Food problems.

[Diane Farmer]

Scarlett is a double doodle, she is 10 months old and we have had her for 3 months.  The breeder was feeding her puppy food from tracker supply so we kept her on that, her stools were loose so we tried Rachael Ray's just three lamb and rice, her stools were still loose.. She got a bacteria infection from eating canadian geese stools and had diarrhea. the vet put her on medicine and Hills prescription diet i/d. after finishing her meds we went changed Merrick chicken and brown rice.  Everything seemed fine then the diarrhea came back, I took her to the vet and they didn't find anything wrong with her.  But put her back on meds and the Hills precription diet i/d food and we were weening her off the prescription food and mixing with the Merrick chicken and rice, after switching her to Merrick chicken and rice completely her diarrhea is back...Does anyone have any suggestions.  The vet is putting her back on the Hills presciption diet.  Help!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's what "brewer's rice" is. Honestly. It's what they sweep up off the floor in breweries.

[Rita and Fazzy]

Had no idea, but still love the description!!!

[Diane Farmer]

Thank you for all this good information!  This mornings stool was normal.  I will start her on some boiled chicken and sweet potatoes, and the pro/pre-biotic called Gentle Digest.  Do you use that in lieu of the yogurt? Definitely gonna get some green beans too. Will look for the foods suggested in this discussion.

Scarlett is from a small town in Georgia, and she lived out in the country.  When we first got her she was so nervous, everything was new to her.  She didn't want to even go in our house and spent the first week sleeping in our bedroom in front of a floor length mirror, I think it reminded her of her sister.  She has gotten SO much better but still has anxiety issues.  I am not sure if this has contributed to her digestive issues. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There is a GI disease or syndrome called Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS, not to be confused with IBD, which Inflammatory Bowel Disease and is a severe immune-mediated illness similar to Crohn's disease in humans. IBS is thought to be caused by stress and nervousness. It is possible that this is part of Scarlett's problems, we have had several doodles here who have IBS.

But i also think she came to you with giardia, and that she may still have it. A dog who has been living in a rural environment and spending time outdoors on acreage with a lot of other dogs is at very high risk for giardia.

I would give the yogurt anyway, even with the Gentle Digest. The Gentle Digest is considered a Pre-biotic, in that it helps to create an intestinal environment that promotes the growth of good bacteria/flora in the GI tract. The cultures in yogurt are the probiotics, or good bacteria. Using both should help a lot. I really think a large part of the problem is that her GI tract is just devoid of any of the bacteria that she needs for healthy digestion and stool formation, due to the heavy duty antibiotics.

One caveat: Prebiotics and Probiotics must not be given within a minimum of 2 or 3 hours as antibiotics, as the antibiotics will cancel out the benefits.

I'm wondering how her stool was normal this a.m. Is she still on any meds? Is she currently eating the Hill's?

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I was thinking the same thing about IBS..b/c of her anxiety, stress...

Thanks for the info about taking the pre/probiotics and antibiotics..i did not know that!

[Diane Farmer]

On 10/8/12 we took her to the vet for to be spayed and they found she had tapeworms. and gave her and injection of praziquantel.

on 10/23/12 she had a follow up injection with praziquantel 10 ml

on 11/9/12 she tested positive for giardia and had mometamax and Idess snap cpl  and  metronidazole & sulfassalazine

on 12/17/12 she tested negative for giardia, but had pyrantel pamoate 50 mg, idexx snap cpl,  cerrenia injectable 10mg, metronidazole & sulfassalazine,

Today her stools are normal but I am still feeding her the Hills I/d food only for convenience...I am trying to locate the Honest Kitchen food in my area.  I did feed her some non fat plain greek yogurt this afternoon. 

[Diane Farmer]

I am not familar with the medical terminology for all of the items she has had.  Her vet  seems to think she has a sensitive stomach.    Is your suggestion to use the gentle digest with the yogurt?

Thank you so much for everyones help this is such a blessing to get this feedback. 

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yes, use the yogurt and the Gentle Digest both.

The Idexx snap cpl is a fecal test.

Cerenia is used for nausea. Metronidazole is a GI antibiotic that is used to treat many Gi diseases and does help with giardia, but it's not as effective as Panacur for giardia, Sulfsalazine is used for IBD and IMO should not be used for parasites, giardia, diarrhea, etc. I would not accept it again, and I would ask for Panacur.

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Jane has pointed out to me that I should have said that IBS can be triggered by stress or anxiety, not caused by them. The dog has to have the propensity for IBS in the first place; then stress can trigger an episode, but it probably doesn't cause a dog to develop IBS on its own.

[Diane Farmer]

I took Scarlett to the vet yesterday and they did a fecal exam and giardia test and they both came back negative... I spoke with my vet about Honest Kitchen he is doing some research for me.  also said he has had good results with the royal canin.  He is supposed to get back with me tomorrow.  She had the Hill's for breakfast and i gave her some greek non fat plan yogurt, and at lunch i was eating an apple so I gave her a tiny piece the size of a fingernail, after that she didn't want anymore and when I took her for a walk shortly after she had diarrhea again.

So frustrating. 

 

 

 

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Diane, veterinarians receive no nutritional training in vet school. This is a documented fact. Whatever knowledge they do have comes from seminars conducted by dog food companies like Hill's and mars, which makes Royal Canin. Having your vet do "research" on Honest Kitchen is pointless, he makes a profit on the Rx foods. He has prescribed to you a food that contains corn, by-products, and brewer's rice as the solution to your dog's GI issues. But if you are going to follow your vet's recommendations about dog food brands regarding anything we recommend here, I'm afraid there's no advice I can give you.

An apple or any other raw fruit or vegetable is going to be very hard on a dog's digestive system. I would avoid giving her anything like that while she is having GI issues.

[Diane Farmer]

Karen, I want to go with your recommendations,  I called honest kitchen and they recommended a product called perfect form..which i ordered i will probably get it on Friday.  Have you had any experience with that product?

Scarlett is not on any meds right now and has not been on any for over a week.  I am having trouble locating the gentle digest, I did see it online so is this something that has to be ordered online,  do you think i should try the Perfect form from Honest Kitchen first?  I just ordered it on impulse based on the reviews they had too.

Should I ween her off the hills id food and use 1/2 and 1/2? and make her homemade food, how much chicken should she get with her meals, is it one boneless skinless boiled chicken breast per day or per meal and then smashed sweet potatoes or canned pumpkin.  I am giving her plain nonfat greek yogurt 3 times a day. how long should I keep her on this before introducing her to some new food?