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Alternate food suggestions for boarding

Basenji Feeding
  • NemoN

    I'm going to be boarding my dogs again in the near future and I'm trying to find some alternate choices for the food that they eat while they are there. I've attempted to bring the normal food they eat at home but unfortunately due to the all of the excitement at the kennel (at my vet's office) they typically have stress diarrhea. Nemo had it in the past on his normal food and Zoni has had the issue during their last visit. The vet's solution to this is to put them on a low residue food which seems to correct the issue while they are boarding. I really don't like the food, but for a few days I don't think it's that big of deal. Downside is that there is apparently no nutritional value to it, and they loose weight pretty quickly, even if I instruct the kennel to feed them significantly larger portions to try and account for the caloric differences. Last time, Zoni lost enough weight that you could practically see her ribs when she came out. It took me about a month to put the weight back on her again.

    So, I'm wondering if something like the boiled chicken/rice typically used for upset GI tracts would be an approach to try and manage the stress diarrhea during boarding or is there maybe some other alternatives I could try?

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  • lvossL

    Talk to your vet about the probiotic Prostora. It is made by Eukanuba and available through veterinarians. I attended a seminar about it last month and it was tested as a way to help with stress diarreah during boarding. That way you shouldn't have to change foods but can hopefully control the GI upset.

    If you email me, I can send you the proceedings from the talk.

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  • N

    Maybe one of the Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw foods? They are designed with dog with sensitive stomachs in mind.

    I would look at the "Thrive" since it has the fewest ingredients.
    http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/thrive/

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  • NemoN

    @lvoss:

    Talk to your vet about the probiotic Prostora. It is made by Eukanuba and available through veterinarians. I attended a seminar about it last month and it was tested as a way to help with stress diarreah during boarding. That way you shouldn't have to change foods but can hopefully control the GI upset.

    If you email me, I can send you the proceedings from the talk.

    Thanks, I'll do that.

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  • NemoN

    @nkjvcjs:

    Maybe one of the Honest Kitchen dehydrated raw foods? They are designed with dog with sensitive stomachs in mind.

    I would look at the "Thrive" since it has the fewest ingredients.
    http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/products/thrive/

    I like the idea in concept but it's hard to predict what the outcome would be, and the vet would probably just switch back to the other food…and not sure if they would want to go to the trouble mixing the stuff up (I'm a high maintenance client already. :rolleyes:) They put Zoni on antibiotics the last time, which I'm not even sure was necessary or helpful. Their diet is part grain-free kibble and raw right now. I was hoping the raw part would make their GI tract a little more resistant to this issue but they've only been on it for a few months. Otherwise, I'll probably just have to use a different kennel that may be less sensitive to the problem to find the right solution.

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  • nobarkusN

    @Nemo:

    I like the idea in concept but it's hard to predict what the outcome would be, and the vet would probably just switch back to the other food…and not sure if they would want to go to the trouble mixing the stuff up (I'm a high maintenance client already. :rolleyes:) They put Zoni on antibiotics the last time, which I'm not even sure was necessary or helpful. Their diet is part grain-free kibble and raw right now. I was hoping the raw part would make their GI tract a little more resistant to this issue but they've only been on it for a few months. Otherwise, I'll probably just have to use a different kennel that may be less sensitive to the problem to find the right solution.

    I've just started giving Buddy probiotics that I take, Enzymatic Therapy acidophilus pearls. They don't need refrigeration and they very small pearls that can be easily hidden in their food. Buddy had a yeast infection so I'm building up the good bacteria in his system. I give him 1 a day.
    http://www.enzymatictherapy.com/PearlsLife/

    http://www.amazon.com/Enzymatic-Therapy-Acidophilus-Pearls-90/dp/B000BQ8ATQ

    Buddy, Paolo and Dan

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  • Buddys PalB

    Hi, just reading through some posts, and this one caught my eye. Most kennels know that a slight loss of appetite is inevitable and tell the customers as such(I do….) I try to wait till the next day to see if the new dog will eat as this being a natural survival instinct for a dog to eat when hungry. Always rare exceptions of course...another story... Anyway, may I suggest to help with the diarreah with the supplement of adding a teaspoon or so of pumpkin to the 'normal' food the dog is used to. A watered down version of a good canned food over the kibble also has done the trick with boarded dogs as well. Start off with half the kibble and then increase with dog's desire to continue so that the kibble will not go to waste as it is wet and bloated and will one will have a dish of bacteria if left out....Just talk it over with the attendant or Doctor as such.

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