Ongoing Diarrhea...

[Lauren & Ankur Pandya]

Need help!

 

The initial diarrhea with yellow mucus started 2/26/14 and we started the bland diet of rice and boiled chicken.  We took a sample of stool in to be checked and came back negative.  Not till we added pumpkin puree did it start to harden a little.  After a few days we started added in kibble but then Kosar’s stools regressed.  After two weeks of this back and forth, we went to vet who prescribed probiotics and metronidazole.  While kosar was on his meds, we feed him his regular kibble and added a little cottage cheese.  After he finished his meds this past Sunday 3/23 and we are back to diarrhea.  Has this happened to anyone else?

 

Kosar is almost 8 mos.  We feed him Blue Buffalo wilderness puppy (grain-free, chicken).  During all of this his still energy level is the same and has a appetite.  Before all of this, his kibble was fine and so was he stools (hard, firm). 

 

Should be change the food?  Suggestions.  thanks!

[LarryL]

Hey there,

Maybe someone else can chime in - but is it possible the first test that came back negative was wrong?

If I were to guess, he had Giardia (but its just a guess)

My Oliver has been battling it for a month.

His stools started wet and mucusy, and with some blood.

We did the Metro & Probiotics and the meds hardened up his stool.

As soon as he was done with the Metro his diarrhea came back and I was worried he was sick again.

Then all our smart friends here told me that is COMPLETELY NORMAL - and is just something the metro does.

Keep with the Probiotic and hopefully it will help his tummy come back into balance.

Oliver has been off metro for 2-3 days, and its still very very runny stools.

What type of Probiotic were you given??

I would hold off on changing the food now, as it is probably the meds causing the diarrhea at this point.

[Lauren & Ankur Pandya]

Hi and thank you.

The Probiotic was something the doctor gave us in this tube thing.  Should I continue to give him over the counter type?  or give him yogurt?  If yogurt, what brand is the best?

Ok--I will kind food as is.  But should I start with bland diet anything or continue with his kibble and yogurt? 

Thanks again!

[LarryL]

You are done with the Metro right?

It was really important to space the Probiotic at least a few hours before or after the meds.

Now that you are done with the meds, I would continue to give probiotics for at least the next month.

Some plain greek yogurt is fine as a treat and my puppy really likes it - but we have also been giving him a probiotic pill called Proviable DC.

We bought it on Amazon.

The difference is it has ALOT more live probiotic cultures than yogurt by itself.

As far as the food goes, I do not think Bland things like chicken and sweet potato would hurt, but I am not the food expert.

I would only say - continue giving foods he has had before - DO NOT GIVE ANYTHING NEW WHAT SO EVER.

No treats, no nothing.

Unless the new stuff is bland food - we've been giving oliver.

boiled chicken, sweet potato, & kibble

or just his kibble and sweet potato.

today he had, his serving of kibble, with canned organic pumpkin.

thats probably the easiest to prepare.

(just make sure its real pumpkin & not pumpkin pie mix.)

All those things are said to help loose stool - but as we see from experience, after the metro - nothing will firm it up for a few days.

[Lauren & Ankur Pandya]

Should I use Proviable DC probiotic?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The diarrhea almost always returns after the metronidazole is finished. That is because it strips all of the bacteria from the GI tract, including the good flora which is necessary for proper stool formation. This is one reason you should never ever give it to a dog without a good reason. Repeated courses of metronidazole, especially in puppies, have also been linked to permanent digestive diseases and neurological disorders. Never give a drug without a good reason, i.e. a diagnosed infection or disease. Metronidazole has serious side effects and should not be used casually. 

It's great that your vet prescribed probiotics with the meds, but he may not have told you that they must be separated by at least two hours, and longer is better.

I would not make any changes in his diet right now, you will only complicate the issue and add more variables that make it harder to determine what is causing the diarrhea. I would stop the cottage cheese, many dogs do not do well with it. Make sure you are not giving junky treats, rawhide, bully sticks, etc., and that he is not getting into anything in the yard. 

I would order Proviable DC and continue to give it for a month, at least. You can also add a couple of tablespoons of plain, nonfat unflavored yogurt to his meals. 

[Lauren & Ankur Pandya]

Thank you--again this is very helpful.  You are correct, the vet never told me that info but thinking about it, I did space did the meds and probiotics.  Anyway, I just ordered the Proviable DC and it arrives tomorrow.  And I will get yogurt to combine with his kibble.

Kosar doesn't get table food and we haven't been giving him his treats which are zukes.  And we don't use bully sticks or raw hides of any kind.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It will probably just take some time for the good gut bacteria to re-establish itself.

One other thing you can do is pick up a bottle of Gentle Digest capsules by Ark Naturals. You can get them in most smaller "boutique" style pet supply stores or on-line. These are prebiotics which help maintain a good "environment" in the gut that encourages the growth of the good bacteria. They've worked very well for me.