[harveythebmd]

Hello all,
I have been having a lot of issues with my sweet boy Harvey....ever since I got him he has had terrible problems with his stool. We took him to the vet when we first got him and she said that he had Giardia. So we got him so antibiotics for that he sorta got better. When took him back for a check up and she wanted to do one more round of anti biotics. He was doing alright but still had blood in his stool and it was runny. We took him back a third time and she wanted to do a stronger antibiotic for a third time so we did and nothing progressed until after he finished the anti biotic. So after the anti biotic he started to have more solid stool but there still was blood. When we took him back again his stool sample showed no sign of Giardia or any other type of parasite. So she suggested changing the food he was on so we did. Not much improvement. He since started growing older with him getting better for a few months and then it fairing up again.
I have made sure that he hasn't eaten anything that would make this happen. At one point he with through a really bad stage were his poop was just water brown. He lost a lot of fluid and he lost some weight. He then got better and started having solid stool again BUT THE he started to cry when he used the bathroom and whine like it hurt. I have cried and cried because I don't want him in pain like that! Besides when he goes to the bathroom he is very happy and likes to play and has A LOT of energy and a great personality.....
I took him back to the vet (a different one this time). Still nothing in the stool sample. The vet was puzzled as to what was even going on with him. She didn't really have an answer except for another anti biotic which made him worse everytime I ever used a anti biotic but I spent $60 and got it anyways. I also started home cooking for him. Just ground turkey and smashed yams. Something bland to try and help him. The anti biotic made the pain go down but runny stool even WORSE. I backed it up with giving him some yogurt to give him some good bacteria in his system. That helped a little but still there is blood in his stool!
Once he got off the anti biotic and was just on the cooked ground turkey and yam diet he was doing much better. I got him a digestive enzyme and a probiotic to add which helped a lot! But still blood in his stool. Just last week it flared up yet again and he is whining and now he can't even make it to the bell to tell me he had to go outside.
I don't know what to do for him anymore! Someone suggested maybe opening him up and looking at what's going on inside?! Please please please can anyone help me?
Sincerely,
A very concerned parent...

 

[Artdog]

Since you're already going to the vet and getting everything done that you can do, Yay! I'll just say, one of my dogs had this problem off and on for a good few months and it cleared up on it's own. When I say 'on it's own' I mean doing the things you are doing, going to the vet, getting things checked, trying meds, change of diet, etc.. I'm guessing with my girl it was likely an unknown virus (one that couldn't be tested for) as it was persistent but eventually got better. Hope it works out as well for you and your dog.

 

[Esand]

I've had success with white rice (cooked to mush w/ lots of water) with cream cheese and chicken whenever my dog was really bad (before we found a food that worked) and it was easy on his stomach and gave it a chance to heal. We finally found a food that worked which is the Royal Canin Gastrointestinal

To be honest though with that much blood in the stool I'd be thinking more along the lines some sort of intestinal damage vs diet/parasite.

I'd think the first step for a vet would be an endoscope, not 'opening her up', but I'm not a vet so I really am not qualified to say what she should or shouldn't do.

 

[Dawnben]

Sounds like it could be Cdiff. I did not know you could get anything from taking antibiotics until my husband got pneumonia and ended up with Cdiff from taking the antibiotics to cure the pneumonia. Ask your vet if its possible or if he already tested for it.
https://www.vetinfo.com/clostridium-difficile-in-dogs.html

 

[harveythebmd]

We have used an antibiotic called Metronidazole that is supposed to fight against c. deficile but it has also worsen when he took the anti biotic as well....
I will have to have him tested for it though

We haven't gotten any blood work done on him, do you think it would be work getting that done or should I just do the exploritory surgery with thr scope?

Do any of you know how much that cost?

 

[lzrddr]

How old is your dog? If not a young dog, a scoping of the colon would be a very good idea... can get a small biopsy while in there, too. Colon polyps will cause bleeding that antibiotics will no effect upon (same with tumors in the colon or rectum), but these don't usually cause diarrhea, too. Scoping of the distal GI tract is a pretty non-invasive procedure and requires no surgery (but some heavy sedation). There are also blood and fecal tests that can be run to look for ayptical bacteria, unusual parasites, problems with infiltrative conditions (eg lymphoma) etc... but nothing is better than actually looking. In the mean time a high fiber diet can often be useful, and one with limited ingredients. There are also medications such as Azulfidine, that are not really antibiotics, but can be useful in controlling chronic colitis cases. But a diagnosis is the most important step and it may cost a bit for the sedation and scoping... but will be worth it in the long run just to know what is going on.

 

[JulieN]

I had a shih tzu who was going thru what ur experiencing. I know what a emotionally draining experience it is to have a dog with IBD and colitis. When my dog was first seen at the vet they gave her meds which helped for the time she was on it. Her runny, mucousy, and at times bloody mucousy stool got somewhat normal. But as soon as she was done with meds it came back. Off to vet we went and we ran blood work checked for worms or parasites ut all came back negative. So they put her on Iams low residue food which she hated, than they finally gave her Science Diet I.D and a pack of Fortaflora from Iams. That seemed to help her, and if no improvement they wanted to do exploratory surgery, I was not about to agree to that. Even though many dont like Science Diet it has kept her stool normal, however i knew it wasnt a high quality food, so I began to add wild game to her food. I moistened her dry Science diet with warm water and softened it and added either boiled elk, deer, and baked salmon. I figured those are the most organic meat i can use and are hormone free and its as natural as i can get. I would buy organic pumpkin in the can and boil organic sweet potato. She has been healthy for 6 months and is getting weaned off Science Diet to Natural Balance L I.D Venison and Sweet Potato. I understand tht Science Diet is giving a bad wrap, but if it was the only thing that corrected her issues at tht time than i knew I had to stick to it knowing that I would wean her off of it when she is better. Many vets are not nutritionist and its best if u research your dogs illness and educate yourself. My dog has made me realize what she can tolerate and what she can't. It has taken us about 4 months to make her better. And now after only 2 1/2 months on Science Diet she is healthy enough to try another higher quality food. And so far she is doing good. Her stool is still firm and no issues. In my experience i learned to go with my instinct and at times told the vet "No." when they wanted to keep doing test, and i got tired of my dog being fearful of the vets office. There are alternatives and holistic options out there.

 

[Rain]

What is his regular brand of food, and what is the protein in it? If it was chicken and he has a chicken intolerance he may also have started to become sensitive to the turkey. You could try to wean him on to either pork or beef with as much of the fat trimmed off as possible (in case he has IBD) and see if that helps. I'd also add something like Kefir, or fortiflora to replace the good bacteria in his digestive tract that the antibiotics will have killed off.

Also please keep in mind that if you want to home cook for him you are going to eventually have to add a vitamin supplement to it.

 

[Dawnben]

We have used an antibiotic called Metronidazole that is supposed to fight against c. deficile but it has also worsen when he took the anti biotic as well....
I will have to have him tested for it though

I would start using this at this point. You have tried everything the vet has suggested. Healthy clay has worked for a number of things for my dogs. I used to use kaopectate ( includes clay) for stomach issues then they added something to it so I could no longer use it for my dogs so I went in search of something else and found healing clay. I am so glad I did because it has come in handy for a few different uses. If you are still giving meds from the vet give the clay 4 hours away from meds. The clay sees the antibiotics as a toxin. I would also add kefir to the meal. It has 3 times the good bacteria as yogurt ,its liquid and easy to use.
Red Desert Clay The Most Efficient Premium Calcium Montmorillonite Clay
I use organic and plain.
Plain Whole Milk Kefir - Lifeway Kefir

 

[harveythebmd]

Harvey is a year and 4 months old. The clay suggestion is something I am very interested in maybe trying. We have been giving him yogurt in his food as well but I will try the kefir instead.


As for what food he used to be on he was on taste of the wild and I refrained from using chicken because we thought he had an alergic reaction to it. He was on that for a while but we still had problems with him still being on kibble. That's when I chose to start home cooking for him.


I now feed him cooked ground turkey or ground beef with cooked yams. He did well with that and I started to add peas and kidney beans to his food as well. I also bought a probiotic and a digestive enzyme tp put with it once in the morning every day. He did well and then suddenly he had and episode so I thought that maybe that I added the leans and kidneys beans is what messed him up.


We are now going to start the bland diet to get everything under control again. I think I may start him on the Metronidazole again and add the clay like suggested along with the kefir to see how that will help.

He's now doing alright but still blood in the stool. That is still my concern through all of this is the blood in the stool.

 

[Dawnben]

I now feed him cooked ground turkey or ground beef with cooked yams. He did well with that and I started to add peas and kidney beans to his food as well. I also bought a probiotic and a digestive enzyme tp put with it once in the morning every day. He did well and then suddenly he had and episode so I thought that maybe that I added the leans and kidneys beans is what messed him up.

I would skip the beef ( to greasy) and yams and use butternut squash, zucchini, or yellow squash. They have a lower glycemic index which keeps the blood sugar level. When I home cook I use lentils and split peas, good protein levels. Are you giving some kind of vitamin and mineral supplement while you are home cooking. I use this one it does not contain any meat ( very hard to find ). The dog vitamin companies like to make them chicken flavor which my dog is very intolerant of.
Platinum Performance® Canine | Platinum Performance
I went through stomach issues with my hound for over a year trying to figure out what was wrong with his stomach so I feel your pain and his. Mine was meat intolerance. I home cooked a veggie meal for him that fixed the problem after a week on it. He was lucky. I think home cooking or using something like honest kitchen is the key to healing their stomachs.