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My 8-year-old dog gets sick after dry food. Should I feed homemade?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Golden Labrador | Female | spayed | 8 years and 6 months old

My 8 year old lab has been sick for the last couple of weeks. It is normally after eating her dry dog food. I haven’t changed what she’s been eating. Her stomach makes gurgling sounds on a night time. She is still happy within herself and full of life. Would home made food be better?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

Veterinarian

Published on February 23rd, 2019

Thats hard to say. Pets can have upset stomachs for many reasons. This can range from bacterial over growth, to parasites, to inflammatory bowel disease to kidney disease to even cancer. Without a physical exam and likely some basic diagnostics, its impossible to know the cause. Home made diets are not good long term unless they are formulated by a veterinary nutritionist. Otherwise the diets are often unbalanced which can result in problems if they are fed long term. At home you can try feeding her a bland diet of 25% boiled white meat chicken and 75% plain boiled what rice. Feed this for 1 week. Giving her probiotics during this time may also help. If she is not back to normal after 1 week, if she gets worse or if it returns, she needs to see her veterinarian. This diet is not balanced but it is fine to feed for this length of time. Gradually transition her back to her normal diet over 3-5 days. I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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