Ask The Doc: Gastro-Intestinal

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I was interested to see this weeks question from Carol. We have a 17 month old yellow(white) lab who we got about three weeks ago. Since he has been with us we have fed him Nutro-Max dog food. He too vomits during the night some nights a foamy mucousy substance and he has had very loose stools. Maybe we should try a different brand of food. What is your opinion on dog foods? Thanks is advance for taking this question.

Dr. DeMichael: Since you have just gotten your dog a couple of weeks ago, several possibilities should be explored that might help to explain his problem.

i) Though I don't know his background or where you got him from, the possibility exists that he may have an intestinal parasite problem. A stool sample (and the necessary deworming medication if indicated) should be sufficient in most cases to rule out this condition.

ii) Regarding the dog food he is eating, since I do not feed the brand that you have referenced I would not want to comment on it, in and of itself. However, he may have been on a completely different formulation which his gastro-intestinal (GI) system was "used to" before you brought him into your home. If possible, you might find out what ration he was eating before you acquired him.

It's important to remember that when changing over from one feed to another to do so on a gradual basis. For example, you might add 1/4 of the new ration to 3/4 of the old brand for a couple of days and then gradually increase the percentages until you have accomplished the switch.

iii) Believe it or not, an increasingly large number of dogs suffer from a " food allergy", that is, exhibit an allergic response to something that may be present in their diet. Perhaps this should be considered in your dog's case, but I would not pursue this unless you have ruled out the more logical situations discussed above.

iv) There are many other GI disease processes, too numerous to discuss here, that may also need to be explored. However, in a young dog, I would start with the above and hope to solve the problem in that manner.