Brodie has always had very soft /sloppy poos. We changed foods to Skinners' salmon & rice, but this hasn't helped (has probably made matters worse). He had giardia as a puppy, but is now testing clear for giardia but positive for campylobacter. He has just finished a course of antibiotics with no discernible poo improvement. The vet is suggesting that rather than more ABs, we try him on a strict hypoallergenic diet for 6-8 weeks. The vet's suggestions are either Royal Canin HA, Purina HA or Hills HA. The Royal Canin and Purina are both soy-based, and Hills is chicken-based. Does anyone here have any experience with these foods or any suggestion as to which might be best to try??
hypoallergenic dog foods?
- Thread starter Jessica
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Atemas
UK Tour Guide
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- North Cambridgeshire
Red had Hills i/d wet food (turkey based) as a puppy for a long time. She had lots of digestive problems and was tested for giardia/campylobacter but was clear. She had lots of diarrhoea and soft poos. The Hills was great and really sorted her out....but....was expensive and I eventually found other food that was good for her. I didn’t mind the cost but it would have been difficult to sustain long term. Hope you find a solution. It’s really not nice when their systems are right
Thank you @Atemas , that's helpful. Hills was my OH's choice actually so maybe we should just try that. Hopefully a HA food will help us identify the problem- the risk otherwise is that we just jump around from new food to new food and make the digestive problems worse.
Brodie will not enjoy 6-8 weeks of no treats though
They always get a little nibble of some dog-safe human food after our dinner and it actually makes me feel quite guilty that it is so obviously the high point of their day! Will have to find something else for him. I think the vet said it's ok to give him veg, but no meat/protein.
Brodie will not enjoy 6-8 weeks of no treats though
They always get a little nibble of some dog-safe human food after our dinner and it actually makes me feel quite guilty that it is so obviously the high point of their day! Will have to find something else for him. I think the vet said it's ok to give him veg, but no meat/protein.
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- Malvern Worcestershire
I tried Rourke on many foods and the one we stay with because he has PERFECT poos, is Arden Grange Lamb and Rice. I tried the chicken one but it wasn't the same. I always feel that Lamb is the least messed around meat, rightly or wrongly.
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- Andorra and Spain
I'd just choose any of them and go with that. Royal Canin is owned by Purina anyway. Given the choice, I would be more likely to avoid the chicken just because of the link to skin sensitivities, but if it's marketed as HA then they've likely neutralised whatever it is that causes that problem.
Even if it's not something you stick on long-term, if it works to get his tummy under control in the short to medium term, you can find a route forwards after that, as Alison did with Red.
Even if it's not something you stick on long-term, if it works to get his tummy under control in the short to medium term, you can find a route forwards after that, as Alison did with Red.
This sounds similar to Monty - he had both Giardia and camplyobacter when he was young, with the giradia taking a long time to get rid of. He was on Royal Canin digestive , from about 5 months to 2 yrs and it seemed ok for him - he later went onto Skinners and now has excellent 'kickable' poos and a cast iron stomach for the last few year.
I'm now struggling with Bear's tummy issues, which I *think* is due to a sensitive stomach and possibly some food intolerances. We are working on a fish (white fish mostly, a bit of salmon and weekly sardines) with some limited veg and rice, and it does seem to have helped a bit though we are still getting some bad days. We are currently using a mix of Fish4dogs, Skinners Salmon and Rice and Millie's Wolfheart and Skipper's fish treats.
I'm now struggling with Bear's tummy issues, which I *think* is due to a sensitive stomach and possibly some food intolerances. We are working on a fish (white fish mostly, a bit of salmon and weekly sardines) with some limited veg and rice, and it does seem to have helped a bit though we are still getting some bad days. We are currently using a mix of Fish4dogs, Skinners Salmon and Rice and Millie's Wolfheart and Skipper's fish treats.
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
I was very strict about treats until we got Red’s tummy problems sorted. As turkey was (and still is) her main protein, I would cook turkey breast steaks and then cut them into little kibble sized pieces. I always had some in the freezer and used them when training. I didn‘t give her any vegetables at all (other than what was in the wet food). For a long time, I thought she was allergic/sensitive to chicken so this was totally avoided. She gets some little tit bits including chicken now (she’s 4) but it was a very slow process at the time. Looking back, I think there was a big element of digestive immaturity which thankfully resolved. Her food is still hypo allergenic - it suits her so that’s what we stick with. Her treats now are fish so she has two proteins. Good luck.
Yes I don't often buy treats for Brodie but he gets a little piece of cheese or potato or meat after our dinner and he always gets a corner of my toast in the morning and he sometimes gets a bit of tuna on his kibble and hmmm maybe he does get quite a lot of treats 
We did go through a similar phase with Jess, where she was on Royal Canin GI for ages, and that resolved very well. But poor Brodie has hardly had a kickable poo in his life! Hopefully a strict and consistent HA diet will make a difference. In the meantime, I think we have extra bags of his Skinners so that is probably 20kg of dog food that won't be needed. Maybe a local rescue will want it.
We did go through a similar phase with Jess, where she was on Royal Canin GI for ages, and that resolved very well. But poor Brodie has hardly had a kickable poo in his life! Hopefully a strict and consistent HA diet will make a difference. In the meantime, I think we have extra bags of his Skinners so that is probably 20kg of dog food that won't be needed. Maybe a local rescue will want it.
Friend of mine had a working cocker who never had solid poos. He owner tried tried butternut box meals for sensitive dogs and he was fine. Years of trying different things and it was much better. His owner found it remarkable
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
Yes I put loads of unopened food in the collection for dogs at Tesco and gave away opened bags on fb’s marketplace - spent a fortune
I'd never heard of butternut box before! They look amazing. I'm quite sure Brodie would prefer that to 8 weeks of soya. But we only have a small freezer and don't have a microwave so storage would be a challenge. Also, the price is proving quite elusive on the website, which can only be bad news...
But it looks like an amazing service and one that I could totally imagine using if we had more freezer space. I always feel it is really unfair that we have different meals every night and they get the same dried blah day after day after day.
But it looks like an amazing service and one that I could totally imagine using if we had more freezer space. I always feel it is really unfair that we have different meals every night and they get the same dried blah day after day after day.
- Location
- Andorra and Spain
@Jessica the other thing you could try is home cooking.... Then you know exactly what's going into it. You could do a big batch once a week for him to keep in the fridge?
I'm seriously considering an extra freezer so I can do even more home cooked when Bear is All Grown Up and just cook BIG once a month and freeze it.
I'm seriously considering an extra freezer so I can do even more home cooked when Bear is All Grown Up and just cook BIG once a month and freeze it.
I know, I have thought about that, but I can't even be bothered to cook for myself quite often! And can't order the dogs a takeaway when I've run out of food. Basically I think I'm too lazy for home cooked dog food. I do really like the look of the butternut boxes but our kitchen is small and there's no room for another freezer. I batch buy our own meat and use the freezer for us so there's not much space to use it for the dogs (we had a brief trial of raw food ages ago and it was a pain). I could try and clear half the freezer for them and use half of it for us, but I'm also a bit conscious that I should probably do what the vet has advised and try a HA food rather than just trying a different food....
I did consider just getting a freezer and sticking it in the garage for just dog stuff. I've got a lot of friends who feed raw and they do that.You can get small ones that would be perfect.
Yes.... Our garage (really more of a large shed) is full to the brim with crap and also floods when it gets wet so that probably not a good option either! I spoke to the vet about the butternut box and she was quite positive about them and basically said it's up to me but gently suggested that the HA diet might help to figure out what is going on with Brodie's digestion. I'm going to try the Royal Canin, which we can get in wet food and dry food for at least a little bit of variety for him! And think about the butternut box longer term for both dogs. Poor Brodie, I feel bad about putting him on a restricted diet, he does love his food.
Quinn was on a hypo diet after her surgeries - the only canned one she liked was the Hills and we went with the Purina HA kibble and she did well on both. Once she was settled, I transitioned her to Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach Lamb/Oatmeal and it's the best she's been in terms of coat and poops. Good luck!
You will get it sorted out. It took a long time to get Rory's tummy troubles sorted out but we did. I never thought he would be the healthy dog he is now. He lost so much weight and was so very ill for what seemed a long time.
I feel your pain, probably at least one in three of Bear's poos are too soft or runny, and I think he still goes too often. It can't be nice for them. I hope Bear might be like Red and just has an immature digestive system and will improve in time. Though I'm going to keep him on the fish and veg diet for now.