Why? Izzy still not well.....

[Lisa Turner]

So, Izzy has not been keeping her food in again. She has had so many antibiotics of all kinds. We starved her yesterday then fed her this morning and she pooped everywhere within seconds. Scooped the poop along with her and went straight to the vet. We looked in the microscope and she has do much bacteria in her poop! The vet has never seen anything like it. This is after flora and everything else. Izzy is loosing weight fast and I am beside myself with worry for her.

[Lori, Daphne, Lucy & Pippa]

I'm sooo sorry that Izzy is not doing well :-( I really hope the vet can figure out the problem SOON! Its so hard to think of anything else when they are sick. Hugs to both of you and I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm sorry to hear this, Lisa. When you say "flora", do you mean Fortiflora, the probiotic the vets sell? 

[Ginny Nightingale]

OH how horrible--can they put her on an IV at the vets to get her back on track without food? I have done that a few times with dogs that have had giardia to give the intestine a rest--she may need to be on a bland GI diet for a long period of time until the irritability goes away--not necessarily the vet prescription stuff, but something you make yourself, like boiled chicken and rice. I hope you see some improvement soon....poor little pup and poor mom!!

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

What have you been feeding her? Have you seen a specialist yet? I am so sorry to hear this...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

So I really don't think she's ready to be back on dog food.  I'm not sure that you even have a definitive diagnosis at this point...what does the vet say is the cause of the bacteria in her stool?  I don't see how starving her for a day and then giving her dog food is a good strategy...it just doesn't make sense to me.  My dogs both have IBS and when they're having an attack the go on boiled white meat chicken and white rice.  That's it...nothing else...no treats or sweet potato or yogurt or Fortiflora.  I cut the chicken into very small pieces and add some water so that its kind of "soupy" which also helps with hydration.  I feed very small meals...you have to go slow.  Feed a few tbsps and wait a couple hours....if no reaction maybe try a half cup.  I keep this up for at least a full week, and it usually takes a couple days before there is really noticeable improvement.  When there is sustained improvement (solid poops) you can think about going back to dog food, but I would be very careful with this.  My boys are on a home cooked diet which I supplement with dog food (freeze dried raw).  Putting them on regular dog food always brings on an attack so I don't even try anymore.

[Lisa Turner]

They have no idea why the bacteria is there.  She has been either on Metrozidonol or Panacur all her life.  She is eating Wellness limited ingredient salmon and sweet potatoe diet as I do not like nor want to feed her an Rx diet.  She will not touch chicken with rice.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Most dogs will eat the chicken and rice if they get hungry enough.  I'm just suggesting it at this point when you don't have any diagnosis because I know that when my guys were having a GI episode they could not eat kibble....any kibble.  Their GI tracks could not handle it....they needed to be on a bland diet.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I din't understand the comments by vets about bacteria in stools since that is primarily what feces is composed of. Are they saying there is a preponderance of one kind of bacteria, e.g. cocci versus rods? I often wonder.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

According to my old physiology textbook, stool is 75% water. The composition of the remaining 25% is:  30% bacteria,  30% is undigested fiber & "solidified components of digestive juices", and remaining 40% is fat, protein, and inorganic matter. That's human stool, but I think canine stool is pretty similar.

I think the vets are talking about the amounts of certain kinds of bacteria in the stool, i.e. pathogenic bacteria versus normal flora. I know you understand this stuff better than I do, lol. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

Well if you exclude the water there you go, lot of bacteria. They don't culture the stool I think so they must be going by the appearance of the bacteria? I'd love to know. The appearance of course wouldn't tell you if its' pathogenic but you could see a preponderance of one kind versus another in terms of shape, I guess.

[Meridith and Lola]

Jane - When feedling  a bland diet - how many ounces of chicken is the right amount for a 35 pound dog. I always feel I am not feeding the right amount

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It looks like Karen just answered this at the end of the discussion.  In order to determine the right amount of chicken you need to...

-determine the number of calories your dog needs per day (see Karen's response...the calorie calculator).

-I feed 50 - 60% protein, so you would need at least half of your daily calorie allotment in chicken.