HELP WITH STOOLS - Page 1

By saying your dog is thin, no one will know what you really are saying without seeing a photo of the dog. Most people do not understand that young dogs as is yours, often are less robust than they are when full grown. Also, many people think a dog should be much heavier than is really healthy. However, based on the stool issue, and the fact that you say his coat and muscle tone is also not very good (and you may or may not have this right), there are other possibilities.

Assuming your dog does not have some parasitic, bacterial or yeast infection, there is a chance he has a condition related to his pancreas not producing enough or the correct enzymes to digest his food. I would take a stool sample again to your vet, and if it comes back clear, I would suggest you consider having a test done after you try a few things to rule out what is referred to as EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency). There are some dogs who do well without enzymes with a change in food. There are others who require enzymes for the dog to digest the food.

In the meantime, try this: For now, stop giving him the fish oil. It is possible that the stools are like they are because of the oil. Do go to the store and buy the freshest yogurt you can get and give him several tablespoons of that with his meal. Feed him smaller amounts of food at a time. Don't change anything else, unless your vet suggests he does have some problem in a stool sample. You might also ask your vet for a prescription of metronidazole to administer twice a day to see if this helps. But start first by stopping the fish oil. Don't change anything else for at least 3-4 days. And each time you make a change, try to be sure to allow time for you to note some difference. That is minimally 3-4 days and better if you wait even up to 7 days. Otherwise, you just get into a circle and you never know what may or may not work because you are always changing something.

If this does not get better, then PM me here or write here and I can send you a list of other things to try before you go to the expense of testing for the EPI condition. 

To both Hodie and Bulldog:  I would stop the yoguart altogether and use probiotic pills, they eat just drop in his food;  it is usually a capsule my boy gobbles them up in his food, down the hatch they go.  When my GSD was younger, he could not take yoguart but definitely needed the probiotics;  I get them at the health food store in the refrigerator section.  They need to be kept cold so handle properly.   Some dogs can't take the dairy and you are defeating your purpose by using it as it can also give them soft stools or worse, the squirts, pudding, etc. etc.

OK,this has worked for me.  Worth a try, also Eagle did not work for my sensitive boy, Different dog I am talking about now.  Also his coat went to hell.  So there you have it.  Good luck.  Nan

Yogurt didn't do much for Echo when she had the "squirts"...but canned pumpkin really firmed up her stools.  It doesn't fix the problem causing the diarrhea but it makes it easier to pick up after them.
Deb

In my experience, not many dogs have lactose intolerance and yogurt is just fine and cheap. But, if the stopping of the fish oil does not stop the loose stool, then yes, stopping the yogurt might be a good choice. As far as pumpkin goes, I am not a big fan of masking the problem. When giving something like this, it becomes more difficult to know what is or is not working. The dog does not have diarrhea based on what was written, but rather cow-patty stool (mud pies). This strongly suggests something else is going on, but the best way to figure it out is to start well down the list and rule things out, one by one. In this way, hopefully he can avoid a lot of extra expense. If the problem gets worse, or nothing works, then a full work-up may be required.

I don't know if it is Giardia, but, 5 days of panacur (I am assuming that you are talking about Panacur C-for canine) is not enough.  It needs to be 5 days of the proper dose and then repeated in one week for another 5 days.  The parasite has a life cycle.

Did you have a positive test for Giardia?

Also, you don't know how long this had been going on before you got the dog.  Chronic Giardia brings a whole bunch of problems.  If it is fully embedded in the lining of the intestine, it can be harder to find and kill.  Also, secondary bacterial infections can add to the problem.  I used Acidophilus Pearls to repopulate the healthy flora and I used Golden Seal to kill the secondary infections. I went to 4-5 different vets over a period of two years.  There were many lasting repercussions, one of them being demineralization, anal gland probems, etc.  After the 2 five day treatments (plus goldenseal/acidophilus), I had to repeat the whole treatment cycle two additional times in the first year.  After that she had a cast iron stomach and no more problems.  Also, I switched her to raw food which made her stomach acid strong enough to resist re-infection.  She went from 2 1/2 to 11 1/2 when she died of cancer with a healthy gut.

This is one of the diseases I know a lot about, from sad experience.  Other people on the board have much more experience than I do on other issues.

Good luck
Michele

Coccidia
Coccidia are not technically a worm, but a protozoan parasite that infect dogs and cats primarily, but can be seen in other species.

Life cycle
Coccidia life cycles are complex and involve many stages of development. Coccidia produce cysts instead of larvae and eggs. Dogs and cats usually get the infection from ingesting the cysts in the environment or eating animals like mice that are already infected.

Symptoms
Symptoms usually occur in young animals and include diarrhea and abdominal pain. These young animals can become severely dehydrated and the infection can be life threatening. This is especially true in pets that are stressed or have other parasites. Many pets, especially the older ones, do not show any symptoms when infected.

Diagnosis
Diagnosis of Coccidia infection is made by identifying the very small eggs in a fecal sample. They can be very difficult to detect due to their small nature and variable shedding by a pet. This is why our doctors will occasionally treat a pet for Coccidia even though the fecal exam is negative for this parasite.



Treatment
Sulfa type medications or sulfa and antibiotic combinations are used to affect a cure. They need to be given for up to 3 weeks. Kittens that are very ill require hospitalization and intravenous fluids to help them fight off the infection.

Prevention
Prompt removal of feces helps prevent continued environmental contamination.

Public Health Significance
A version of Coccidia, called Toxoplasmosis, is of particular significance to pregnant women since it can cause disease in unborn children. The most common source of infection for pregnant women is eating improperly cooked meat (especially pork, lamb, and venison), not necessarily from the feces of cats. In a cat that does have Toxoplasmosis, the eggs that are laid in the environment (litter pan) do not become infective until 24 hours have passed. If the litter pan is cleaned twice daily the eggs will not have time to become infective to pregnant women. Wear gloves when you change the litter pan. Better yet,have someone else clean the litter pan. When you garden you should also wear gloves since stray cats may use the soil as a litter pan. Keeping your cat indoors and not feeding it raw meat will prevent it from getting Toxoplasmosis and passing it on.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention more than 60 million people in the United States are infected with the Toxoplasmosis parasite. Few have symptoms because a healthy immune systems keeps it in check. You may feel like you have the "flu," swollen lymph glands, or muscle aches and pains that last for a few days to several weeks. However, most people who become infected with toxoplasmosis don't know it. On the other hand, people with immune system problems, such as those with HIV/AIDS, those taking certain types of chemotherapy, or persons who have recently received an organ transplant, and infants, may develop severe toxoplasmosis, which results in damage to the eye or the brain. Infants who became infected before birth can be born retarded or with several other serious mental or physical problems.

Thanks for all your advice! Yes i had him checked for coccidia and Giardia both negative.No worms no parasites.Used 5 days of panacure with 5 days of metronidazole twice a day ohh and pepcid ac twice a day . He now wants to eat can tell he feels better,and his stools are better .I did stop yogut,not sure about this i have always giving my dogs Stonyfeild organic plain yogut. What do you guys think of Eagle Pack Holistic Lamb and Rice i know they are the same company as wellness core. Am i better off switching him in a month once all this is setteled with him to wellness core turkey or the fish base one for his coat.