TRIED EVERYTHING - my pup is still having diarrhea all the time!

[Alex]

Hello All! I searched and searched to find a group like this in hopes you all can help me! I have a 6.5 month old F1 male goldendoodle named Lincoln. We got him at 8 weeks from the breeder who had him on Eukanuba. He was a little irregular so we switched him to Blue Buffalo around 3 months...which was disastrous. After weeks of diarrhea we tried switching him back to Eukanuba, it didn't go away. So we did the chicken and rice thing, the pumpkin, the probiotics, etc. NOTHING WORKS! Since then, I have tried him on Taste of the Wild (salmon) - still irregular. A few goldendoodle owners at the park swear by Fromm so for the past month I've had him on that, still...constant diarrhea. In between all of this we have had multiple vet appointment: stool samples, stomach x-ray, blood tests for giardia, antibiotics, Rx probiotics, you name it, we've tried it. At this point the vet wants him to be on a prescription diet for the rest of his lift which I was totally on-board for until I read on this site it doesn't really work? Everything came back negative from his tests. He's a super happy, playful, active puppy his stools are just terrible. I bought NutriSource on the recommendation for a limited protein from a few people but haven't tried it yet. I've had him on chicken and rice for a week to try and stabilize him but I'm so scared of getting feeding him something that will upset his stomach again. Any advice or suggestions are more than welcome!

[Melissa Tremblay]

Since last Wednesday, Benji was on the bland food for couple of days then introduced back his food gradually with every morning a very good probiotic containing 16 strains and 30 billions CFU called love bugs from adored beast made locally. I thought his stools were normal until yesterday he had some mucus and today diarrhea again. I thought his stools where normal but I've been told the brown liquid around his stools is not normal. SO I've been to the vet this evening and he prescribed Fenbendazole susp. 10% 2.2 cc for 10 days. But I also noticed he scratches himself quite often on his shoulders. So I was thinking maybe he has allergies? While writing this post I realized maybe I also transitioned him too fast back to his regular food? How long should it take to introduce back to 100% of his food after bland diet? Two other pups from the same litter have been experiencing the same diarrhea, mucus and blood as Benji. They've seen worms in their poop but I havent seen any in Benji's poop. And even after they had two deworming they still have soft but formed stools and that liquid brown. We can clearly see it since we have lots of snow here. The breeder told me I should switch food to something with lamb instead of chicken... But i'm thinking maybe I should just give him the panacur and try to introduce him to his food more slowly...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Melissa, by any chance are these pups from the Pacific Northwest? 

[Melissa Tremblay]

No they are from Eastern Canada, Atlantic maritimes.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd try the Wellness Simple Solutions LID food, or another LID formula from one of our recommended brands. The Acana formula is just not working for him. You could try one of the Acana Singles formulas if you want to stay with the brand, the Singles line are all LID formulas. 

It's not allergies. He's simply too young for allergies, and the symptoms don't fit. :) 

[Melissa Tremblay]

That's what was my plan B was to change the formula and go with one of the Acana Singles either lamb or duck. The other 2 pups are both on different brand food and are having same stool problems since they got home. Last night I gave him 2.2 cc fenbendazole susp. 10% around 7 pm and at 10 pm he was restless, running everywheres, scratching on his sides (shoulders), his nose was hot, inside ears were red, his paws seemed swollen hot and sweaty... So I thought he was having an allergic reaction I called the vet hospital and they said he wasn't having allergic reaction and to keep an eye on him if things changed... But him worried still... he is scratching still this morning. but other symptoms have diminished...Havent had a break with this pup yet its been 5 weeks.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

If several pups from the same litter are all having stool problems, it's possible that they have coccidia, or Clostridium difficile. Our tendency is to blame food, but that's usually not the underlying cause. I hope things improve for him. 

[Stella]

I've ordered it from Amazon.ca before, it is available :)

But, if you have a community mailbox, you should have it delivered to you at work. You don't want it to sit all day in mailbox in the freezing cold / boiling heat in the summer.

I've also ordered it from Entirely Pets in the US and had it shipped to me in Canada.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Melissa, In the States you can go to Target Pharmacy and purchase VSL#3 - it is human grade.  It is a bit pricey but really works.  When we got Charlie, we really needed to use the 'big guns' to get him over the diarrhea.  Is there a pharmacy there that sells over-the-counter human probiotic?

[Melissa Tremblay]

Oh great thank you so much I've looked and they carry it at one of our local pharmacy! Didn't want to order online and have to wait 3 weeks before giving him good probiotics. :) I did some phone calls this morning and there's one brand Adored Beast by love bugs from NS, Canada that seem to have a good probiotic and it's made in my region. 16 strains probiotic and 30 billion CFU. This morning I gave him a little bit of my organic plain Kefir it only contained 2 billion probiotic but it's better than nothing until I can run to the store.

[Carrie]

Hi!  I'm new to this thread (haven't been to the site in a while) but had issues with my F2 doodle in her first few months with us.  We got her at 8 weeks and soft stools and bouts of colitis became the norm thereafter.  We worked with our vet to ensure it wasn't any sort of parasite and then began the journey to find a nutrition plan that worked for her system.  We tried a number of foods over the next few months trying to find a formula (right protein, right grain, no grain, etc.).  We also tried supplements.  I like you was struggling with the need to give up a "puppy" formula to achieve a diet that worked.  I think it was on this page that I found a recommendation for a food called Avoderm for doodles with bowel issues.  I found that they actually had a puppy formula too.  We tried it and our problem was solved.  We haven't looked back.