# Diarrhea from Victor, needs to gain wait, what's next?



## kat12510

Our GSD is 5mo old. She is currently on Victor Hi Pro and has dark diarrhea which I recognize is from the kibble. She had a break from it for awhile and had cooked chicken/rice but it came right back with the Victor. I chose Victor cause it's higher calories and protein, something she needs as she's only 30lbs and very skinny. The vet said she needs to gain more weight, all her ribs and hips are visible. Everyone at our puppy training class asks why she's so skinny. That being said, what's a good kibble to try that's good for sensitive stomachs, large breeds AND has higher calories/protein AND doesn't cost an arm and a leg?! Jeez! Girl eats better than me lol. But seriously this is an emergency. We had the WHITE carpets professionally cleaned as were selling our house next week and she had black diarrhea all over the stairs  also can anyone recommend a good probiotic for her?


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## Dainerra

it may be simply too rich for her. How long did you have her on the Victor? Did you switch her over slowly?

Unless theyu are emaciated, I don't worry abouit weight at that age. They will go through very skinny phases. Since it's possible for a fully-grown female to weigh 45lbs, 30 lbs at 5 months old isn't a bad weight for some dogs.

Skinny is the expected body condition at 5 months old


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## Momto2GSDs

Not sure which "Hi Pro" Victor you mean? Do you mean "Nutra Pro" for active puppies and dogs or "High Pro Plus"?

Nature's Variety Instinct Large Breed Puppy Chicken has 33% protein and 416 kcals per cup. Instinct Raw Boost Grain-Free Kibble Large Breed Puppy Food - Chicken | Instinct Pet Food 

Are sure that Chicken items are not her problem?

It is usually available at Petsmart and Petco but you can probably get it cheaper on an "auto ship" program at www.chewy.com 


You could also add a "Fat Ball" per day (I can give you the recipe) or add some Goats Milk to her food for extra calories.


Fromm's Gold Holistic has 417 kcals per cup and 27% protein.
https://www.chewy.com/fromm-gold-holistic-puppy-dry-dog/dp/32619

Fromm's Heartland Gold Grain Free Puppy has 419 kcals per cup and 27% protein https://www.chewy.com/fromm-heartland-gold-grain-free/dp/115328


Orijen Puppy is a great food but gives many dogs/pups diarrhea and you don't need THAT on white carpet! :shocked:


Moms


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## Jax08

"black diarrhea"??? Black diarrhea is a sign of internal bleeding. So yes, it may be an emergency. Go to a vet.


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## Momto2GSDs

Below are Human Ingredient Products made for pets:
 
*Sunday Sundae* (Digestive Enzyme & Pro-Biotic Combo: https://market.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/search?q=sunday+sundae 
*Gut Sense* (ProBiotic): http://dr-dobias-natural-healing-usa...ducts/gutsense 
 *Digest All Plus:* (Digestive Enzyme/ProBiotic combo) Wholistic Digest All Plus? - Digestive Support - Canine
*Animal Essentials: *Plant Enzyme w/ Probiotics 3.5 oz 100 gm - Animal Essentials


Moms


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## kat12510

Jax08 said:


> "black diarrhea"??? Black diarrhea is a sign of internal bleeding. So yes, it may be an emergency. Go to a vet.


It's black because Victor is a very dark colored kibble. Not cause she has internal bleeding. 

Victor hi pro plus is what she's on for clarification. I just worry cause there are multiple other GSD in her training that are same or similar age and they're all much bulkier than she is. I had a rescue GSD pass away from heart failure at 11mo and she was always skinny with diarrhea her whole life so I just worry.


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## Magwart

Jax08 said:


> "black diarrhea"??? Black diarrhea is a sign of internal bleeding. So yes, it may be an emergency. Go to a vet.


THIS! Black can be blood from high up in the GI tract, turning black as it goes down. I would not view this as a food issue -- I'd view it as a possible bleeding issue. I'd be talking to the vet right away about an xray, ultrasound, etc. 
Black, Tarry Feces due to Presence of Blood in Dogs | petMD

Also, when dogs can't hold weight on a good quality, high-calorie food, my instinct is to dig into WHY. There are some serious illnesses that can have this symptom -- at the outer boundary, even cancer can present this symptom.

Before assuming it's food, I really would want the vet to rule out something more serious. Soon.


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## Thecowboysgirl

I switched my boy from Fromm to Victor High Energy and his stools did get darker, sort of light brown on Fromm and darker brown on Victor.

BUT the only time I have seen black stool/diarrhea was when my little lab dog was dying of liver failure. About 24 hours before we realized everything we were doing wasn't turning things around and we took her to be euthanized.

So really, if it's black, get to the vet, don't screw around.


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## ausdland

There's got to be some ingredient in Victor that makes the stool dark. My pup was on Victor lamb and rice for a couple months and her stools were dark too. That was the only kibble she had firm and formed stools with.
OP-I like 'Adored Beast Healthy Gut' digestive enzyme/pre&probiotic. I've also tried Sunday Sundae and GutSense. I'm guessing you've had her checked out at the vet since you think it's the food? If so, maybe try something easier to digest for a few months. The Honest Kitchen dehydrated food and the Adored Beast totally straightened my pup's gut out.


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## Galathiel

Diarrhea could also be from overfeeding. Make sure you aren't given too much in an effort to get the weight on.


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## kat12510

ausdland said:


> There's got to be some ingredient in Victor that makes the stool dark. My pup was on Victor lamb and rice for a couple months and her stools were dark too. That was the only kibble she had firm and formed stools with.
> OP-I like 'Adored Beast Healthy Gut' digestive enzyme/pre&probiotic. I've also tried Sunday Sundae and GutSense. I'm guessing you've had her checked out at the vet since you think it's the food? If so, maybe try something easier to digest for a few months. The Honest Kitchen dehydrated food and the Adored Beast totally straightened my pup's gut out.


Yes I've had her to the vet, they said just feed her more/try higher calorie food first so that's what we're trying. And yes you're right, something in Victor but not sure what! Her poops are not actually BLACK, they're just very very dark brown. She was on Taste of the Wild puppy when we got her, did just fine on that but I read on here that because it's not large breed it's not ideal. She also did well on Fromm but just pooped a TON. Like 5-6x a day when my Pointer who's 6 was going 2x per day on the same brand. 

We're doing boiled chicken and rice for the last few days to heal and she's improved. I'm going to go back to TOTW for now and try to get her evened out and maybe add coconut oil to her meal for added calories once she's regulates. We attempted to start that but the diarrhea came and we stopped in an effort to eliminate possible causes. 

Thanks everyone for your input!


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## Magwart

When there's no other cause for a skinny puppy, our rescue's vet has us do a 5-day round of Panacur just to be sure there are no hooks or whips that happen to not be showing up on the fecal float (that can sometimes happen with their lifecycle timing). Her thinking is that puppies so frequently have worms lingering in them that it's a solid first-line approach. A 5-day course is long enough to also help with giardia too, if there's a touch of that (it also often doesn't show up on the fecal test). Panacur is cheap and very safe. 

While there, you might ask about picking up a few cans of I/D food -- most every vet I know carries it (even if they don't sell much other RX food, they all seem to have this one, as it's so effective, and so widely used). It's very bland, but has more vitamins/minerals than chicken and rice. People can knock Hills RX all they want to, but I/D works wonders in settling down really angry tummies. It only takes a few days of it sometimes to get them over the hump. It's not something I'd feed for more than a few days, but it sure does seem to help when things are bad.

If TOTW worked for her, I think it's reasonable to start there. I wouldn't add CO to it yet -- CO itself can cause loose stool in some dogs, so I'd get her transitioned and stable before adding in CO, very gradually. I think The Honest Kitchen also has a few lines that are puppy-approved. Their dehydrated foods seem to have a very calming effect on digestion generally, so for sensitive tummies, I tend to think about that as an option.


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## ausdland

kat12510 said:


> Yes I've had her to the vet, they said just feed her more/try higher calorie food first so that's what we're trying. And yes you're right, something in Victor but not sure what! Her poops are not actually BLACK, they're just very very dark brown. She was on Taste of the Wild puppy when we got her, did just fine on that but I read on here that because it's not large breed it's not ideal. She also did well on Fromm but just pooped a TON. Like 5-6x a day when my Pointer who's 6 was going 2x per day on the same brand.
> 
> We're doing boiled chicken and rice for the last few days to heal and she's improved. I'm going to go back to TOTW for now and try to get her evened out and maybe add coconut oil to her meal for added calories once she's regulates. We attempted to start that but the diarrhea came and we stopped in an effort to eliminate possible causes.
> 
> Thanks everyone for your input!


Whatever works. I wouldn't be too attached to a brand name. 'The proof is in the pudding.' I too give coconut oil every day and 1/2 cup goat's milk yogurt 3-4x/week.


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## tross3773

I have a pocket bully. He is 8 months I just changed him from diamond to victor. I think it's a big mistake because now his has diarrhea and and his stool is black. He goes to the vet and doesn't have a gi bleed it's the victor.


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