Constant Loose Stools! Help please!

[tazaj15]

My 1 yr. old rottweiler has had problems for months now with loose stools. He has been tested for everything I can think of including parasites, and Addison's several times. He has been on lots of different medicine including Flagyl, Antibiotics, Prednisone and others. I have tried four different brands of food right now we are on Diamond all natural lamb formula for large breeds. The doctor says that since I have spent so much money on all of these tests that we should just treat the symptoms as they come. He gave me two containers of tylan powder and it is doing the trick.
I am just wondering if it is safe to continuously give him the tylan powder? Are there any natural remedies?

Thanks for any help you can provide me!

[sweetlee]

I have had the same problem with my rescue boy who is just over a year old too. I am also on the Diamond Lamb and Rice food but I don't think it's large breed formula, and it seemed to be working well. Then he got loose, long story, and ate something while he was gone. GRRRRR. So it's back to the runs again.
Alot of people swear by the Van Patten Potato and Duck dry food for sensitive tummy dogs. One protien and one carb. Healthwise makes a lamb and oatmeal, as does California Natural. There is also a fish and sweet potato formula.
I have just ordered some probiotic powder that someone else with this problem swears by from
www.naturesfarmacy.com I called and talked to someone named Jeanette and she talked a really long time about this stuff. I ordered a two lb can and she said this should last 10 months, so not bad pricewise at all. I think it was 34 bucks.
I believe it's called dogzymes. It should arrive tomorrow, and hopefully I will be able to post good news. I am sick of hosing down dog poo instead of being able to pick it up. Never heard of tylan powder. I will let you know on the dogzymes. Soon I hope. I just discovered that someone left a stick of butter on the counter, and the dog ate it, almost a full stick, paper and all. I should have a fun night, if that doesn't give him the squirts I don't know what will.

Sharon

[Da05128]

My two year old male had problems with loose stool as well on a regular basis and I tried kibble after kibble with limited success. I finally switched him onto a raw diet and have not had a problem since.
When we were still on kibble (we ended up on California Naturals Herring and Sweet Potato) I was either adding organic canned pumpkin to his food or adding slippery elm. Both of these gave us some relief but not anything as good as what the raw diet has done. I will never feed kibble again - it might be worth a try - it certainly worked wonders for us.

[Static'sMum]

We had continuous loose stools with Static up until a few weeks ago. We took him to the vet originally and we were told to put him on chicken and rice for a couple of weeks - problem was fixed. We changed his food from a supermarket range to Royal Canin, and the problem got a little better but wasnt perfect. We had him on Royal Canin for around three months, whilst we waited to be contacted by the state supplier for Eagle Pack. Since we've changed his food to Eagle Pack, his stools have been the firmest they have ever been. It is so much better now. We can actually pick them up to dispose of them, instead of washing them into the lawn.(Sweetlee - I know your pain)
We haven't tried any extra remedies of any kind - the food has just done wonders. I've been recommending Eagle Pack to my friends now - I can't speak highly enough of it. I hope you manage to sort the problem out, your poor dog doesn't need the constant irritation. Good Luck!

[anita]

My dog had loose stools, and I starded feeding him eukanuba low residue. I know it's not the best, but he does well on it. I add some boiled chicken and rice, and supplements: prozyme powder, vitamin B-12, goldenseal, milk thistle and L-glutamine. He also gets a probiotic and 2 3V caps a day. He is doing so well on this diet, he hasn't had loose stools for months. He was anorexic and now he eats six cups a day and still stays slender.

[Canula2000]

I wonder if he might have Giardia, it is very difficult to get rid of and sometimes lies low in the dog until he is stressed. I have had loose stools with gus off and on and picked up some probiotic dog treats for him. He loves them and they have done really good in firming up his stool.
I also notice when he is fed too many treats his stools get loose. He is on Diamond Lamb and rice now as well and he does very good on it since the switch.

[AngelBunny]

Our current foster boy has been our foster since January. He ate several different types of premium kibble. In addition to his coat looking terrible, he had loose stools--and quantities of them.

Last month my vet suggested that he be moved to a raw diet, since it was clear preimum kibble was doing nothing for him.

Sailor had his first raw meal for dinner on June 26 and has been on a grainless raw diet since.

The improvement in his coat has been nothing short of astonishing. And, his stools are no longer loose--and he no longer eliminates quantities.

[sweetlee]

I got my probiotic stuff, and it has not helped one bit, but last night while cleaning up poop my other half told me there are worms. GROSS. so I would not expect it to. I am off to the vet today to pick up some Dontral Plus and some flagyl so we can get rid of giardia and worms after the little excursion the dog had on Friday night. I will let you know maybe a week from now how Dodge is doing with these dogzymes.
I do believe that some dogs probably do have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but I will NOT buy Hills prescription Diet from the vet's office, I read the label on the one he wanted me to try and NO way am I paying premium prices for crappy dog food, I could buy something similar at Walmart for alot less.
The z/d forumla starts out with corn, chicken by-products and I have no idea how this would help a dog with a sensitive tummy.
Giardia comes from deer or rabbit poop or from other dog turds I believe. So we are going to treat him for all worms and giardia. And the one who left the gate open is paying for it. If your dog has been anywhere to eat deer poop, rabbit poop or other dog crap you may want to have him checked for the giardia, just in case, and I assume he has been checked for worms also?
I will have to withhold judgement on the dogzymes for now until we get this other mess cleared up. I had looked into buying probiotics for Dodge and could not believe how much they cost, then I found this place and it was less than half of what most places wanted.
Anyhow, good luck, I know what it's like to have to hose down the poo instead of picking it up.

Sharon
I will still let you know if the dogzymes help at all.

[AngelBunny]

Originally Posted by sweetlee

I got my probiotic stuff, and it has not helped one bit, ...I will still let you know if the dogzymes help at all.

Sailor was on pancreatic enzymes and also ordinary digestive enzymes.

Neither helped him at all when he was on kibble.

[brunie's mom]

Originally Posted by sweetlee

I got my probiotic stuff, and it has not helped one bit, but last night while cleaning up poop my other half told me there are worms. GROSS. so I would not expect it to. I am off to the vet today to pick up some Dontral Plus and some flagyl so we can get rid of giardia and worms after the little excursion the dog had on Friday night. I will let you know maybe a week from now how Dodge is doing with these dogzymes.
I do believe that some dogs probably do have Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but I will NOT buy Hills prescription Diet from the vet's office, I read the label on the one he wanted me to try and NO way am I paying premium prices for crappy dog food, I could buy something similar at Walmart for alot less.
The z/d forumla starts out with corn, chicken by-products and I have no idea how this would help a dog with a sensitive tummy.
Giardia comes from deer or rabbit poop or from other dog turds I believe. So we are going to treat him for all worms and giardia. And the one who left the gate open is paying for it. If your dog has been anywhere to eat deer poop, rabbit poop or other dog crap you may want to have him checked for the giardia, just in case, and I assume he has been checked for worms also?
I will have to withhold judgement on the dogzymes for now until we get this other mess cleared up. I had looked into buying probiotics for Dodge and could not believe how much they cost, then I found this place and it was less than half of what most places wanted.
Anyhow, good luck, I know what it's like to have to hose down the poo instead of picking it up.

Sharon
I will still let you know if the dogzymes help at all.

Giardia comes from dogs drinking from puddles or other water sources that have racoon, or other wild animal poop in it. Around here they call it "beaver fever"...when people or dogs drink water directly from a river or lake. Giardia is a cyst like parasite, that can only be seen under a microscope.

Worms such as tape or roundworms, can happen when dogs eat mice or eat rabbit or deer or other critter poop.

Baxter often eats deer or rabbit poop in the winter...and did get tapeworms once....but has never had giardia, though he has drank out of puddles, and ditches and the river.

Gina

[tazaj15]

Thanks for all the advice, I am willing to try whatever it takes to help out with bud's poop problem. It is still very loose and they are very very large (2 poop bags worth). I am interested in the raw diet I am trying to load myself up on information regarding it before I take the big leap. I am just shocked about the amount of rottweilers who seem to have this problem. Hopefully everyone can find something that works well for their pups!

[csilverman]

The only food that helped our girl was prescription Purina EN. We mix 1/2 a can with two scoops of dry twice a day. It got rid of her loose stool in about 3 days and it has never come back. Like you, our vet was never able to pinpoint why she had loose stool but the EN did the trick and she loves it. She would not eat the dry by itself so that is why we mix in the canned.

[sweetlee]

Well now that the worms are gone (phew) Dodge's stools have firmed up some.
Not sure if it is the probiotics or not. Wish I knew what to tell you.
I think we are gonna switch foods once again to Canidae. Nobody here sells it but a grooming place and they are charging way too much, but I am gonna try a 20 lbs bag, and then there is a lady from NewCastle Wyoming who said she comes down about once a month and would be glad to bring me food.
So we shall see.
I hope you find something to help your dog and yourself, cleaning up that slop is the $hits, no pun intended.

Sharon

[chivas]

While I understand you not wanting to use z/d, if it wasnt FOR z/d, we would probably NOT have our sheltie today. 4 months of medications, holistic treatments and 9 different foods. Z/d is the ONLY one he can tolerate. While we still dont have a definite diagnosis, the vet is leaning towards either IBS or IBD. I do add some probiotics to his food. If he even gets a TASTE of anything besides organic cooked chicken and z/d, its 3 days of loose stools. I do wish I could give him something better then z/d, I tried canidea, wellness, and evangers (among others) to no avail. If anyone has any other ideas, I would be happy to try them but for now, z/d is keeping him well.

[chivas]

oh and you didnt say which z/d your vet offered. Indy is on z/d ultra allergen which has NO corn and also has hydrolyzed chicken liver. The proteins are pre digested.