Interesting question about dog faeces - Page 1

Hello everyone.

I know the title of this topic sounds very weird, however if you read the following explanation and question you will understand the title of the topic :)

My dog is seven and a half months old. He has been exclusively on the ACANA Large Breed Puppy food since 3 months old.
He is eating fine, he is gaining weight just normal, and he is growing normal. His coat looks good and he is not showing any signs of any allergies or skin irritations so far. He has been tested several times for worms and fecal results were negative. I do admit on a monthly basis (prevention wise) Interceptor to him.
In my opinion "problematic" thing is that the form of his faeces is not consistent.
For example: For several days his stool will be solid, than for few days would be mushy - pudding like. Then it will be a mix of solid and mushy and then it goes back to solid.  Please note that he is not showing signs of diarrhoea what so ever.
I am having difficulties to understand why is the consistency of his stool changing so often?
Are you or have you experienced similar behaviour with your dog's faeces? Could you please shed some light onto this situation, is this normal for a GSD?


Thank you.

First of all find a vet who knows and understands EPI.  So many do not.  You will need to run an EPI test [TLI] that must be sent to TX A&M as they can be trusted to give good results.  There are about 3 items that have to be looked at.  Right now, I cannot remember all of them.  B12 is one.

Join the gsdepi@yahoogroups.com   This is a very helpful group.  Sometimes there is not much happening, but feel free to ask.  Monitors are good

Sounds as if your dog has epi problems.  I am NOT a vet, but I have learned so much about it.  You and your dog will learn how to control it.  There seems to be different forms of it.  And your form does not seem to be the really really bad form.  You will need to give the dog Viokase.  It is very expensive and Allivet of Fl has the cheapest form, but Enzyme Diane has other forms that may work as well.  Depending on the dog, you may have to put it on all foods.  It has to sit for 20 mins.  You also will put Tylan Powder in the food.  You may need to give your dog a B12 SHOT once a month or even 2X a month.

Look at www.epi4dogs.com    Dr Leigh Ann Clark of Clemenson U in Clemenson, SC has been doing a study of EPI for years looking for the gene/s that causes it.

The reason your dog has loose stools, if it has EPI, and not parasites, is that the dog is not digesting all its food correctly.

Do NOT panic, learn with your dog how to control it and not reverse.  Dog can do all the things other dogs do.  Geeez, humans and dogs have problems and some can be far far worse than this.  This if it indeed is EPI is far far easier to deal with than other things!!!

Best wishes!!!

Puddinglike stools are caused by the intestines flooding water into the contents diluting them...and yes interfering with absorption.  There is a young boxer on my SAR team dealing with this and she is having a frustrating time.  Few vets have taken any classes in nutrition...:-(((  Some dog food companies have resident vets that assist with formulation - Royal CAnin for example does a TON of research into their products - I recently inquired about bloat in regards to high protein loevels in dry food and the vet emailed right back with a fabulous response stating studies from a major vet school with the findings and explained why they have some food formulated the way they do.  I think Acana may have a vet on tap as well.

Can also be caused by giardia...VERY prevalent in many areas of the US and abroad.  You can test but this can follow the shedding of the protozoa...so the test might not come up correct - treated with Flagyl.....forget the chemical name.
I would look into this or into coxsidiosis (spelling baaaaad)...bacterial intestinal infection.
The least problematic is that your pup has a food intellerance - to an ingredient in the food.  I love Acana but if the dog cannot handle a certain ingredient - doesn't matter.  Try a giardia test first...anal swab for intestinal bacterial infection. Run an EPI test.
Then...use an elimination diet - 1 protein and 1 carb - like fish and sweet potatoe; lamb & rice, etc. Feed absolutely nothing else - NO TREATS - use the food for rewards in training.  Do this for 4 - 6weeks - if you have removed the offender you'll see improvement quickly.....I love a raw diet for this - just feed chicken let's say....etc.
good luck,

Alex

Honestly? Stool is not consistant and you are coming up with EPI and Guardia??

Is your own stool always consistant?
Have you ever thought about the water intake?
It's summer and dogs drink a larger amount of water when it's hot, other days not so much.
Medicating your dog with interceptor although no worms are present probably causes diarrhea, at least with a normal dog it probably would cause "inconsistant" stool. How many times did you vaccinate your dog with multiple vaccines? That can cause "inconsistant" stool too.

Before you look into the big book of scary diseases look at the simply things and don't overmedicate your dog.

I don't think we are talking about over medicating, but it sure sounds like early onset EPI to me as well.  Having a vet do a TLI test is the correct action as far as I am concerned. That is not overmedicating, but simply trying to diagnose a problem.

Here is a link to my dogs story with epi I wrote for a german shepherd website.  It might help you.

 http://www.total-german-shepherd.com/EPIanddogs.html

The EPI research is taking place at Clemson University, not "Clemenson."   This is a link to their canine genetics site:  http://www.clemsoncaninegenetics.com/.   

Interesting topic.

Hello,

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.
Thank you also for introducing  and bringing the EPI to my attention. Interesting problem on which people (dog owner) should pay closer attention.
I would have to say that for now I completely exclude the EPI or Guardia issue when it comes to my dog.
I did have a glance at the http://www.epi4dogs.com/ website, and there is a lot of valuable information when it comes to EPI. Reading all the information and symptoms I must say that I can exclude EPI as a problem for my dog's occasional soft stools for now. I don't want to comment the suggestion about Guardia.
I would have to agree with TingiesandTails comments to some extend.  I don't think that I'm over medicating my dog, however I do agree that I should stop administering Interceptor on a monthly basis to him. Interesting thing is that his stools are normal even when Interceptor has been admitted. I have followed a standard vaccination procedure at 6, 8 , 12, 16 weeks for puppies (Da2PPv) and rabies vaccination at  almost 6 months of age.  He has not shown any sign of issues with these vaccines - there was no even a change in his behavior.

My plan for tackling this "issue" will be:

1. Stop administering Interceptor on a monthly basis as it is not needed.
2. Maybe gradually switch him to ACANA Pacifica in order to exclude possible intolerance to Chicken, Oats, or Eggs

I will see where these steps bring me and go from there.

Thank you all once again.

I think that is a very good choice.
Food issues or other allergenes (pesticides in your area or on carpet/furniture) can be another reason.
Good luck and all the best for your dog!

I can understand to a degree what some are saying medically. But for me and my dogs I pay close attention to their intake and routines and when things are not the usual. For this one I will agree with Ting. Having Service dogs it's too the point of seperating/dissecting the feces and  looking over each dogs behind............almost daily. Point in hand; Have you ever played with your dogs with a hose? Not just a simple squirt but a good hosing. Half of the water they're gulping. Well, later when they have to "break" guess what? Soft, semi solid or liquid. Due to the intake of water. That's just one example. Just pay attention to diet, water intake and if you reall would like to see a result, fast for a 24 hr period.