Izzy is now 10 and starting to have issues (Two)
 

Hi all! Its been a long time since I've posted.
Izzy has had to go to the vet quite a few times lately.
1)One big thing is her tendency to get soft stools. They have put her on the Hills Low Fat sensitive stomach food. She only eats canned. (I alternate between the pate style and the stew style, because, you know, shes a Yorkie and really wants variety. I feel so bad for her because her whole life revolved around her greenies, and now she cant have any at all. She was put on 2 weeks of antibiotics, which went fine. They were small and I hid them in tiny pieces of chicken breast. 2.5 weeks later she starts to pee alot again, so I took her to her regular vet and they said that the bacteria was the long kind rather than the round kind, so I opted for the expensive test to see exactly which strain to make sure we get it right this time and of course she may be on it for quite some time. Test results hopefully Monday.
2)She also tested high for pancreas, so thats why nothing with any high fat in it at all. They said that her pancreas needs a real rest. They will do the more complex test in a month to determine her #. the test she had just showed that she was elevated.
I had done the boiled chix and rice diet, which seemed to be ok, but I bought the vitamin powder that you add to make up the nutritional differences but that seemed to trigger the soft stools too.
When I walk her she may be picking up wild animal poop. I try like heck to keep an eye on her but shes so small and quick that it could still be happening. I have no other guesses, thats kind of why I am doing this post.
I was occasionally giving her a boiled baby carrot, but stopped when they said to only give her the canned. Now it seems her stools are soft (sometimes) again so Im wondering (since she is very broken hearted about having NO treats at all) if shes going to have the soft stools anyway, why not give her a tiny carrot to satisfy her. I think she wonders what she has done wrong.
Thats the problem with Yorkies. They have an iron clad memory....She remembers the good old days of half a teenie greenie twice a day.
Both she and I are heartbroken over this.
Any ideas are welcome!!
Thanks for bearing through this long post.

I'm sorry she is having issues. Has your vet done a fecal on her to make sure she doesn't have anything from the wild animal poo? Back when Joey was a puppy he picked something up from eating bunny poo. Most things she could pick up from animal poo would cause soft or messy poo. just a thought.

That makes good sense to me. They told me that the fecal tests are for worms but I will press them on that when they call Monday. Thank you for that input!

Have you asked your vet specifically for a recommendation of an acceptable treat for your pup? I know the vet said to give her the prescription canned food only. However, perhaps he/she was only thinking of what would be easiest for you and didn’t think about how important treats are to your girl’s emotional health. The vet might okay some kind of treat if you explained how important treats are to her overall well-being.

The carrots actually sound like a good option. They don’t contain any fat, and a small amount might not disagree with her sensitive stomach. There are also treats made especially for dogs with digestive issues, for instance:

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcos...-canine-treats

I have asked that. Plain boiled chix in very small amounts. They are mostly concerned with the fat percentage as far as taxing her pancreas. I will press them on that as well. Thank you for acknowledging her in this way!

Years ago I homecooked for one of my pups who needed a low fat diet. I just looked at the paperwork from the vet nutritionist and this is what was suggested as treats. (her basic diet was sweet potatoes and tilapia)

Treat Options
Administer pieces of fish or sweet potato as treats, or give 1-2 small pieces per day of apple chunks or 1-2 green beans per day.

Dog food
 

I feed my yorkies Fromm. The turkey and pumpkin they really like. It has carrots and peas. Fromm has a low fat senior dry dog food. They eat that. Now Daisy has no problem. If jojo
gets nervous or sensitive about something his stool gets a little mushy.
So maybe there are things that upset your dog and that affects stool. Try Fromm. Excellent food.

Thank you, Sandy. I will consider that. Is Fromm made in the US or Canada? No interest in chinese made food. Too many horror stories.

Dog food
 

All fromm food made here in the USA. A very trustworthy family company

Be careful because Fromm was on the list of foods that was put out as causing heart issues.

One of my pups is on Royal Canin Gastro Low Fat canned food (it requires a RX) and also sometimes eats the kibble. He has PLE and must be on low fat foods. He loves the food!