Ok Diarreah Talk I need help.

luckyloo · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 3:42 pm Post subject: Ok Diarreah Talk I need help.

Ok I am a worry wart for sure, but Lucky has had belly problems from day 1. He had the bloody diarrhea when he was younger which freaked me out so bad. He is only 9 months old right now but about 3 weeks ago we switched his food from pedigree puppy to the Canidae all stages. He has like on and off days of diarrhea to normal poops. Today was really bad though. We went on a drive and on the way home he was so ancy we got home he jumped out and had very bad diarrhea then he got up walked a couple steps tried to poop again but only a small amount came out now for the past 4 hours he has been doing this running outside trying to poop and he moans and groans, then he takes a couple steps and tries again and again. All that is coming out is a tiny bit of slimy juice stuff. (I know I am sorry its graphic) I am a little worry because he ate the last of a rawhide bone last night. Could that block him and make his belly upset like that? Would he throw up also if something was stuck? My boyfriend thinks I am a hypo and I am starting to think maybe I am? But he is like my kid I have no human children. Maybe I am a freak but it is so sad to have to take him out and watch that like its killing him you know. I called the vet and I am trying the medinazole or however you spell it any advice???

weimdawgs · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 7:29 pm Post subject:

You could try some canned pumpkin for the runs. Not pie filling, just plain old unsweetened pumpkin. I hope he feels better.

andrea · Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 7:33 pm Post subject:

your poor boy, I have got the same with my GSD Ty hes had it since i got him at 7 weeks old (now 9weeks) the vet thinks he got clostridium Which is a bacterial infection in the bowl and can be pass on to other dogs , cats ,
horses and humans it can live in your back yard as well .

I'm not saying that your dog has this as there is so many things it could be but i would take him to the vets Sad

Aces-Wild · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 7:21 am Post subject:

I know when I switched Ace's food, he had the runs for awhile....like maybe about 2 weeks? I think it might take some dogs longer to get used to a new food than others. One day, the runny poops just stopped and now they are solid. The only thing that worries me in your description is that you said he was groaning.... Sad

Don't feel guilty for being a good dog mom! There's a lot of people who could care less about their dog's bowel habits, and they don't have healthy happy dogs. You're not nuts, you love your Weim, and there's nothing wrong with that!

nurse88 · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 7:34 am Post subject:

Thank you! We just started putting adult food mixed with KD's puppy food and she is pooping liquids, too. We are going to give it another day or two before I call the vet. We are going on vacation in a few days and she is going to the kennel, so I hope this works. Otherwise, she will go to the vet before we go on vacation. She also has been eating alot of grass, which alot of neighbors have had fertilizer put on, so I am checking every little thing she puts in her mouth on walks, too.

shouseholder · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 9:43 am Post subject:

Did you give him any treats? I know I have to be really careful with the treats I give Mischa or she gets diarrhea. Homemade ones are the only ones that don't upset her stomach. I would go to the vet, you can never be too careful with a puppy.

iris · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 10:40 am Post subject:

OK, so this is my life story! If you research my user name "iris" you will find that 99.9% of my posts are about this exact issue! Nothing made the diarrhea stop; we went though 3 doses of Metranitozol, Rice and protein diet, pumpkin, pepto bismo, etc etc etc. By the way, Metronatizol will kill all good bacteria and flora in your dog’s intestines so the diarrhea will continue until you give them smth to build it back up! Rocky was eating until Canidae till about 6 weeks ago, and before that the breeder had him on Aims (which is complete garbage). and he only ate it until 13 weeks. He has had diarrhea, plops, bloody poop, watery poop, gas, etc etc since we got him at 11 weeks. Canidae did absolutely nothing for him, neither did any other dry dog food we used for him, no matter how grain free it was. By the way you might want to start him on smth that has no grains because that is one of the main factors that causes this type of problem, dogs cant tolerate it and they are not meant to eat it.
Also, Canidae has a mix of proteins which I believe is chicken, fish, and beef (the all life stage one does at least) and that is never good if the dog has a sensitive stomach because you don't know if one of the proteins is causing him to have an allergic reaction.
I know this is a bit drastic but we feed Rocky a raw diet and it’s been the only thing that has worked! It’s a personal choice and I think its not for every dog owner so I never push anyone to believe me, I needs a lot of research!
It got so bad for a while that we changed 3 vets because they all kept telling us to do a biopsy since nothing was working, so therefore there is a chance that he could have cancer. I simply refused to believe that my 6 month old baby needed to be cut open just because vets don't know any better and don't do their research. I have taken complete control over his nutrition because I made the decision to educate myself though the Internet (not that you can believe everything you read) and though nutritional books.
It is a very difficult thing to go though and believe me I know this first hand. I felt awful about it and sooo guilty that my baby was in such discomfort! You know what made me decide to make a drastic change? It was the fact that I ate some terrible food and I went through two terrible days of diarrhea, lol, so then I though to myself, how must Rocky be feeling having to go though this everyday? There are a lot of posting here about nutrition so do some research of you can and start a trial period as to what you are feeding him and what his reaction is to is. Simplify his diet then slowly, maybe once a week introduce smth new and see how he reacts to it.
Please let is know how things turn out. Sorry about the long message but this is a heartfelt issue for me!
Good luck.

luckyloo · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 10:59 am Post subject:

Thank you guys so much!! Yeah I am really worried. What kind of Raw diet do you have your dog on iris? I am willing to try anything because it is so sad to watch him be uncomfortable. I will keep trying the metronidazal but I guess maybe this canidae is not helping. What makes me crazy is that some days it is soft but more normal poops and then the last two days have been nothing but watery runs.

And I was worried because I gave him the remainder of a rawhide that I found while cleaning out my car. he always eats them and I worried that he could of ate too big of a piece I don't know if that stuff can digest properly? For sure he will not get any other raw hides I have heard its bad on there belly.

weimdogmom · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 11:15 am Post subject:

Yes, the rawhides can cause a blockage like that, and a blockage can cause vomiting. But -- it could be something completely different, especially since he has an ongoing problem. We used to get rawhide chews for our dogs. They love them so much. We stopped getting them a couple of years ago.

We tried Canidae for awhile with Jazz. She had eaten with no problems earlier, but then when we went back to it, she had problems similar to what you describe with Lucky. Have you tried any of the limited ingredient/novel protein foods?

There is also the possibility of IBD/IBS or some other digestive problem. Have you talked about this with your vet?

And with an ongoing problem like this, if your current vet has not been able to help you resolve it, perhaps a second opinion from another vet would be beneficial?

iris · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 11:18 am Post subject:

Please do not feel bad! Yeah, unfortunately raw-hides are very bad for them and Rocky used to eat them entirely as well, He has not had any in 3 months though. You might want to try what they call a recreational bone which is a caw knuckle bone, they love them and you can find them either on-line or at a natural/holistic pet store, some grocery stores carry these as well.
He started on Nature`s Variety raw but that got expensive quickly since he was going though 3 lb of it a day (because he is a puppy), so i found a local co-op and a distributor and i buy chicken, lamb, turkey, beef ground up with bones and then i add my own organs, veggies, and supplements. It sounds overwhelming at first, and believe me it was, but after a week or two you get it down to a science. You will read and hear a lot about raw diets, but i realized that it comes down to what you are comfortable feeding him, after all he is your dog and you know his needs (be those nutritional or mental) better that anyone else.
Research the raw diet alternative first though. I did about 3 weeks of intensive research on it before i decided to switch.
Here is a good website that rates commercial dog food in the meanwhile:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/

BEANSnBERRY · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 11:27 am Post subject:

Fast her for 12 -24 hrs her last poop of the day... when she has it, from there and for 12 hrs NOTHING in her mouth (water is OK, of course) start her back on boiled chicken and rice. about a half/half mix. small portions, watch, when her poop starts appear formed, then up the food, after 3-4 days start mixing in her normal food. And a small tablespoon of pumpkin ONCE a day (more is not better!)

If she starts acting lethargic or vomiting get her to the vet ASAP.

We went thru this, recently... but, i think it was stomach thing, since both dogs went through it, about 2 days apart.

Sometimes stress can cause it... and definitely a switch of food. Canidae is a good food, but it gives some dogs the runs, I've noticed. I do raw... and even on raw, mine got the stomach bug. It happens. But they are both back on raw full time now and happy as clams... with nice little poo-poos (I think I need to see a counselor! "Nice little poo-poos" Geez!)

luckyloo · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 12:16 pm Post subject:

The raw diet sounds a little difficult for sure Smile

I have another question Lucky had bouts of Diarrhea before the Canidae that's why I switched hoping it would help. And I think since we have changed his food he has also developed a rash in between his toes. No where else though just in between his toes. I am thinking this is an allergy and was thinking possibly from grass because of the location but could food allergies cause a rash only in his feet anyone know? I think I am doing to take him in to get checked out but I want to try putting him on the bland diet as someone has suggested and then make his appointment for Friday when I am off work. He is not vomiting nor acting lethargic so if he starts showing any of those signs I will take him in to the emergency vet. Gosh its amazing seriously how many things my poor weim has had go wrong. He is so amazing though. Nothing phases him. I love him so much. Thank you guys for all of your help. I am going to research the Raw diet and this point anything sounds better. Thanks Again I love this site!!!

iris · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 1:08 pm Post subject:

OMG, you are going to think i am crazy but Rocky had the same thing in between his tows. This was in his left back leg, second tow, the web in-between was soooo red and irritated. It started when he was on Canidae but I am not sure that the food caused it. Flush the area with peroxide and apply Neosporin on it for a few days, it should go away, Rocky`s did.

Well like a said earlier Rocky was not always on Canidae, first he was on Aims (terrible constant diarrhea), then on Nutro Ultra, then Nutro large breed puppy, then Canidae, and finally on Natural Balance (sweet potato and venison, grain free). OHHHHH I forgot the 10 days he was on just boiled rice and chicken or beef “the so-called bland diet”. This as well did nothing because my genius vet never realized that he could be grain intolerant.

He would go to the bathroom about at least 5 times a day, and there was sooooo much poop. Sometimes it seemed formed but you would pick it up and its all mushy and soft, then he would have diarrhea a couple of times a day, then sometimes it was just big plops of poop, maybe about once a week he would have constant 24 hrs of severe diarrhea, followed by pancake batter consistency bloody stool. We were going to the vet at least once a week and they could not figure it out. They did about 4 stool tests, ex-trays as well. The one thing I realized is that they never did a blood panel or a blood test to see where his levels stood! You should think about getting this done if you have not already done so. I know that you will read and the vet will tell you that you should give one kind of food (be it Canidae or not) for at least a couple of months to try it out, but I think its not true. The most I would consider a food on trial would be no longer than 4 weeks, even though you should see a difference within 2 weeks.

I have two holistic pet stores very close where I live and both owners opened these because their dogs had issues like Lucky or Rocky and they were fed up with it. One of them is feeding their dog the GO! Brand which you can find on the website I posted earlier rated at 6, and then the other store owner feeds his Golden Retriever and Lab a raw diet. You might want to look for a different vet as well……., trust your gut instinct unlike me, I waited to long to find someone that respects and listens to what I have to say about my dog. Talk to a vet that is opened to suggestions and ideas especially about diets.

luckyloo · Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject:

Gosh that sounds exactly like Lucky!! That gives me hope. I have never had a dog with this many problems and it makes me sad for him because I keep thinking maybe I am doing something wrong. Yeah my vet is not all that great I don't feel. I would like to try the food you are on if I can find it. I only found a few stores that sold the Canidae. Poor lucky's front paw is pretty bad with that stupid rash but he has it at least on his two front paws and a little bit on the back. Thank you so much I am sorry Rocky had to go through this but it helps out others like me to know that we are not crazy there is something wrong with out fur-kids and not give up hope. Yeah I have hope I am starting to feel its about the food!! Dang sensitive puppy bellies.

2kids2weims · Posted: Wed May 07, 2008 8:54 pm Post subject:

Just wanted to let you know that this also happened to my Cooper - diarrhea all the time, ears were bad, licking, rash on paws, pustules on tummy, etc. etc. We tried all kinds of food, antibiotics etc. Even the grain-free foods only improved his poops for a few days, then back to soupy, mucous & sometimes bloody.

It is a big leap to raw & I know I was afraid. I started with some commercially made ground whole chicken patties. I substituted in one meal a day. The change was so dramatic for the good that I went completely to raw with a week. When I challenged him again with the best of the kibbles he was licking & pustules again.

Hang in there, you will figure it out whether it's kibble or alternatives.