn't start out with that one. 

Get thee to the vet to rule out any serious illness or parasite and then try a simpler ingredient food for a while. My dog that had tummy issues grew out of it.


eta: OMG! It did it again. LOL. It made these: **** when I tried to type Mr. Van Patten's first name to describe the dog food. What in tarnation? Anyhow, it's the nick name for Richard. ROFLOL! Who makes up this censoring stuff? They must live under a rock that they have never heard of the name. Oy!


----------



## kontiki (Apr 6, 2013)

lily cd re said:


> All enzymes and other proteins in food are denatured (rendered nonfunctional) by the acid and pepsin in the stomach. Denaturing by cooking generally makes it easier to digest the food and obtain maximal nutrients from it. There is no value for enzymes in food other than the nutritional value of the amino acids. When we use things like pineapple juice and other enzymatic meat tenderizers on our food the function of those enzymes ends when we cook or if a food eaten raw when we consume that food. This does not mean that there aren't different nutritional contents in raw vs. cooked foods. For example, many phytochemicals' benefits are diminished by cooking. One notable exception here is the lycopine in tomatoes which becomes easier to access by cooking.


There are several sources I trust that talk about needed enzymes for dogs. I hadn't read this for awhile and this time picked up on the idea that even though I feed raw, my spoo may still need more enzymes. Also remember that dogs digestive systems and our people systems are quite different. (I am curious lily - do your dogs eat pineapple and tomatoes? Mine had no interest in them)

Here is a discussion of enzymes, as well as a link to species appropriate diet: Pet Digestion Problems | Why Pets Need Digestive Enzymes

Here is another one that talks about green tripe (not canned, etc), which unfortunately I have not been able to find in my area: The Deal With Digestive Enzymes and Your Dog

I also agree on taking your beloved little toy poodle to the vet to rule out other things. May she be well soon


----------



## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

kontiki said:


> There are several sources I trust that talk about needed enzymes for dogs. I hadn't read this for awhile and this time picked up on the idea that even though I feed raw, my spoo may still need more enzymes. Also remember that dogs digestive systems and our people systems are quite different. (I am curious lily - do your dogs eat pineapple and tomatoes? Mine had no interest in them)
> 
> Here is a discussion of enzymes, as well as a link to species appropriate diet: Pet Digestion Problems | Why Pets Need Digestive Enzymes
> 
> ...



Thanks Kontiki, for those links. I'll take a look when I get more time. But I wanted to let you know where I found green tripe. (finally....after getting very frustrated searching around here) Here's where I went and had to order 10Lbs of other frozen stuff because of my location, shipping time and the problem with thawing. (It's in their FAQ page) Anyhow, they have some good stuff and seem to have a good reputation...someone on a raw feeding forum suggested them. https://hare-today.com/

Sorry to have veered a little off topic OP. But hopefully, any tid bits of info are sometimes useful.


----------

