Question:
My 1.5 year old Shih tzu/Mini-Poodle cross has been having really hard bowel movements. When she poops, the inside of her rectum looks really red. I was at my Vet for a regular check up a few weeks ago. She says that the redness is probably due to strain because her stools are so hard. My dog doesn't seem to be bothered by the redness. She doesn't lick or drag her bottom. She goes to the bathroom twice a day every day. She sometimes has to push really hard to get the stool out. The vet has me sprinkling metamucil on her food. The vet doesn't recommend using any olive or any other oils. The metamucil, gets all stuck in her fur around her mouth and just makes her stool spongy. It hasn't really helped. I'd like to change her food but don't know what food may be good for this type of problem. I currently feed her Eukanuba Maintenance Small Bites. Any thoughts on foods that are good for dogs digestion? Thanks...

Answer:
A holistic food without beet pulp or tomato pomace would help. If you need ideas of holistic foods, let me know.

Answer:
I agree. You need to switch her to a food that does not contain beet pulp or tomato pomace. Check out the dog food forum here for some ideas and then ask all the questions you want.

Answer:
My CockerSpaniel had trouble and is now on a Lamb and Rice. She does well with it.

Answer:
Thanks for your advice... I don't think her food contains the two ingredients mentioned, but I'm going to double check. Changing her food has got to help?! I may also try a good lamb & rice food. Thanks!

Answer:
Holistic food would be less likely to have beet pulp or tomato pomace. Also, look for a food with oatmeal in it. That would help.

Here are two examples of good food:
Solid Gold Just a wee bit
Canidae all life stages dry

Answer:
Originally Posted by Tera
Thanks for your advice... I don't think her food contains the two ingredients mentioned, but I'm going to double check. Changing her food has got to help?! I may also try a good lamb & rice food. Thanks!


It does contain Dried Beet Pulp:

Eukanuba
Adult Maintenance Small Bite Formula
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein not less than 25.0%
Crude Fat not less than 16.0%
Crude Fiber not more than 5.0%
Moisture not more than 10.0%

Ingredients
Chicken
Chicken By-Product Meal
Corn Meal
Ground Whole Grain Sorghum
Ground Whole Grain Barley
Fish Meal (source of fish oil)
Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols
a source of vitamin E
and Citric Acid)
Brewers Rice
Natural Chicken Flavor
Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed)
Dried Egg Product
Brewers Dried Yeast
Potassium Chloride
Salt
Sodium Hexametaphosphate
Calcium Carbonate
Flax Meal
Choline Chloride
Ferrous Sulfate
DL-Methionine
Vitamin E Supplement
Beta Carotene
Zinc Oxide
Ascorbic Acid
Manganese Sulfate
Copper Sulfate
Manganous Oxide
Vitamin A Acetate
Calcium Pantothenate
Biotin
Rosemary Extract
Vitamin B12 Supplement
Thiamine Mononitrate (source of Vitamin B1)
Niacin
Riboflavin Supplement (source of Vitamin B2)
Inositol
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of Vitamin B6)
Vitamin D3 Supplement
Potassium Iodide
Folic Acid
Cobalt Carbonate


Prin listed a couple of good choices. There are others to choose from if you check out the dog food forum here.

Answer:
I wonder if adding water to your dog's food might help a bit? Put out a bit of her food and just add some water to it so that the kibbles absorb the water. With a bit more moisture in her system, maybe her stools will soften.

Good luck!

Answer:
Moisture probably won't help if the beet pulp is still in there. Beet pulp will stall the "food" in the intestine so that all the water can be sucked out of it and the stool will be hard and make you think your dog is healthy.

Answer: