Best way to get my dogs gut health on track?

[Picklingwalnuts]

We have an almost 5 year old rescue dog. He has been with us since September 2022.

Due to his past abuse and neglect he suffers from a lot of anxiety (he is on Prozac for this). He is doing very well in many aspects but we still have a long way to go.

One issue that we have is his gut health. Under the guidance of our vet we have him on a grain free, higher protein diet but I feel that he could possibly benefit with some kind of probiotic or something for his gut health?

He starts the day passing a normal and well formed stool but will continue to go several times throughout the day and there is often mucus in/on the stool and as the day goes on the stool gets looser and sometimes he is just passing mucus. His tummy also makes lots of rumbling/squeaky noises.

The vet is not at all concerned about this but I would like to see an improvement as it must cause him some discomfort (I can understand this as a daily IBS sufferer.

Is there anything I could buy such as a good probiotic/prebiotic which may help him?

https://www.lovepetsy.co.uk/product-page/probiotic-dog-treats

our little dog was prone to diarrhoea and we were recommend these and they did really help him

we also always had some of the pro kolin paste which we would use for bad spells

i used to buy both from Amazon

Poor chap. I suspect it’s probably stress related colitis. It sounds like it if things start ok then get looser. Other than a good diet which it sounds like he’s on then it’s just time. I would look at reducing stress (no walk is better than a bad one of that makes him anxious) and just give him time. Purina do a good probiotic powder you could try as well as just plain kefir or good quality natural yoghurt.

My 17 yo rescue gets horrific runs when stressed. As above colitis is the vets diagnosis.

We use the stuff in the link below although I shop around as it is often on offer on Amazon etc.

www.petsathome.com/product/protexin-veterinary-pro-kolin-for-dogs-and-cats-paste/P4120

2 of my rescues cant have any food with chicken or duck in or they get the shits.
One of them is more sensitive than the other.
We give them https://www.buddyandlola.co.uk/products/super-tummy-instant-fast-digestive-support?variant=32228836212803&country=GB&currency=GBP&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&tw_source=google&tw_adid=&tw_campaign=20857072289&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACThIOH9AM0flBAvIWj883MQUUm3v&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnui_BhDlARIsAEo9Guu1jq_oQHXAmX3Xa2bA6mzqDpb-scSjNECToMFj8Zh3fDmuQlvUSFMaAu6mEALw_wcB
every now and again if it happens and it works really quickly.

The holy grail of dog food ive found that seems to have not only suited all of my dogs, but they actually all really like it too, and its not even an expensive one is
https://www.petsathome.com/product/beta-sensitive-dry-adult-dog-food-salmon-and-rice/P3671?productId=7106667&purchaseType=easy-repeat&weight=14kg
its even cheaper on amazon .

We had similar to what you describe with our 18 month old cavapoo. Vet sent samples and we tried eliminating things etc. Eventually what worked was an intense course of pro biotics (then on to maintenance which we use Yumove) and a few days of royal canin digestive food before switching to butternut box. No loose stools since then.
although I could have done without it being the world’s most expensive dog food!

Have they tested for parasites and giardia?

I would start there and then if all clear, add in a probiotic like MaxxiDigest

If it carries on, I would look into getting a consultation with a nutritionist as it could be intolerances to certain foods

Pro and prebiotics, especially non-milk based, would be good for the mid/long term but initially I'd get something to soothe his gut.
Clay, charcoal, slippery elm would all be good shouts.
Have a look on healthful pets website - lots of good things on there.

Re the buddy and lola stuff, just to say my dog had a terrible reaction to it.
Obviously helps some dogs but was a disaster for mine.

Bella and duke dog food sorted my dog tummy out and I found proflax supplements worked well.

I'd also have a look at the amount of fat in his diet. He might do better on a really low fat fish-based diet.

A useful tip a vet gave me once when my dog had a dodgy stomach was sweet potato, it’s a natural probiotic, takes a few minutes if you prick it, bake it in the microwave, cut it in half then scoop out the flesh and mix into whatever they’re eating, works like a dream and good for runny stools too (sorry to be graphic !)

I use sweet potato, Turkey mince and rice when ddog has the runs, I cook it all together like a bit of a stew and she thinks she is getting human food! I used to also use ProKolin which does work but is so expensive right now, I’ve switched to Sustain supplement which is the same cost but for a months supply. I also put kefir into her food once the runs have passed as a source of probiotic, the one from Aldi is about £1.10 and she loves it too

Our rescue has stress related colitis (think there are also some dietary intolerances which are hard to identify) he’s generally better now but he has a few flare ups a year where a day or two of boiled rice (boiled to a mush and given with the starchy cooking water) and prokolin paste seem to settle him down. He eats Pooch and Mutt digestion dry food with Aldi grain free wet food as a topper which he seems to tolerate ok. We’ve learnt not to given him any scraps as meat, chicken seems to upset his balance.

Chicken and rice, along with the brown paste you can get from the vet.

Chappie is easy on stomachs also although not as fancy as some of the food you can buy these days. Just hide the tin so doggy thinks it's something expensive.

Under the guidance of our vet we have him on a grain free, higher protein diet

I would start by changing this, as it doesn't sound as if his gut likes it. One of my dogs presents with exactly the same symptoms on high protein grain free foods, but is perfectly normal on a decent medium range food. I have now given in on trying to 'improve' the level of food he's on, and he does beautifully on what he has.

What breed is he?

The vet is not at all concerned about this

I'm gobsmacked by this too. It is clearly not suiting the dog.

So many useful tips above!
Chappie definitely helps, it is so bland, so not much in the way of nutrition, but it settles the tummy. I wouldn't use it as a forever diet but it is very useful.
I second double check with the vet, full stool tests, to exclude any parasitic infection (the description of mucus might be a sign).
Get a dose of the probiotic in a syringe from the vet (I can't remember the name, they all use it, it's a grey muddy paste it comes in a bug syringe, but there's a newer brand which is cheaper now).
Is your dog wormed regularly?
A lot of dogs are intolerant to chicken so, remove all chicken if you are feeding any.
No bones, no treats like the gravy bones biscuits or any other treats unless you prepare these yourself from scratch.
As maintenance, YuMove have some supplements so worth having a look there.
As a general rule, if possible, because your dog is a bit delicate with the tummy, try and cook its meals from scratch. To include sweet potato as mentioned by another PP, turkey meat is very bland so a good option, raw vegetables etc.
As far as I know dogs should not be fed milk, I can't remember how I know this. I wonder if milk derivates such as natural yogurt or kefir would be safe and beneficial to your dog as a maintenance regime. Ask the vet for advice.

I suspect what you have here is a very stressed dog so you will always have some issues. But it is very possible it also has a chronic tummy problem which you might be able to alleviate with careful planning around feeding.

Many, many , many years ago, a trainer advised I give my very energetic dog plain pasta with the morning food to help with calmness while we were out before our dog walker arrived for the second big walk of the day around midday. It seemed to help but not ideal for a dog who shouldn't have grains.

It could actually be the Prozac that is causing his stomach upset. Or at least contributing to it. Might be worth stopping for a few days and monitoring.
Not sure what effect that would have on his stress levels.

Agree with pp above that his diet doesn't suit him. Also for the vet to be not at all concerned after three years... I think I'd be looking for another vet.

Thanks everyone.

We are going to take him to the vets this week to talk about his diet. They have been quite certain in the past that his tummy troubles are down to his high anxiety hence the prozac. I don't think it has become any worse since being on this med, he's been on it for around 14 months but had an off tummy well before that.

We have tried various diets and he seems to have always had this issue regardless of what he eats. I will make a list of all the suggestions and talk to the vet about them.

Bone broth! Cannot recommend it highly enough! Get a combination of marrow bones and spinal bones ( beef or lamb ideally) put in slow cooker and fill with water + splash of apple cider vinegar if you have it. Cook on low for 36hrs. Then ditch the bones and freeze the broth. Feed 100ml of so daily in their feed. Works wonders!

brilliant for restoring gut health - great for after tummy upsets too. And cheap! Don’t buy the powdered stuff as it doesn’t ever work as well as homemade!

Not 100% sure of his breed, the rescue says he is a yorkshire terrier/jack russell cross but I am not so sure as he is quite a bit bigger than either of those breeds although he does have a lot of the yorkshire terrier colouring so probably YT and soemthing else (I think a cocker spaniel).

There are approx. 10 vets at out practise and we never see the same one twice so have probably seen around 6 or so and none are concerned about his tummy issues.

He's the size of a cocker spaniel (I used to be a dog walker and have walked quite a few spaniels, he's a similar size).

Bone broth or stock as it used to be called is also a good shout.

If you have a Pressure cooker, use that. You will,probably be able to fit more in as well. It's also good for humans. And delicious. Definitely add the splash of apple cider vinegar.

He is a very cute boy by the way. I think I can see cairn terrier there rather than Yorkshire.

You can get their dna tested these days...

Agree chappie not good as a forever food but it certainly settles the tummy in my experience.

May his gastric troubles soon settle.

tinned pumpkin is amazing! my now 8 year old newfoundland had an awful tummy for the first year and all dog food resulted in runny bums. i switched to dog food in the am and human food for dinner. never had a problem since. i have 4 dogs and all eat the same so i basically cook them a dinner each night, they love eggs, kidney, any fish, tinned sardines, eat most veg, rice, sweet potatoes, pasta etc. Have been feeding them all like this for years and i have a 15 year old lab, a 18 year old poodle, 19 year old chihuahua and 8 year old newfoundland.

Good luck. When I started on raw I started our dog on tripe, literally 2 days later no diarrhoea. Then we settled on Bella and duke after trying a few.
I wasn’t sure when the rescue said to try it, but it’s the best thing I’ve done for him.
I’m sure it helped with behaviour too. As it has no fillers and junk. Scores very well on all about dog food.

Are the vets recommending a food to you that they sell?