# Hydrolysed diet for toy poodle



## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Have you tried adding a little canned plain pumpkin to his diet? The extra fibre can help. And if he were mine I would be feeding him alternate meals of wet and dry, or even all wet, to increase his intake of fluids. Hydrolised diets can be immensely helpful in cases of true allergies, but I agree that it seems a bit of a leap in this case.


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## Lewythegrump (Mar 17, 2021)

fjm said:


> Have you tried adding a little canned plain pumpkin to his diet? The extra fibre can help. And if he were mine I would be feeding him alternate meals of wet and dry, or even all wet, to increase his intake of fluids. Hydrolised diets can be immensely helpful in cases of true allergies, but I agree that it seems a bit of a leap in this case.


Thanks! I tried some fibre tablets with pumpkin in for a week or so but no real improvement.

I did consider trying some wet food. He’s currently on pooch and mutt health and digestion so I was going to get some of their wet food a try to mix in.

maybe I’ll give that go!

thanks


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## MyMiles (Apr 21, 2012)

I think the thing with food is that some may not be ideal on paper, but might be the best option for an individual dog.

My boy Miles was on a hydrolyzed diet for the last couple years of his life. At the time, it was the only thing that seemed to resolve blood in his stool. At the time, my vet told me that she would have encouraged us to try an elimination diet to narrow down the specific cause if he had been younger when the issue cropped up. But he didn't seem to suffer any ill effects as a result of being on the hydrolyzed diet in the years he was on it.

If the only problem is stool consistency without other symptoms, I'd be more inclined to play around with fiber intake with something like pumpkin or other supplement. Of course, this is my opinion as a pet owner, not a medical professional...


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## Lewythegrump (Mar 17, 2021)

MyMiles said:


> I think the thing with food is that some may not be ideal on paper, but might be the best option for an individual dog.
> 
> My boy Miles was on a hydrolyzed diet for the last couple years of his life. At the time, it was the only thing that seemed to resolve blood in his stool. At the time, my vet told me that she would have encouraged us to try an elimination diet to narrow down the specific cause if he had been younger when the issue cropped up. But he didn't seem to suffer any ill effects as a result of being on the hydrolyzed diet in the years he was on it.
> 
> If the only problem is stool consistency without other symptoms, I'd be more inclined to play around with fiber intake with something like pumpkin or other supplement. Of course, this is my opinion as a pet owner, not a medical professional...


Hi thanks,

Jacks less than 2 years and hasn’t really tried that many different foods so I’d be inclined to experiment with food as he’s so physically well otherwise.
He does have an itchy ear at the moment but I’m not convinced it’s related…he had an ear infection at 8 weeks when we got him and the vet stated he now has “recurrent infections so needs an hydrolysed diet long term”
I dunno..I feel like I don’t trust my vet she didn’t even look in his ear or examine him and just told me that’s what I need…surely you’d take a look a closer look at him!


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## TeamHellhound (Feb 5, 2021)

My GSD has a long history of ear infections (so much for the "upright ears are healthier" myth...) as well as environmental allergies, and I have found that she does best on a salmon-based kibble. 

And yes, I'll agree that a lot of prescription foods sound horrible on paper, but they really are formulated to meet specific needs, and have a long history of efficacy. I had a cat who had nearly complete liver failure as a two year old (we think he was poisoned, somehow), and he ate either Hill's kd or Purina NF for the remaining 15 years of his life. Someone I know had a cat who lived to the late teens eating nothing but a hydrolyzed protein Rx food due to severe food allergies.


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## cowpony (Dec 30, 2009)

What do you mean by healthy? If your concern is that hydrolyzed food is highly processed and not at all natural...well, yes. That's kind of the point. The proteins in the food are cooked down to the point where the dog's immune system no longer recognizes them as allergens. It's not necessary for most dogs, but it's a lifesaver for dogs with difficult to manage allergies.

I've had my boy Galen on a hydrolyzed diet for the past year. He had a very bad gastric bout, and I was unable to get him stabilized on any sort of home cooked or commercial food. His immune system was fighting mad, and it reacted to anything I fed him. He recovered only after I switched him to prescription hydrolyzed food. Once he recovered, and his immune system calmed down, he regained the ability to tolerate some commercial and home cooked foods. I no longer worry about him getting limited ingredient treats or the occasional table scrap. I haven't switched him back to a limited ingredient kibble, as he is doing so well on the HP. He frankly prefers his HP kibble to some of the Acana formulations I've tried, and the inulin in many Purina formulations no longer agrees with him.

It sounds like you are frustrated by the fact that your vet hasn't performed what you would consider appropriate diagnostics. I can't really say whether recommendation is sound or not, as I don't know her reasoning and I'm not a vet myself. Maybe she has a valid concern. Maybe she sees an opportunity to sell you expensive dog food. I don't know. I totally understand your concern about putting him on HP for the rest of his life. However, it shouldn't do any harm to try HP and reassess after he finishes the bag. It's not a lot different from going to the store and discovering your favorite brand is out of stock. You would buy something else and see how he does. You might later switch back to the original brand or keep him on the new one, depending on your observations.


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## WinnieThePoodle (Sep 1, 2020)

Lewythegrump said:


> Hi,
> 
> My toy poodle has always had a bit of a poorly tum. His stools are currently always firm but he does strain significantly when he goes.
> 
> ...


I must admit it took me a while to find the right food for Winnie but I got there in the end. I would be inclined to try other things first. Can you get a second opinion from a different vet?


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## Minie (Oct 4, 2021)

I have found Brit Care salmon and potato has worked well


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## 94Magna_Tom (Feb 23, 2021)

Maybe add in a probiotic for a few months. I did when Elroy had loose stools. In the end I determined it was due to a bad bag of food (rancid), but I really think the probiotics were beneficial as well. He had "Proviable" 45 day supply, given 1/day in his food.


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## MyMiles (Apr 21, 2012)

Lewythegrump said:


> .I feel like I don’t trust my vet she didn’t even look in his ear or examine him and just told me that’s what I need…surely you’d take a look a closer look at him!


If you don't trust her assessment, it's worth asking more questions. Like, what signs/symptoms, specifically, is she observing that she think a hydrolyzed diet would help with? That might help clear up why she made the recommendation and what you'd be tracking if you were to give it a try.

If you REALLY don't trust your vet after getting some answers, maybe seek a second opinion and/or a new vet. Even if your current vet is great at her job, it's going to be hard to care for your dog if you don't have a baseline of trust.
This is something I tend to struggle with - sometimes it's a matter of advocating for yourself and your dog, other times it's better to just work with someone else.


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## Basil_the_Spoo (Sep 1, 2020)

What if the two issues are unrelated...

What do your baby's ears look like? Maybe it's necessary as furparent to level up your ear maintance protocol.

A $5 container of ear cleaner, a bag of 100 cotton balls for $4, and a $3 bottle of ear plucking solution is less expensive then a $100 trip to the vet..

We too had a old bag of kibble that went bad that lead to squirty poop. It might be worth investing in an airtight food container and/or buying smaller bags if they're expiring before you finish them off.

A $50 airtight container and a smaller bag of kibble that works could be cheaper than the vet prescribed food in the long run.

edit: Look at this post, we have a pretty good diagram of how to shave the inside of the ears for maximum earflow:









Ear lobe hair jungle.


What do you all do with the hair that's on their ear lobe? My V from the corner of her eye to her ear and her neck end just before her hair. I don't think this is supposed to look like this. I might need to reline the pattern so it goes to her ear lobe, not sure. I'm think im going...




www.poodleforum.com


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## Footprints&pawmarks (Mar 8, 2021)

It's so worrisome to have a furbaby that isn't feeling his best. We're here with you.

You've got some great recommendations here. If my dog had hard stools, I'd want to add prebiotic fiber -- canned pumpkin or flax seed meal are both good, as others have mentioned. And I'd make all of his food soupy with extra water. Probiotics are also a great idea.

This is a small matter, but I thought I'd mention it. The longer the fecal matter sits in the colon, the more water the colon absorbs from it. So, I'd also be very attentive to poop timing and his signals, to rush him outside the minute I even thought he had to poop. And, if it's uncomfortable, I'd be softly praising and food rewarding the act, to make it a little more pleasant for him. I'd want that poop to get out of that dog the moment it was ready!

I'd be increasing his walking time, also (when the weather allows). Sometimes it's easier for a dog to poop on a walk, and they're less apt to hold on to it the way they do in the house.

Besides, walking is the best "first aid" for the stress and worry you're going through, as well! You'll both feel better, which is what all of us want for you!


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

True food allergies are rare in dogs, food intolerances however are not. My Pia had soft stools and very drippy eyes eating poultry, beef drippy eyes not as soft stools, belching un happy belly, lamb cause explosive diarrhea and projectile vomiting, not keen on kangaroo, venison cause gas, belly pain belching. Buffalo was good hard to find just that. I found a kibble of grainfree whitefish and Buffalo which she does very well on, other fish based diets made her ill after a few weeks, think it was yucca plant in one, and another very similar diet didn't work, too many grains. Bully sticks give her soft stools and drippy eyes, himalayan chews slightly drippy eyes.
Pia also has environmental allergies. 

At the beginning my vet advised me to try novel proteins, I tried all kinds of kibble, home made, raw but the one kibble works, yes it's grain free. 
Prescription diets do have their place, two of my old dogs and my old cat thrived on a prescription.


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I have always been a food snob. Then my toy poodle Misha could not process animal protein. She did a bit better on a homemade diet for her liver, but with an autistic child at home it was very difficult to keep it up. After trying different foods and reading tons of labels, I finally found that Natural Balance Vegetarian canned food agrees with her and also my chihuahua with chronic pancreatitis. I previously thought I would never feed a dog a vegetarian diet and that it was horrible for them. Well they have been on this food now for close to 9 years. Both are thriving on it. The chihuahua is almost 15 years old so it can't be too bad. I also add extra water to each meal which I think it good for the kidneys. Not something I would ever feed to a dog without problems, but it worked so well for us. Find what works for your dog and unless it is total junk, don't worry too much about it.


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