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.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

And this Danelle our "new" friend, is why you will love DoodleKisses. We have our own little expert Karen (and yes she is little), who cares so much about your new wee one that she takes the time to read, understand and then figure out your next course of action (and late at night to boot).

I hope, and feel you will, take heed in her advice and follow all her suggestions. Soon your Riley will be feeling better and then you can just come on here to have fun and brag about all the wonderful things you doodle will be doing.

Good Luck.

[Danielle]

Thank you, I agree her help is wonderful and much appreciated!

[Danielle]

Thank you SO MUCH for all of this. I see you have your hands full with many people asking for help but it is VERY appreciated!

Thank you for the link for that pet store, I didn't realize it existed, but will be sure to check it for any products I need. I have only been in the area for a few months so it is good to know about that place.

I will be sure to keep the same food for now and add the yogurt and pumpkin.

I will find a new vet ASAP (somebody just recommended the UF vet hospital, if anyone has had experience with them please let me know how it went) and see about treating the issue.

I am also looking into insurance now.

Thank you Thank you and Thank you for your help. I will be sure to let you know how everything goes.

 

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Good luck - I am not near as much of an "expert" as our Karen here, but before I even read halfway through your post, I KNEW this has nothing to do with food and you must get your sweet baby treated immediately for giardia.  Please keep us posted!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bob Johnston]

I second that idea for getting the pet insurance. No way that breeder is going to reimburse you for any of the vet bill costs. Just make sure what ever you select will cover the issues listed above.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Actually, the issues listed are small change compared to the kind of bills you can have when there are diagnostic tests involved. Once something is in the medical records, most companies will not cover them. But all of this can lead to some serious GI diseases down the road, and those would be covered, that's why it's important to get the insurance now, before anythind other than worms is diagnosed. In the scheme of vet bills, a fecal test and some antibiotics is nothing, and I would not worry about those bills being covered. Even the reputable breeders won't cover things like worms or giardia. But it costs about $3000-$5000 to just diagnose IBD.

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Best of luck with everything!  I know diarrhea is one of our most popular topics here on DK, but I feel like there were MANY stories of it the past few weeks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

So many that I am getting confused about which dog has what and belongs to who, lol. And you haven't seen my inbox, lots of PMs about the same thing in a few others.

I am at the point where the only way I would get a doodle puppy would be if the breeder guaranteed me in writing that the puppy would be free of parasites, lol. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good luck with that. I do think you need to make up a few good answers to common questions that people need to read first. Parasites, "food allergies", food too rich, food too much protein, Rx food, etc. Then you could type much less and you would have a wonderful reference here to refer people to. I have an index in the Photography Group and you could have a similar thing here. Just now this reply "jumped" when I had written a few words. Rather than continue, I saved it and edited cause I have learned that edit is more reliable. We have to save ourselves aggro: )

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I am going to do that, right after I clean out my filing cabinet and my kitchen junk drawer. ;-)

[F, Calla & Luca]

Funny, I just cleaned out some bathroom cabinet shelves and threw out lots of junk. Declutter is my main goal for the year and it covers so many bases. This site is getting on my nerves really. This is the third comment in a row that needed redoing.

[Elizabeth & Cosmo]

Danielle, in your search for new vet, you might consider the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. They have a Small Animal Clinic that provides general health services. Because it is at the Vet School, there are also a large number of specialists who could be consulted if necessary.

Here is a link to the Small Animal Hospital Primary Care:

http://smallanimal.vethospital.ufl.edu/clinical-services/primary-ca...

I hope you and Riley can get this resolved very soon. Best wishes from Cosmo and me!