Down in the Dumps

I wanted to talk briefly about a phenomenon I've been observing that has worsened over the years of caring for dogs - frequent, chronic diarrhea. Now, this diarrhea is resolvable with a few changes and additions - probiotics, maybe a little bit of canned meat added to the diet to ensure that the dogs eat it promptly rather than picking at dry kibble all day (thus allowing their guts to rest after eating and easing the underlying inflammation that causes this). A lot of the owners I've talked to when asked about this tend to say "yeah he always has loose stools" which is really not normal.

But why is this becoming such an issue?

I have some speculations.

1) Seed oils

Seed oils are pretty inflammatory, and since they are cheap and easy to preserve, a lot of lower end kibbles are using them instead of chicken fat or fish oil. And they are in a LOT of dog foods.

2) Ingredient sourcing

Since meat is becoming extremely expensive, I suspect that the sourcing of meat ingredients has become increasing challenging for food manufacturers.

3) Glyphosate

Most dog foods are bolstered by grains or legumes to provide lower quality protein amounts, especially since meats are increasingly pricey. These are often glyphosate sinks. Rice is famously loaded with arsenic since it's highly water soluble.

What can we do about it?

Look at the ingredients on your dog food bag, and where it's manufactured. It makes a difference. Try different kibbles until you can find one that produces good poops. And even if it's really inconvenient, buy that kibble.

Add a quality probiotic, especially if your dog ever has to go on a course of antibiotics.

I'm a big fan of supplementing a cheap kibble diet with meat, eggs, and even (gasp) leftovers if they're dog safe. I know a lot of people think that they have to stick with kibble only so the dog has a complete diet, but to me the proof is in the poopoo - when I do these things, my dog has better poops. I buy meat (with a preference to bone-in cuts) when it's on sale and supplement heavily with it.

And keep an eye on those poops - they were the first symptom of my poor mom's chihuahua having Lupus that eventually took her from us at the young age of 7. Don't accept that they are bad quality because it does catch up to your poor dog, and they really suffer because of IBS.

If your vet isn't helping to resolve the issue, then find a new vet (maybe one that isn't corporate and thus has more freedom when recommending treatments).

And as always, work with somebody who will let you know how your dog's health is while they are caring for them (like we do!) We pay a lot of attention to those poops.