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  • Eating snow = diarrhea?

    I can't wait for winter to be over. Seriously. We've been having a heck of a time trying to get Loki's poops on track and just when we thought we were getting closer, it snowed and Loki became a snow addict. We try to limit how much snow he takes in, but seriously - his face is to the ground, mouth open and just shoveling it all in!

    So now I don't know if the food we have him on still isn't working well for his tummy OR if my snow eating machine of a dog is giving himself a harder time because he loves snow so much.

    He's currently on Acana Grasslands. We have also tried Orijen Adult & 6Fish and Taste of the Wild HP & PS in the past (having not done real well on any of them). How long do I wait before changing up his food yet again? OR do I chalk this up as snow related and wait it out until spring? For the love of God, I just want good poops!

    I don't know if this is the best forum to post this - it's kind of general health related, but still kibble.

  • #2
    snow is water....i wouldnt think snow would cause runny but thats just my thoughts. Harley and my other 2 eat it too and dont have any issues. Have you tried probiotics or yogurt?
    sigpicHarley

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    • #3
      Originally posted by Jacobsmom View Post
      snow is water....i wouldnt think snow would cause runny but thats just my thoughts. Harley and my other 2 eat it too and dont have any issues. Have you tried probiotics or yogurt?
      I did try yogurt - we even switched him off all kibble completely and did the whole bland chicken and ground beef with rice thing. That actually nearly stopped his poops altogether - FAIL. When we introduced the kibble back (keeping it mixed with some cooked ground beef), the first couple of days were great! I was so excited and relieved... and then it snowed. And since then, we're back to watery, garbage poops. Grrrr. So I can't figure out if it's just coincidence...or it's really the snow.

      I agree that snow is just water and Loki certainly isn't drinking as much from his water bowl inside, but I was thinking the composition is different so it may be mucking up his tummy somehow.

      Do you think I should just give 1-2 Tbsp of yogurt with each meal? Maybe that would help?

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      • #4
        yogurt never hurts, have you tried plain pumpkin? That works pretty good too and the dogs love it.
        sigpicHarley

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        • #5
          Scarlett can get crazy upset stomachs after eating the snow, but I think it's more to do with the sidewalk salt that gets wrapped up in the chunks of ice she likes to grab as we're walking. It's gross.

          But it's not ALL the time that her stomach is upset. Are you able to pinpoint a correlation between eating snow and the upset stomach?

          I've also noticed that Scarlett doesn't really like pooping in the snow, so she sometimes tries to hold it in longer. This results in loose stools when she finally does decide to go. Maybe your dog is experiencing sort of the same thing?

          Yogurt is a good idea, maybe some tripe. But if you're not sure if it's the food, might be a good idea to feed only the kibble until you know for sure that the cause is not food related.
          Katie & Scarlett
          sigpic

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Scarlett's Mum View Post
            Scarlett can get crazy upset stomachs after eating the snow, but I think it's more to do with the sidewalk salt that gets wrapped up in the chunks of ice she likes to grab as we're walking. It's gross.

            But it's not ALL the time that her stomach is upset. Are you able to pinpoint a correlation between eating snow and the upset stomach?

            I've also noticed that Scarlett doesn't really like pooping in the snow, so she sometimes tries to hold it in longer. This results in loose stools when she finally does decide to go. Maybe your dog is experiencing sort of the same thing?

            Yogurt is a good idea, maybe some tripe. But if you're not sure if it's the food, might be a good idea to feed only the kibble until you know for sure that the cause is not food related.
            kinda off topic...about the not poopin in the snow...Harley does that too. I dont understand why...anyone know?
            sigpicHarley

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Jacobsmom View Post
              yogurt never hurts, have you tried plain pumpkin? That works pretty good too and the dogs love it.
              We've used pumpkin in the past. I guess I just want to find a food that works for him, rather than having to rely on pumpkin and such to help balance things out. I don't mind in the interim, but finding something that just works on its own is the ideal plan.

              I don't even really know what a reasonable amount of time one should try a food before giving up on it. Some people have results on different kibble within 24 hours - I should only be so lucky one day.

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              • #8
                Originally posted by Jacobsmom View Post
                kinda off topic...about the not poopin in the snow...Harley does that too. I dont understand why...anyone know?
                I dunno...I think it's just the cold? When they poop, they have to stand in one spot and bear down. Might be colder for the dog's paws and body than just running around and squatting quickly when they need to. Funny that this behaviour doesn't affect peeing - maybe because peeing has a greater sense of urgency than pooping?

                We have hardly any snow on the ground...literally just a dusting, and even though Scarlett loves the snow, I find that her poop schedule is out of whack. Weirdo.
                Katie & Scarlett
                sigpic

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Scarlett's Mum View Post
                  Scarlett can get crazy upset stomachs after eating the snow, but I think it's more to do with the sidewalk salt that gets wrapped up in the chunks of ice she likes to grab as we're walking. It's gross.

                  But it's not ALL the time that her stomach is upset. Are you able to pinpoint a correlation between eating snow and the upset stomach?

                  I've also noticed that Scarlett doesn't really like pooping in the snow, so she sometimes tries to hold it in longer. This results in loose stools when she finally does decide to go. Maybe your dog is experiencing sort of the same thing?

                  Yogurt is a good idea, maybe some tripe. But if you're not sure if it's the food, might be a good idea to feed only the kibble until you know for sure that the cause is not food related.
                  We don't let him touch the snow outside the backyard - as you mentioned, salt and dirt and such worries us (and he'd probably just implode at that point given what fresh snow seems to do!)

                  We have had to shovel paths in the backyard for Loki to go out there and poop. He's a spoiled little boy

                  I'd love to try just doing kibble - but he's fussy, so we've always had to add a little something to entice him. We're adding plain cooked hamburger right now - just a small bit.

                  AND - he just went outside to pee and do you think I can get him to come back inside afterward? Oh no - face to the ground, bury his head in that snow - looking at me as I call him, 'But Mommy - the snow is out here, not inside!'

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                  • #10
                    the last snow we had Harley found the only spot with no snow and went there lol. Back to the topic, Harley did good on Chicken Soup, Innova, and now i think its Natures Balance potato and duck. He LOVES the potato and duck. Nice firm stools on all 3. Maybe its some sort of allergy or something. The potato and duck is supposed to be a good food for dogs with allergies.
                    sigpicHarley

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                    • #11
                      Harley did good on Chicken Soup, Innova, and now i think its Natures Balance potato and duck. He LOVES the potato and duck. Nice firm stools on all 3. Maybe its some sort of allergy or something. The potato and duck is supposed to be a good food for dogs with allergies.
                      How long would you wait before changing food?

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Loki Love View Post
                        How long would you wait before changing food?
                        I waited 2-3 weeks before i changed Harley from Innova to the Duck and potato. He just didnt seem to want to eat the other 2 foods as much as with the Duck and Potato. Im not an expert but i think if stool isnt firm within a month its time to find something else....or be lookin into what could be causing the issue. You have checked for parasites right? On a monthly heart worm medicine?
                        sigpicHarley

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Jacobsmom View Post
                          You have checked for parasites right? On a monthly heart worm medicine?
                          We were at the vet this past week - I mentioned it in passing about his poop issues, and the vet didn't feel it was parasite related. She said to come back in a couple of months if things didn't clear up (and given his somewhat stable reaction earlier this week, I tend to agree). She really thinks it's a food related issue and he's got a sensitive tummy with certain foods. Trial and error fun!

                          It's definitely something to keep in the back of my mind though. I'll give the Acana Grasslands a go for about a month and then go from there.

                          Thanks for the input!

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                          • #14
                            Have you thought about trying to "detox" him so to speak. Like a fast and then adding probiotics and digestive enzymes? Maybe with his gut being inflamed so frequently with the diarrhea, he needs a startover/jumpstart?

                            Just an idea...
                            Jennie
                            sigpic

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by jglfainters View Post
                              Have you thought about trying to "detox" him so to speak. Like a fast and then adding probiotics and digestive enzymes? Maybe with his gut being inflamed so frequently with the diarrhea, he needs a startover/jumpstart?

                              Just an idea...
                              We actually did that recently - we put him on a bland cooked chicken/ground beef diet with rice for a good 4-5 days. With that I was also giving him some sweet potato and yogurt. I then introduced his kibble back with the ground beef and it seemed pretty good the first day or so and now it's back to iffy poops.

                              I'm going to add yogurt again for the next few days and monitor the snow eating. I'm also cutting out all treats, etc.

                              Here's hoping!

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