New Dog Owner needs help - Page 1

We were given a 3 yr old Chocolate Lab (male) about a month and a half ago. He was previously a hunting dog, but he is gun-shy and won't hunt, so his owner had no use for him. That is how we happened to get him. :) When we got him, the owner gave us some of the food he had been eating. It was Loyal brand I believe. We can't afford that brand, and being new at this dog owning business, didn't know that it wasn't OK to just up and switch his food. We changed him to IAMS, and just around the same time as we did, he got diarrhea. We talked to a lady at the pet store, and she suggested switching to Purina Pro Plan as it is better food. So, we (slowly this time) switched him to the Purina Pro Plan with Chicken. We took him to the vet Friday night, and they said he has a bacterial infection. So they put him on Panacur and Metronidazole. Here we are on day 4, and I think the diarrhea is getting worse, not better. They did not say to take him off his food or anything. Do I need to take him back to the vet? I'm at a loss.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Coach's Mom. :)

I'm not sure why your vet didn't tell you this, but normal protocol for diarrhea is to rest the GI tract and then give a bland diet - they usually recommend something like boiled chicken and white rice. Your new dog is probably stressed by changing environments and then changing foods...twice. Just go easy on his stomach. The Panacur shouldn't hurt either...not sure I agree with them prescribing metronidazole (to me, that is laziness), but give the full course of it if you have already started it.

If they really didn't tell you any of this...I would maybe look for a different vet.

It might take more than 4 days for the meds to work and the metronidazole could exacerbate the issue by killing off the good bacteria in his digestive tract while it's getting rid of the nasties.  There are several things you can try in the meanwhile...  You can fast him for a day (make sure he has water...he won't die going without food for a day) and then start back in feeding boiled boneless chicken breast and rice for a couple of days.  When his stools improve, start adding in a little dry food to the chicken/rice mixture for a few days to transition him back to only dry food.  You could also try adding canned pumpkin (not pie filling) to his food as the fiber will help absorb water and add bulk to his stools.  Over the counter diarrheals like Immodium AD can also be used.  Make sure he's drinking enough to stay hydrated and maybe even give him some unflavored pedialyte to replace minerals and nutrients...add in a little chicken broth if he won't drink it otherwise.

Yes, good point about the Immodium AD and fluids.

I wouldn't feed purina to my chickens.

Oh, thank-you all for your help! How much chicken/rice stuff should I give him? We took him to an Angel's Vet Clinic. I was not all that impressed with that doc. Hopefully we get a new one next time. What food do you recommend? I don't know if I can afford the Royal brand that he used to eat.

Feed a small amount at first, maybe a cup total, and see how he tolerates that after fasting.

I don't know what you can afford, so it's hard to say...I personally feed a raw diet plus Honest Kitchen dehydrated. Take a look at http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/ for a starting place. You can get Taste of the Wild at Tractor Supply for a decent price, as well as Nature's Domain at Costco. Both are grain-free. I prefer to feed real food though, either raw or cooked.

I agree with the bland diet.  I use overcooked white rice and boiled ground beef (I run off all the grease with hot water).  I do about 50/50 rice to beef and tend to feed about a cup at a time and then see how it goes.  After a few days I slowly mix in kibble, slowly increasing the ratio of kibble to bland. 

As far as kibble also keep in mind that better quality foods tend to have higher Kcal so you can feed less. 

Love your screenname, by the way!

Agree with the bland diet as well. When my dog had an upset stomach, I had her on a diet of chicken and white rice for about a week (with flagyl as prescribed). If you don't have time to cook the rice and meat, there are a couple of bland diet canned foods that you can get. They're a bit pricey too, but since you'll only be feeding it temporarily it is another option.

Get a chicken and put it in the slow cooker and serve over rice the dog will get healthy.