Rescue lurcher - tummy troubles?!

[Phillpot12]

Another question I'm afraid...
Our saluki x lurcher seems to have a sensitive tum (loose poop!). I don't know how much is due to settling in with us. She was on Harrington's with butchers on top. We put her on to skinners with butchers as I read it was a bit better. Doesn't seem to have made any difference to poop though, still v inconsistent. Would just like something more pick up able, partic in long grass!!!! Do we just give her longer to settle or should we be doing something else?

[Lynne1Cat]

How long has she been like that? Is he lethargic/vomiting/in pain/vomiting? Any one of those would need a visit to a vet.

If she's been like it for more than a couple of days, she'll get dehydrated. VET.

Only had cats, but I've got lots of commonsense!

[BiteyShark]

My puppy had sloppy and soft poo for well over a year. Eventually we found out he had inflammatory bowel disease but before we had that diagnosis we worked out that kibble was just too harsh for him to digest. When we swopped to a good quality wet food his poos firmed up a lot even with his underlying condition. I would try and find a food that suits your dog. Some dogs need grain free, some need wheat free or like mine do better on wet or raw. Chicken can be a problem for some so maybe try a different protein to what you are using now.

You can use allaboutdogfood.co.uk to compare various foods and their quality.

[Phillpot12]

No, she's happy, full of energy, eating lots. Obviously I would take her to the vet if I thought she was ill. It's not all the time.

[Phillpot12]

Bitey I have read some of your posts about your dog, you sound v knowledgeable! Silly question but wet - meaning just meat raw/tinned?!

[BiteyShark]

Yes wet food as in tinned. You can get some good quality wet food now. I use that website to get an idea of quality and cost as my dog does get bored of certain flavours so I have to swop them about a bit.

Other people report sensitive stomachs do well on raw but I can't really advise as it's just not practical for me but I have seen lots of people on here recommending certain brands and delivery companies.

[Phillpot12]

Yes, raw just let don't practical for us at the moment. I will get some different tins to try. How quickly does it make a difference do you think?

[BiteyShark]

I can't remember exactly how long but certainly after a week I noticed that his morning poos (tmi) could be picked up with none or only a bit of residue left behind. His evening ones tend to be softer anyway but that's because he's running about which seems to be common with some dogs so I tend to judge how his stomach is doing on the morning poos.

I would buy just a small amount of new food to start of with incase your dog doesn't like the flavour or it doesn't suit him as I have made that mistake many times and had to give tins away to friends.

We have used Millie's wolfheart and now Forthglade but there are plenty of others that come out well on that website.

[Phillpot12]

Such a lovely topic! Interesting that morning and evening are diff as I've noticed the same. Excitement etc also makes a difference. Thank you for you advice.

[BiteyShark]

Forthglade comes in plastic wrapped trays which are quite handy to divide up.

The one thing I will say is that my dog is only 14kg so you might want to see how many tins you would need as I suspect your dog is a lot bigger. I do find good quality wet food is dearer than the equivalent kibble.

I also forgot to mention some people have used Butternutbox which is I think is fresh cooked food if that appeals to you.

[CMOTDibbler]

My saluki x has a sensitive tum, and he has Burns Sensitive or Vitalin Sensitive plus tinned Butchers (which is wheat free). If he's lucky he'll get Burns wet food which he loves and really suits him, but is pricey.

Forthglade, Natures Diet and other well rated foods do not suit him at all

[SilverHairedCat]

Ours is a cross of all sorts, including greyhound. She has a sensitive stomach, particularly after a bout of giardia last year.

She was on Nature's Way before she was ill - the chicken variety. Dry only, as wet food caused havoc, even Forthglade which is very high quality.

After their illness, its been Harringtons turkey. We tried lamb recently - total disaster, back to turkey. Still no wet food.

She does eat human food (leftovers, dropped bites, friends thinking they're giving her treats, fat off steaks etc) with no significant stomach issues apart from weight gain which we watch carefully.

[ParoxetineQueen]

If she’s eating, drinking and lively, try Yudigest supplement from Lintbells or Pro Kolin. I got both on amazon. They contain ‘good bacteria’. They seem to have sorted my rescue terrier with delicate tummy She had Pro Kolin for a couple of days then to make sure I gave her the Yudigest for a week, probably a bit OTT but they have a long shelf life. Useful if she has a taste for poo or dead things like mine!

[Phillpot12]

Some good ideas of possible foods to try so thank you. Sounds like a bit of trial and error. Will try and get some small bags to try.
CMot you are a great source of info.... I have just got some gentle butchers to try is that the wheat free one you use, green labels? Ours is a saluki x too.

[Phillpot12]

Probiotics sound worth a try too. My sister raves about them for herself! Thank you everyone. Such knowledgeable folk!

[BiteyShark]

You can buy probiotics such as pro kolin online. I asked my vet about this as we were always given it by them when he had stomach issues in the early days before his diagnosis as it made no difference to his poo and he said it was still worth doing it for a bit to give the guts bacteria a helping hand. The problem was BiteyDog used to hate the taste so I had to disguise it in his food.

[Cauliflowershower]

Mine does well on burgess supadog sensitive.

[mummabubs]

Our rescue Greyhound does 3 or 4 poops a walk- the first is perfectly pick-upable, the second a bit softer and by number 4 it resembles a korma milkshake 🤢😂 (Sorry!) He also switched from Harrington's to Skinners when we first got him 5 years ago. Vet assured us there's nothing wrong with his tummy so we just take it as a quirk of his 🙈 I know a lot of rescue greys who have the same situation, might be a sighthound thing??

[Bezm]

We have a rescue saluki greyhound cross and he had a sensitive tummy at first. The vet advised us to give him small meals more frequently and stick to dried food. Changing food can upset their stomachs. Our dog has been on Bakers Complete since we got him, 12 years ago! Never had the runs after the first couple of weeks.
Dogs are not fussy eaters, it's us owners who make them fussy!
The only treat our dog gets is the crust off my morning toast. Nothing else. He now has 1 mug of Bakers 2x daily.

[CMOTDibbler]

Weirdly, the normal Butchers is wheat free not just the sensitive.
If you can get over the smell, Chappie is very bland and what we use for pups with runny tums.

[BiteyShark]

CMOTDibbler glad you mentioned the smell of chappie. It used to make me gag when my parents fed our family dog many years ago and put me off wet feeding with my own. I was so relieved when I found wet food that didn't 'stink' 😁

[Tatiebee]

Sighthounds quite commonly get runny tummies (and wind!), I have a retired grehound and we've tried different foods (grain free made him worse) so we've got him settled on Burgess Greyhound & Lurcher dry food. We mix things up by adding sardines, scrambled egg a few times a week.

[DownAndUnder]

Try just the butchers. Mine has a very sensitive stomach and after years or trial and error I’ve found butchers tripe/loaf to be the only food that makes her produce 1-2 small hard poos a day.

[Phillpot12]

Looks like we are making progress, fingers crossed.....fully on skinners and butchers but not the chicken one. Soaking kibble and she's eating the whole portion too. Thank you for tips.

[slinkysaluki]

I have 3 lurchers and foster for a rescue. I always give mine plain mash and boiled fish if they have bad stomachs. The only food they do good on is Burns

[nocoriander]

My lurcher is now on VET UK own brand dry food for sensitivity and intestinal health.
Her problem was not so much being loose as not being able to make it through the night. I tried lots of things but this one works really well for her, always firm and nothing to clean up in the morning. Result!