Digestive Issues

[JunoMila]

I've had my boxer Juno for 9 months now and pretty much since day one she's had some tummy issues. Every single time she poops it's diarrhea. She doesn't have diarrhea in the sense that she has to go frequently or can't control it, but just every time she does go it's a runny mess. I took her to the vet three different times. Each time they gave me a probiotic and some kind of antibiotic or other and sent me home. They also did fecal tests every time for all sorts of various kinds of parasites and never found anything. The third time they suggested changing her food to Purina ProPlan sensitive stomach formula, which didn't help. She was kind of a finicky eater.

Around four months ago her runny poop started to have spots of bright red blood in it. Clearly alarmed I took her back to the vet and they did the same routine. I was so fed up with them not helping my girl when she obviously has something going on that I took her to another vet and haven't gone back to the other. The new vet did all the same tests, as well as a couple others, gave her a shot and some other pills to deworm, as well as antibiotics. They also suggested changing the food again to Royal Canin Gastroinestinal Low-Fat and not feeding her any treats or anything too rich.

I could tell right away that a sensitive stomach was definitely part of the issues because instead of being finicky she now gobbles the food right up. The only treats she gets are freeze dried chicken breast pieces and once in awhile a small piece of carrot. It seemed to help her at first. Her poop seemed to be finally normal. However, now two months later her poop issues persist. Now maybe ever other poop is a normal, solid one, but most of the time it's the same running mess. When we're out on a walk around my neighborhood (maybe half a mile long) she usually poops at least twice. The first time it's normal-ish and then the second is usually really runny with a spot of blood.

On top of it all she's very thin. She doesn't look terrible, but you can see her ribs and her spine. Every vet I asked said she was a fine weight until this last one we saw who said she was thin. She eats plenty and all of the many many times she's been tested for all kinds of parasites they haven't found anything. I'm just about at my wit's end. I have no idea what to do next. The vets never seem to think there's cause for any further testing or examination, but the things they suggest never prove to be a solution. The food she's on is SO expensive and I would pay any amount to have my baby healthy...but if it's not working it's hard to see the point in spending so much. Anyone been through something like this? Any advice?

 

[MichBoxerMom]

I stated this on your other post...
I feel your pain.... We have had problems since my boy was 8 months old and he is now 16months old. We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. After thousands in vet bills. I cooked chicken and rice for a few days and then switched a dehydrated food Honest Kitchen. The one I use you have to mix in your protein source but they have several options available. I always have Pepcid on hand!! Try using one protein source for a few weeks= I went with burger and always rinse well because some boxers have problems with the fat content.

Also i know I said I fed the chicken and rice for a couple of days but rice is not good for your dog! I only do this if his tummy issues are severe and if they wont eat. I removed all grains from his diet or as much as possible if you can. I use very little kibble 1/2 just for some crunch. You can try the Honest Kitchen Preference and mix in any protein source just be sure to cook it well and rinse under hot water to remove the grease! This is just what has worked for us. I know lots of owners here feed raw but I just can not bring myself to do so yet!

 

[Kisaq]

I also posted on your other thread.

But thought I'd add a couple of things.

1/ add some pumpkin to whatever you are feeding her. It tends to help firm her up. Just a spoon full is fine.

2/ have you tried a different protein source? My guy's poop was very sloppy for the first six months, until I finally decided to stop feeding him ANYTHING chicken or turkey. They firmed right up. Now, when ever he gets slipped some turkey or something that he shouldn't have, he will have belly gurgles for a couple of days, and his poops stick and usually have some mucus mixed in or coating it. It's a fast reaction.

 

[JunoMila]

I also posted on your other thread.

But thought I'd add a couple of things.

1/ add some pumpkin to whatever you are feeding her. It tends to help firm her up. Just a spoon full is fine.

2/ have you tried a different protein source? My guy's poop was very sloppy for the first six months, until I finally decided to stop feeding him ANYTHING chicken or turkey. They firmed right up. Now, when ever he gets slipped some turkey or something that he shouldn't have, he will have belly gurgles for a couple of days, and his poops stick and usually have some mucus mixed in or coating it. It's a fast reaction.

I haven't tried anything other than chicken since the vet suggested anything with higher fat may be too rich for her stomach. I'm scared to mess around with her diet TOO much, but I might try it.

 

[JunoMila]

I stated this on your other post...
I feel your pain.... We have had problems since my boy was 8 months old and he is now 16months old. We are finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. After thousands in vet bills. I cooked chicken and rice for a few days and then switched a dehydrated food Honest Kitchen. The one I use you have to mix in your protein source but they have several options available. I always have Pepcid on hand!! Try using one protein source for a few weeks= I went with burger and always rinse well because some boxers have problems with the fat content.

Also i know I said I fed the chicken and rice for a couple of days but rice is not good for your dog! I only do this if his tummy issues are severe and if they wont eat. I removed all grains from his diet or as much as possible if you can. I use very little kibble 1/2 just for some crunch. You can try the Honest Kitchen Preference and mix in any protein source just be sure to cook it well and rinse under hot water to remove the grease! This is just what has worked for us. I know lots of owners here feed raw but I just can not bring myself to do so yet!

Everything she's on now is completely grain free. I will look into the Honest Kitchen. Where do you find it? I can't do the raw thing either!

 

[MichBoxerMom]

Honest Kitchen.... You can check with your local pet food stores but I buy mine mostly online from them.. If you go to their website they have trial packets that you can get very inexpensively.Also if you sign up with them they will send you a coupon for $5 off. I talked to a rep there and she sent us some free trials.. Might be worth a call.. Their food is not raw.

 

[Bathel]

I've had my boxer Juno for 9 months now and pretty much since day one she's had some tummy issues. Every single time she poops it's diarrhea. She doesn't have diarrhea in the sense that she has to go frequently or can't control it, but just every time she does go it's a runny mess. I took her to the vet three different times. Each time they gave me a probiotic and some kind of antibiotic or other and sent me home. They also did fecal tests every time for all sorts of various kinds of parasites and never found anything. The third time they suggested changing her food to Purina ProPlan sensitive stomach formula, which didn't help. She was kind of a finicky eater.

Around four months ago her runny poop started to have spots of bright red blood in it. Clearly alarmed I took her back to the vet and they did the same routine. I was so fed up with them not helping my girl when she obviously has something going on that I took her to another vet and haven't gone back to the other. The new vet did all the same tests, as well as a couple others, gave her a shot and some other pills to deworm, as well as antibiotics. They also suggested changing the food again to Royal Canin Gastroinestinal Low-Fat and not feeding her any treats or anything too rich.

I could tell right away that a sensitive stomach was definitely part of the issues because instead of being finicky she now gobbles the food right up. The only treats she gets are freeze dried chicken breast pieces and once in awhile a small piece of carrot. It seemed to help her at first. Her poop seemed to be finally normal. However, now two months later her poop issues persist. Now maybe ever other poop is a normal, solid one, but most of the time it's the same running mess. When we're out on a walk around my neighborhood (maybe half a mile long) she usually poops at least twice. The first time it's normal-ish and then the second is usually really runny with a spot of blood.

On top of it all she's very thin. She doesn't look terrible, but you can see her ribs and her spine. Every vet I asked said she was a fine weight until this last one we saw who said she was thin. She eats plenty and all of the many many times she's been tested for all kinds of parasites they haven't found anything. I'm just about at my wit's end. I have no idea what to do next. The vets never seem to think there's cause for any further testing or examination, but the things they suggest never prove to be a solution. The food she's on is SO expensive and I would pay any amount to have my baby healthy...but if it's not working it's hard to see the point in spending so much. Anyone been through something like this? Any advice?

Are the poops liquid or just soft but still in the shape of a "turd"... ??

My girl had extremely soft stools until she went to a two a day feeding at 1 year of age. Before the two a day feeding... she had a "firmer" stool first thing in the AM, but then the next two or three were very loose. I'm not one that really worried to much about the stool firmness for the first year... Although, she never had blood in her stools which could be cause for concern.

As a side note, I would ask around on the boards if there is an alternative to the Royal Canin food... although, I am sure there are situations where it is a needed... for the most part my opinion of that food is that it is total crap. This may be a situation where it is required, but as some more experienced forum members if there is an alternative...

If this were me... I would try some other foods such as Grain Free Pura Vita (which my girl is on right now), Fromm, Acrana, Natural Balance, Core, Blue Buffalo Wilderness, Merrick to name a few... make sure to try the seafood versions over the chicken as some dogs have allergies to certain proteins... If the stools are shaped, but loose I wouldn't worry too much... however, I would have concerns over bloody stools...

Also, if a picky eater... sometimes a spoonful of canned food to go mixed in the dry get's them over the hump... I tend to put a scoop of the Merrick beef in my girls kibble... If she's been really good, I give her some reconstituted freeze dried Orijens Red dog food mixed with the kibble (expensive stuff).

 

[Tuff Love]

I don't know if I saw or replied to your other thread, but I can tell you I've been there and I understand your frustration. Pretty much went through everything you did... tons of testing, antibiotics, specialty diets, the works... To this day I don't know what was wrong with our girl and there were times I thought she was going to waste away and die on us. We suspected HUC for a time but we now have her issues under control and I'm not sure HUC can be cured without a course of Baytril... who knows though. So what worked for us? Hard to say. It may have been a combination of things. We went through several rounds of Flagyl and Panakare among a plethora of other meds and both of those definitely helped, but weren't long term solutions for the underlying problem. We now know our girl has some kind of chicken allergy and that may have been at the bottom of everything (she was on Blue Buffalo Puppy Chicken Formula at the time the bloody diarrhea began). We only knew for sure when we tried to give it to her after her recovery and she had diarrhea again immediately. BTW- the gastrointestinal formulas never helped my girl and I wasn't fond of giving them in the first place. After trying a number of diets and formulas we ended up on Natural Balance Venison & Sweet Potato. Our vet suggested, as another poster mentioned, that we try giving her a novel protein source. Dogs often do much better on gamier meats (chicken happens to be the most common for allergies). It was the first food she had solid/blood-free poops on since it all began at 3 months of age. Unfortunately she got bored with it and we had to find something else. Tried a few other grain free brands without success and finally ended up with Sojos at the recommendation of another user. Sojos is a freeze-dried RAW food that you rehydrate with water. She did PHENOMINAL on the Sojos. Best poops ever! Unfortunately it's also very lean/low cal and she started losing weight on it so we started giving her a combination of Wellness Core Ocean and Sojos mixed, and have done so ever since with great results. We also usually give her a probiotic with her dinner. Both of her foods are fairly expensive, but it's the only thing that has worked and I always recommend the Sojos to people having these kinds of issues with their dogs. If you can handle it, I would definitely try going raw, but if not, there are pre-made options like Sojos, but they're costly.
As someone else noted, pumpkin also works wonders at firming up stools.