At my wit's end with chronic diarrhea... advice?

[mancin]

Long story short, ever since I moved to Milwaukee Tyson has had chronic diarrhea. It's VERY loose and watery. There is no blood in the stool or other strange coloring. This has been going on several months. He'll get better (by better, I mean semi soft stool never 100% normal) and then get worse. He's eating and drinking fine and acts completely normal. Even though his stool is so loose, he hasn't had any accidents and is able to hold it (he is able to go outside to potty every 5 - 6 hours). He always has fresh water available.

I've tried the following to no avail over the past few months:

- Switched dog food to different protein sources (he's in Innova Fish right now which he's been on before and did well)
- Decreased food intake
- No treats and no additives on food (we were giving him salmon oil when he was on a non-fish food)
- Bland diet (ground beef, as he can't have chicken)
- Tried daily probiotics
- Ran a stool sample, no parasites

Tyson's allergies/restrictions:

- Can't have dairy
- Can't have chicken

I took him to the vet on Friday and he's on Metrozonadole for a week to see if that helps. The vet also suggested canned pumpkin, so I'm going to try and pick that up when I get home.

Am I missing something?? Is there something I should be trying that I haven't?

 

[Jan]

Is the Innova Fish a grain free food? Is that something that you have tried.? Maybe a raw natural diet would help.

 

[mancin]

Is the Innova Fish a grain free food? Is that something that you have tried.? Maybe a raw natural diet would help.

Yup, it's grain free. He's been on grain free food since he was 2.5 or 3 (he's nearly 7 now). I used to rotate protein sources every 4 - 6 months until I noticed he was becoming less tolerant of the changes. He's always had a sensitive stomach, but it's never been this bad.

He was on it right before I moved and was doing fine. I switched him to Instinct Duck/Turkey in an effort to get all 3 dogs on the same food (which looking back, was dumb on my part). It usually takes a week or two to switch him as I do it slowly. That's when the diarrhea started again and continued even after he had been 100% on the new food for a bit, so I slowly switched him back to the Innova. His appetite increased, as he wasn't a fan of the Instinct, but the diarrhea continued.

The raw diet makes me nervous because he'll swallow anything whole. He had a bowel obstruction as a puppy because he swallowed one of his chew toys. It passed, but not long after he swallowed ANOTHER toy. Since then, he's never been allowed to have anything he can chew on or play with that is smaller than his head.

 

[larrygs]

Layla had same issue when she was younger.

We tried a variety of foods and eventually learned the basic cause was grain. Even then, some high rated grain free foods gave her some trouble. She just has a tender system.

Be sure to see the link on food analysis, you may be surpised about Innova and frankly some other foods vets recommend. We have been on Taste of the Wild for over a year with great results, ie all got firmer and chronic diarrhea is gone.

You didn't say how old he is. I mention it because you indicate it has been since arriving in Milwaukee. Is he is an adullt and was fine for several years before arriving Milwaukee? If so I would wonder if there is a location specific thing happening. Something he is eating now that he didn't before. For example, both Jack and Layla try to eat acorns, which are quite bad and will upset their system.

It can take awhile to figure what works, but worth it. Good luck.

 

[mancin]

Be sure to see the link on food analysis, you may be surpised about Innova and frankly some other foods vets recommend.

The Innova that he's on is listed as a 6 star food on dog food analysis. I've always used that site to find new foods to give them. Yeah, I never take a vet's opinion on what food to feed.

You didn't say how old he is. I mention it because you indicate it has been since arriving in Milwaukee. Is he is an adullt and was fine for several years before arriving Milwaukee?

He'll be 7 in June, but he's always had a sensitive stomach. He got into a lot in my yard in Oregon because I had a huge yard with lots of weeds. The difference then was when he got diarrhea from eating something he shouldn't have, he would have accidents in his crate as he wasn't able to hold it.

I'm nearly positive he's not getting into anything outside here because I always go outside with him and watch him (we have dogs that live upstairs so I have to be really careful) and the yard is pretty small and nothing grows in it.

We have been on Taste of the Wild for over a year with great results, ie all got firmer and chronic diarrhea is gone.

I've found it's been difficult to find a grain free food that doesn't have any chicken. He's been on red meat versions before, but it's just too rich for him. I had him on Orijen Six Fish at one point (before I moved) and he seemed to do OK on that too, but we ended up switching to Innova because Orijen was getting more difficult to find.

He's definitely the hardest dog of my 3 to feed.

 

[Gatorblu]

I went thru this last year with Thor. It started with pancreatitis and I could never seem to get his stools firm again. Another poster on her mentioned psyllium so many times for other dogs I thought I would try it. The difference in 24 hours was amazing! The stool was not back to perfect, but at least it had form. Something I hadn't seen in 6 months! Psyllium is a fiber, that if I remember correctly, slows the digestive tract down. Your dog will absorb more nutrition from his food. Thor's tummy is still a bit sensitive and I have been feeding him 3x a day so he doesn't overwork his system. I had tried going back to 2x/day and ended up with loose stools again, so we're staying with our 3x/day. I also add prozyme to help him digest things again so we don't overload his system. I also add acidolpholis capsules. This is the good bacteria that aids in digestion. If nothing else I would be adding this, because your pup is on antibiotics, which kill all bacteria good and bad. You'll want to add balance again. As for what I add it is 1 tsp psyllium, 1/4 tsp prozyme, and 1 acidolpholis capsule to each meal of 1 cup food. It has worked well for us. With all this he has had solid stools. I never knew I could be so happy about poop!

 

[mancin]

Interesting, I've never heard of psyllium. Where can I find it?

I still have the powered probiotics that I can start again after the antibiotics are through. I can't recall the name right now, but I believe it had both enzymes and probiotics in it.

So what I'm gathering is his problem has something to do with a lack of fiber?

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I got my psyllium online at puritan sale but you can get it at any health food store I believe.

You may also want to try ProZyme.

Also the only Innova grain free I'm aware of is Evo, which if I'm not mistaken is extremely high in protein so maybe trying something like Taste of the Wild or Wellness Core which isn't so rich may help.

Good luck.

 

[Gatorblu]

I buy my psyllium at the Vitamin Shoppe. (They are having a sale this month, buy one get one 50% off.)

TOTW Pacific Stream and Sierra Mountain formulas contain no chicken.

 

[Independence]

Could it be a change in the water?? If it's city water maybe something in the chemicals?? My water is well water and that doesn't agree with Bode. He drinks the filtered water from the frig like us now and it's help clear up his issues.