Expert: Delores Beck - 6/22/2011

Question
QUESTION: so benny my full breed cocker spaniel has been eating canine caviar for the past 10-12 weeks.. about 3-4 weeks ago he started having diarreah (consulted with you about what to do and you suggested egg and rice) and now today he pooped blood. its hot in chicago now.. he drinks plenty of water and i must refill his water bowl 3-4 times a day so i doubt its dehydration(but im no expert of course).. hes temperament is normal as usual. happy and laid back. i have been giving him nothing but his kibble and scrambled eggs to try and beat his diarreah but everytime i try to put more kibble in his bowl his stool goes back to diarreha .. ive come home and found his crate dirty 2-3 already and this is getting tiring.. i dont know what to do or what to think anymore. please help and ask any further questions. i will be more than glad to elaborate...

ANSWER: Did you feed only egg & white rice (no kibble)?  Did the diarrhea clear up until you began using the kibble again? Are you still feeding the Canine Caviar?

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QUESTION: I did the egg and rice thing for 2 of 3 days bcuz he's stool looked semi-normal again. So I started feeding kibble into it. Slowly of course. After 2-3 days it was only egg and kibble and even then his stool was looking semi-normal still. I started to add more kibble but even the slightest change in portion will send him back diarrhea all over again. And like I said yesterday there was blood with stool and a few seconds later just blood. And yes he still OS eating canine caviar.

ANSWER: You should have fed the egg & rice until his stool was 100% normal.  You rushed things.

And definitely stop feeding Canine Caviar.  I'd try some California Natural Lamb & Rice.
And when his stool has been 100% for a few days, begin adding a little kibble.

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QUESTION: When Benny was a younger puppy I consulted you about his dry itchy smelly skin. You recommended I change his food (no rice, or fish, higher protein)  so I did, first to innova and then made the transition to orijen but because it has some fish component I switched one more time. So then it was Sojos and now finally canine caviar. If I have to change his food one time, I will. But California Natural has rice. Won't this affect his skin again?

Answer
Did the change of food help his dry skin?  I'm sure I also must have advised bathing him?
If you're concerned about the rice, go back to Innova EVO red meat formula.  I like the large bites since it forces them to chew rather than just inhale it.

He may well do better on canned food - it's less processed and usually higher protein.