Diarrhea....for nearly a month! PLEASE HELP!

[sharman 2004]

Thank you for the link....no...no blood panel.
Now I am very upset. You take your dog to the vet because you rely on their expertise and you listen to what they say because HEY, they're the experts, right? Well, I don't think that a month of loose stool is normal, and as for this IBS....I don't buy it anymore.

[sharman 2004]

Okay....I just got an appt for Monday with our old vet...he's about an hour away from us now that we moved and a little more pricey (as long as my baby is taken care of, that's fine!) than other vets...but...he's never been wrong.
I sure hope we figure this out...
The vet that we have started going to where we live now has gotten great reviews and I have a couple friends who absolutely love him but I just don't think he is being that thorough now that I've posted and it appears that blood work should have been a no brainer?????

[moondog]

For a dog that's had a day or two of diarrhea, depending on how sick they are when the vet sees them (lethargy, weakness, etc), taking a "try this and let's see" may be the best first course of action. However, when you have a dog that has had diarrhea for a MONTH, well, it's apparently more than just a tummyache and I'd think bloodwork (including a chem panel) is needed to begin ruling in or out a number of conditions that can be implicated with this type of testing.

Diagnosing a dog with IBS is not really a diagnosis...it's a symptom secondary to a cause....but it's often the best a vet can do unless the underlying cause of the upset can be determined. A blood panel helps eliminate or reveal some serious illnesses that can cause chronic diarrhea, so I consider it a necessity....especially after such a long bout with diarrhea.

I hope your previous vet can help get some answers for you and your dog.

[sharman 2004]

Thanks Moondog...you are right, a "let's wait and see" approach is usually okay with a dog who has had some "issues" for a couple days. But this has gotten to be too long.
Ya know, my husband and I were talking about something a few days ago. She was spayed in March. My husband (who is the primary pooper scooper) said that for a couple days after her surgery he noticed her stool was really soft which I imagine is normal to have some bowel issues after surgery. But, my husband did say that her poop really hasn't been "normal" since surgery. He did say that there have been times when it's firmed up but it has been on and off soft since the spay and now consistently soft for a month. I brought this up to the vet...he said that any effect from the surgery or anesthesia would've lasted for just a few days? She also had a hernia repair during the spay.
Could her surgery have something to do with this?

[moondog]

Since I a huge believer that coincidences are related, and if the onset coincided with her spay/hernia surgery.....I certainly wouldn't rule that out as a possibility. Ask BOTH vets what could possibly happen with these two procedures that could cause a problem like this and see what they say.

Which vet did the surgery? If it was the "new" vet...ask them to give you a copy of ALL her records with them so you can go for a consult with another vet. They should have zero problem giving you copies of her records. If it was the previous vet, then he's already got the records relating to the surgery and since the new vet hasn't really done anything, obtaining his records are likely neither here nor there.

[Lola B Marie]

So sorry you are going through this with your girl. I know how frustrating this can be, having gone through 1 complete year of vomiting and diarrhea with my own girl. Finally after every known test and attempted cure, the bottom line (discovered in a blood test) was acute bacterial overgrowth.This in turn caused irritable bowel and a host of other digestive problems. I was living a nightmare with this dog. She dehydrated often but never seemed to be in discomfort.She lost most of her puppy weight and was all legs and head.
The cure was simple once the vet was able to put the puzzle together. Off all meds. Off all dog food of any kind. Amoxicillin was introduced. 500 mil.3x a day. Tagamet(over the counter acid reducer that works especially well on dogs)200 mil 2x a day.
Food, white meat chicken, no skin,white rice from the chinese restaurant because vet felt it was more sticky and binding. Over cooked pasta (mush). Jars of Beechnut baby food,beef, veal,turkey or chicken. Beechnut because it had no gravy.
Cooked chicken, rice and baby food was put in blender and fed 6xdaily in small quantities. Mushy pasta with a jar of baby food was also offered.
Between the meds, which kicked in after 2 days, and the special bland diet, her stomach healed and the bacteria was killed. She still takes 1 amoxicillin daily and the tagamet. The vet feels she will produce the bacteria again if the meds stop. She is just prone to excessive bacteria.
Lola is now 3yrs old. She is on a complete human diet and weighs 115lbs. If I can be of any further help to you please let me know.
I hope your girl is on the mend soon.
Jane

[AngelBunny]

When our foster, Sailor, was on kibble (3 months on Canidae, followed by 3 months on CA Nat) his poops were all over the map in terms of quantity.

He pooped at least 6 times/day. (I know because he'd poop 3 times on the am walk and 3 times on the pm walk. I have no idea what he was doing during the day when DH and I were at work because we have a dog door thru which our 3 dogs have access to a 1-1/2 acre fenced back yard.

Sometimes his enormous poops were firm. The very next poop could be very loose with the next poop almost like liquid.

This went on for the entire time he was on those premium brands of kibble. (And he was eating 6 cups/day because I couldn't put weight on him.)

Sailor was tested for this, tested for that. Nothing.

Finally my vet suggested he be put on a raw diet.

Sailor had his first raw meal June 27, 2007.

The change was dramatic and quick.

His awful coat started looking better and his poops--quantity and consistency--righted themselves.

My vet and I joke that Sailor is the celiac dog, that's he's grain intolerant. He has absolutely thrived on his raw diet.

My experience with Sailor made me wince when I read your vet placed your dog in a high fiber diet. She may be unable to tolerate grain--just as Sailor couldn't tolerate grain.

Have you thought about either moving her to raw or feeding her a grainless kibble?? (BTW--Sailor gets no grains or cereals. He's fed a wide variety of meat, fish, and organs--no grains at all. And he looks like a million bucks.)

[onyx3333]

Sharman 2004, I have noticed your last posts were on 5/17/08. Have you solved the problem with your pup? I have a 14 week old pup and she is pooping mushy and has been for about 3 - 4 weeks now, she was even pooping in her crate at night.
Let me know if all is well with your pup.

[sharman 2004]

Onyx, No....no solution yet.....The vet's office had to reschedule us.

[sharman 2004]

Update on Sasha....
Okay...well, in my last post, last week, I said that the vet had to reschedule our appt. So...in the meantime, we did the following for Sasha: Made her fast for 24 hours (poor baby). Took her off ALL the stuff the new vet put her on (Imodium, Acidophillus, W/D food) and low and behold, she is better. No more soft stool, no more ferociously pawing at the door just to go out and eat grass, no more drinking a TON of water. Her stools are nice and firm now and the quantity has decreased dramatically.
So...what int the world was going on???? FOR THAT LONG???? I am wondering if she somehow developed an intolerance to her old food and once we changed to the new food (about 3 weeks into this issue....not the W/D...but the Canidae), it just took a few days for the her system to get used to the new food? I know that their systems can certainly take a hile to adjust to different food, but is it possible to develop an intolerance to food that she has been on most of her life?
Anyway..thanks everyone for all the help, advice, and links for us to check out.

[CleasMommy]

[quote=sharman 2004;823827]Update on Sasha....
Okay...well, in my last post, last week, I said that the vet had to reschedule our appt. So...[quote]


Hey just wanted to check in and see how Sasha's doing? Is she still doing better? Any update from the new vet?

[casenh]

Originally Posted by cheekydelight

I'm no expert but ive heard a raw diet is best for any dog... chicken wings, beef mince and fruits and veg.. my dog had this diorehea thing for about 2 months when she was 4-6 months.. vets just gave her 'friendly bacteria' stuff which didn't work. Wen I got her from the breeder she was on tripe and Beta puppy complete dried food which I think was the pb she was getting far too much protein with both. Anyhow the diorhea just cleared up on its own and I never found out the cause. Once I switched to raw she was just fine. Also gave her boiled rice, 1 raw egg per week, garlic, kelp and cod liver oil supplements which arent necessary but it kept her coat great!

I read in the first post that the vet said that your dog has irritable bowl synrome, I myself have this condition. Please do not feed your dog fruit like in the above quote. When my bowls are acting up I stay compleatly away from most fruit, even beef at times will bother me. Also make sure that your food does not have any corn in it as it is the worst thing for me. The bland diet of chicken in rice would be best. I feel sorry for your dog as I know what it is like when I'm acting up. I would probally leave my dog in an outside pen when your leaving for short periods. I know most people might disagree with me on that but when something goes through a spell with there bowls with this condition you can't hold it and your dog will have no choice but to go in his crate.