New member! And we need some advice...

[Chelsea Sifers]

Hi everyone! We are new here but have been lurking around ever since we got our mini goldendoodle Maisy back in December. She is now 10 months old but has been having some tummy trouble for the past few months - loose stools and diarrhea. She did 2 rounds of antibiotics (metro) and has had a fecal float done twice and both came back negative but the problem always comes back. She was eating Blue Buffalo puppy and her vet suggested we try switching her food but didn't specify so I switched her to Orijen puppy. She did better for a week maybe and the problem came back. Her vet is now suggesting Science Diet puppy (she said that grain free foods can be missing the fiber she needs and causing a problem or it could be too rich) but all I have read is bad things. I hate to go against her and seem like I know more than a licensed vet but I'm not comfortable with this food. I am going to try to keep her on the Orijen and go get her a probiotic but if that doesn't work I don't know what my next move is. She has been acting totally like herself the entire time, so I'm happy about that but we are exhausted from getting up with her at night anywhere from 0-3 times depending on the night. Help!

[Chelsea Sifers]

I forgot to mention that her vet had never heard of Orijen and had to look it up which seemed odd to me...

[Gail and Bailey]

Hi Chelsea and Welcome to Doodle Kisses!  I would suggest you join the Food Group and enter your post in that group.  Karen, who is an expert on Food issues, is running that group and I know you will get excellent advice from her.  There have been so many members who have the same problems.  You will find support and help and get through this!  Good luck!

[Barbara B., Sasha & Oliver]

Awwww poor baby :(   My Oliver had poop issues when he was a puppy and seemed to grow out of it.  I went through different foods as well.  What seemed to work best for Oliver was the grain free food, now he is 4 and totally past food issues and on regular food.  I did have all the tests done as well just to be on the safe side.  When my doodles do get the poops I give them chicken and white rice and that seems to firm up everything.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Hi Chelsea,

We have a ton of info in The Food group about this. Unfortunately, it's very common in dogs who have been given metronidazole, especially when there have been repeated rounds, to dvelop chronic diarrhea after the meds are discontinued. The metronidazole destroys all of the bacteria in the GI tract, including the good bacteria which is necessary for proper stool formation. For this reason, any dog who is taking antibiotics and especially metronidazole must also be given probiotics for a period of time during and after the treatment. 

To make matters worse, metronidazole can have other side-effects, especially when used repeatedly or long term. It is also not the most effective treatment for giardia, although many vets still prescribe it. A more effective treatment is Panacur, which is also very safe in terms of side effects. If the diarrhea is so urgent that Maisy is waking you at night, she may have giardia, even though it didn't show up in the tests.  If that continues, I would ask your vet for a 3-5 day course of Panacur.

Regarding probiotics, do not let the vet sell you Fortiflora (an overpriced Purina product that contains some truly lousy ingredients). I recommend Proviable DC; some vets do sell it, but you will probably have to order it on-line. 

Probiotics must always be given at least two hours apart from any antibiotics. You will need to use the probiotics for about a month at least.

You are right to refuse the Science Diet food. It's garbage. And in this case, you DO know more than a licensed vet, because there is no required nutrition curriculum in vet school, and anything your vet knows about food comes directly from the Science Diet sales and marketing people. 

Good luck, and please do join us in the Food group. I hope this helps.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Welcome to DK! So glad you posted. You will get good advice here.

Karen is our Food guru and you can feel safe following her great recommendations...be sure to join The Food Group. I have only glanced at the responses, but I was going to suggest that you also add a dollop of pure pumpkin to her food. It is a great way to add fiber and firm up loose stool. Be sure not to use canned pumpkin pie filling, just canned pumpkin.  The chicken and rice meal is very useful to try for several days too, the pumpkin for after you are back on Orijen.

I hope Maisy feels better soon. Please keep us updated.