I was planning on giving my GSD some psyllium husk powder to see if adding some fiber to his diet might help with his stool issue. Every day he's still having some stools that are too soft. He also has solid stool, but definitely not all of them. We've been to the vet and they're still trying to figure out what's going on. They've done some blood tests and stool samples and are still doing more. I just thought I'd at least give this a try to see if anything improves. If there's any way to avoid a prescription diet, I'm determined to find it.

So the powder I have is a NOW product. The serving size for a person is 1 TBSP (9 g). That measures 6.7 g of dietary fiber / 9 g psyllium husks.

How much do you think I should give my dog? He weighs about 75 lbs and eats 4 cups Orijen kibble and a little EVO 95% canned each day.

I would wait until all the tests come back and the vet okays it. That said, I add the psyllium husks to the boys' veggie slop when it's in the food processor. It works out to about 5 g psyllium husks per serving (about 1 tsp. of my product). But I didn't start out at that amount. I started very small and worked up from there. IIRC, I started Indie at 1/2 tsp. per day dissolved in warm water and added to his food divided over 2 mealtimes. Now, his fiber intake is pretty high between the pureed veggies, psyllium husks and Fiber One cereal added to his diet. He's 60 lbs. and gets brown rice and salmon homecooked. Is your dog getting any probiotics or prebiotics? I've found those to be helpful with Indie's chronic loose stools also. He gets Purina FortiFlora (the probiotics) but you can use human ones from the health store also. And I give him Arabinogalactan powder (the prebiotic and another source of fiber) daily.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. It'll probably be a while before all the vet stuff is done. We've already had some of the tests back and it's just going to be a long process in figuring this out I think. They've already ruled out the big issues...it's just a matter know of figuring out if there's a minor issue, or if it's just this dog. If we don't find anything out on the next series of tests (who knows how long it will take)....then they are thinking of trying him on a prescription diet. So I just thought I'd give anything that might be a longshot a try, including adding some more fiber to his diet.

He's already getting a probiotic and it has helped a lot. We haven't tried the prebiotic though....maybe I'll look into finding some.

I'd just be sure to run it by your vet first. Just in case there's some condition they think might be adversely affected by adding fiber. With Indie, our vet wanted to try fiber first and luckily it worked well. Good luck!

Well the vet seemed ok with the idea of adding some fiber to see if there's any change. I've worked up to 1 tsp per day over the last few days. Today is the first day that we're at that full amount. It seems to be helping, but it's hard to tell since we're in the middle of our work week. It's certainly not any worse though. In fact, the first stool of the day has been way better than usual. And the number of times he's going per day is down by at least one. I'll have to get to some days off to try to see if we've got any consistency in improvement.

Based on the numbers in my product, do you think I should stay where I'm at (1 tsp per day) or increase it at all?

The vet said that the next step will basically be to go with a prescription diet....so I'm really hoping this last ditch effort helps out.

I don't know what the right dose is, but I figured Oliver is almost 30 lbs, so about half a child's dose should be good for him. With the product I have it recommends 1/2 to 1.5 tbsp for a child. I'm giving him about 1 tsp.

Thanks for the advice. So far the results have been great! I've never seen him this stable before. I'm guessing he's kind of a rare case considering his symptoms and the way this has worked out. Otherwise, one of the vets we've seen probably would have come up with this. What a difference it's making though....I never would have thought that after all these tests and exams that perhaps all he needed to get him more stable was some fiber added into his diet. I don't want to overdo it, so I think I'll stick to the 1 tsp unless the vet says to add more. I'm just so relieved that I won't have to switch him to a prescription diet. Those 17% kibbles just don't do it for a high energy working dog.

That is so great! I can't tell you how glad I am to hear this is working. Believe me, I know EXACTLY how you feel. Getting Indie, I feared all sorts of bad things that might be causing his condition and issues. Thank doG I had level-headed, rational vets who prefer to start simple and build from there if needed. I also had a vet who'd dealt with EPI in his own GSD, so if it turned out to be that, I knew I was in good hands. Fiber-responsive diarrhea is more common than one would initially think. I discovered this when doing research through veterinary journals looking for information on things that might be going on with Indie. Indie's case is now being used to educate veterinary students at UVA, his nutritionist has been amazed at his recovery and response to nutritionally based treatment.

I'm so happy for you and your dog! I'll be keeping fingers and paws crossed that things continue to go well!