My large dog has diarrhea on grain-free chicken food. What next?

It wouldn't hurt to have a fecal done just to make sure that isn't the case. If the fecal exam checks out healthy, I would be concerned there is an ingredient in the new diet that may be causing some GI distress. If you suspect that is the case, your vet may be able to work with you on an elimination diet to narrow down the cause so it can be eliminated.

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!

Hello. It is strange to say from an internet source, but do not believe everything you read on the internet. I would switch your dog back to the Purina. It is one of the best foods from one of the most reputable companies out there. The only foods most veterinarians will recommend are the only companies that provide the proof & research that goes into making safe & complete diets. These are Purina, Science Diet & Royal Canin. You will never go wrong using one of their products. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Yes, I suggest you get him a probiotic to add to the food. Use the probiotic with the chicken and rice (no puppy food) for about 4 days and then go back to trying to transition him back to the puppy food. I like this probiotic. I think it is the best. Feed one packet on the food daily. It comes as a box of 30 packets and I would give it for the entire 30 days. http://www.allivet.com/p-1130-purina-pro-plan-veterinary-diets-fortiflora-dog-supplement-box-of-30.aspx If you can't get Fortilfora then you can use any probiotic made for dogs. No human ones or dairy products. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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

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.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Ranger. If the diarrhea started after adding the canned food to his diet, then this is likely the cause. If the diarrhea has been intermittent or present prior to the diet change, then I worry that there is a different cause. In this case, he should see his veterinarian for fecal testing. Otherwise, you can try to add a probiotic such as Fortiflora. This can help with stool quality. A different brand of canned food or a smaller amount may help as well. Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach is a good formula for mild GI upset. I hope this information helps!