You may love your little (or not-so-little doggo, as the case may be!) but when you’ve got a furball running around the house leaving a trail of, well, you know, it can be a little hard to let the love for your doggo take precedence over your worry for your immaculate carpet or couch. We get you and no, this does not make you a bad person. Your dog needs to be rushed outdoors or to the garden immediately—there’s about a minute to spare before things break ‘loose’ (pun totally intended).
If you’re in a hurry and you want to know our top pick for the best dog food for loose stool, here it is:
- Selected protein sources for sensitive dogs
- Clinically proven to help support healthy skin
- Helps support healthy joints
In all seriousness, though, it can be worrying to see your beloved fur baby go through loose stools. However, especially with puppies, loose stools are somewhat common. Unsurprising, when you learn that around 70% of your dog’s immune cells call his or her gut their home. Ergo, a gut in disarray means compromised immunity. While some dogs face loose-stool problems for a few hours and then recover, others may have a serious case of the ‘loosies’, possibly warranting medical attention.
In the latter case, rush your dog to the vet. In the former case (which is more temporary and less worrying), you might want to consider changing something that frequently goes into your dog’s tummy—his or her food. Just as it is with humans, the right nutrition can go a long way in curing a ton of problems. Of course, this isn’t to say that just changing your dog’s food will get rid of loose stool, especially in severe cases, but if you’ve identified loose stool as an infrequent or not-very-worrying occurrence, a lifestyle change may help get rid of even these infrequent occurrences.
Identifying the need for this proper nutrition (and paying heed to the many beleaguered pets and pet parents!), canine nutritionists around the world have come up with dog food that can sort your pet’s loose-stool problems. While you may want to religiously avoid canned or tinned food of all sorts for yourself, the same need not necessarily hold true for your dog; such canned food is formulated, with care, to give your dog the nutrition he or she needs.
If you think your dog has allergies, you may want to browse our article on the best hypoallergenic dog food to ensure that your pet is getting the food that will not upset their stomach or cause any undesired reactions.
If you’re considering making the switch to help your pupper, here’s a list of the best dog food for loose stool!
Related Article:
If you haven’t got the time to read through the entire article, don’t worry! Here’s a table summarizing our top picks:
1. Purina Pro Plan Athletic Sensitive Large Adult Dry Dog Food
The first product to launch our list is the Purina Pro Plan Athletic Sensitive Large Adult Dry Dog Food. One of the pioneers of nutritional dog food, Purina puts special care, lots of testing, cutting-edge science and well-thought, well-researched ingredients into every bag of dog food that leaves their factories. Today, the company has evolved into one of the largest brands of dog food, offering a wide variety of product choices. They also earn special brownie points for having donated more than 2.5 million pounds of pet food and working with pet rescue organizations!
The Pro Plan Dry Dog Food is the result of careful scientific formulation, meant specifically for robust athletic dogs with sensitive skin. Sensitive skin and related issues such as dandruff and incessant scratching can arise as a result of improper nutrition, which is why, with their trademark ‘Optiderma’ selection of carefully chosen nutrients (chosen by vets and nutritionists), Purina hits all the right nutritional spots with this product. The food, completely dry, brings down skin discomfort in dogs.
This product, among other high-quality ingredients, uses and highlights salmon, which not only offers great nutritional value but is also a doggo favourite! In fact, over 90% of the protein in the food comes from salmon, with vitamins A, E and B, zinc and essential fatty acids contributing some more nutritional goodness to the mix.
The Pro Plan Dry Dog Food is also gluten-free—if you didn’t already know, gluten intolerance can cause allergies and damage your dog’s gastrointestinal tract in the long run and as mentioned earlier, gut in disarray equals compromised immunity.
Advantages:
- The Purina Pro Plan Dry Dog Food is a result of advanced science being applied to nutrition and is clinically proven to give dogs healthier skin.
- The nutritional content in the food also helps in strengthening joints and making them healthier, supporting an active lifestyle.
- The food contains selected protein sources to reduce skin conditions arising from food sensitivity. The essential amino acids in the food lead to healthy hair and skin, while also supporting muscle development and tissue repair, among other benefits.
- The kibbles are quite large, making for a satisfying treat!
Disadvantages
- The large bag size makes it hard to store the food.
- The food is a little bit on the expensive side.
Overall Value
The Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Dog Food seems like it can do no wrong. Pet parents have stated that their furballs have loved the food, with the only grouse being the price and the large size of the bag. Overall, a product we definitely recommend!
Summary
- Nutritious salmon-based dry dog food for adult athletic dogs
- Specifically formulated for dogs with sensitive skin
- Clinically-proven benefits
- Comes in a large, resealable pack for convenience, though is a little expensive
2. Pooch and Mutt Health and Digestion Complete Dry Dog Food
Second on our list is Pooch and Mutt’s Health and Digestion Salmon and Sweet Potato Complete Dry Dog Food, designed to improve digestion in your pooch. This award-winning, independent health food company, based in the United Kingdom, is known for its high-quality dog food with complete transparency when it comes to ingredients used.
The premium dog food in question, as mentioned earlier, is designed to help dogs that suffer from sensitive or poor digestion. It’s 100% grain-free and natural—free from GM produce, colours, artificial flavouring, cereal, grains, gluten and preservatives—with prebiotics thrown into the mix to bring in necessary good bacteria. The food is 45% salmon—the single source of protein in the food is Scottish salmon, being easier to digest than meat.
The sweet potato aids in digestion with its fibre-y goodness, while parsley acts as a natural deodoriser, charcoal absorbs any gasses in the stomach and psyllium promotes firmness in stools.
Additionally, the food also contains a unique supplement known as Nutra-Bionic, which further aids in maintaining good digestive health, reducing odour in the stools, maintaining a healthy urinary tract and keeping the skin and coat healthy. To further add to the product’s credibility, it comes vet recommended!
Advantages:
- The food is completely grain-free and natural, ensuring that no nasty chemicals mess with your dog’s gut.
- Dogs love the taste!
- The ingredients used are clearly mentioned and well balanced in the food.
- The food can be consumed by dogs of all life stages.
Disadvantages
- The price can be a bit too high for some pet owners.
- There are no clear guidelines on how much you should be feeding your puppy; you have to estimate the size your dog will grow to and feed them accordingly.
Overall Value
We love that this dog food can be consumed by all pets, regardless of which stage of life they’re in, as well as the all-natural feature. We’re not too sure or convinced about going grain-free but that’s a call you should take based on your dog’s health and preferences. Otherwise, an excellent product that works wonders on sensitive tummies!
Summary
- Dry dog food for dogs of all stages
- Uses Scottish salmon and sweet potato, along with a range of other minerals and supplements such as Nutra-Bionic, psyllium, parsley and charcoal
- Completely grain-free and natural
3. Alpha Sensitive Complete Dry Dog Food Chicken and Rice
Alpha Sensitive is touted to provide a complete and balanced meal to your dog and one that’s going to become your furball’s new favourite! Alpha, a family business with over 100 years of experience, is an extremely well established, reputable name in the pet food industry, known for high-quality nutrition that the brand claims is the “food of champions”! Meant for adult dogs, The Alpha Sensitive Complete Dry Dog Food contains a ton of essential nutrients that a grown dog needs, specially formulated for sensitive tummies.
Alpha Sensitive contains Omega-3 oils in the form of both linseed and fish meal, both helping your dog maintain a healthy coat and skin. The product is said to reduce dandruff, result in better bowel movements, firmer stools and not-so-smelly emissions! It is also completely free of gluten and wheat and also easily soaks—great for sensitive gums and teeth. The overall protein content is 20%.
Advantages:
- The dog food is great for sensitive teeth, gums and tummies, aided by the fact that it’s gluten- and wheat-free (which also means that it’s hypoallergenic).
- The food contains prebiotics that aid in better digestive health.
- The ingredients are complete and balanced, packed with protein and essential Omega-3 oils to improve skin and coat health.
Disadvantages
- The kibble size may be a bit too big for smaller dogs.
- The product contains considerably less protein than the other products on our list.
Overall Value
While the protein content may not be as high as competitors’ products, the Alpha Sensitive Dry Dog Food holds its own and emerges a popular, highly-rated product that many pet parents swear by. In addition to being nutritious and great for sensitive tummies, it is also affordable, which heightens the appeal.
Summary
- Dry dog food for adult dogs with sensitive stomachs
- Chicken and rice flavour
- Contains essential Omega-3 oils and prebiotics for a range of health benefits
4. AATU 80/20 Dry Dog Food
Rounding off our list is the AATU 80/20 Dry Dog Food, a wholesome combination of 80% protein (fresh duck), 20% ‘Super-8’ veggies (8 vegetables, 8 herbs, 8 fruits, 8 botanicals and spices) and 0% gluten, grains and white potato, ensuring that there is minimal risk of allergic reactions.
The product is designed to be in tune with dogs’ primarily carnivorous nature and is the first single-sourced protein 80/20 diet for doggos. Therefore, AATU dog food is an excellent way to stick to natural feed for dogs, developed after years of the brand’s observation, research and implementation of cutting-edge science.
Each batch of dog food is handcrafted, made without any artificial preservatives (meat included), colours, flavours and GM ingredients and pre-cooked using the brand’s trademark “low and slow” method to cook the fresh and raw proteins for easy digestion of meat. Additionally, the pet food contains glucosamine, MSM and chondroitin, promoting healthy joints, as well as probiotics for a healthy gut environment. Apart from this, the dog food is also low-glycemic in nature.
Advantages:
- AATU’s 80/20 diet is the first of its kind for dogs, made using fresh, preservative-free meat.
- The single protein and absence of wheat, white potato, artificial colours, preservatives, flavours, GM ingredients and gluten minimises allergic reactions—great for sensitive tummies.
- The food is highly concentrated, with 2.5 kilograms of ingredients used to make 1 kilogram of food.
- Probiotics are also used to establish and maintain a healthy gut.
Disadvantages
- Many users find the food to be extremely expensive.
- The company recently changed its supplier and many pet parents have stated that the product is not as satisfactory as it earlier was, even causing stomach issues in their pets.
Overall Value
Last but in no way the least, the AATU dog food in question seems to be quite popular, though not nearly as much as the other three competitors on our list. The ‘Super 8’ formula is novel and quite attractively packaged, while the other nutritional goodness makes this a great choice for dogs with sensitive guts. However, you may want to decide whether the price is worth the product—some folks don’t seem to fit it within their budget!
Summary
- Dry duck-flavoured dog food with probiotics, ‘Super 8’ ingredients, fresh meat and other nutrients and minerals, all cooked using the “low and slow” method for easy digestion.
- Free of gluten, artificial colours, preservatives, white potato and GM to minimise allergies.
- The first single-sourced 80/20 diet of its kind for dogs.
FAQs
What causes loose stool in dogs?
Loose stool can be caused by eating something that shouldn’t be eaten, or a change in diet. Other common reasons also include food allergies, stress, infections, and parasites.
When do I know that my dog’s loose stool is severe and warrants medical attention?
If your dog is displaying any abdominal pain, weakness, lethargy, fever (a temperature greater than 103.5 degrees Fahrenheit), vomiting, or bloody stools, he or she requires immediate attention. If the case is not very severe, your dog will be his or her normal self apart from the diarrhea.
Can dry food be mixed with other wet food?
Yes. Many pet parents claim that their dogs love this mix. However, do keep an eye on the proportions of wet and dry food that you’re mixing.
How do I start my dog on new dry food?
You should mix the kibble in, little by little in increasing amounts, with your dog’s regular food to slowly wean them off their old food.
What are the feeding instructions?
Each food brand has its own feeding instructions. However, a general rule is that for dogs up to 15 kilograms, you feed them 125-220 grams daily. For dogs between 15 and 25 kilograms, feed them 200-440 grams daily. For dogs between 25 and 35 kilograms, feed them 440-570 grams daily. For dogs between 35 and 45 kilograms, feed them 570-680 grams daily and for dogs above 45 kilograms, feed them above 680 grams daily. However, it bears repeating—each brand has its own instructions, so follow those.
Does dog food need to mandatorily be free of gluten and grains?
Not all grains are harmful to dogs—it is only wheat that’s a huge problem. However, gluten should be stayed away from as this can be harmful to your dog’s gut.
The Bottom Line
And there you have it, folks—the four best dog foods for loose stool! While each of these is specially formulated for dogs with sensitive guts, we have to say that the Purina Pro Plan Athletic Sensitive Dog Food emerges the winner of this list. We’re yet to come across a pet parent who hasn’t loved the food and more importantly, a doggo who hasn’t—win-win! Therefore, if you’re considering switching your dog to a nutritious product in the best interest of his or her gut, give this product serious thought.
That said, you should listen to your dog’s needs too—winner of the list or not, your dog needs to love what he or she is eating. And remember, as mentioned earlier, don’t depend only on food to help set right your dog’s loose stools—more severe cases need a visit to the vet, as well as lots of love and caring. Don’t get mad at your pet—they can’t help their situation.
The bottom line—try our reviewed dog food to tackle your dog’s loose stools and you’re sure to see the difference soon!
- Selected protein sources for sensitive dogs
- Clinically proven to help support healthy skin
- Helps support healthy joints