Anyone have a dog with a sensitive stomach?

Question

My poor doggie has a VERY sensitive stomach. We don't feed him any table food and he still gets sick. I was wondering if anyone could recommend a dry dog food that has worked for their dog? (he can't eat the wet stuff, that makes him sick too)

Answer 1

California Natural is MADE for pets with sensative stomachs and for those who have allergies. Its made with the LEAST amount of ingredients. It is a VERY good dog food. No fillers, by products, corn, soy, or wheat gluten (so no food recall). You can put in your state/zipcode to see where you can buy it near you: http://www.naturapet.com/where-to-buy/ The food may be a little more than you are used to paying for dog food, but it will be WELL worth it when your dog doesnt get sick anymore :]

*****California Natural Pet Food:
Cheap pet food ingredients, such as protein fillers, or even premium ingredients can be highly allergic to pets with sensitive systems. That's why California Natural dog and cat food refuses to use them in our production. In fact, we have the shortest ingredient list of any dry pet food and combine just one protein, one fat and one carbohydrate source to create a hypoallergenic pet food.
http://www.naturapet.com/brands/california-natural.asp

I highly recommend this food. Science Diet and Purina are crappy foods. They will most likely upset your dogs stomach because of all the corn, by products and fillers. I feed my dogs Innova (also on the site) .. and they are just alot more healthier. Although Innova isnt for sensative stomachs its one of the BEST brands of dog food (as well as California Natural and the other brands on that site).

Also, when you find a store near you try getting a medium/small bag (depending on the size of you dog and wean him off his old food slowly because switching dog food cold turkey will upset his stomach) .. and you can see if this food works. I know it will. Here is how to switch a dogs food:

*How should I switch to the new pet food?
A new pet food should be gradually introduced to your animal by mixing it with their current food. For a nice, slow transition, replace the old food with the new in 10 perecent increments over the course of a 10-day period. It can take 4 to 6 weeks for a pet's digestive tract to adjust to a new diet. If digestive upset occurs, pull back and transition more slowly.
http://www.naturapet.com/tools/faqs.asp?view=feed

Hope that helps!

Answer 2

Sensitive Systems Dog Food

Answer 3

My black lab has a really sensitive system also. The only foods she seems to be able to tolerate are California Natural and Purina One-without getting extremely gassy, diarrhea, and dry heaves. California natural is an excellent food. We've been feeding it for many years-but it's expensive. We also had a dog with food allergies that did excellently on it. Call around because a lot of pet stores have a frequent buyer program (like buy 9 bags get the 10th free) and at nearly $40 a bag, that will save you! As an alternative, you might also look into BARF diets. (It's not puke-it's Bones And Natural Foods) where you give the dog meat bones to eat and natural foods. You can make it yourself or buy it premade. (the premade is also expensive). If you have the time to make it, it could be a good thing. (You can make it in bulk and then freeze it, too, btw) I have 3 dogs and we tried BARF with them. The one with the sensitive stomach did well after the adjustment period (for the first week or so they could get loose stools due to the difference between the natural and the processed)-but we discontinued the BARF since the dogs were getting greedy and posessive about their raw bones where they'd want to fight. If you only have one dog, this shouldn't be a problem. Good luck!

Answer 4

We're going through the same thing right now. We have a small dog and the vet said a lot of smaller breeds are prone to sensitive stomachs. We fed her Nutro Max for puppies and then bumped it up to Nutro Max for small breeds after she turned 14 months. Even on the puppy food she would have occasional bouts of sickness but after upgrading to the adult food it seemed to get a bit worse. We just spent close to $300 at the vet doing tests on her to make sure there weren't any parasites or anything sitting in her tummy that wasn't supposed to be there (pieces of a toy or something she couldn't digest). After that came back clear, the doctor put her on a can food called ID. It lasted 3 days and was $22. I told him that we couldn't afford $2 every 3 days for food and he suggested Science Diet for Sensitive Stomachs. So far, so good! no midnight issues of being sick and she eats it quickly so I know she likes the taste. One issue is the size, those chunks are huge! I put some in a plastic bag and hit it a few times with a metal meat thingy. Does the trick...anyway, it's dry food and affordable, $8-$9 for a bag that lasts out little one almost a month. Try it and good luck!!

Answer 5

Not personally, but have known zillions. Every dog is different, so it can take a while to find a diet they can manage with, and then they have to stay on this for life. We always recommend Hills i/d and Royal Canin Sensitivity Diet, and find we have very high success rates with these. They are bland diets specifically designed for the many dogs with sensitive stomachs.

Both these diets come in dry and wet forms - you might want to try the wet form of these as it's usually OK, being specifically designed for the purpose. It will also give your dog some variety in his diet, which will be nice for him if he has to stick to these diets for life.

These diets are available from vets, or I do believe you can order them direct from the company online (but you'll probably need a prescription). Anyway, here are the websites so you can check them out:
http://www.hillspet.com/zSkin_2/products/product_details_eu.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441760503&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395183417&bmUID=1176912137212&bmLocale=en_GB
http://www.royalcanin.us/

Chalice

Answer 6

Nutro and Science Diet are both lower quality dog foods. Try something like Eagle Pack Holistic, their duck or salmon variety. This is a much higher quality dog food and dogs can do quite well on duck and salmon when they have sensitive stomachs. It would be beneficial to list what you have tried before that way we would know what you have used and doesn't work.

Answer 7

Hi there I can definitely identify with your problem. I have had a dog with sensitive tummy for years. I finally started cooking for her rice and chicken or rice and hamburger with most of the oils removed. It really helped. I do know of a product that will stop vomiting and diah. it is call gastralox and you can find it on the internet. You give it before meals and it really works great. Also I found out that if my shih tzu goes long periods of time with an empty stomach she gets sick. I feed several small meals a day instead of just the 2 times a day i used to and it has really helped. I make sure she has a meal before bed and time to go outside and that has stopped the vomiting at night. Hope this helps.
http://stores.ebay.com/S-B-PET-PRODUCTS

Answer 8

I have a pit bull with a sensitive stomach. I used to give him 'wet' food, but ever since I found out from my vet, I'm much more careful of what I give him. Maybe try Ol' Roy dry dog food. Thats what I use, and its good for us. And its less than $15 per 50lb bag! My local Wal-Mart sells it. I believe its the amount of 'grease & oils' in the food. I've found that the drier the food, the better. Ever since I changed these habits, I haven't had any trouble from his stomach. I've also had to curb the use of the rawhide bones, as they were a huge contributor to the problem.

Answer 9

Yup. My puppy has a sensitive stomach too. Science Diet Sensitive Stomach is AWESOME. we haven't had any vomiting or the like since we switched. We got it from our vet and its only 8 bucks a bag. Definitely worth it. :)

Answer 10

Talk to your VET, it could be a symtom of something else wrong ...like an immune deficiency, etc. You may have to try different foods till you find one that works :) Good luck, sorry your dog is not well, it's hard to see them sick or suffering !!!