[elkie]

So my 2 year old Elkhound, Onyx, just recently got diagnosed with Acid Reflux just before his second birthday. I believe his dog food may possibly be contributing. I don't feed him treats or human scraps at all, he has a very sensitive stomach.

The vet prescribed pepcid as a nightly pill...but very little advice moving forward as we were also dealing with a massive GI upset at the time. (Onyx was fed rice and chicken for about 3-4 weeks to fix that). I don't want to be giving this poor boy pepcid every night for the rest of his life, because its a mask for the underlying problem (I myself suffered from Acid Reflux / GERD, I know when a diet change is needed to get better!)

Now that that his bowels are in good shape again, its time to focus on the Acid Reflux and what to feed him going forward. Today he is fed Taste of the Wild: Pacific Stream Salmon. Grain-free as well.

For reference on his food analysis:
Protein: 25% minimum
Crude Fat: 15% minimum
Crude Fiber: 3.0% maximum
Moisture: 10% maximum
Grain-free

Can anyone suggest what sort of dog food I should look at to replace this? Could it be that Salmon itself is just a fatty fish and I should look at Lamb, which is more gentle? Do I need less protein in his diet, fiber?

I feed him 1 cup in the morning, and half a cup at night. He is neutered. Not a high activity dude. Then I give him a small handful of food before bed so his stomach isn't empty (as the vet advised).

 

[Blue Topaz]

@elkie, Acid Reflux could be caused by any number of things. In humans, high fat, spice and certain leafy green vegetables can aggravate the symptoms. I've had GERD for years, and do notice when I've been a bad girl! LOL!

That being said, Onyx is still a pretty young guy and definitely would continue to benefit from good quality omega fatty acids in his diet. Perhaps the fish based diet is "repeating" on him a bit too much and an easier to digest protein would be better. You could try lamb or duck, both of which are easy to digest, although keep in mind the fat percentage as duck can be a bit on the fattier side. I know many people have had good success (anecdotally) with adding in probiotics and digestive enzymes to assist with tummy troubles, so this may be something to look into and to speak with your vet about adding in to his treatment regimen.

Although, it doesn't specifically say so in the research I've just done (quickly, didn't go into much detail), there doesn't appear to be any correlation between acid reflux and bloat, but it may be something to keep an eye on as you are regulating him. There does appear to be a slightly higher than average incidence in large chested male dogs.

Good luck with your boy! He is a very handsome dude!