GSD Stomach Digestive issues. Need Help - Page 1

Hello,

I have a 6 yr old German Shepherd Maxemus. He is a beautiful dog from a great breed line. Unfortunately I have had chronic digestive issues with him for a very long time. 

He gets chronic diarrhea or soft stool and it lasts for a long while. He goes through rough weight fluctuations because of the diarrhea. He will eat a full bowl of food only for it to come out of him. He doesn't hold his weight. 

His vet and i have tried some many different medical things over the years to help with his stool, from antibiotics to steroids to tylan powder to glutamine. Even trying to put him on probiotics but it all seems to only temporarily help. His stool would harden only for a few weeks later to be complete liquid. Its hard to see. He would put on great weight when his stool hardens but looses it all with his issues.

When he was younger i used to give him, in addition to his kibble, table food or treats. I have now, for about a year or so, stopped giving anything except for his kibble. 

He has been on a grain free diet for years, i would say four years. I started him on Wellness grain free but he has now been on Natural Balance fish and sweet potato diet for the past two years.

I just don't know what to do anymore and the vet bills are racking up only to leave me a mess of diarrhea all around my property. I hate seeing him like this. I want him to hold his weight. Though his temperament and drive has not been affected. He is still the high energy and driven dog that he has been since a pup. He comes from champion schutzhund lines and has shown his lineage since a pup.

If any German Shepherd breeders or owners can be of solid help, please i am open....

Thank you,

Lee

Has he been checked for EPI or IBD?

I experienced a similar situation with my previous GSD and once i had exhausted the vet channel, all their 'selected foods' and they seemed to be stumped, what I found that worked for him was a good kibble (I prefer Orijen or Acanna) and green tripe. The tripe carries a lot of 'good' bacteria that helped his digestive track build and maintain the stuff it needed to keep him regular/normal. I have my current GSDs on this same regiment and they are doing well. Word of caution though, if you decide to try the tripe; a) don’t get the bleached out white tripe from the local grocery store b) try to find a supplier (like www.texastripe.com) who will prepare it and c) if you can get it already chopped up, be prepared for a stinky and nasty process.

Some people have had good luck on NZymes;  I have personally never tried it but others have had good luck.  also some people have had problems lately with Natural Balance products as they have sold the company and food is not the same now.  Something for you to look into.  Personally I would not go the Tripe route but maybe the fresh pancreas route.  Google raw diets, etc and ask there also.  Raw is not good for every dog but it sure has helped some dogs with perpetual problems.  Also Orijen and Acana are extremely rich diets probably not a great choice for your dog.  None of my guys could take either and that is when I went to raw.  I use K9 Kravings (chicken & beef combo) diet for all my guys with chicken thighs, ground beef or turkey some of the time and that is it.  Also my current l year old cannot take Vit E.  Just learned that for myself also.  So if you are adding any type oil, with or without Vit E you can probably bet it is not helping his gut issues.  Have you asked your breeder what they would do in your case since positively some of the digestive issues are acquired from ancestors.

Also I would give a 3 to 5 day dose of Panacur;  my first boy harbored whip worm and my vet finally found l whip worm egg and one coccidia which either would cause havoc on a dogs system but was tested earlier and tested clear.  Finally after a year of explosive diaheria off and on I just went ahead and did Panacur for if I remember right 5 days and did a repeat treatment 3 weeks later.  Never came back again and never had another problem with loose stools again.  Go figure, but sometimes I don't think the vet's really know what they are looking at (or the techs). 

Just a few suggestions that worked for me in the past and I would give probiotics and you will probably have to give forever for this particular dog.  Once you have cleared up his stool don't keep changing things, clear stool = diet that is working usually.  Give him time and he will regain weight.  Good luck  Nan

I currently have a 1 yr old GSD that starting having digestive problems 2 months ago. It started with straining to deficate with groaning. Progressed to blood in the stool. Stool was semi-firm but grainy, like sand. His appetite waned and he started to lose weight. After exhaustive x-rays, ultrasounds, upper and lower endoscopy, TLI test for EPI and prescription diet dry dog food, along with almost $7,000 in vet bills, the vet is stating it "may be a food allergy or a false positive reading for EPI."  It was also discovered he had helicobactor in the stomach, mild to moderate IBD in the small intestine and moderate to severe IBD in the colon.  He has been on amoxiciliin, metronidazole, famotidine and prednisone.  The straining stopped, stools were normal but he continued to lose weight. The vet put him on enzyme powder for EPI even though his TLI test was normal. He said although he believes my boy doesn't have EPI, 1 out of 1000 dogs can have a "false reading" and wanted to see how it does  on the powder.  After just 6 days he has put on 4.1 lbs and continues to do well.  (A family member gave him 2 Pupperoni treats and now we are dealing with a bout of diarrhea) Hopefully he will continue to put on weight. His drives and attitude remain great, thank goodness!

I guess what I'm getting at is there can be dozens of reasons for your boy's problem. If you rule out EPI or IBD you might still try an enzyme powder to help him digest his food.

Just keeping trying and ruling out one thing at a time.

Good luck!

I have had some similar issues with my dog, particularly with the Wellness brand and Acana.  The Wellness I was feeding had grains and the Acana was just too rich a food.  I am having very good luck for the last six weeks with Nature's Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet Turkey Meal Formula.  It is grain free as well as potato   free and sweet potato free.

 But one thing else you could try is Total Zymes twin pack of probiotics and digestive enzymes.  I purchase this through Amazon.  This is/was the best supplement that I've added over the last 18 months to clear up very soft, mushy stools.  Because this worked so well for us, I did not see a need to have him tested for EPI.  He wasn't showing any other clinical signs like weight loss.  The weight loss you describe is concerning.

Has your vet ruled out EPI or IBD?  

I think Nan is absolutely right about treating with Panacur to rule out worms.   What about giardia?  

Also some antibiotics can cause or make diarrhea worse.  My dog cannot tolerate cephalexin, but does okay with Clavamox.  And metronidazole worked for him when he did, for sure, have diarrhea due to some bad water at a city drinking fountain.

The last thing I want to ask about is treats?  Jerky treats?  My dog loves them, but they make him sick so I eliminated them especially any from China.  But even the USA-made treats make him pass mushy stools.

I hope you get some answers and your dog gets well!  Best of luck!

Thank you all kindly for your esponses and suggetsiojns...

I will hope that at least one of your suggestions helps with the chronic issue....

His stool again this morning was liquid>>>> not even soft....

Im going to give him some steamed white rice and grilled chicken tonight.

Nans GSD:

Im goung to speak to my vet regading Panacur and whip worm. I know we have not tried this as of yet. 

Deal With It:

Im glad the enzyme ppowder has helped. We have tried this route and unfortunatley it was unsuccesful. 

Cutaway:

Im going to look into the green tripe. Thankk you for the suggestion

Greyhoundgirl:

He has been checked for both.

Liquid stool is very concerning!  He has an infection of some kind for there to be liquid only coming out of him. I am thinking it must be very foul smelling.  Perhaps add a little canned pumpkin to the boiled chicken and rice.  But your vet should run some tests on the stool (liquid) sample.  I hope you get some answers!

That could be giardia which the Panacur will also help to resolve, coccidia, whipworm, tapeworm, roundworm, even hook worm so.  Canned pumpkin is good as if is bacterial it probably won't long term solve the problem but helps with formation due to the fiber in pumpkin.  Also my boy that died about a year ago had off and on squirty poo;  he was in like stage 4 kidney failure which I managed through out his life until 12 l/2 years old, so there are those issues also to consider.  But with him I could always tell when he felt bad as he would not eat.  Off and on his food, weight loss, squirty poops and I was always concerned about dehydration for which I gave plain pedialite in his younger years and just maintained his water levels later in life knowing that he would probably  die of kidney failure.  Very sad.  BUT keeping his weight on was a real challange I have to say.  And anything I did with him would and did set off the digestive tract.  So never tried the NZymes wished I had though to document and help others.  He did well on the Honest Kitchen for a while as you soak it in water for l/2 hour before you feed which helped to hydrate him.  They do have grain free diets, many different proteins and are absolutely exactly what they say they are as far as ingredients and many ingredients they use are organic so very very healthy for animals particularly that need help and weight and digestion issues.  Easy to get also.  Good luck  Nan

PS:  My current one year old male had a terrible reaction to Drontal Plus so keep that in mind;  did OK on Keflex I believe is what I gave him for a bite wound so each are a bit different.  Look back at what he has been given that created this monster to begin with and I bet you can see some type of tracking record.  BOL  Nan

Also have vet check his anal glands and clean/express them as after a lot of loose stool they can become a real problem.  Smelly, loose stool, scooting, nasty stuff coming out like mucas with loose stool, not a fun problem at all.  Usually treated with antibiotics which can be a nightmare in itself, sooooooo...  Just an after thought.  Nan