Chronic Diarrhoea - Page 2

Many thanks to all who have replied.  I am taking him back to the vets on Monday and will put to him all your suggestions.  I am pretty sure that he has eliminated all the usual suspects.

I find that he will not eat anything at all (despite the fact he is obviously starving) unless it is non prescription food and then mixed with something else.  Whatever it is we give him in this way goes right through him.  He is on antibiotics steroids and probiotics too.  All to no avail.  Until a few weeks ago  these medicines were controlling the condition fairly well, but he was losing a critical amount of weight through not eating.

We have been told by the vet that he is pretty much at the end of the road as far as precription medication is concerned.  He has suggested a biopsy but has told us about the risks (Tom is 11 years old)

Will keep you posted

Thanks again for your time and trouble.

I give my dog sentinel which should protect it from certain worms, but my girl has had the runs now for a week.

Long story short.. after getting an antibiotic, metronidazole, two stool samples, bloodwork. the results are whipworm.

I tell you this because I was feeding chicken and rice and with these medications it only got worse, also whipworm is very hard to find and will only show up in the feces in a particular phase of its lifecycle. We gave her some praz+pyrant+feba tonight and will have to do it again in 3 weeks.

Might want to keep getting those stool samples to make sure.

I can relate.... loose stools are not fun.


cheers

did she have itchy feet too?

Everyone here had great suggestions... I do want to mention that if it is IBD... changing the single source of protein to a new protien (one the dog has never eaten before) like duck, venison, bison, etc... is a common thing to do.  Also changing the fiber content, and lowering fat content.  This would also work if the dog had a food allergy.

IBD is  often just a catchall. It describes the symptoms but not the first cause.

Your dogs bowells are "irritable" but nobody knows why.  That is why it is called a "syndrome".

SOMETHING is irritating your dog's bowells.

I doubt that the medical help you are getting will ever solve it.  They will treat the symptoms with "special" diets and steroids and huge vet bills.  I am not accusing them of greed, they are doing the best that they know how.

I had a dog that went through that for two years.  I have a friend whose dog went down that road for four years.

I wish you the best of luck.

Michele

There's nothing special about the Royal Canine Veterinary Diet Intestinal...nothing I can see at least. Am I loopy?

Chicken meal, brewers rice, corn, chicken fat, natural flavors, dried egg powder, dried brewers yeast, soy protein isolate, dried beet pulp, salmon oil, soya oil, Fructo Oligo Saccharides, potassium chloride, salt, psyllium seed husks, sodium silico aluminate, monocalcium phosphate, brewers yeast extract (source of manno oligo saccharides), Vitamins [dl-alpha tocopherol acetate (source of vitamin E), L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), biotin, d-calcium pantothenate, niacin supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin A acetate, vitamin D3 supplement, thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin supplement (vitamin B2), folic acid], choline chloride, Minerals [zinc proteinate, zinc oxide, ferrous sulfate, copper proteinate, copper sulfate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, sodium selenite, calcium iodate], taurine, marigold extract, preserved with natural mixed tocopherols, rosemary extract and citric acid.

My dogs wouldn't eat that either. It's not horrid, but still.

I can't really help you with the underlying cause, but a few teaspoons of PURE canned pumpkin with every meal helped my dog get over a bout of chronic diarrhea. One thing to consider is that the dog may be intolerant of chicken. If chicken and fish haven't been working, try boiled ground pork or turkey. The biggest problem is keeping that weight on when everything you give them seems to end up (literally) on the walls. I was never really sure what caused it, but he's been fine ever since. It lasted for about 6 months. Bacteria = negative, bloodwork negative, negative negative negative. He had so many people sticking things up his rear...poor guy.

I feel for you, and your dog.
Feel free to PM me, I've got more up my sleeve than canned pumpkin.

Try Probiotics.... they have done wonders for my dog with chronic issues

Probiotics and a raw diet!

Ditto, plus two 5 day courses of Panacur.

Michele

Thanks once again for all your suggestions and help. 

Latest news is that to add to his complications he also now has a lump on his thyroid and a shadow over his chest/lungs that the vet thinks is an infection. When we took him to the vets a week past Monday he was so weak it was hard for him to climb steps.  We thought it was the end of the road for him.  Vet said that if we cleared the infection he thought the op to remove lump had a good chance of success if we could get his weight up. 

He is now on new antibiotics and anabolic steroid injections.  Still has chronic runs.  He loved the Royal canin recovery diet and was eating 5 cans a day.  He put on 2.5 kilos (5lbs) in 4 days and was a different dog.  Now he wont look at it.  Exasperated !!

Off to the vets today with a list of all your comments to ensure that everything has been considered.

Regards

Gordon