Poor Max, still with soft stool after 2 months

[Nancy Sweet]

I want to thank everyone for all their support and advice. I have gotten none from my wonderful breeder, so it really means a lot to me. My puppy Max is still having soft stools. He has been treated for Giardia twice, he has been treated for Coccidias, he has been treated with probiotics, and he has been on the ID prescription diet for 3 weeks. He also had $429 worth of blood work that showed some elevation in his white blood cells which they said could mean he still has some form of parasite so next week they are going to treat him for Clostridium P. although they say when dogs have this they have watery stools and cramping, which he does not. After we try the next antibiotic, the next step is some prescription high end food that is supposed to be hypoallergenic and if that doesn't work an intestinal biopsy, which I don't think I will do. Soooo, the saga continues for poor Max, my sweet little boy. I would love to know if any of his litter mates are having this problem, but I was kicked off the breeder's website for positng that my puppy had Giardia.

[F, Calla & Luca]

The breeder's behavior is so unconscionable. Perhaps some littermates are on DK. Poor Max.

[Nancy Sweet]

Is DK the hypoallergenic dog food? I have heard really good things about Eagle Pack.

[Karen & Lucy]

Awww, poor baby. It doesn't sound like your breeder is very concerned about the health of her puppies. They sound like they are in it for the "money" only. I would not recommend them to anyone. I pray your vet gets to the root of the problem. Give Max a hug from me and a kiss from Lucy.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

This must be so frustrating for you. I will certainly keep my fingers crossed that this next antibiotic does the trick, and that Max is better.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Have you tried REAL food, rather than the prescription kind? Real chicken, beef, brown rice and fresh veggies, yogurt and natural vitamins and oil is what every foster, that comes to me, gets. It turns them around the fastest. I have not had the ailments that you mentioned (that I know about), but I have had worms, kennel cough and malnourished doodles who have rebounded in about a week with REAL food. If he is on antibiotics, he should be getting pre-biotics. High white blood cells could mean the body is fighting infection, inflammation, allergy, and even stress, too, not just parasites.

The breeder is not interested in her pups and her name should be told, in my opinion. All she understands is profit.

[Nancy Sweet]

I did try feeding him home made chicken and rice and it didn't change his stools.

[DeeDee and Sheila]

I fed my lab a high end food with no meat in it at all and she did great. It was dry food. It was made by Purina and the vet ordered it for me. It was like $75/bag, but she never had a food problem again. Good luck!! How awful for everyone. What a bad breeder. Shame on them!!

[Julie B.]

I had this exact same thing happen when I brought Luah home. We fought giardia, used ID Prescription Diet (which did help somewhat) and kept trying new foods (which didn't really help the situation because her tummy was a mess already. Bottom line is she basically had colitis from the original giardia parasite and her digestive tract was inflamed and very sensitive for at least 4 months. I assume you've read up on giardia and know that it can be very difficult to get rid of. After the medicine is done you need to wash all of Max's toys and bedding and wash Max, especially around his rear end. Then you have to wait 2 -3 more weeks before you can have another giardia test done on the fecal because it takes that long for it show up again in the dog's stool. It becomes a vicious circle. My breeder was no help either. A breeder's worse nightmare is to have giardia problems in their kennel. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to get rid of it with that many dogs. I guess my main point is... have you waited long enough after the giardia medication to have an accurate giardia test done or are you still dealing with giardia and don't know it. Is there blood in the stool? Hopefully your vet told you all of this and if they didn't--get another vet. Good luck and the good news is eventually Luah got better and has not suffered and ill effects from it all.

[April]

Poor Max! I agree with Lynne, get him on good, whole, real, food. Perhaps boiled chicken and rice or hamburger and rice plus some good veggies. I'm sure he's been on lots of antibiotics which can also do a real number on tearing up the gut. We went through something somewhat similar with two of my girls (soft stools/explosive diarrhea for 4+ months) they didn't have Giardia but I'm sure a stupid vet would have been convinced they had IBD or something similar.
What they really needed was the healthy flora in their gut restored. Whole food is the easiest for a dog to digest. While they can do kibble they weren't designed to live on it. I heard one vet describe kibble as being the equivalent of only drinking Ensures everyday. Sure it's completely balanced, but how healthy is it really?
I'd give you Max lots of canned pumpkin as it has good fiber plus it is a good prebiotic. Keep him on the probiotics, I've always really like BioBeads by Nature Made. He also really needs to be on some enzymes as well to help him get the most out of his food. ProZyme is supposed to be an excellent product.

My recommendations for the next step from my experience is to take him off of all prescriptions including the kibble (which in IMHO could be part of the problem instead of the solution). Cook for him or feed him a balanced raw diet. Give him enzymes, probiotics, canned pumpkin and yogurt or kefir. I've heard of lots of dogs with similar issues and these things really helped. Both of my girls are three years old now and haven't any GI issues since we put them on a raw diet.

Poor Max, I'm SO sorry you are going through this. If you can find a holistic vet in your area they can be a HUGE asset as well. I hope this is some help for you. It sounds like you are really trying hard for your boy. Don't give up!

[Julie B.]

I agree with April on the pumpkin and probiotics to restore the stomach flora. The raw diet is also helpful but don't feel like you'll have to do that forever if you don't want to. I tried it but found I was not happy doing it and my dog does fine now on good kibble.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

"the next step is some prescription high end food that is supposed to be hypoallergenic"
This part of your post worries me. It seems pretty clear that Max's soft stool is due to parasites and/or other physical issues and really doesn't have much to do with food, other than the fact that he needs something that is super easy to digest until these problems are resolved. I cannot imagine what kind of a vet would talk about "hypoallergenic" food, since allergies have absolutely nothing at all to do with diarrhea...it is never a symptom of food allergies, or any other kind of allergies. I know that vets have minimal training in nutrition, but with all due respect to your vet, he/she should know that much. I would not spend money on the Rx food which is loaded with garbage and costs more than any premium food because of supposed allergies; if Max has a digestive disease that causes him to have problems digesting food, he will need a special diet, but not for "allergies". If you are looking for a new food, we can address that issue separately. You will "hear really good things" about dog foods that have killed dogs..."word of mouth' is not a good method for choosing dog food, nor is advertising. But I can promise you, Max's problems are not due to allergies and also probably have little to do with food, as long as you are feeding him a quality premium diet.
I agree with the others on the pro-biotics, they are always necessary when a dog is on antibiotics. Yogurt may help. Homecooked chicken and rice (or lean, well-drained hamburger and rice) are what I fed dogs with stomach problems for 30 years. (I would skip any vegetables or other additions until Max's issues are diagnosed/resolved.) You can try a spoonful of canned pumpkin with his meals too. But I would focus on determining the cause of his problems and eliminating the parasites if that's the problem.
I am so terribly sorry you and Max are going through this. I hope with all my heart that you can get an answer and that Max will soon be well.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I would also like to add that an elevated white count means an infection is present and/or the immune system is compromised. Raw foods would not be a good idea under these circumstances, and no kind of food can help or cure an infection.