Boxer Puppy, diarrhea, losing weight

[netmikey]

Hello everybody,

I have 16 week old boy who seems to be having some digestive problems.
At first we had him on Iams Puppy, the Iams Puppy Canned, then Waltham low fat, now back to iams puppy(he wont eat hard food unless hes starving). Each time we slowly changed his food, but nothing seemed to help.

He has NEVER had a solid stool from day one...
Sometimes its explosive, sometimes its just soft stool, other times its like soft serve ice cream as it comes out..

He is 15 weeks old and only weights 13 pounds....he ISNT lathargic, and eats ALOT, but hes not an average boxer puppy, he hardly plays......he rather be held and loved...

A few hundred dollars later, all blood tests came in fine, low white's due to the fact of his weight, he also went through full fledge de-worming and parasite cleaning as a precaution..

on the Iams canned, his stools seemed to have firmed up a little more...but he still looks boney, so we reduced the canned iams by a half and give him a cup of rice and a half a piece of chicken filet with it.
then the explosive diarrhea re-started..

my vet is mind bogged and suggested malabsorbtion/maldigestion...but is doing extensive research on him..

he is on nutrical, but im questioning if that triggers more diarrhea?

right now he is on boiled chicken...and blended up waltham hard food...

another thing is, if we dont catch him, he goes to eat his own feces...

any recommendations?
has anyone had any history dealing with pancreatitis, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency(EPI), or malabsorbtion/maldigestion?

anyone using pancrezyme?

please help,
Mike

 

[Vela]

Well it sounds like you've made sure he was wormed and isn't having any problem that they were able to pick up on with blood tests so far. To be honest with you Iams is really not a great food and unforutantely vets are not taught much of anything about nutrition in vet school and are really not the best place to get nurtritional information for your pup. Some vets do learn about this on their own but they are few and far between.

One problem may be be he is allergic to something in the Iams. That can cause diarrhea. Also the switching around of the foods often can also cause diarrhea. For a puppy they really do not need low fat food but they need a good quality of food.
There are many great foods out there (kibble and canned). Please try doing a search for the WHole Dog Journal of recommended foods using the search option at the top of the page and it will bring up a list of great foods (by ingredient listings) that are great for your boy. I feed my puppy Canidae which is not puppy or adult but all life stages. Some brands have puppy formulas. I don't find it necessary myself but others prefer to do it that way. TRy finding some foods around you locally, most brands of food have a website with store locators on them to help you. Anything you can buy at the grocery store or WalMart is probably not something you want to feed your baby. Lots of fillres and allergens in them.
It make take a few tries to find him a good food using the WJD list because not all foods agree with all dogs but it is well worth the effort. As you change foods gradually put some new in with the old using more new etc etc until the change is made. This also helps prevent upset tummies and diarrhea.

Also, I add warm water to both of my dog's food (10 mos and 3 years) and a Tbsp or so of canned to make it like a stew. I let it sit until its softer and they have alwys preferred it. That is how they were fed at the breeders and so I continue that. They are fed twice daily. They won't eat it dry either.

I hope it's not his pancreas but it could honestly just be the food. Lots of dogs eat their own poop as well. It's a bad habit. There is something you can give them that makes it taste worse so they wont eat it. Can't remember what it's called atm. Try doing a search on eating poop hehe.

Anyway sorry so long. I hope it helps some. Good luck and let us know how he's doing.

 

[Maniago]

he also went through full fledge de-worming and parasite cleaning as a precaution..

as a precaution? Normally a fecal test will confirm worms.

Is 15 or 16 weeks? Seems like alot of food changes for a 15 or 16 week old pup. others will have more advice

 

[jac723]

I'm assuming that your vet tested a stool sample for giardia? That is what one of my pups had from day one, and once she went through 2 cycles of medication (the first round was not strong enough) we never had a problem. Do a search on this site for giardia, and you'll get more information.

Sorry to hear about your pup's troubles - hope you get an answer soon.

Martha
Mia & Marcella

 

[netmikey]

the vet said the fecal exam only shows a certain type of worm, the de-worming we did he said takes care of all worms...

15 weeks, all those foods.....yes..that is true...i do anything for my puppy, that includes the GRADUAL changes i have been doing..

about giardia..
they DID find something questional that MAY be giardia, but they were not sure, however, he received the meds to take care of it.

also, what would you suggest to keep him on as of now?
i will discontinue the iams....is waltham a good quality?
i dont want to try ANOTHER food with him...
how about rice and chicken? could they have been a cause of it?

 

[Vela]

Most likely the chicken didn't cause it unless he is allergic to chicken, which is entirely possible. I myself am not familiar with Waltham but you really would be better of changing his food again if you have to to get his problem to stop. It may not stop it, he may have another problem but in the long run if it is the food causing the problem then changing again could be the only real solution to the problem. This is ALL speculation and I don't know that it has anything to do with Waltham but if your vet can't find anything and he had been wormed and treated for Giardia it may logically be the next best step. I personally would recommend Canidae or Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul as i have heard very good things about both and use Canidae myself but there are other good quality foods to try as well if those aren't availabe in your area. As a puppy he really shouldn't be on low fat food unless he does indeed have pancreatitis. I'm sure you are trying everyting you can for your baby. Also maybe try the soaking method to get him to eat better. It certinly won't hurt him and may help him by keeping him hydrated through this diarrhea.

Good luck and I hope you find a good solution.

 

[netmikey]

update,

our vet talked with an internal medicine specialist and logan just started his first dosage of Viokase...
we'll see how it works...

they said they have a pretty good feeling viokase will do the trick...

if not..then they will do a full blood analysis on food allergy and which foods will work best for him...