Frenchie puppy's stomach is almost always upset :(

[Tyrion]

Hi,

I have a 7 month old frenchie puppy named Tyrion. He's a bundle of energy, very intelligent and (mostly) well behaved. Gets along with people, has some issues with dogs, but otherwise he's fine. My problem is that his stomach loses the plot every 2-3 weeks. He's regularly de-wormed, goes to the vet regularly too and they haven't found any issues with him.

Let me explain this. So he'll be fine for 2-3 weeks on his kibble and then his poop will go soft, mushy and jets will stream out. Then I put him on bland chicken, rice, carrot & spinach for a week and it settles down. Put him on kibble again and in 2-3 weeks we have the same problem. I've had him on Royal Canin (because he was on that at the breeder) and N&D with exactly the same results. I've tried puppy probiotics as well. Nothing seems to work.

The vet says put him on a home cooked diet only. But I want to have the option of feeding him a good quality commercial diet since I travel a fair bit and take him along. Any tips and advice would be most useful and welcome. TIA.

 

[Cbrugs]

Royal Canin is not a very good food. I would switch him (do a slow transition) to a higher quality, single protein, grain free kibble. I don't know what kibble you have access to but a lot of people on here feed Fromm. Acana and Orijen are also good brands. You can check out ratings of kibble on dogfoodadvisor.com.

 

[Jakeyjake]

The same thing happened with Stella on Amicus, which is a high quality grain free kibble. About every two to three weeks she would just squirt. I would then add some white rice and it would clear up. I finally just got her off of kibbble and am now feedig her Sojos which is a freeze dried raw based pre-mix and I add cooked lamb (she won't eat raw). If you travel, then perhaps a freeze dried brand with the protein included would work, like Primal, Sojos or the Honest Kitchen. You simply just rehydrate with water and let set. Stella & Chewys has had a couple of recalls so I would stay away from that. Stella has not had issues since I switched her food and her poop is firm and a lot less. I would consider switching his food and giving him a probiotic too. I agree that Royal Canin is not a very good food so I would definitely get him off of that. I had a terrible experience with the Duck and Potato with Stella that my vet recommended as a food trial for allergies. She got extrememly constipated and started to vomit so when I took her to the vet, they said she was full of gas and poop. We call it the $500 enema!

 

[Alice Kable]

We feed Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient and the boys do well on it. Ruggles had a blood test to help identify food allergies and that really helped us find the best food for him.

 

[MaplesMommy]

I agree. Id try a freeze dried diet or Honest Kitchen.

Why do dogs do well on a blend diet? Most dont question it. But it tells you a lot about commercial food...

 

[palmetto]

I would rotate through a few brands/proteins (fish/chicken/beef/etc) to see if one works better. You can usually return them to the store if they don't work. Also trying adding probiotics like a Probiotic chews or a powder.