Diarrhea x 6 weeks

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Hello

 

We have a 5 month Goldendoodle, Woody.  He has diarrhea for 6 weeks now.  We have taken him to 2 different vets through the course of these 6 weeks.  The first stool sample showed nothing, but the vet prescribed us 2 antiobiotics and an Iams RX food (which now after reading the forum, I will never do again).  This treatment didn't work, after getting frustrated with no answers, I decided to switch vets, one week later, roundworms and giardia showed up in his stool, the new vet prescribed another round of antibiotics for a period of 10 days and a different food, Natural Balance.  His stools firmed up while on the anitbiotic, but once the pills were done, the stools softened again, so we took him off the nat.balance and started feeing boiled hamburger and rice. We took him back to the vet, he did another stool sample, and bloodwork.  Stool sample came back clear, blood work showed some elevated levels, and the dr is considering doing a ACTH stim test (for Addisons).  The vet reccomended another round of antibiotics and another type of food..Science diet light...which again, after reading the forms, I cant wait to go home to throw it away.  I am at wits end, I feel like I cant get a straight answer, and of course, I feel terrible for Woody.  I cant imagine being sick like that for this long..I appreciate any advice! 

 

Thank you in advance,

Jill

[Heather & Jake]

Sounds like a good plan to me :)  Jake is also 50lbs and he would eat 3c a day on only Embark.  If you are adding green beans, I think you should still be fine on 3c since I'm sure Woody is not overweight so you wouldn't need to cut back to compensate for the extra food :) Will you add the Perfect Form??  I really think with the Slippery Elm it might help calm his GI, plus it does have the high fiber (~2t/day I think was the amount for 50lbs).

I do agree with Karen that it is probably better to wait a little before trying raw chicken necks at this point, and also that the Gentle Digest pills would be good idea.

Good luck and let us know how it goes! I'm not sure how much access I will have to a computer this weekend with Irene (we lose power easily) but I'll try to check in.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree.  Murph is 52 lbs and he gets 3 cups a day with a little added protein.  That's 3 cups BEFORE hydration.  He seems to be losing weight, so I am thinking I'll probably increase slightly.  I think the weight loss may be stress related, but I still want him to put a few pounds on.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

you poor dood has been on so many foods (whatever the breeder gave him, Fromm, Hills, Natural Balance, Home cooking, Science Diet, Orijen, Honest Kitchen.....). That, especially with the giradia, is going to be giving his tummy such a hard time. My main advice is to choose one food and stick with it for at least a month if not longer. No treats. Nothing else, other than probiotics (I use Prozyme, a powder) and pumpkin or green beans for fibre.

 

home cooking can work really well for sensitive dogs, but you MUST make sure its a complete diet - cooking meat destroys alot of necessary nutrients and you have to add supplements. Freeze dried raw, dehydrated raw, and raw are all really good. Some are more expensive than others. The cheapest I know of is K9 Naturals (dehydrated)- a 8lb box would last Cooper (60lbs) 2 months, making it $95 a month. The cheapest raw I know of is Club Canine but thats a local product to me. If you can find raw in bulk (I buy in 4.5kg blocks and semi defrost it, portion it up into jam jars and refreeze) its much cheaper than the 1 or 2lb packs ($85 a month for Cooper and 3 cats if I stick to the chicken, which is the cheapest and their favourite thankfully).

 

Do you know what the breeder was feeding and what his stools were like then?

 

Good luck!

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

thank you all! I will keep you posted..enjoy the weekend!

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Well..things are firming up over here! ...but the texture of the poop looks almost exactly like Embark...is this normal?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Yes....that's how it is with my guys too.  I'm so happy that things are starting to "firm up".  I would continue to just feed the Embark with nothing else for a few more days until the digestive system is settled down and used to it.

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Thank you...I will...and I will keep you all posted!

[Heather & Jake]

Hi Jill, just wanted to check in and see if things are still firming up?  Hope all is well!

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Thank you for asking! Things are going great..I just bought a huge box of Embark..I want to keep him only on this for a little bit longer.  I bought Dr. Pitcairns book, so I am thinking of going out and getting him a raw meaty bone...b/c since he has been on HK, he hasn't really chewed much..he has antlerz..but his attention for them only lasts a few minutes.

So my next question is...being that Embark worked for us..as well as many others..what was/is the underlying cause?

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I've been asking myself that same question, Jill, and Karen and I have also talked about this.  I'm not sure I'll ever know for sure.  It may be the high fiber content.  It may be that there's a high water content when it's rehydrated.  I thought for a while it may be the actual ingredients (gluten free).  Then it also could be the consistency....it's almost like "predigested" food.  The real surprise about Embark with my guys is that they do better on this food than my home cooking.  I really don't have a clue, but it has been like a miracle for us.

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I feel the same way, and I will keep him on this forever if that is the case! It is amazing to me...these issues that so many people are having with their doodles...

  I would like to find ways to stretch it..I will have to do some research on DK...like i was saying, I am considering adding some raw, but im not going to rush into things just yet..so we shall see!

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Jane, I was wondering how your feeding of Embark is going? I am getting to the point now where I would like to add ingredients into the Embark...any suggestions?