AHHH Not Again!

[Lyn]

Bubba has loose stool/diarrhea again! I thought we had this problem solved. Apparently not.

Just a little history.. Bubba is now 14.5 months old and has had this loose stool issue for about 12 of those 14.5 months.

We've done stool samples galore and blood tests and they usually find nothing wrong with him. I say usually since they did find tapeworm once. I'm usually sent home with a de-wormed anyway for 'just in case'. We have also tried all different kinds of kibbles with no improvement.

At one point his weight just seemed to hit an all time low. He wasn't gaining like he should be. So the vet gave me another bottle of dewormer (Strongid-T) after his blood tests came back normal and told me to give it to him every 3 days until the bottle was gone. Well 5 treatments later.. voila normal stool. For 2-3 months everything was fine. The loose stool actually started about a week ago, but I thought it was from the latex paint he licked, or the toad he tried to eat since it all happened around the same time. But he had normal stool for a faw days after that then for the past 3 days is been pretty severe diarrhea. I'm worried he's going to lose the weight he's just begun gaining back. UGH.

I'm not sure if he's just re-infected himself with whatever parasites he had since the multiple dewormings worked. I've been vigilant in cleaning up the yard since he is a poop eater. Although he hasen't attempted to eat poop in awhile but parasites must have an incubation period right? This is just so frustrating. UGH!

It's pretty bad that when I walk into the vet clinic the tech automatically says 'Another stool sample Lyn?' LMAO

[Kiahpyr]

Kiah had this problem when she was a pup. I recommend adding slippery elm to his food. It worked wonders for Kiah. Now we just have a puking problem and are trying different foods.

Have they tested for giardia? I've heard sometimes it's easy to miss. If so maybe try treating him for that. I hope Bubba feels better soon.

[Lyn]

I'll give the hamburger and rice a try. We did try it before and it didn't help. Maybe this time it will though, it's worth a shot.

I've been giving him Pepto which is helping immensely. Am I the only one whos dog loves pepto. Bubba drools like crazy as soon as he sees the bottle. LOL Makes giving it to him easy though.

I looked for slippery elm quite a few times and I can't seem to find it. I'll keep looking. I'm going to need to start stockpiling this anti-diarrhea stuff.

Tina, I was hoping that food list would be helpful for others looking at different kibbles. It sure helped me narrow my choices down.

Oopps edit! Yup we did look into Giardia, but after the 15 or so stool samples the vet ruled it out. He figured he would have found any lurking parasites after that many samples.

[DakotaMom]

We have been dealing with these issues with Nani. As long as she was on antibiotics she would have a normal stool.

She is on Amoxicillian but I will have to look up the name of the bug we are treating her for. I am at work right now so I'll let you know as soon as I can.

[ZooCrew]

Sorry you are having to deal with this again.  I can't even imagine having a dog with a runny stool for most of it's life.

I may have mentioned this before.  Have you ever tested him for panceatic problems?  A friend of mine's dog has problems with his panceas, and that caused him to loose alot of weight (down to around 55 lbs when he should be around 70). It took them I believe over a year to figure out what was wrong.  In addition to meds, she has him on the one food that is helping him to put on weight.  But his stools still aren't firm.

[Lyn]

ZooCrew, I'm pretty sure I did mention Panceatis. I gave my vet a list of all the illnesses and parasites that were mentioned before. And he did do a blood test and said everything was in normal range.

I have to take Bubba into the vet anyway to get his heartworm test and medication. So I'll get another fecal done and maybe another blood test while we are there. Looks like I'm going to be borrowing my father's credit card since I've already used the money I had put away for Bubba's vet visits. I can't even count the number of times we have been to the vet in those 14 months.

But we need to figure this out before I go loopy. Nevermind too late.. I already am. LOL 

Forgot to add.. Bubba has no other symptoms. Just the loose stool. The weight issue happened over time and was more like he just wasn't gaining like he should be.. He was growing and getting bony for lack of a better description. From what I've read prolonged diarrhea will cause weightloss. So I don't know if it's just because of the diarrhea or if it's a symptom of something else.

[BabsT]

Have you tried raw diet?  Just a suggestion

[Lyn]

Babs, I think you were the one that gave me the links on raw when I had first asked about it. But yup we did try it and had disasterous results. His stool went from bad to worse. Litterally like a tap. We started him with just raw chicken legs and wings. So it wasn't too much variety too soon. But after a week and a bottle of Pepto we resorted back to kibble.

He's eating Performatrin Ultra and has been on this food for awhile. I'm really thinking this isn't food related anymore. Since he had normal poop up until now. I even checked to see if they changed anything in the kibble. But nope nothing has changed.

[BabsT]

I always use..turkey necks to start out...more meat to bone ratio...chicke n has too much meat and not enough bone I feel... But you gave it a try...

[sarnewfie]

GSD and Boxers suffer from irritable bowel and the majority of them that put their dogs on back to basics dog food the PORK forumula mentioned amazing response to pork, pork is much more gentle on the tummy and intestines.
you might want to keep that in mind also.

[Boyle]

How awful.  It is so hard when you cannot get any answers. 

Nola had a runny bum since we got him last May but fortunately he gained his puppy weight and has since maintained his weight.  At the vet's office, he was called "Money Pit" because we were in there at least once a month and every test was at least $100.  In about November, we switched him to a grain-free chicken-free premade raw.  There was a noticable improvement.  In January, we switched him to prey model raw (chicken-free). I am not saying that his poop is always solid but now we can go a week at a time without having a soft/runny bum.

Have you considered a grain-free diet and/or chicken-free?  Both can be allergens.  I know there are a couple kibbles out there now that have these types of formulas. 

Good luck.

[Lyn]

I'm can't remember all the foods we have tried now. But we tried Chicken, Turkey, Duck, Salmon, Bison, Lamb and venison based kibbles. None helped him.

Sar, I saw your post in my other thread and I haven't tried Pork yet.. so I will look for that.

Thanks all.