# Underweight Toy with Digestive issues



## LucieLilac (Jul 15, 2017)

Hi,
My 5 month old silver baby has suffered with ear infections and upset stomach since we brought her home in May. She has been on antibiotics three times, had stool test which came back negative and is now on probotics. Her ears are now fine but stomach problems persist. She has been fed on chicken and rice most of the time, I recently introduced Lilys organic puppy dinner over the last week mixed with the chicken and rice but she stopped eating it so I decided to try and slowly introduce other meats and was intending to home cook. Yesterday I gave her a very small amount of cooked beef and some sweet potato (also her chicken and rice) but unfortunately she was sick and had diarrhoea over night. She is ok in herself and has been playing as usual but I am at my wits end I cannot seem to move her off the chicken and rice. Although she does not usually have diarrhoea her stools have mostly been loose. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

yes I have, my tpoo Pia had diarrhea for a long time, I thought is was because she had giardia (she is a poo eater) and kept reinfecting herself. Long story short, giardia was cured, she still had diarrhea/soft stool ... turns out she is food intolerant (not allergic) to chicken, beef and lamb( gave her a bout of severe vomiting and liquid diarrhea). So I read abut switching her to a novel protien, once I switched her to a salmon or fish diet, she had firm stools, with trial and error she can also eat bison, vension or kangaroo.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I have already replied on the other thread, but it is certainly possible that your pup has an intolerance to one of the common ingredients in dog food (most have only a little of the headline protein, and a lot of anonymous meat or poultry). If that is the case even a few treats could be enough to upset her tummy. I would certainly try her with fish as well as chicken, and stick to foods where you know exactly what the ingredients are until you have identified the cause of the problem. There can be so many causes - parasites, infection, food intolerance, antibiotics, etc, etc. I do think that dogs that seem "faddy" are often trying to avoid stomach aches - as one who reacts very badly to onion and garlic I sympathise!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I have three dogs and each of them was having minor health issues (ears, urinary crystals etc.). My vet suggested doing NutriScan testing for food sensitivities and intolerances. Each of them had positive results for either intolerance or sensitivity to various ingredients that were in the food they were getting. Since I wanted to feed all three dogs the same food and my ingredient list of what all of them can safely eat was fairly short I ended up deciding to home cook their food. Almost all of the various problems cleared up very quickly with the diet change. 

I think your dog's ear problems sound a lot like they are food intolerance related (2 of my 3 dogs showed their food issues in their ears). I would think about a diet change based on reliable results of NutriScan or other similar test results.


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## LucieLilac (Jul 15, 2017)

Thanks for the response. I am going to contact the vet again tomorrow and ask for intolerance tests to be done as I think it is food.
I have tried her with fish but she refused it, I will try again and be more firm as I think an alternative from chicken is needed to rule it out!.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

Mine like salmon and sardines - tinned or cooked. They like most things I cook, in fact, although Sophy can be fussy about texture. Tonight they had scrambled eggs and toast spread with a tiny bit of duck liver pate (it needed using up!). For breakfast it will be chicken, beef, lamb and vegetables, and for supper either chicken and salmon or half a chicken wing each. The big advantage of home cooking is you know exactly what goes into every meal - which is how I discovered Sophy cannot tolerate turkey.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

I'm with everybody else on this......I think your baby may have a food intolerance and you would be wise to do the NutriScan testing. Good Luck. There is a video by Dr Karen Becker called: 'Dr. Karen Becker: How to Control Food Allergies' that is really explanatory. Google it!


PS In the meantime maybe try a novel protein like fish, kangaroo, turkey, duck, rabbit etc.


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## LucieLilac (Jul 15, 2017)

*Update*

We visited the vet again yesterday, she checked Lucie over again, no temperature, stomach felt ok etc. As she responded to steroid injection and not antibiotics vet thinks not bacterial (also sample negative). I asked about intolerance testing as vet agrees could be chicken causing problem (although unusual in puppies to have intolerance). She suggested changing food and gave me two cans of Royal Canin Hyproallergenic, she said to try for a couple of days and give no treats, if ok we can switch to a similar puppy food which I can buy cheaper than from the vet, not sure what that would be though.
Lucie surprisingly seems to like the food she was ok during the afternoon, evening and overnight but has had diarrhea this morning. I suppose this could be the sudden change rather than gradual intro. Its so hard to tell.
She is playing as usual and is fine in herself.
I have to ring the vet on Thursday (or sooner if necessary) and if not settling down blood tests etc. I am hoping that she will settle and can start to enjoy being a happy, healthy puppy and hopefully gain some weight!.


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## LucieLilac (Jul 15, 2017)

MollyMuiMa said:


> I'm with everybody else on this......I think your baby may have a food intolerance and you would be wise to do the NutriScan testing. Good Luck. There is a video by Dr Karen Becker called: 'Dr. Karen Becker: How to Control Food Allergies' that is really explanatory. Google it!
> 
> 
> PS In the meantime maybe try a novel protein like fish, kangaroo, turkey, duck, rabbit etc.


Your girl is gorgeous.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I believe it can take a while for a change of diet to take effect, so it is sensible to persevere if she likes it. And I also think that dogs learn to recognise the smell of foods that have caused them a painful upset and to avoid them, so it is a good sign that she likes this one.


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## twyla (Apr 28, 2010)

Pia does avoid food that causes her discomfort and it did take take a bit to get everything on an even keel.


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## LucieLilac (Jul 15, 2017)

*Good News!*

Lucie has been fed on Forthglade Grain Free Duck & Sweet Potato puppy for the past week. Her stomach has settled down and is gaining weight! Food intolerance seems definite. I will continue with this food, no treats for 6 weeks and if all goes ok will slowly start to introduce other foods. As she was fed on chicken and rice so some time I think its either grains or chicken - time will tell.
I am so pleased that she is doing well at last I have been so worried about her.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Thanks for the update. I hope the progress you've made in the last week continues to work well and that she catches up with growing she missed out on earlier quickly.


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