Hydrolyzed dog food question

[CP]

I recently picked up a new family member from the local shelter, a young (maybe 4 yo) yellow lab.  He’s a great guy but he comes with digestive issues.  He didn’t fare well in shelter life and lost a lot weight.  Not sure why, maybe stress, maybe food responsive enteropathy.   

So, they put him on a hydrolyzed diet, and he seems to be thriving on it.  Only problem is hydrolyzed food is beastly expensive and he eats like a horse.  The vet suggests keeping him on the hydrolyzed until we can’t see his ribs anymore then slowly work in something else.  He’s just about there now, he’s gone from 63lbs to over 75 now.  Still skinny but much better.
 
Anyone familiar with this type of issue?  Any alternatives to the hydrolyzed dog food, or what should I try next?   The vet doesn’t seem too sure about his issue.

[bustedoldman]

We switched over to this food with our lab, its been great!

https://wildology.com/swim/

[LDennis24]

Have him put on a round of antibiotics and restart his gut with healthy bacteria.  Does he have the runs every time? Did the shelter worm him with 2 good rounds of former? I don't know if they do any of that.

[LDennis24]

Also, since they put him on the hydrolyzed dog food has he shown improvement or having the same symptoms? If nothing changed I would stop doing the hydrolyzed food and try something without chicken. And I mean no chicken oil or anything chicken. A lot of dog foods have chicken fat or oil but say they are beef or lamb or salmon. The chicken fat still causes allergic reactions. I have a little rescue dachshund mix and he had skin ulcers all over when I got him and the vet just wanted to keep doing biopsies and said they couldn't find anything wrong with him. I switched feeds until it went away and he now eats Merrick Texas Beef and Sweet potato. It uses salmon oil instead of chicken fat. A lot of dogs seem to be developing chicken allergies...   eggs, yolks, vaccines, autism.... maybe? try some merrick dog food without chicken oil.

[CP]

He had diarrhea and blood in the stool but that has resolved.  He’s been wormed, given cobalamin injections.  Trazadone while in the shelter but he’s off that now.  He seems to be doing great.  Just don’t won’t his health to back slide. 

I think he had probiotics but probably not antibiotics.  I’ll ask the vet about that next time I see her.

[metlhead]

Regular dog food run through a grinder/processor will also aid in digestion. Try to remove chicken and soy. Also, is this dog allowed to run free and snack on stuff within reason? Our dogs run our farm and eat alot of gross stuff. Their GI are running really awesome. Purely house dog diet, although safe, can be very sterile.