Chronic diarrhea, please advise

[Danielle]

Hello, I am trying to find a solution to my labradoodle's stomach issues, and have seen that people here post good advice. If you could help me in any way, I would really appreciate it!

First, I will tell you a little about my puppy. Her name is Riley, and I got her a few months ago from a breeder that I now believe was not so reputable. She is now 5 1/2 months old. She has had diarrhea on and off since I first got her. Starting on the day I picked her up, she experienced vomiting and diarrhea for a couple days. I took her to the vet, and she was treated with a bland diet, antibiotic, and probiotics.  This made her diarrhea resolve for as long as the metronidazole lasted, but a couple days after it ended, she had it again. I was unsure if her diet could be the problem, and I read online about food sensitivities, so I tried one that was grain free. I transitioned it slowly, and her diarrhea resolved for a few days, then was back. I went back to the vet, and they said mabe she just needed more treatment (since the diarrhea resolved when she was on it), so she received the same treatment along with a canned prescription GI diet from the vet and a dewormer because she thought she might have worms. The diarrhea was once again gone for as long as she was on the medication, then back again when it ended. The vet also recommended trying a Tbsp of pumpkin AM and PM, so I tried this as well. It was unclear if there was any improvement because the stools were back and forth between solid and runny.

A few days later, I found a spaghetti-looking worm in her stool, which the vet told me was roundworms. They said since it was not moving, it was expected because of the dewormer that was given, so to keep monitoring and bring her back if I found one that moved. Her stools continued to be back and forth, one day well-formed, the next runny. I let the breeder know what happened so she could treat the other dogs if necessary. I was disappointed that she didn't seem sorry about giving me a sick dog and never followed up to see if Riley was ok.

This whole time, you would think nothing was wrong with Riley. She has always been energetic, playful, shown interest in eating, and drinks water fine. I had done more research online about food, and realized that the brand I had given her was a lower quality one (Authority), so I looked for the best brands available in my area. Since the local pet store carried Blue Buffalo, I tried this one. I purchased the Blue Buffalo Wilderness for puppies, slowly transitioning once again. She loved that food, and within a week of being on it, her stools looked better than I had ever seen them before; they were well-formed and even firm. Someone I talked to also recommeded giving her a couple Tsp of plain yogurt for the probiotics. They said it helps their stomach handle bacteria if they eat things they shouldn't, and since she does have a tendancy to eat bark and leaves and other junk off the ground (and don't think I don't try to stop her! I can be standing right there watching carefully and telling her "leave it," but as soon as I look away for a second she snatches it right up!) I tried the yogurt as well.

Her stools were fine, no, great (who would have thought I would think of poop as beautiful! haha) for a couple weeks. Then one day, I found what looked like rice in her stool, but they were moving. She also started to have loose stools again. It would start off with a solid stool or two, then she would strain and have some runny stools, too. The vet told me she most likely had tapeworms, and recommended an over the counter dewormer. It was frustrating that she could have gotten this, because I read online they can get them from eating fleas, but she has been on Trifexis for a long time now. But since it only kills them after the flea bites, they said it is still possible for her to eat a flea before they die. Anyway, I gave her Sentry wormXplus and made sure to clean all her bedding and vacuum well and all that. This was about a week ago, and since  then I have not seen any more worms, but the stools look the same. She has also had pretty smelly gas for a week or so, not sure if that's significant.

Now I'm trying to decide what to do. The last time I talked to the vet, she sounded like she was out of ideas, and said the next step would be to run a bunch of tests. It sounds to me like she would just be doing them to make it seem like she's doing something, but if it's not going to actually help Riley, I hesitate to do all of them for nothing. Since starting Riley on Blue Wilderness, I read somewhere that large breed dogs shouldn't have too much protein because it can cause them to grow too quickly, which is bad for their joints. Others also said blue was too rich for their dogs. If that is true, I was thinking maybe i should try a different kind. The stores in my area don't carry the other brands I saw recommended here, though. I know Blue has some foods that are lower in protein, maybe I should try them? I just hate to keep switching foods on her if that can make things worse. Or maybe that's what I need to do?

There is a Petsmart, Petco, and Petsupermarket in the area, but I don't think they have many good quality food options. I don't know if I'm missing any details that i should have included, but I will answer any questions if you have any. I'm asking for help here because I know you guys care about dogs, versus the petstore worker who may know little about foods or just recommend whatever the company wants to sell, or the vet who may just be in it for the money.

Also, I read a solid stool followed by loose can indicate they are eating too fast or too much at one meal, but she eats two larger meals AM and PM and a smaller snack in the middle of the day. The food is given in treat dispensers (kong wobble dispenser, busy buddy waggle, kong, etc.), which also slows her down, so I don't think that's causing it.

I also want to find a different vet, but I don't know of any reputable ones. I just went to Banfield the first time because they took walk-ins, and kept going because at least they knew Riley's history, but since she still hasn't been able to fix Riley's problems, I'd like to find a vet that might be able to. I'm in Gainesville, Florida. Please advise what you would do in my situation. Thank you in advance for any help.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is a great idea. And contrary to what many people think, the vet school clinics are often much less expensive than private practice vets.

[Danielle]

That is where I will be going, I hope it goes well!