A question about : Lab with Sensitive Stomach
We took over the care of a 6 year old Lab from a family member about a year ago.
Although he was in fairly good health, it become obvious that he had been feed on a diet of left over human food and that he had some sort of stomach condition (ibs/colitis maybe?).
His droppings were very sloppy and his stomach bloated and making all sorts of noises.
We put him on Burns Chicken & Rice, which is a basic food, and supplemented it with some probiotic.
This seemed to do the job for a while, but now he has gone off the food (dry or slightly wet), and we have had to add rice or bits of lean meat to it to get him interested, but whatever we try he loses interest in quickly.
On top of this, his stomach condition, although not as bad as we first got him seems to be getting worse again.
So we need advice on maybe a change of food for him.
But budget wise we don't want to be paying much more than what the Burns costs (15kg is Ј35, which lasts about 7 weeks).
Advice please.
Best answers:
- Has he been checked by a vet?
If so, what did the vet recommend? - As above, it would do good to have an 'MOT' at the vets if you haven't already. It would mean you can rule out possibilities.
You could try some wet food, it may be easier to digest and more palatable, however won't help with encouraging the kibble (think a roast dinner with gravy vs. a packet of dry biscuits) - Our lurcher has a sensitive tummy and we feed Burns fish and brown rice - we change it at our peril!
We soak it in warm water before we give it to him so it is more palatable and easier on his tummy and top it off with a spoonful of yoghurt.
If his tummy plays up (usually as a result of scavenging dead wildlife - he can't resist a rotting rabbit) I give him protexin capsules or if his tummy is really bad protexin paste. https://www.animeddirect.co.uk/search...exin/relevance
As has been said above though, I agree that a vet visit should seriously be considered. A Lab off his grub is very unusual and this may well be more than a tummy upset. My other dog occasionally has an upset tummy and the vet prescribes antibiotics which does sort it out for her.
How is the dog otherwise? What is his general condition like? Is he losing weight?
ETA: You could try starving for a day or two to give his tummy a rest then start feeding with bland foods such as rice, chicken and scrambled egg. When my old dog gets an upset tummy I put her onto rice and scrambly eggy. Still as this is an ogoing problem, in your place I'd go to the vets first. - IME dogs are not generally fussy eaters (although their tummies might complain)- so any dog let alone a lab who is off their food warrants a trip to the vet.
My dogs get the same food day in day out and are never bored of it- they are not like cats who will turn their noses up as soon as you have bulk purchased their current favourite. I have found however that they benefit from two meals a day and as strict a routine as possible so they eat/go outside etc on a schedule.
We are currently using skinners field and trial biscuits alongside raw which has completely resolved my GSD's supremely sensitive tummy for about two years. An alternative biscuit was natural choice holistic which also worked well. We have used Burns in the past which was ok but still the odd explosion and I haven't had the need to go back to try it again. In the event of a tummy upset (touch wood past history now) I would starve her for a day and then offer something plain like rice with an egg or two to see what happens. - We had a chocolate lab that had a very sensitive stomach. She had been fed on working adult food as a puppy (previous owners) and this seemed to mess up her whole digestive system.
To initially heal the stomach (on the vets advice) she was on boiled rice and chopped cooked chicken (smartprice breast usually) for five days - twice a day.
She was then on Chudleigh's classic, which was a complete food that seemed to suit her. Normally around Ј14 for 15kgs.
After a couple of months of a settled tum, she would have half a tin of Butcher's wet dog food mixed with her Chudleighs once a day and plain Chudleighs for her tea. No human food (except the odd bit of chicken or fish) and the odd pig's ear (once a fortnight.)
If we deviated from this her stools would be very loose, she would become lethargic and generally very unhappy.
I wouldn't give your dog any of the wet petfoods with gravy as these just seems too rich and often goes through pets.
However definitely get advice from your Vet before you do anything, or you could end up with a big vet bill and a very poorly pooch.
x - And yes... a Lab off his food is unusual... they are normally walking furry dustbins. xx
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