Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
Cow dung and scratching
When we got her at 8 weeks she was on TOTW puppy. all was fine, good poops; until about 6 months and she starting choking on the kibble.
Vet suggested she go to adult food with a larger kibble. Stayed with same flavor of TOTW. She started vomiting her food and/or pooped cow dung, and started scratching everywhere. Tried other favors of TOTW, same problems.
Then she swallowed foreign objects and had serious diarrhea and dehydration during recovery she ate boiled chicken and rice (or quinoa) all was well.
When back to kibble, cow dung returned. Tried one of the Orijens she vomited immediately. I started adding rice to the TOTW that helped.
One day at the end of september came back from the groomer and she had bloody diarrhea. Vet thought it was brought on by stress since it was a one afternoon event.
I give her chicken and rice and mixed in vegetables. Sometimes yogurt with fresh blueberries for breakfast. I started adding Sojos to make sure she was getting all the nutrients she needs. No more scratching, good poops.
Sojos is pretty expensive, cooking for her and my family got old, and free feeding her was pretty convenient. I thought I'd try kibble once again.
NB synergy was recommended at the pet store, more dung. Once diarrhea was under control I tried California Natural. HALLELUJAH! Healthy normal poop. But then she started scratching like crazy again, I assumed it was from the CN lamb and rice.
I should make clear when trying different foods, I slowly incorporated it as recommended.
So as of now she's on sojos fruit and vegetable, and chicken I cook. I don't know if the scratching is a food allergy, from 2 days on CN or change of weather, just got cool here in Las Vegas. Scratching is bugging me, but really bothersome to my girl. What should I try now?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle on
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It's hard to know exactly what's going on here food wise, since the brands are not as important as the protein sources with all these different foods. I can tell you that it doesn't sound like a food allergy, but again, it's hard to tell, since I don't know how much exposure she had to lamb prior to starting the CN food.
However, this sounds more like a GI issue to me than an allergy. For one thing, allergies don't develop to anything in two days. I'm not sure that the scratching is related to the food issues. She started scratching when she was still on the same formula of TOTW, and at 6 months, she would have only been eating solid foods for 5 months at the most, which is very very young to have already developed an allergy to a particular food ingredient. Cool weather usually improves environmental allergy symptoms, but in cases of dust mite allergies (which are much much more common than food allergies of any kind), turning on the furnace and closing the windows can exacerbate allergy symptoms. It's hard to say.
Cow patty poops are indicative of certain GI diseases, and coupled with intermittent vomiting over a 4 month period and signs of food intolerance in a dog this young, I would think the vet would have run some bloodwork or even done Xrays or barium swallows. How is her weight? Has her growth been normal?
What were the foreign objects she swallowed, and what testing/treatment was done at that time?
Has she ever been on prednisone?
For now I need to know the answers to those questions as well as what Sojos formula she's on, and what TOTW formula she was on, before I can recommend another food. There are dogs here who just cannot tolerate kibble, and need to eat homecooked or dehydrated raw diets, or a combination of the two. My own dog has Inflammatory Bowel Disease and must be on a very limnited ingredient diet, but let's not go there yet, as a diagnosis of IBD (NOT to be confused with IBS) requires an internist and an endoscopy.
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Jeanne, I looked back and found your previous FG discussion that you had posted when Lilly had the choking issue. Something didn't sound right to me then, and something doesn't sound right to me now. For one thing, your vet's opinion that the bloody diarrhea was from stress. Diarrhea could be brought on by extreme stress, but not bloody diarrhea. Blood in the stool is indicative of a problem with the colon, either ulceration or infection. I don't want to scare you, but if this was my dog, I would find another vet and get a second opinion. Write down her history as a time line in detail, the foods, the vomiting, the diarrhea, the ingestion of foreign objects, etc. If there is a veterinary internal medicine specialist in your area, that might be an option.
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Permalink Reply by jeanne & Lilly on
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Karen, it does make more sense that its the protein more than the brand. She had venison and bison puppy TOTW, the adult kibble was salmon. Then back to venison bison adult formula, which has chicken meal in it. At one point I bought lamb, still TOTW and she wouldn't eat it. I just looked again at the ingredients of synergy. Looks like ALL proteins chicken...lamb...salmon...
When she was "admitted" the vet did do blood work, normal. X rays the afternoon she went in and the next day after she had a BM. I'm not sure what the thing was she had trouble passing, it looked like a big hair ball, wrapped around a piece of stretchy plastic like piece of a balloon.
She is fine with Sojos turkey and Sojos grain free.
Her growth has been normal she is about 56lbs. She was the smallest of the liter, breeder thought she'd weigh 50-65lbs. She has had 2 UTI treated with antibiotics. A few weeks ago she has an infection in the nail bed of her front paw treatment was antibiotics and prednisone. That was the only time on pred.
The bloody diarrhea was only one episode.
I'm going to send you a private message -
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Oops can't send a PM.
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Antibiotics can wreak havoc with a dog's digestive system, especially the immature digestive system of a puppy, and your girl has had three courses of antibiotics. The problem is that the antibiotics destroy the good bacteria in the gut along with the bad. It's always a good idea to give your dog yogurt or a probiotic supplement any time they are on antibiotics, and for a period afterwards, to give the good flora in the gut a chance to recolonize. (Give the probiotic a couple of hours before and after the antibiotic, when they are taking them). Depending on dose, prednisone can also cause stomach irritation and even ulcers. I don't know why vets don't think about this, but when a dog is on a high dose of prednsione, they should be getting antiacids at the same time to protect against this.
For now, I think her gut needs some rest and a chance to get healthy again before switching foods. I'd stay with the Sojos and the home cooking for a while longer if possible. You might also try Honest Kitchen's Embark instead...I don't know if there's any price difference, but the HK doesn't take as long to prepare as the Sojos. And I would start giving her a good probiotic. Ask the pet supply store if they can recommend one, or check Only Natural Pets product reviews. An alternative would be to give her a heaping tablespoon of plain unflavored fat-free yogurt two or three times a day.
Once she goes back to kibble, I'd stick with a grain free, poultry based formula.
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Oh, and if you don't already have pet insurance, get it today. Seriously. My guy has both allergies and IBD, and both are immune-mediated diseases. His vet bills are well into five figures a year. Once something is diagnosed, you won't be able to get coverage, so just to be on the safe side, get the insurance now!
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Permalink Reply by Nicky, Riley & Boris on
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I'm no expert but this doesn't sound like a food issue to me either. It sounds like a GI issue and I agree with Karen that a thorough work through and a second opinion would be what I would be looking at here. I hope that you find the cause and that it is easily treatable.
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Thanks Nicky
I appreciate YOUR second opinion. -
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