can't eat any dog food - Page 2

Berniemac, I would change vets if I were you. I think the dog needs a more complete workup. There are so many things that could be causing this, and I DO NOT agree that it is dietary! The parasite giardia is often very hard to detect in fecal screening, difficult to get rid of, and it can make young dogs very sick. There are also malformations of the digestive system that can cause vomiting (esophageal artresia, for example).  Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is also common in GSDs. It's an inherited condition where the pancreas doesn't produce enough enzymes to digest the food, and it causes pudding type poop with a foul odour. However, since your dog has both diarrhea and vomiting, I would look more carefully at the possibility of a parasite, or some sort of infection.

So, my advice is to either get your vet to do more testing, or change vets. Most dogs are quite adaptable when it comes to diets. I don't want to get into the raw food debate, but let me jsut say this. Dogs are not wolves, and have not been wolves for thousands of years. Their digestive systems have adapted to eating whatever humans throw out, and that includes vegetables, grains and fruits as well as bones and meat (both raw and cooked).   The raw food diet is, in my opinion, an expensive fad.

If you DO feed raw, or if you feed a home-made diet, be sure it is balanced. Your dog is still growing, and if it doesn't get the right balance of vitamins and minerals, its bones may not grow properly.

When I was in university, I worked in a bone lab. One of the skeletons was that of an ocelot that some idiot had imported as a pet. He fed it nothing but raw hamburger, and kept it indoors. It developed such a bad case of rickets that it had to be euthanized. Its leg bones were bowed...well, like an archery bow!

I got my first GSD in 1984. I've always fed my dogs a good quality kibble, and the only digestive problems I've had have been related to my dogs eating rotten garbage (my bad for not keeping a closer eye on them!) or drinking dirty water. One of my dogs would get sick every spring because she'd dig rotten stuff out of the lawn that had been buried under the snow all winter. I finally had to muzzle her every time I put her outside, until the snow finished melting, and the lawn dried up!

berniemac, those diets are not bland no matter how they are marketed.  the cooked chicken you were feeding is probably the blandest diet you can feed, and if it has been working so far, i would continue feeding it until your pup feels better.  that or raw chicken, both are basic, bland, and digestible.  you can also add some yogurt to the cooked chicken so it's not too dry, or canned/pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix).  

probiotics/acidophilus is also very good, but will automaticallly be wiped out by antibiotics, so that would be a waste.  colostrum however should not be affected by antibiotics, and could possibly help.

rice is not necessary, it's just a filler and does not get digested.  dehydrated gets expensive, but would be much better than the dog foods.  

i feed raw, and have never had an issue with salmonella, bacteria, spoiled meat, etc.  i obviously would recommend that you switch to raw, but i can't give you any advice on what or how to start without more info.  you can keep cooking if you like, but you would have to add some important ingredients, organs, supplements, etc.

Rice contains water soluble fibre which absorbs water from the gut, and helps dry up the diarrhea. That's why vets recommend it for diarrhea, as do human doctors.

No vomit today and only pooped once.  It was not liquid diarrhea like in the morning but it was still soft.  Some of it was light brown and some darker brown with what looked like mucous.  He was playing and seemed o.k. today.  Gave him the Flagyl and the probiotics.  Still giving him the boiled chicken and I gave some of the pumpkin with it. 2 tablespoons with the food.  He really liked that.  Hoping that tomorrow the poop will be better.  I will call the vet in the morning to give an update.  Maybe I should bring another stool sample to the vet?  I will update tomorrow.  There are about 10 different vets at that animal hospital, maybe he should see someone else. 

Mucous in the poop is always the result of inflammation in the large bowel, so there's something going on there.

Glad things are looking a little better!

After a 6week battle with Giardia and now a puppy with blood in her urine. Please be aware of the side effects of high dose/long courses of flagyl.

Sunsilver is right. Mucous is a tell tale of the bowel. The color you are describing and the mucous screams giardia to me. But that could be cause i have lived and breathed it for 6 weeks. Is there a really foul odour to it? Does it look like chocolate pudding?I know puppy poop smells anyways but one that just kinda makes yu go yuck and gag...lol
If so i would look into giardia...Giardia is hard to catch in a stool sample as they dont shed it everytime they poop. So if they think it is i would really consider the side effects of the flagyl.
Panacur is a safer option to try and see if it cures that issue.Boiled hamburge,chicken,turkey and rice will help the tummy. Mine have now been on it for a cpl weeks and it definetly helps.


 

I agree. You may want to try panacur powder.  Did your vet ask you to bring in a fecal sample?  Your vet should check a fecal before they give you any medicine.

I started feeding Natures Variety Instinct and it is incredible! It is like a raw diet but kibble and has no grain at all added.  They also have a limited ingredient version.

Good luck to you with your puppy. I know it must be very frustrating for you.....

The poop from yesterday did look like a small pile of caramel pudding and a small pile of chocolate pudding, but I didn't smell anything.  The poop that he did yesterday morning really did stink though.  It was just pure liquid and yellowish.  He hasn't done anything yet this morning but he did spit up a little foamy yellow vomit, a very tiny amount.  I called the vet and am again waiting a call back.  I mentioned giardia to the vet tech on the phone and she said that it would have shown up in the stool sample, but from what you guys are telling me, it may not show up.  I guess I will have to wait for him to poop today and then bring that sample in.  He alsmost seems upset when he is getting ready to poop, like he is so uncomfortable doing it, that he'd rather hold it in. (is that possible)?  Never thought that I would be so obsessed with poop, and I have 3 kids. (lol)  Other than the poop issue he seems normal.  Eating and drinking like a horse and playing like a normal puppy, also sleeping well.  Can't wait till this gets figured out and it is over with.  Oh, I tried to put his picture on my profile but it didn't work.  What am I doing wrong?

Well, I figured out how to get the picture posted, although it is an older one.  He's much bigger than that now.  So, the vet called me back and said that I should bring another stool sample in because it may indeed be the giardia and ready, It can show a false negative in the stool sample depending on what cycle it is in.  So, the vet tech was wrong, which I already had figured, since you guys obviously know what you are talking about.  Thanks for your suggestions and your knowledge.  I will always post any questions here first.  Anyway, I will let you know about the result of the stool sample once I get it.  In the mean time, they told me to keep giving him the flagyl, I hope that's not bad for him. 

Yes, he could be in distress when pooping. His little butt is probably pretty sore from all that runny poop, and the mucus shows there is inflammation in the large bowel, so he probably is having cramps in his bowels when he poops. You know those awful cramps us humans sometimes get when we have the runs? I'm willing to bet dogs have them too.

You might want to check his anus and underside of his tail, and see if it is really inflammed, and if it is, put some cream on it.  A bit of polysporin might not hurt, as it's vaseline based.  If there's caked poop there, a gentle bath/wash with warm water and soap would be an excellent idea.