Older dog changed to soft food diet--causing stomach upset

[dianne]

The 14 year old Shih Tzu that I rescued 3 years ago wasn''t in the best of health when I got her. It took a while and and few vet visits along with different cocktails of medications to improve her overall health. One of her problems was rotting teeth, some of them broken off even with the gumline. Bacteria that can harbor within the teeth and gums can cause other medical conditions, including heart problems. The vet suggested teeth cleaning, which means anesthesia, and I was concerned that her age would make it too dangerous. She never had problems eating anything and the vet said to keep her on hard food if she was able to eat it...we always mixed it with soft, too.

Lately she does seem to have difficulty eating her favorite snacks and sometimes she doesn''t eat very much of her food. I took her to the vet on Friday who suggested that we pull all her teeth--didn''t think any of them could be saved. (I still have a big concern about the anesthesia) Vet suggested that I go ahead and start her on a soft diet. I guess the sudden change to remove all hard kibble has upset her stomach and is causing some very soft stools. Anyone have suggestions of what I can feed her that won''t cause the stomach upset? We have been feeding her Mighty Dog because she really likes it, but we had been mixing it with Purina One Senior Formula kibble and now I am concerned about her getting the nutrition she needs.

 

[lyra]

Has the vet suggested special canned food? We have bought Royal Canin Gastro through our vet for our Chihuahua when she was having stomach problems. It is very palatable and worked well. I know that you can supplement with a very small amount of canned pumpkin. Not pumpkin pie filling, just plain pumpkin. It might help with the loose stools and shouldn''t cause stomach upset. For a small dog maybe 1-2 teaspoons a day?

 

[lovegem]

That sounds very painful.

All my friends feed their dog rice with meat (put a bit of meat source over the rice, or you can make the meat into bits and mix in with the rice, so the dog would not just selectively eat the meat only). With older dogs, they make the meat very tender. I think you can use canned meat. Sometimes a bit of fruits (oranges, grapes, etc) when the stool gets too hard.

 

[lulu]

Our dog has some gastric issues that improved when we started giving him a probiotic called prozyme.

 

[KittyGolightly]

It may take a few days for the dog''s system to adjust to the new food. If she continues to have upset stomach after a few more days, or if she is losing too much weight, I would talk to the vet about putting her on a prescription diet for a little bit.

My dog has a very sensitive stomach, and it took some experimenting before I found a good brand. I ended up with California Natural, which is a single protein source canned food (lamb and rice).

 

[waterlilly]

I would try a higher quality canned food, Innova Senior comes to mind. Yes, it will take a little bit for her to adjust to the new food. You can try feeding her some canned pumpkin to help settle her stomach. The can will say 100% pure pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix).

 

[PaulaW]

I think you are on the right track — the sudden switch is what has her stomach upset. I agree with the addition of rice to the soft food, it''ll bind her up just enough. I would not add grapes - they are actually toxic to dogs in large enough quantities and a small amount would make the loose stool worse.

 

[lilyfoot]

Date: 5/11/2010 8:10:11 AM
Author: waterlilly
I would try a higher quality canned food, Innova Senior comes to mind. Yes, it will take a little bit for her to adjust to the new food. You can try feeding her some canned pumpkin to help settle her stomach. The can will say 100% pure pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie mix).

I agree. No dog who is fed a low quality food is getting the nutrients they need, and I would imagine this is even more imperative in a senior dog.


Also, you are never supposed to make such a sudden and drastic change to a dogs food because it does mess with their stomach (and again, I would suspect this is even moreso in older dogs); when you want to switch their food, you are supposed to mix it in gradually (i.e. Day 1: 1/4 new food with 3/4 old food, and on from there).

You can also mix warm water with the dry kibble to make it soft for your doggie.

 

[stepcutnut]

I agree with adding in some rice to the soft food, it has worked wonders for our pooch who has a very sensitive stomach. Also, ditto the NO grapes or raisins for dogs-for a small dog it only takes a few to be toxic.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Date: 5/10/2010 10:54:09 PM
Author: lovegem
That sounds very painful.


All my friends feed their dog rice with meat (put a bit of meat source over the rice, or you can make the meat into bits and mix in with the rice, so the dog would not just selectively eat the meat only). With older dogs, they make the meat very tender. I think you can use canned meat. Sometimes a bit of fruits (oranges, grapes, etc) when the stool gets too hard.

I may be wrong, but I believe grapes are toxic to dogs.

ETA: Sorry, the other ladies were on top of this one!

 

[lovegem]

Thanks ladies, I will let my friends know. They take out the grape seeds and feed one or two grapes to the dog at a time. They feed the dog more orange than grapes. They have a small dog, the dog is 10 this year.

 

[lilyfoot]

And uh, what would it take to get you to post a picture of your dog, dianne?

I''m a sucker for dog pictures .. especially since you have a Shih Tzu! We have one also!

 

[waterlilly]

Ack! Grapes and especially raisins are very toxic to dogs!

And - how could I forget to say YOU ROCK for adopting a senior dog!! You are my hero...

 

[dianne]

I typed up a big response and it didn''t go through for some reason.

Basically, I wanted to thank everyone for the responses. In hindsight I definitely should have eased Heidi into her new soft diet. When the vet said to go ahead and put her on a soft diet I shouldn''t have taken those words so literally as to do it right now. I made a note of the foods that have been suggested but didn''t see any of them at PetSmart. Where else can I go? I picked up about 8 different kinds, and brands, for senior that were canned. I wanted to see which ones she like the most and I hope I''m not making a bad situation worse by changing out the brands every day. Most of them included rice, but if it doens''t help I will cook some myself and add a little more to the mix. I like the pumpkin idea and will pick some of that up, as well. I still have some kibble that I could soften, too.

lillyfoot: Hello fellow Shih Tzu lover!! I will try to post a pic of Heidi soon. I hope I can remember how.

waterlilly: Thank you for your support of the senior dog adoption. My aunt passed away and no one wanted Heidi and I just couldn''t let them put her down. I am her sixth owner...I don''t know if she has outlived all her previous owners but, with her spunk, I can see her being around for a long time. She has been a wonderful addition to my home and she has my husband wrapped around her furry paw. This has really opened my eyes to older dog adoptions and how they can be a better fit for some homes than puppies.

 

[dianne]

Here she is. I may have posted these same pics somewhere on PS...I should really take some new ones.

 

[dianne]

And this is her favorite hobby:

 

[lilyfoot]

Ohh look at that face! And my favorite part of every female dog - the pink belly! (It''s just not the same with boy dogs .. the you-know-what gets in the way

)

She''s really adorable! Our Shih Tzu''s favorite hobby is snoozing too

 

[AGBF]

I am late to the thread and I hope that a veterinarian has already been consulted. The dog is lovely . My late Lab, who was an enormous bruiser of a dog (we found that word in my mother's diary describing him

much to our amusement) had the most delicate stomach in the world. A dog who got up and walked 15 minutes after a major surgery got an upset stomach at the drop of a hat! He was on twice daily pills for his

digestive system as well as special, prescription food! (I had tried chicken and rice and also pastina and rice, the things that our vet had prescribed when our Golden had temporary digestive troubles, but these didn't

work with Biscuit. He had different problems. We had him scoped, so we knew!) We went through E-Diet into at least two other exotic foods. The last one was, I think, pure duck and potatoes with absolutely no

additives. All I know is that after Biscuit's death we donated the rest of his food to our next door neighbors and their son's elderly German Shepherd, who got the food, was supposedly dancing in the aisles! I love

dogs; I hope you get your puppy squared away soon so that she can both enjoy eating her food and feel better!

PS-I just read your last response. I would start Heidi on pure chicken and rice and gradually mix her new food into it. Do not start that right away. When you start, only put a little in the first day, then a little more the second, etcetera. Work up to a 50/50 mixture. If she tolerates it at 50/50 move to 60/40 then to 70/30 with the larger amount being the new food and the smaller amount being chicken and rice. Eventually move all the way to her new food. If at any point she isn't doing well, stop and keep her at the level she was at or back up. Don't be afraid to consult a vet about a special diet! She may need one and many, many dogs get them!!!


AGBF

 

[Puppmom]

Poor doggie.

I agree with the rice suggestion. My dog has a sensitive belly but rice always does the trick.

 

[AGBF]

Date: 5/10/2010 8:08:14 PM
Author:dianne

Lately she does seem to have difficulty eating her favorite snacks and sometimes she doesn''t eat very much of her food. I took her to the vet on Friday who suggested that we pull all her teeth--didn''t think any of them could be saved.

dianne-I am sorry, but this was unclear to me. Did you do it?


AGBF

 

[waterlilly]

Here is a link for where you can buy Innova Senior canned food

Most boutique style pet supply stores sell the lesser known high quality foods.

Oh my word, she is adorable!

I wish more people would consider senior dogs, I have a major soft spot for them and try to foster as many old pups as I can. It makes me sick to think a dog lives 10+ years only to be tossed out or put in a shelter at that age. They are wise and sweet beyond description and deserve to be treasured during their later years!

I had an elderly Shih Tzu foster that was found as a stray in TN, by far the easiest foster to care for that I've ever had. He was adopted in a matter of days and is the love of his new owners life, SO easy to care for and so grateful for a warm bed to snuggle in!

His teeth were a mess too and he ended up having most of them pulled. Tooth infections in an old dog can turn deadly quickly. In people too - the inflammation caused by tooth infections can lead to heart disease. She is far better off having teeth pulled if they are infected, should be just fine without them.

 

[dianne]

Date: 5/12/2010 11:02:52 AM
Author: AGBF

Date: 5/10/2010 8:08:14 PM
Author:dianne

Lately she does seem to have difficulty eating her favorite snacks and sometimes she doesn''t eat very much of her food. I took her to the vet on Friday who suggested that we pull all her teeth--didn''t think any of them could be saved.

dianne-I am sorry, but this was unclear to me. Did you do it?


AGBF

No, not yet. Vet said to begin soft food diet right away and I assume this was to get her used to the new diet before the teeth were gone. Now, I''m glad I have time to get her stomach adjusted...it would be a shame to have her go throught the confusion and pain of the teeth removal in addition to the stomach upset.

Im going start mixing the foods for a slower adjustment for her system. I thank everyone for your help and for the link to purchase the high quality dog food, too!

 

[lilyfoot]

I thought I''d throw a picture of our Shih Tzu in here

He was my husband''s before we got together. He''s 4 years old

(the dog, not my husband haha)

 

[AGBF]

Date: 5/12/2010 3:48:34 PM
Author: dianne

No, not yet. Vet said to begin soft food diet right away and I assume this was to get her used to the new diet before the teeth were gone. Now, I'm glad I have time to get her stomach adjusted...it would be a shame to have her go throught the confusion and pain of the teeth removal in addition to the stomach upset.

Im going start mixing the foods for a slower adjustment for her system. I thank everyone for your help and for the link to purchase the high quality dog food, too!

Since you haven't done it yet, could you get a second opinion on whether it is really necessary? It seems to be a really radical treatment that would be traumatic and very painful for an older dog. If it is necessary to

save her life, of course it must be done, but I wondered if another veterinarian might have any other ideas on how to help Heidi.


AGBF

 

[dianne]

Date: 5/12/2010 3:56:06 PM
Author: lilyfoot
I thought I'd throw a picture of our Shih Tzu in here

He was my husband's before we got together. He's 4 years old

(the dog, not my husband haha)

OMG! That face...those big puppy eyes....how adorable!!! I see you keep him shaved, too. They are beautiful with the long hair but Heidi has allergies which contributes to overproductive oil glands and the doggy smell that goes with that...so short hair is much easier on my back when I wash her. She wears sweaters in the winter.

 

[dianne]

Date: 5/12/2010 5:14:49 PM
Author: AGBF

Date: 5/12/2010 3:48:34 PM
Author: dianne

No, not yet. Vet said to begin soft food diet right away and I assume this was to get her used to the new diet before the teeth were gone. Now, I''m glad I have time to get her stomach adjusted...it would be a shame to have her go throught the confusion and pain of the teeth removal in addition to the stomach upset.

Im going start mixing the foods for a slower adjustment for her system. I thank everyone for your help and for the link to purchase the high quality dog food, too!

Since you haven''t done it yet, could you get a second opinion on whether it is really necessary? It seems to be a really radical treatment that would be traumatic and very painful for an older dog. If it is necessary to

save her life, of course it must be done, but I wondered if another veterinarian might have any other ideas on how to help Heidi.


AGBF

I agree...it does seem radical. My first reaction was "Pull ALL of them?" They said if they began the process and saw they could save even a few they would...but the main concern is they appear to be in too bad of shape. I would post a pic but it''s really bad and gross-looking...and they looked like that when I got her. I can''t imagine how long they''ve been like that.

 

[waterlilly]

Since you haven't done it yet, could you get a second opinion on whether it is really necessary? It seems to be a really radical treatment that would be traumatic and very painful for an older dog. If it is necessary to


save her life, of course it must be done, but I wondered if another veterinarian might have any other ideas on how to help Heidi.
_________________________

Sorry - I messed up the "quote" function!


It may sound radical - but imagine how you feel when you have a toothache, then imagine that you have several teeth that are literally rotting away. Pulling the teeth will be a relief if they are rotted, not painful.

 

[dianne]

Date: 5/12/2010 10:37:03 PM
Author: waterlilly
Since you haven''t done it yet, could you get a second opinion on whether it is really necessary? It seems to be a really radical treatment that would be traumatic and very painful for an older dog. If it is necessary to


save her life, of course it must be done, but I wondered if another veterinarian might have any other ideas on how to help Heidi.
_________________________

Sorry - I messed up the ''quote'' function!


It may sound radical - but imagine how you feel when you have a toothache, then imagine that you have several teeth that are literally rotting away. Pulling the teeth will be a relief if they are rotted, not painful.

She doesn''t seem to be in pain but I assume there is some discomfort if she is taking a lot longer to eat her favorite treat...she has actually left some of it and gone back to it later. That is unheard of for Miss Must-gobble-snack-as-quickly-as-possible-in-case-they-give-me-another....

 

[lilyfoot]

Date: 5/12/2010 9:17:25 PM
Author: dianne

Date: 5/12/2010 3:56:06 PM
Author: lilyfoot
I thought I''d throw a picture of our Shih Tzu in here

He was my husband''s before we got together. He''s 4 years old

(the dog, not my husband haha)

OMG! That face...those big puppy eyes....how adorable!!! I see you keep him shaved, too. They are beautiful with the long hair but Heidi has allergies which contributes to overproductive oil glands and the doggy smell that goes with that...so short hair is much easier on my back when I wash her. She wears sweaters in the winter.

Thank you!

My husband used to keep him with short hair, but as soon as we moved in together, I told him to start having him shaved! He stays much cleaner this way, and it''s easier to give him baths, like you said. He gets a doggy smell too, which I hate. But, he''s still our cutie

 

[VegasAngel]

Did you all hear P&G is acquiring Natura Pet Foods?