Is high protein food causing my pet's vomiting and bloody diarrhea?

That is quite a high protein content for food, the recommended percent of protein in an adult dog's diet is 18-25%. It may be the switch in food to this higher protein could be the cause of his diarrhea. Since you have seen the vet and everything has come back normal, you might want to consider putting him on a diet with less protein. Sometimes certain brands of food do not agree with a dog's system, so you can look into a different brand. Brands I recommend include Royal Canin, Hill's Science Diet, Purina ProPlan, and Iams. I personally do not recommend grain free diets unless the dog has a diagnosed grain allergy, which is actually very rare. In dogs who suffer from allergies, only 10% have food allergies, and the majority of those are protein related. Grains really are beneficial to dogs, providing a lasting source of energy and fiber. In addition, recent studies have show that diets who use lentils instead of grains negatively affects the dog's absorption of taurine. This has lead to taurine deficient dilated cardiomyopathy later in life. If you really want to stay with grain free food, maybe try one with a different source of protein because chicken is the most common protein allergy. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, the protein content or the TYPE of protein may be causing an upset stomach. I would change food brands or change to a different protein, for example if the current food is chicken based change to an all fish or venison or duck or beef. I would not feed a food that is causing diarrhea. Ask your Vet for a prescription gastro-intestinal food to feed until their stool is normal then purchase a different food to start once their stools are normal. I hope this helps and I wish you all the best!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. So a bit of clarification- Having a somewhat increased protein level on bloodwork is uncommonly a problem and usually ignored - it usually just indicates mild dehydration. So maybe they were just mentioning that change? Severe protein increases on bloodwork could signal an infection or even certain types of cancer but I would expect her to be SICK if that were the case (fever, limping, weight loss, etc.) Regardless, dietary protein actually has little to do with blood protein so I wouldn't necessarily recommend changing her diet at all. The only times I really care about dietary protein are if the protein level is too low or for special cases like kidney failure. Now there are things on bloodwork like high triglycerides or cholesterol that ARE more responsive to diet change, so maybe there was a misunderstanding/miscommunication about what was actually too high. In closing - I can't be sure without seeing the bloodwork myself, but in general, I don't change diets for healthy young dogs because of protein elevations. Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Nikke!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. As per the previous doctors you saw, these are all possibilities but need to be ruled out first. The hydrolyzed protein diet theory should be given at least 4 weeks of putting Aspen on a strict hydrolyzed protein diet ONLY such as Hills Z/D or Royal Canin Ultamino. I would also make sure to have her stool tested before the diet trial as well to make sure it is not something as simple as an intestinal parasite. Once intestinal parasites have been ruled out and the diet trial has finished but there is no improvement with the diarrhea, more testing should be done such as blood testing and abdominal ultrasound. Aspen could also be dealing with an intestinal inflammatory condition such as IBD or a systemic illness. Sometimes adding a probiotic to the current food helps such as Purina Fortiflora, which can be found online or at your local pet store. Before doing a hydrolyzed protein diet, you can initiate a bland diet as outlined below and add in a probiotic as mentioned above to see if this helps first. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days.

Some dogs are lactose intolerant and dairy products can cause gas, vomiting, and/or diarrhea. It may be that the milk caused some inflammation in her stomach and intestines causing her to vomit. You should not give her anymore milk and just feed her a high quality dog food and fresh water. If she starts vomiting again than she should be examined by a vet for treatment.

Yes, it could be the amount of protein in Nymeria's food. While kittens do need higher amounts of protein to help support their growth, this is very high and too much protein can lead to diarrhea. In addition, there is no need for a kitten to be a on a grain free food unless the kitten has a grain allergy, which is actually rare in animals. Food allergies affect less than 10% of cats and dogs, and the most common food allergy is protein sources. I would considered switching Nymeria's food to a high quality kitten food such as Royal Canin, Hill's Science diet, Purina ProPlan, or Iams. It's fine for her to have a kitten food with grain in it. Should you decide to switch her food, be sure to do it slowly to prevent any further GI upset. Mix together her old and new food, and over time gradually increase the amount of new food and decrease the amount of old food until she is eating the new food only.

It is possible it is the raw food diet diet causing Charley's bloody diarrhea. That's because raw meat carries bacteria that can make your dog sick. It could also be due to intestinal parasites, so make sure she is up to date on her deworming treatments. Withhold food for 12 to 24 hours then feed her a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in a commercial dry dog food for her. I would recommend feeding the commercial day dog food diet to her because there is no risk of poisoning from bacteria, either to her or you. If Charley isn't fully vaccinated, there is a chance she could have parvovirus, but given that she is happy and energetic, it's more likely related to her diet. If she does become very lethargic or the bland diet doesn't help the diarrhea, I would take her into the vet.