Diarrhea

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Hello! (As I write hello my auto correct is trying to change it to "Help!" Which is also extremely appropriate haha)
I was wondering if anyone with experience or knowledge could help me out with the protocal on diarrhea. I know it can be caused by a multitude of things, however what I'm fuzzy on are the exact measures to take when experiencing a bout of loose stools with your dog. I also know that diarrhea can mean some potentially serious medical issues, so it's best to have your puppy checked out the the vet if it lasts a certain amount of time. I've tried to search DK to see it there was already a similar post, which I'm sure there is, but for some reason when I search a topic I can one get a few hits to come up. I've made a list of questions I'm curious about below.
1. Is there a food I can have on hand incase of a random bout. I know pumpkin is good, and ultimately sweet potatoes and chicken is our go too if he starts having a series of loose stool. Is there anything else I can have ready for him to have? I've heard green beans are good for diarrhea. How much do you give him and are they okay to maybe give him as a snack?
2. Water. I'm terrified of a dehydrated puppy. I've been up every 2 hours tonight with Yeti being sick. I've been really encouraging him to drink water after each potty trip. Is that okay or will it upset his tummy even more? Is forcing him to drink a bad idea?n
3. How long would you wait to take your dog to the vet when it comes to diarrhea? As I stated earlier I realize it can be pretty serious, but sometimes I feel I don't let it try to "run its course." (If that's even a thing for dogs haha)
4. When dogs have diarrhea, do their tummys get upset? Is there anything I can give them to help ease the tummy ache? I feel so bad when he is having to get up throughout the night to go.
5. What little I could find in my "dehydration or diarrhea" search told me we need a high fiber food without grains. Yeti eats wellness core puppy (he is 6 1/2 months old and weighs ~30lbs). Is there a better food for him to be on? We have had him 4 1/2 months and this is our 4th (if I'm remembering right) bout of diarrhea. I feel that is probably not normal.
6. Is there anything to do at the first sign of soft stool to possibly prevent it from turning into full blown diarrhea?
7. What are signs of dehydration? I know our vet looked as his gums the last time we went in for this problem. Is there anything else I can lookout for and be aware of? I know what he eats and how much exercise he gets plays a huge factor, but is there any set amount of ounces of water he should be drinking a day? When he is sick I do mix water with his meals to make sure he's getting at least a little.

I know this is long, but I find myself completely unprepared when he gets sick and I want to be able to help/comfort him as best as I can. Thank you to anyone willing to read this long post and willing to offer advice or share their experiences!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

On the food: I wouldn't give pumpkin and sweet potatoes and green beans. All of these are given for the fiber content; fiber helps with loose stools as well as for constipation, and too much fiber can be just as bad as too little. When feeding a homemade "bland diet" (chicken and rice, chicken and sweet potatoes, lean ground beef or turkey with rice or sweet potatoes etc) you need to feed twice as much as you normally feed kibble, because it has only about half the calories. 

A home-cooked diet like this is also very, very high in water (hence the low calorie content) so dehydration isn't typically a problem if the dog is eating it. Any case of diarrhea so severe that it results in dehydration requires a vet visit. Personally, if my dog had diarrhea for more than a day, I'd be at the vet. 

Increasing dietary fiber at the first sign of loose stool might help prevent full blown diarrhea, but if the cause is parasites, it won't do a thing. Probiotics do help a lot, but again, they won't cure parasites or serious GI disease. 

You're right that 4 bouts of diarrhea in 4.5 months is not "normal". What has your vet said about it? 

There's no one protocol for all cases of loose stool, because the causes can be very different. If the loose stool is caused by parasites like giardia, the dog typically isn't in any pain. If it's caused by a digestive disease, they may be in a lot of pain. If it's due to a sensitive stomach, a limited ingredient diet is usually the best choice, but again, food will not cure parasites or disease. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you so so much Karen. I'm going to try to take him in tomorrow if they can squeeze us in.

[33bn7f8evnuyd]

I feel your pain because I was you a month ago. Karen has helped my puppy with diarrhea problems. Lucky gets diarrhea from just about everything right around the same age as your dog. Now at about 6 months his food finally stabilized and I try not to feed anything not divisive friendly. He still gets it every now and then. His diarrhea was so bad it reversed housebroken him for a while. After trying 3 different dog food
( orijen, Nutro ultra (breeder had him on), Fromm ) we stuck with Fromm it has probiotics already in their foods. Lucky can only eat homemade treats or digestive friendly treats. I highly recommend Fruitable. Our breeder recommended the Fruitable cans as a supplement. It really worked. Stopped the diarrhea in a few days. Then I saw Fruitables made treats as well so I got him those for training. Make sure you get the kind with either sweet potatoes or pumpkin. Hope this helps.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Oh thank oh so so much. It's heart breaking seeing him so sad. He was on some crappy food from the breeder so after his first bout of it back in may we switched him to wellness (it took quiet a while as we couldn't keep his stool good for long enough to make the full transition). I'm SO hoping it's not his food. He has been on a bland diet off and on so much that he doesn't prefer his kibble. I would love to make him all his meals but it's just so expensive.
Because he never eats his whole portions at breakfast and dinner, we basically stopped giving him treats, except the occasional pill pocket. We do have wellness core treats that we hardly ever use. We usually reward him with his kibble. On walks I give him wellness core wet food (obviously I mash it up into tiny peices). He gets the occasional bully stick (typically let him chew it for about 10-20 minutes). I take his left over food and mix it with wellness core wet food and put it in a Kong and freeze it for him some nights.
When he was in puppy class we had to get a couple different kinds of treats and we got fruitables chewy treats. I didn't know they made fruitables cans! I will totally look into it! Thanks so much!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd stop all the treats except for Pure Bites or something similar: plain dehydrated or freeze-dried chicken, turkey, or other animal protein. He may need to be switched to an LID formula; they don't make LID "puppy" formulas, but at his age, he should be fine with something like Wellness Simple Solutions. That's worked well for a lot of dogs here with digestive issues. The formulas are high in fiber, low in fat, and have very good Omega 6:3 ratios, all of which help a lot with digestive issues. Try the Salmon formula. 

[DonMarie and Picco]

 I hope you can get to the cause of the diarrhea.  If it's food allergy, it's a grueling process.  Is there anything different he eats before these bouts?  Store bought treats? Dental treats are common culprits. I only give all-natural biscuits made in USA, make my own or give real meat pieces. There is nothing wrong with no treats.  Grain-free is probably a good idea.  You could probably just drop off a stool sample instead of a full appt to at least get started if time/money is a factor.  Good Luck!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's not a food allergy for two reasons. First, it would be very very rare for a 6 month old puppy to have already developed an allergy to anything, and second, food allergies, like all allergies in dogs, manifest primarily with intense itching. Often there are not any GI symptoms, but even when there are, there is always itching too. It's possible that Yeti has food sensitivities, but that's very different from allergies. Allergies involve the immune system and antibodies. 

Some info: http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/thefoodgroup/forum/topics/facts-a...

[DonMarie and Picco]

That makes sense Karen, he is still young. I mix the terms allergies & sensitives although I know they are different! Either are a total pain to deal with!   Picco had really bad hot spots when I found he had problems with junk foods which I figured out and not my vet.  But I'm keen to those things because I have the same problems! 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

As bad as it sounds, money is kind of a factor. The last couple appointments have been around 300 dollars. The worst part is he has never came up positive for anything from his stool. I can't keep spending 300 dollars every couple of weeks/months. Of course I love him with all of my heart and will do whatever it takes to make him feel better, but I'm hoping we won't have to see a vet this time.
Unfortunately I'm not quite sure what it could be. Last week I got him a Whimzee because his breath started smelling pretty terrible. I didn't know if he could eat it all in one sitting so I let him have half one day and half the next day. His stool was a little on soft side but nothing to be worried about (especially because his stool is on the soft side at least once or twice a week to be honest). We were at the pet store and got him another one to have earlier this week. We read the size chart online and got the appropriate one for his weight and let him have the whole thing. Later that night he got his heart worm medicine. I have a feeling it's one of these two things, or possibly a combo of both.
Last month I vaugly remember yeti getting soft stool if not full blown diarrhea after his heart worm medicine. I will make a note of it this month and look for it next month. I won't give him anything new to eat the week of so if he does get sick we will pretty much know, and hopefully switch it.
I did some research and saw that greenies were not good for dogs, but thought a lot of people said they really recommended Whimzees. I don't think we will be giving yeti them anymore though. Too much coincidence for me.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Haley, I'd stop giving him the Whimzees. While they are not harmful for many dogs, they do contain some ingredients that he may be sensitive to. What kind are you giving him? 

I'd also strongly suggest that you get pet insurance. Everyone should.  

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

I'm going to try to start brushing his teeth when he is feeling better so we don't have to use any kind of dental chew. The first Whimzee we gave him was a medium length veggie sausage stick, and the second one we gave him was a medium sized alligator. He sure loved them but it's not worth it. I have been contemplating the pet insurance for awhile. I will do some DK searches and see what everyone recommends.

[DonMarie and Picco]

I use a finger brush. I feel it's more controllable than a regular type of tooth brush.

Unfortunately insurance doesn't cover preexisting conditions, at least none that I know of.