Soft mushy poops - Page 1

Here is my story.  Maya my 9 month old pup has been to the vet three times now with runny poops.  It has been two months and I haven't seen a good poop.  Cow paddies are what they remind me of.  I have run the gammut with foods, even cooking chicken and rice or potatoes and to no avail.  She has been on two kinds of drugs and now is on amoxicillin as the vet believes it could be coccidious ( spelling ).  She has been on amoxi for 4 days now and still runny poops. i have tried grain free or chicken and rice limited ingrediant diets, taste of the wild lamb and cannot for the life of me figure out why she can't have a normal poop.  Some nights I am up with her at 3 am so she can go outside.  Some nights she sleeps through with no difference in her diet.  I think the only people here getting rich is the pet store owner and the vet.  I did buy today, Royal Canine German Shepherd food, because when I read the back of the bag it made sense.  This food is formulated for german shepherds and their sensitive digestion history.  I am praying to God that it is my answer.  Some nights her tummy is making so much noise and her farting is so loud it keeps her awake and restless.

I would really appreciate any advice any of you shepherd owners could give me if you have had the same problem.

Thanks Lynn  ( a shepherd owner for 25 years and never had this problem before )

Eldee,

I wonder about your Vet. First, "the vet believes it could be coccidious". BELIEVES??? A simple stool check is all that is required to CONFIRM if it is coccidia. Just like checking for worms. Coccidia is an intestinal parasite that is resistant to traditional worming treatments. And yes it is treated with antibiotics, but Albon or Tribrissen (both are sulfa based drugs) not Amoxicillin. Treatment time is extended, usually at least 10 days and be sure you do not skip a dose. I have had a couple of pups I purchased that were diagnosed with coccidia  (one GSP, one GSD). Both received a 10 day treatment of Albon, and I have had no re-occurence in about a year. I did make sure to clean up all poop and place in the trash.... even taking the grass and a thin layer of dirt (grass will grow back) to make sure I removed all contaminated feces.

Something else to consider, if Maya has had a couple of rounds of antibiotics now, the 'natural flora' of her gut may be disrupted. That can also produce 'runny poops' and a rumbly tummy too. You may want to try some probiotics or yogurt to help restore her to normal gut function. I checked on-line and you can get the probiotics from PetSmart, and probably other pet supply stores also.

One final thing, how comfy are you with your Vet? It just might be time to look for another if he/she is guessing at a diagnosis without running a simple test (and then prescribing the wrong treatment for the guess).

Hope this helps,

Sue

Eldee,
Find a new vet, get her off the meds, and feed kibble dry, just incase your wetting it down.

GSD's do not as a rule have sensitive digestive tracts.

Avoid designer dog foods and settle on a brand, stay consistent.

What brand have you been using for 25 years?

Plain yogurt will help with gas but don't over do it.

If your going to figure it out you must stay with one brand and stop switching around.

You must find a vet who knows how to do his job, sadly many do not.

And be patient, changes take some time, thus the need to have consistency.

Moons.

yes, i would do a stool check first and see if there is something there,  if not  then  yes yogurt would be a good thing to start, if the stool is positive it would more than likely be coccida or garidia, and the meds she is on will not help coccida , i always use Ponaazuril, it works very fast too. if she has Garidia i  would use metronidazole, make sure you give yogurt  every day.  and yes keep you pup on the same food, do not keep switching.

for now i would also give the pup some pure pumkin to firm her stools .

Give some pumpkin

I would run the EPI profile, checks for that SIBO and low B12.

Hi, sorry to hear about your dog.  I have fed my pup Royal Canin since I got him and he has absolutely no tummy problems whatsoever.  It's good stuff.  Maybe don't feed him for a 24 hour period, just water and electrolytes if needed to let his tummy get a rest and then gently introduce his new food?  As said, a little bit of natural yoghurt is good and you could try a spoonful of Manouka Honey with it - it's got natural antibiotics in it. Could he have eaten something like a bit of bone, stick or something? Hhopefully your vet will have checked for that. I don't know about your dog but I do know what effect certain antibiotics have on my tummy!! Good luck.

Did the vet check for EPI??

Hello Eldee, I know how frustrating this can be. As said, amox is not the drug for cocci. maybe you misunderstood the drug given. all this was covered pretty well in a recent thread.

once giardia and cocci can be ruled out, and they can really only be ruled out after treatment because it can be missed in exams, you will have to start thinking allergies, epi, sibo and a whole host of other possible causes including heriditary.

Is it possible you are overfeeding. Find one food and stick with it for a couple of months. Do not put so much stock into what you read on the bag. I have had a couple of dogs that seemed to do poorly on chicken and I now avoid it both raw and in bag food. I think too many hormones and additives allowed in the U.S. in chicken industry.

hth,

Rik