disease - Page 1

I have a female GermanShepherd She is 7 yrs. old and has been having blood in her stools and going often.  Maybe one good stool and the rest small pieces mixed with blood.  She has been to severalvets and I have been tod that she has bacteria in her lower intestines.  This has been going on since Jan 1st.  Meds haven't helped.  Wildman

I'd see another vet, get a second opinion.

Feed her plain yogurt...it may help balance out the bacteria and yes...back to the vet.  Someone should be able to figure it out.

I know this dog very well.
We have gone through everything.
I thought at first EPI..  or thryoid, but it has been ruled out.

The diet for the last month has been consisted of yogart and bland.

Her stools are a bit bloody at times,, the vet checked no obstructions.
Her stools are sometimes slimy too.
She seems to go 10 times a day.

Her kibble diet has not changed in the past.

This all started after she was kenneled.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

I worked at a boarding Kennel several years ago and walked in one morning and a Lab had blood running about 10 to 15 feet from its run to a drain and his run was covered with blood I took him to the emergency vet and we latter found out he had a bleeding ulcer(owners were not even aware of) that was exasperated by the stress of being kenneled.The poor dog had pooped and vomited blood ALL night The owners latter informed us he had bloody stools for months after.Sounds similar

I have tried 4 vets.  Now the one is treating her for two types of tick infections.  Blood test was normal. The bleeding seems worse.  She is otherwise alert, no fever,  I have her on yogurt, rice,oat  bran etc.  So far no weight loss.  I had thought about a bleeding ulcer.  Didn't know that was found in dogs.  Thanks!  What kind of meds?  Wildman

 Wildman,

Is the blood bright red, relatively fresh? If so, then it is not an ulcer. If the stools are black and tar consistency, then the bleeding is up higher. Bright red blood indicates a problem much lower in the GI tract. In any case, the dog has a problem that you must get properly diagnosed. Has any vet suggested changing diet? OR given antibiotics and if so, what and for how long? Did anyone try metronidazole with the dog? If so, what dose and for how long? 

The first thing that must be ruled out, of course, is parasite infection. These can be damn tough to find sometimes. I would have these tests repeated. Giardia, for example, can cause bloody stool, but so can other parasites. IF no parasites are found, I would be considering some sort of inflammatory bowel problem. A good vet should be able to test for this. In the meantime, it might be wise to talk to the vet about a diet change to something very bland and easily digested. How long has the dog been on yogurt? If she is one of the dogs (rare) who is lactose intolerant, yogurt is not going to help and could make it worse. Brab, oats etc., may also be difficult to digest for her.

As a final question, what color are these stools? It might simply be coincidence that she returned from a kennel visit and was ill. It might be that she acquired an as yet undiagnosed infection. It is also possible that she has simply gotten old and is developing bowel disease, some sort of pancreatic insufficiency, or that she has some sort of cancer. The best bet is to find a really good internal medicine specialist since you are getting nowhere fast with this. You want to find out what is causing this as quickly as possible and remedy it before it becomes a much worse problem.

Good luck.

Did they check for coccidia or giardia? If anything pro biotics might help.