My dog has diarrhea from new grain-free food. Is a vet test needed?

Natures recipe is a good brand but if he is still having issues you may want to talk to you vet about putting him on a prescription GI diet like science diet I/D or purina EN. If you are concerned he has food allergies, then I would stick with grain free but I would also look for a diet that doesn't have chicken like natural balance venison and sweet potatoes. A lot of dogs are allergic to chicken and beef. If you haven't had his stools check for parasites, campylobacter, and giardia, I would have your vet do that. It is not normal for them to have diarrhea so if it continues, I would certainly have it looked into. Your vet may want to do blood work and x-rays on top of the fecal. You may want to bring him a fecal sample as it is sometimes difficult to obtain a fecal sample when they are having diarrhea. Finally, you can also start him on a probiotic. I like purina fortiflora or propectalin paste. I hope this helps!

With a normal stool sample and blood panel, the next steps are experimenting with diet - specifically a hypoallergenic prescription diet (such as Royal Canin Ultamino, which is definitely the most expensive option, but also the one that seems to work best in diagnosing food allergies. It takes eating ONLY the prescription food for about a month to see if it helps, and then if it does help you can certainly experiment with less expensive foods. If you she would having signs of food allergy you'd need to do a full 3 months, but for intestinal issues, you should see a response in just a couple weeks) OR a high fiber/easily digestible diet (such as Hills Fiber Response EN). Some dogs need continual probiotics to keep normal stool. Treating any underlying anxiety (if present) can also help. Finally, a gut biopsy, which is much more invasive and costly can be done. Since she isn't yet spayed, I would consider doing a gut biopsy when/if she is spayed because that would be minimal additional expense or trauma for her while she's already have an abdominal surgery. I hope that helps! Wishing you the best with this difficult issue - It can take a long long time to get to the bottom of things

Dexter could have diarrhea for many reasons. It is possible that it is related to the new food. To see if this is the cause, over about a weeks time, transition him back to his old food. If the diarrhea goes away then you know that was the cause. If it continues, I recommend to have him examined by the veterinarian and checked for common things like parasites and bacteria overgrowth. Just like people pets can have diarrhea for many reasons. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Beuno. Stool problems in young dogs are most commonly caused by parasites or diet. I recommend having his veterinarian perform in depth stool testing to assess for parasites or other causes of gastrointestinal infections. If there is nothing found, then you may need to consider a diet change. I would recommend a prescription gastrointestinal diet that is formulated for use in puppies such as Purina Veterinary Diet EN. This is a highly digestible diet and many times can resolve the symptoms. You need to be careful with grain free diets as some have been associated with heart disease. They also tend to be quite high in carbohydrates which can lead to weight gain over time. I hope this information helps!

Thank you for your questions about Koda. I would not say that is normal and I suspect it may be a sign that he does not tolerate the new diet as well. The jury is still out on grain free food, some pets do well on it and other ones develop heart conditions and constipation issues. Most vets generally do not recommend them. I do advise changing the diet again. If you are looking for a nice food, I recommend a brand called Royal Canin. It is generally very easy to digest and most pets who eat this diet have nice coats, good stool quality and low stool quantity (a sign that the diet does not contain many fillers). Change the diet slowly over about a weeks time. If the diarrhea continues, have the stool checked for parasites as this can also cause changes to the stool. I hope you found this helpful. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is not normal or expected or common. Having grains in a diet is not a reason to suspect diarrhea or loose stools so I would think that the loose stools are due to something else. This can be observed with conditions such as colitis, gastroenteritis, dietary indiscretion, intestinal parasites, among many other possibilities. If this continues, I recommend that you have Chloe evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They may choose to check for parasites and to start medications for diarrhea depending on the results. Good luck! Hoping for a speedy recovery!

I hate to hear this is happening. Any dogs with chronic diarrhea that does not respond to OTC diets needs to be examined by the veterinarian. She may have a parasite, a bacterial issue or she may need a prescription diet meant for dogs with dietary intolerance or food allergy. Blonca will need some diagnostics. And the doctor will need a good idea of what diets you have tried in the past. I hope this helps.