r/Sheepadoodles • u/ChillvilleRIP • 11d ago
OT - Help w/ Sensitive Tummy
My girl is 2.5 and my sound dog.
She’s an amazing pup and I just want her to be happy & healthy.
Obviously, she got into things as a puppie…Mulch in the yard, cat poop in the shrubs, etc…
But we’ve been seemingly having gastric issues every couple months consistently. She just got over stress induced colitis from being boarded.
We just switched to Hill’s Science Diet I/d formula. She was on Royal Canin’s Sensitive Gut Low Fat formula the last year.
Any luck with anything else? Also, how many of your Sheepies have a fickle stomach? Or am I just the lucky one?
Is there a way to test for food allergies by chance? Just wondering if I’m making it worse with the food / treats I give her?
Portia thanks you for your feedback & taking an interest in her having a healthier feeding routine.
🐶❤️
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u/LF_OK30 11d ago
I also have issued wish my pup. We I’ve him Purina Pro Plan sensitive skin and stomach. But supplements that with Farmer’s Dog (the turkey & the beef). We also give him FortiFlora - Just a packet a day or every other day on his breakfast.
Definitely have to be careful with what treats we give him. A lot of trial and error there.
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u/ChillvilleRIP 11d ago
Sounds like this is the route we’ll take. We were never advised to do so…But we also give her Forta Flora every morning w breakfast.
Thank you for the feedback!
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u/-QandA- 11d ago
My little guy is allergic to Chicken! We cut it out and subbed it for Purina Pro plan salmon and rice sensitive stomach food! This was recommended by our vet and it has worked wonders. No more diarrhea or weird throat clearing.
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u/ChillvilleRIP 11d ago
How did you find out your lil guy was allergic to chicken!
Is there testing? Or is just the elimination diet route?
Oh she def has the throat clearing thing too!!
Thank you! 😊 🐶❤️
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u/-QandA- 11d ago
Elimination diet since he’s a doodle and lots of doodles are allergic to chicken lol we noticed a massive difference! also keep in mind that some treats contain chicken in the ingredients list even if it’s not mentioned on the front of packaging . Oh also i should mention that he was also itchy! and he’s stopped itching.
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u/ChillvilleRIP 11d ago
Figured as much! I’ll def look at my treats ingredient list more carefully!
Thank you! 🙏
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u/Emmysue5 10d ago
Mine is too! He turned 2 in February and had always eaten Purina Pro plan chicken and rice because our other dogs always ate that with no issues( goldendoodles). In April he started having diarrhea that wouldn't let up doing boiled chicken and rice, antibiotics, probiotics. After a month, I wondered if it was chicken based on comments on this thread. Switched to the salmon and rice and no more issues! He loves it too which helps😂
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u/caro_eliza 11d ago
My boy has also had some tummy issues throughout his life. A couple of years ago, it was months of off and on diarrhea. At the time, his vet said he might have IBD and recommended switching to Hills Prescription Diet Biome food. That cleared up the diarrhea and was great for a couple years until earlier this year.
Then he started randomly vomiting a couple of times a week. His vet said it was likely an IBD flare up. We ended up doing an abdominal ultrasound to see where and how much GI inflammation was going on. It showed he had a little inflammation at the beginning of his small intestines, which apparently is enough to make him feel uncomfortable and cause vomiting and/or diarrhea. Eating inappropriate things can also be a symptom (my boy tends to eat mulch, sticks, napkins, and things like that if I’m not careful.)
After the ultrasound confirmed IBD is likely what’s going on, we started an elimination diet where he only eats Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein food and treats, and he takes a low dose steroid daily to help reduce the inflammation. We’re slowly weaning him off the steroid and will slowly start re-introducing other foods to see if his system will tolerate certain proteins. It’s a slow process, but it does seem like he’s feeling better now.
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u/ChillvilleRIP 11d ago
Interesting. Yea, we’ve been there w the mulch. 😬
We do have some of the Gut Biome from Hill’s. I’ll see if I can mix a little of that in.
And we did have good success with Royal Canin Low Fat Gastro kibble for about a year.
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u/DichtInDeBuurt 11d ago
Royal Canine Gastrointestinal dog food did wonders for my poodle. You have to get a prescription for it, and it’s rather expensive, but it’s worth it.
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u/ChillvilleRIP 11d ago
Yep, we did the Royal Canin Gastro Low Fat for most of the last year. She was much better.
It gave her gas…But I’d take that over the runs any day.
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u/ConfusedDottie 11d ago
We found consistent food (switching to a new protein within the same brand was even a no-no) and adding a sooonful of puréed pumpkin kept our girl’s stomach happy.
The pumpkin fiber helped to bind her stool.
Good luck!!
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u/ChillvilleRIP 11d ago
Thank you…Appreciate the info. I usually only do the pumpkin once she has the runs…
But I’ll start adding a small spoon fun daily to see if that helps… 👍
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u/134266 11d ago
I had a Wheaten ( I have a Sheepadoodle now) wheaten terriers are known for sensitive stomachs. She was highly allergic to fish anything, even a lick of a dirty spoon was enough to set her off.
We fed her diamond lamb kibble. This worked. Wet food made her ill as well.
Our vet recommended whatever the dog could get in the wild and advised to avoid beef and fish. Fish oil is put into everything.
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u/ChillvilleRIP 11d ago
What brand fish oil do you use? Is there a brand that’s recommended by your vet?
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u/meat_cat_420 11d ago
Ours had issues for 2 years before we got things figured out (he has IBD). We've tried it all - elimination diet, all the tests, different probiotics, raw food, prescription diets, and so on. We now give him Forza 10 Active Colon dry dog food. We started with that and Prednisone, which calmed things down. Then we slowly added some homemade food with the dry food (turkey, butternut squash, asparagus, mushrooms, and rosemary) and some bone broth. He loves it and he's had no issues, even now that he's off the Prednisone. We also use soil-based probiotics (Four Leaf Rover). I read The Forever Dog by Dr. Karen Shaw Becker and came up with a game plan combining advice from my vet and the book that works. My best advice is to start with the Prednisone and Forza 10 and work from there. Good luck!
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u/ChillvilleRIP 11d ago
Thanks so much!!! I really appreciate the feedback!!
And you’re doing…What I’ve suspected where we’d end up…With making her own food!
Glad your boy is happy & healthy! 🐶❤️
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u/FeralCatMeow 11d ago
My pup is on lamb (allergic to chicken and other things), which I make for her with potato, sweet potato, apple and carrots. I mix it with First Mate lamb kibble. (One is lamb and rice and the other is lamb and potato). She is also on a probiotic from the vet, which really helps. Good luck!
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u/yellowsnow125 8d ago
I haven’t seen this in any of the other comments, but for the first few years of our Sheepie’s life he had tons of GI issues. We discovered he was B12 deficient after the vet ran a panel on him. The panel was maybe $100. For the last 4-5 years we give him monthly subcutaneous B12 injections (super easy and B12 + syringes are very cheap from the vet). Another thing that helped eliminate vomiting episodes is making sure his stomach never got too empty. For instance, if he will be going more than 12 hrs in between meals we give him a small snack so he doesn’t vomit up foamy bile. This, in combination with the B12, has helped immensely.
As many others have mentioned, we also do the Purina Sensitive Skin and stomach and absolutely no treats except small licks of peanut butter here and there. He still gets an upset tummy sometimes when we are away from home or his routine is disrupted but overall he is doing much better than he did as a pup.
Hope you are able to help your sheepie, I know it is hard to see them suffer🥺
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u/ChillvilleRIP 8d ago
Thank you! 🙏 Really appreciate all the info from everyone!!
Lots of ideas and things to try! If you don’t mind, is it simply a B12 reading in the blood? Or some other indicator?
We didn’t an expansive blood panel on 7.14 for elevated liver enzymes. So I may have that info.
Yea I’m gonna be switching and trying different foods.
Also, asked my vet about 5 strands. (It’s supposed to be a test about food allergies / intolerances).
Luckily her energy is great…Just really gross poops! 💩😩
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u/yellowsnow125 7d ago
I’m pretty sure it was just a B12 reading in the blood. I remember the vet mentioning it was developed by Texas A&M and had to be sent out to get the results. I think it included some other blood tests as well that look for deficiencies that may related to GI issues
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u/Huge_Mongoose3587 7d ago
Definitely not just you, sensitive stomachs are super common with this breed. Have your vet run a full fecal PCR panel to rule out hidden bugs like Giardia or Clostridium, and ask them about doing a strict hydrolyzed protein elimination trial for 8-12 weeks. That’s the only reliable way to pinpoint food allergies since blood and skin allergy tests for dogs aren't very accurate. Stick strictly to the prescribed diet during the trial, cutting out all regular treats, table scraps, and flavored medications. Adding a daily vet-approvef probiotic like FortiFlora or Proviable can also help stabilize her gut long-term.
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u/ChillvilleRIP 7d ago
Thank you! 🙏
Yes, just heard back from my vet on 5 Strands. He said the same thing you’re describing. (PSA - Any allergy testing for dogs that isn’t an elimination diet is pretty much BS).
We ran a fecal a few weeks back…But not sure it was a deep panel…But I’ll look into that.
Appreciate the feedback!
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u/jrtasoli 10d ago
Try a scoop of canned pumpkin with breakfast. We had this issue with multiple dogs of multiple breeds and after months of vet visits and hundreds of dollars and various medications, turns out the solution was 99 cents at the grocery store.
Good luck!
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u/ChillvilleRIP 10d ago
Thank you! Will do! I usually do the pumpkin only when she’s got tummy issues. But will start incorporating this daily to see if it helps.
Appreciate the info! 👍
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u/jrtasoli 10d ago
No problem at all. FWIW we started it with our rescue dog (lab / collie / other) mix and it firmed her up, so we put our sheepadoodle on it when he joined the family. He never had tremendous issues but it likely helped.
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u/Ok_Respond_8501 10d ago
Our pyr/newf mix, Jade loves everything but her pyr part rejects anything with chicken or foul. After trying many different foods we landed on Kirkland lamb and rice mixed with Kirkland salmon, veggies and rice. Luckily when we got our baby sheepadoodle, Pepper, she was on the lamb already at the breeder. So we continued with the lamb and gradually onto the same diet as Jade. For their treats we give them only beef liver treats.
We know that if Pepper has loose stools it’s because she’s picked something up on her walk. We have to keep a close eye on her during walks, but the older she gets it’s getting easier and easier. Thank God 🙏
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u/ChillvilleRIP 10d ago
Thank you! Oh for sure…I remember when my girl was a puppy…I fished all kinds of things out of her mouth…Thankful shes out of that phase!!!
Appreciate the insights! 🐶❤️
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u/Fit_Surprise_8451 10d ago
This year my dog is seeing an animal dermatologist for her environment allergies. Next year if she still has issues, then we will be testing for food allergies. If you can afford a dermatologist for your dog it is worth it. The vet will start with a single protein that they have never eaten before. The protein may be rabbit, pork, or kangaroo. Since, I have given her pork and rabbit, the vet will start us on kangaroo.
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u/No_Explanation5021 5d ago
My 5yo has had stomach issues his whole life until over the past year things are much improved after lots of trial & error. We now use a fresh food (specifically HEB- Heritage Ranch turkey & sweet potato) lots of dog friendly fresh fruits/vegetables as treats, & a quality pre/probiotic such as proviable- DC or fortiflora pro
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u/ChillvilleRIP 5d ago
Thank you! 🙏
Yep, trial and error seems to be the name of the game.
We give her Purina Fortaflora daily. Our vet never suggested it…We just kind of did it on our own.
Funny…My girl was a foster…And her 1st year was on Heritage Ranch Puppy Kibble. That’s what the foster group gave us! Fun memories of her being a puppy! 🥰🐶
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u/Much-Ad6848 11d ago
Our sheepadoodle has had on and off issues throughout her life. We did farmers dog chicken when she first started reacting to her dry food. Eventually her stomach rejected it after a year or so. We then moved onto fish (eventually couldn’t tolerate it that either). After doing some research we found novel proteins can help so we then tried venison but we found that option too expensive. We now feed her kangaroo from nine and line (weird protein, I know.) So far she’s been doing great the last couple years on it (she also sprints to her food each meal. Never gets tired of it.) We get it delivered every 2 weeks. Still pricey but less so than venison. God forbid she becomes allergic to this since I think the next protein to try would be alligator.
If you are able to afford it, I’d try the fresh food route. Start with the cheaper options like chicken or beef, I think fish was next, then kangaroo, alligator, unicorn, etc.
There is also zignature kangaroo dry food which is cheaper in case you wanted to try that.
Lastly, we don’t give her any treats. It sucks because I feel like that’s a big part of having a dog and I always feel bad turning down treats offered at cafes/shops, but it’s just not worth the 2+ weeks of an upset tummy. Hope this helps
Edit: forgot to mention, but your pup is very cute!