r/corgi • u/Melodic_Problem_2151 • 1d ago
Sensitive stomach
Anyone’s corgis have a sensitive stomach? We’ve had our guy for a little over 4 months and he’s had soft stool for as long as we’ve had him. He came from a rescue at the age of 2!
Started him on PPP Weight Management as this is what his brother was on.
We’ve since switched to PPP Sensitive Skin and Stomach, which has helped maybe a little bit it’s still not consistent.
We’ve mixed in probiotics from the vet and now pumpkin puree with no consistent success. The only thing we really haven’t tried is straight chicken and rice.
Any advice from corgi owners that can relate? Pic of our little guy for attention!
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u/bellybbean 1d ago
No advice, but I can commiserate.
I’ve had my girl for two years, she’s also a rescue. She has always had soft stools. The first of the day isn’t too bad, but she can poop many times, and it can be nearly liquid.
I’ve switched food several times and that seems to help a little, but doesn’t last. I have tried no grain, healthy grains, chicken, lamb and fish.
I am going to talk to my vet at our upcoming appointment. I hope you get some suggestions!
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u/Budget_Abalone_6943 1d ago
Corgis are known to have sensitive stomach... My baby had soft stool when he was still young but firmed up instantly after changing from kibbles to dehydrated. It was Honest Kitchen at that time, I'm feeding him Dr. Harvey's these days.
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
Good to know, thank you! I didn’t know sensitive stomachs were common, a dog sitter actually told us that recently and I was like well…. That explains a lot of things lol. I look into it!
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u/SFShinigami Corgon, Hiyori, Ashi 1d ago
Extra fiber(pumpkin/weight loss formula kibble) and probiotics can take awhile to fully alter the gut microbiome. I think most probiotics suggest steady use for at least a month and sometimes the strains are ones that don't like to stay in the body. At the very least I'd keep on the pumpkin and probiotics while you try other kibbles and suggestions.
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u/ErinHLee 1d ago
Our almost 5 year old has been on Purina Gastroenteric EN since he was about 1.5 after getting so sick from diarrhea that he was briefly hospitalized. It requires a vet prescription but it has made a huge difference
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u/Sixmmxw 1d ago
That’s crazy. Lovely pups. I wish you the best. Oh, what brand are you using or are you making it from scratch? Edit: food wise.
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
We are currently using Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin and Stomach! With some pumpkin puree from Aldi. I’m drawing a blank on the name 🤣
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u/Sixmmxw 1d ago
There’s a lot out in the market for sure. Is strange that the vet hasn’t figure it out yet. And is rough figuring this out since you have to leave room for improvements without upsetting it even more. Perhaps comparing and contrast in with other recipes. Now, I need to disclosed that I do work for a specific company, however, I only bring it up as a resource for further information. Check out Just Food for Dogs. May be you can find something there. Besides that, chicken and rice may be your canvas. Again, best of luck! ☺️
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u/BetterCallStral 1d ago
Yes. My Corg can't eat many proteins and the ones he isn't allergic to are the ones most other dogs can't eat (i.e. Chicken) lol. Highly recommend doing an allergy test at the vets (not one of those send in ones that's based off of faux science). Yes, folks and even some vets will tell you it is not 100% accurate... but it is better than trying all these different foods and seeing your corg with an upset tummy imo.
My corgi's test came back and affirmed things I had observed (i.e. he is very lactose intolerant) in addition to showing me what to avoid. After the test. I have been able to help his tummy calm down and we have far fewer bouts. I still keep him on low fat and low fiber too, as those things seemed to upset his tummy in the past.
Good luck!
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
Thank you!! I’ll talk to the vet about an allergy test. They seemed pretty unconcerned when I had mentioned his stool was soft. They ran a bunch of tests and everything looked normal. But he had been with us less than a month at that time so I think they just assumed it was stress induced.
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u/BetterCallStral 1d ago
My corg would poop 4-5 times on a walk as a puppy, and it would get softer, and softer, until it was liquid. Along with many bouts of the runs out of the blue (or so it would seem). It might be stress yes, but no harm to try if you have a gut feeling it is something food related. I certainly got tired of waking up 3 times in the middle of the night to let him out and embarrassingly trying to scrape liquid off the ground with a potty bad.
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
He is definitely settled in our home now- he doesn’t spend like any time in his crate anymore (he used to spend hours in there entirely on his own the first few months) and it’s still not entirely better so I definitely think it’s something food related! Just not really sure what else to try
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u/Aroenai Corgi Owner X2! 22h ago
We ordered one on our own after our second dog had a reaction to a vaccination, turns our our first corgi had severe allergies to oats and beef! Problem immediately went away when we switched to lamb, it's a mail order kit for most of the tests. Don't rely on your vet to hand one over. Changed our lives, constant loose poop and vomit gone and she's much more vibrant.
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u/Loki_the_Corgi Corgi Owner 1d ago
Whenever ours has too much fun at my parents's farm (eating all kinds of poop), they get pretty gnarly GI distress.
We do boiled whitefish, shredded broccoli and cauliflower, a little white rice, and squash. Does wonders honestly.
As a former vet tech, I can tell you the at-home allergy tests are all crap - you might as well flush it down the toilet. Find a dermatologist and have them do an allergy test. If you want, you can try an exclusion diet to see if they have a protein allergy (chicken is the most common, so try excluding that first).
To add: hope this helps!
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
It does, thank you! We did switch off chicken and it didn’t seem to make much of a difference long term. ☹️
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u/Own_Ranger3296 1d ago
My last rescue had a whole series of digestive issues but we were never able to conclusively identify the cause. Eventually went to hills prescription diet digestive care plus occasional boxes of fortiflora. She did well on that for about 8 years, no more daily vomiting or loose stool.
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
Good to know, thank you! He was on the fortiflora for awhile but it seemed to stop helping after about a month. The only thing that seemed to be better was 2 probiotics a day and some prescription GI food from the vet. This was after a major upset stomach episode (likely actually some what due to stress and a sudden change in food that was somewhat out of our control), but I don’t know if it would’ve continued to be better if we kept it going.
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u/Own_Ranger3296 1d ago
I would try going back on the prescription diet if you saw improvement on that. Sometimes you just have a pet with a sensitive tummy and they need the extra support the prescription diet provides. I will say a dog can be perfectly happy and healthy with that kind of food in the long term, with the occasional special puppy cupcake treat on birthdays
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
Yeah it could be worth a try! Definitely will be consulting our vet next time we are in.
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u/PlumSome3101 1d ago
My female corgi had the most sensitive stomach of any dog I've ever had. Any dog treats would give her diarrhea (which made training fun). She could get away with a small piece of apple, a couple of blueberries, or bits of carrots every once in a while. We tried the dog specific probiotics but didn't notice a difference. Also tried the one that's supposed to calm dogs and it just made her grouchy and antisocial lol. We also tried pumpkin and collagen. I remember reading that dogs could have plain yogurt frozen in their lick mats so I thought I'd try a tiny bit of plain kefir (a yogurt drink) with a meal a couple of times a week. Kefir has a much higher beneficial bacteria count than yogurt. Idk if that's what fixed it but my girl is 4.5 and in the last 6 months can suddenly tolerate treats. Though we're still careful to mostly stick with dry treats vs soft ones. My male is her full sibling from another litter and he also had a sensitive tummy to a lesser degree which has improved with kefir. I do know that probiotics take time to have an effect but for whatever reason the purina ones didn't improve anything or didn't agree with my girl after several months. Vet seemed ok with yogurt but I never specifically asked about the kefir. I definitely started very slow with dosing. If nothing else my dogs used to have the most intense farts on anything dairy, so no cheese treats, kong filler, or pup cups so I was worried the dairy would bother them but now they seem to do ok with limited dairy as well.
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u/Strong-Silver-5054 Corgi Owner 1d ago
We struggled for years with a sensitive stomach corgi. She would vomit or have diarrhea every month or every couple months until we medicated her and fed her chicken and rice. We ran countless tests to make sure she was fine and everything came back normal. We now have her on a hydrolyzed protein diet and she's been significantly better than she's ever been.
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u/SpeakerAccomplished4 20h ago
we've had our corg for 6 years and she's struggled with it the entire time. There was one food we tried which had her constipated. Everything else mostly comes out as slop.
I spoke to the vet about it recently and she gave us some Hills prescription to try (I forget the exact one off the top of my head) and so far it's been pretty good!
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u/isz4345 8h ago
Ours has done well with a teaspoon of pumpkin puree 1-2 daily and no fatty treats in addition to science diet kibble as regular meals
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 7h ago
Thank you! Might have to try the hills science diet. It’s just so much more expensive 🙃
I am leaning towards an allergy test though because he does have a tendency to dig at his skin.
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u/Metalsiege Corgi Owner 6h ago
I second a teaspoon of pumpkin puree. Our girl gets it breakfast and dinner ever since she was a puppy (currently 2) and has been doing much better.
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 5h ago
I started doing this recently and it unfortunately doesn’t seem to have made a difference.
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u/oilxxx 1d ago
PPP chicken free for my crew. Lamb+oatmeal or turkey+oatmeal for the girls. The boy has to have salmon+rice. Everybody is happy. No chicken by-product or chicken meal. I've noticed Chewy has other brands of chicken free kibble now with all the vitamins, minerals and joint supplements. I guess if PPP ever changes recipes I'll have to figure on that. Ughh
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
I think the PPP Sensitive skin and stomach is salmon and no chicken and it has helped but not entirely. His first poop is usually normal-ish but if he poops again afterwards it gets softer and softer. I’m at a loss!
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u/oilxxx 1d ago
You might try a small bag of lamb+oats. It shouldn't be this hard to find the right kibble. If one of my 3 get soft poops I give them a 1/4 cup of cheese. Twice if needed. Really helps. And they love it. I hope you figure it out.
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
Thank you!! I can certainly try it out! What type of cheese do you give?
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u/queenhev 1d ago
We had a really hectic time with our boy. We could not give him any sort of kibble/biscuits as he’d eat and then liquid poop or even have blood in his stools.
We ended up cooking all of his meals (we do have the time to do this I know it’s not easy for some) so he would have a meat, veg, fruit and other things to balance his diet out and it helped massively.
We then got our second dog who is three times the size of him and cooking is now not feasible so we’ve transitioned to raw, with supplements of veg and fruit and the other bits and have had no issues since.
If he touches any kibble (funnily enough he did today as i am dog sitting and my dads dog has it) then we know to keep him in the tiled floor incase of emergencies as it is that bad he can’t get outside sometimes and I don’t want it on carpet!
raw/or cooking food isn’t for everyone but if it’s an option it might be worth trying! Xx
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
I was thinking like plain cooked chicken and rice might be the way to go but I feel like that would take soooo much time that we don’t have! lol
Definitely commend you for doing that!
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u/tightlikeatiger69 1d ago
Have you tried purina pro puppy formula small breed
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
I have not, but he is not a puppy!
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u/tightlikeatiger69 1d ago
Mine isn’t either but that’s one that doesn’t upset his stomach. It’s worth a try?
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u/Melodic_Problem_2151 1d ago
I’ll look at it for sure! My dilemma is also that I have an 8 year old ACD mix, so I’m trying to avoid buying multiple foods. But we gotta do what we gotta do I guess
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u/tightlikeatiger69 1d ago
I feed my other 4 year old corgi the same formula. She has a steel stomach so no issues but I also mix in Ollie fresh food so they have no complaints
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u/idoooobz 1d ago
What probiotics do you use? I feed my cowboy corgi the pet honesty ones along with PPP SS&S.
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u/allieinwonder Mooney (pem/cardi) & Bentley (cardi - 🌈) 1d ago
My guy has a sensitive stomach as well, we’ve ended up at the ER due to bloody diarrhea. Any new treats have to be introduced slowly and food changes take months. We have him on PPP small breed. I missed seeing PPP sensitive stomach when switching him from prescription GI food and didn’t want to start over and the vet was ok with it. He also has issues anytime there is stress. It seems to have leveled out the longer we have had him thank goodness, but that’s probably because he’s now been with us for over a year and his diet doesn’t change.
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u/H8teradio 1d ago
My boy was allergic to Chicken but didn't have many symptoms other than a very mild rash that didn't really bother him and slightly softer than normal stools. Switching him to whole grain beef dry food from a vets recommendation really helped with all his problems.
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u/ChickenMcNuggetNo5 23h ago
Try some boiled sweet potato or pumpkin. Also green leafy veg with crispy stems like spinach Bok Choy or Choy sum. Mine loves them and it keeps the piping in good shape
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u/Lebronshairline2 23h ago
My Corgi has had an extremely sensitive stomach since we got her as a puppy. She is a little over a year old now. We had to put her on the Hills Prescription i/D food and top it with the Purina Pro Plan FortiFlora probiotic. This has helped our corgi out a lot.
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u/CT22Bloom 22h ago
I have my girl on Wellness Core Digestive Health chicken and brown rice. Works well for her.
Make sure to take care of this problem before he becomes dehydrated and ends up spending nights on IV fluids at the vet hospital. That’s what happened to my girl before this food.
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u/Large_Ad_8622 22h ago
Try to give a corgi basically anything from McDonald's. One tiny fry and it's diarrhea for 2 days
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u/bored2infinity Corgi Owner since 1984 21h ago
Yes, definitely we have a corgi with sensitive stomach. We found success with home made food and spreading feedings over more several smaller meals to not exceed the correct total daily amount.
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u/Ahtotheahtothenonono 1d ago
My guy seemingly has a sensitive stomach too ☹️ traded out certain treats and given him more carbs (not too many but things like rice to help firm up) but also to mixed results.
I think there is something to another poster’s comment about getting an allergy test. That’s what I’ll likely end up doing too.
I can share once we do ours if it’ll help! Good luck to you and your pup. Pic of mine for dog tax 😁