New approach to treating diarrhea... it's working!!

[Kermit]

So we have all been there-- dog has diarrhea, we try all kinds of stuff, dog still has diarrhea... 

Well, ever since we moved to GA, my little girl Turkey has had diarrhea. There was no food switch, so that wasn't it. She just had a vet check up, no parasites. Thought about it being stress, but this kid is pretty tough and that just didn't seem right. I tried some different classic diarrhea remedies and nothing helped for more than a day. So I started thinking about water. We have always given our dogs Brita filtered water. Well, the tap water here at the new house is... um... unsavory . It is not right. I am not one to ever drink tap water anyways, but even after it goes through the Brita filter it still doesn't taste good by any means.

So I went out on a limb and I bought a huge 5 gallon jug of purified water, and started giving that to the dogs instead of filtered tap water.

Lo and behold... after 2 days on the new purer water, Turkey's poop has magically become solid as a rock!!!!!!

But of course we have come to discover that our dogs drink 5 gallons of water in 2 days! We just ran out, so I have to go pick up some more. I'm sticking to it for sure! I have read about the yucky stuff in tap water that can destroy the "good" bacteria in the dog's intestines, causing them all kinds of digestive problems and upsets. Now that I feel I have experienced it first-hand, I don't think I'll ever give them tap water again. (And I sure won't be drinking any more of it!!!!) So I think everyone is going to get some healthy natural yogurt too, to help get the intestinal flora back up. Plus they just LOVE yogurt!!!!

Has anyone else had any good experiences with switching their dogs to pure water? 

[EllieAndBlu]

That is really interesting... thanks for sharing. I am so glad bottled water cured Turkey's tummy! Where in Georgia do you live? I am in Atlanta and the tap water here is less than desirable - I don't drink it without some sort of purification.

[Saintgirl]

We have to give our dogs bottled water too. When we moved to our new house I noticed that the water tasted awful, and that the dogs had really cut their water intake back aswell. So I put spring water in their dishes and it was back to normal. By the way, your Turkey looks so much like my Abbey, what a pretty girl!

[Anakalia]

YES!! I've had that same experience recently.  Koby's had icky cowpie poos since we brought him home, almost 2 yrs ago!  I was talking to a super cool Innova distributor and she had mentioned changing to purified water.  It only took 2 days to notice a difference, Koby's poos are finally solid on a daily basis, that is until he chooses to steal the cats food!  lol  I started out with spring water but now I'm using a pur filter and it's working great!

[Miranda]

We had to start giving the dogs water from the Brita filter as well. The water in Texas is a little fishy...litera lly. It smells like it came straight from a lake. I asked around and I guess it's because we're in a really bad drought.

[Winslow 151]

Hi,

Winslow gets water that is filtered through the refrigerator. Me too and it is way better than the straight Tap water. Here is a link to e-how on choosing a water filtration system.
http://www.ehow.com/how_16271_choose-water-filtration.html

The best type in an in-line whole house filter (attaches to your plumbing where the water comes in) they can be pricey but BOTTLED water is VERY EXPENSIVE if you think about it. Plus the whole house Unit filters the shower water (which people don't think about  but yucky water to drink isn't great water to wash in either, and the laundry water too.

Just wanted to point that out.

Rich

[Kermit]

The best type in an in-line whole house filter (attaches to your plumbing where the water comes in) they can be pricey but BOTTLED water is VERY EXPENSIVE if you think about it. Plus the whole house Unit filters the shower water (which people don't think about  but yucky water to drink isn't great water to wash in either, and the laundry water too.

Wow... that filtration system sounds awesome! We were just looking into purchasing a shower filter, everything I have been reading about tap water lately is scaring me! I mean what can you even do with this stuff!?! It's not fit to drink... or bathe in... or even do laundry with!? Dang! I just read something that said the chlorine in tap water strips your skin of important protective nutrients... yikes.

Anyhow, our natural food store "Earthfare" has a station inside their store where you can fill up jugs with purified water. You just bring your own jug, or you can buy one there, and the purified water is $.49 a gallon. Which is not a bad price for good water, but I haven't really done the math yet to see how much a month supply will cost... hmmm... yep, it's expensive. Well it's going to have to do for now!

Rachel, I'm in Athens. Not too far from Hotlanta!

[EllieAndBlu]

That is awesome - a fellow BPO'er in the hood! If you ever need anything, don't hesitate - I am only an hour away! 

[Imani's Mom]

We are way out in the sticks, and do not have access to a community water system, so we have always used our well water for everything.  It is naturally icy cold, and tastes like water is supposed to taste- no icky stuff whatsoever, other than being extremely hard water.  On several occasions, we have had foster critters develop diarrhea upon moving to their new homes, and it mostly occurred in those going to municipal water systems, where chlorine and fluoride are added.  Now we send several gallons of water home with anyone moving away from our house, and suggesting that they slowly change them over to bottled water once they have gotten settled, and it does seem to eliminate the issue.  Also, we now know that when we travel at all, we need to take our own water with us, rather than expect our guys to drink treated water.

[Nina]

we are thinking of getting a water cooler too. Harley doesn't drink brita water either. So I think we are going to take the plung. That is super interesting find though.


Nina

[Jason]

Hey doghealer. I didn't realize you moved to Georgia. I guess I've been out of the loop a bit. Welcome.

I'm in Atlanta and haven't really had much problem with the tap water here. We do run our water through a filter just to be safe though. I will attest to the benefits of adding yogurt to your dogs' diet. I had one of those "I've tried everything" moments a few months back with Oreo and after a week or two of adding a scoop of yogurt to his diet with each meal, his poo showed remarkable improvement. In fact, after reading about the benefits of the good bacteria in yogurt, I've started eating it as well.

Jason

[brandon]

You can get a reverse osmosis filter for less than 100 from Ebay, prob $80'ish.  We've had a Reverse Osmosis /Deionized filter for years because of the reef tanks.  The extra phosphates make for a bad algae bloom & buying 100 gallons of water for a water changes gets expensive.  We use DI for the tanks and RO for drinking.  The filters last approx 6 months, and are dirt cheap on ebay.  We have the RO hooked into our ice maker, so our water & ice from the fridge taste very good. And also have a little tap on the sink that dispenses the filtered water.  It was fairly inexpensive.

I haven't been giving the dogs RO water, but now that you mention this I'm starting to tonight, and am filling up their jug. We've had some poopie issues lately, so I'm willing to try anything to prevent future 'explosions'. 

Oh if you do get an RO, hook it up with a T connection to the cold water supply, don't use the supplied saddle type connection that taps into a pipe, they always end up leaking later on.

No offense, but I don't think highly of the brita type filters, they just don't do alot other than take out the larger disolved solids.  An RO will remove 98% of the dissolved inorganics, and 95% of the dissolved organics.

[shangrila]

I'm thinking about trying bottled water for zoey now that i know it is working for other bpo members.

[brandon]

PS: Glad you're back to BPO since moving, & Turkey is looking great!

[Kermit]

I'm thinking about trying bottled water for zoey now that i know it is working for other bpo members.

I am telling you, I couldn't be happier to see normal poop come out of Turkey!!!!    I definitely recommend giving it a shot!

Brandon, thanks for the fantastic info about that reverse osmosis filter. That sounds like a great plan. I'm so glad there are options besides me going down to Earthfare every two days to fill up my monster jug!!!!!! And now I must say I agree that the Brita filter just isn't doing us any good!! (and Turkey says "thanks!")