[Maddysoli]

Hi everyone!
My 5 month old golden retriever boy has been having reoccurring bouts of diarrhea only at night since we brought him home at 8 weeks. It’s on and off and has gotten less frequent as he’s gotten bigger. But nonetheless, waking up 3-4 times a night to take him out is just as annoying.

Sometimes it contains blood sometimes it doesn’t.

I’ve had him tested for geardia and parasites many times and it’s never the cause.

One vet told me to just wait it out and that puppies have diarrhea it’s just what they do.

Hes been on the RX royal canin GI puppy food since 10 or 12 weeks old.

The diarrhea is the only symptom. He acts total normal drinking plenty of water and always has an appetite.

i think we have tried every remedy under the sun and theyeither don’t work or work temporarily.

could it be something congenital like an intestinal/colon disease?Can dogs have IBS?

Is the $100/bag food worth it if hes still having issues

I am writing this at 3:30am after taking him out for a second time so I might have left out some details. Let me know if you have any questions!

thanks for reading!

 

[JoanneF]

Dogs certainly can have IBS/IBD. It's surprising the number of dogs that can't tolerate chicken, so unless the food you are giving has hydrolysed protein, it might be worth looking at foods that are chicken free. You could also add probiotics to his diet like Kefir, and personally I'd not be happy with your vet's explanation. Tagging @agility collie mom who might have more ideas.

 

[Maddysoli]

That was the last time we saw that vet haha -and thank you for your response! I’ve definitely considered allergies and the RX food is chicken I believe.

 

[CachetheBC]

Anytime any of my dogs is dealing with diarrhea I put them on a bland diet of boiled hamburger and plain rice for a while, it is easy to digest and gives their gi tract a chance to settle and heal. Once the stomach upset seems to have passed (stools are solid again) then I slowly re-introduce their regular diet again.
If he were my puppy, I have raised a few, ( no, diarrhea (on a frequent basis) it is not 'just what puppies do') I would start with the bland diet, and then slowly introduce a limited ingredient diet that has a single protein and carbohydrate source (I personally avoid diets corn) that is new to him and see how he does on it. (If I were trying to avoid chicken - for example - (it is quite common for goldens to not do well on chicken) I would search out a food with no chicken, chicken meal, chicken fat or by-products (named or unnamed) and do a trial for a few weeks (assuming things don't get worse for him).

 

[agility collie mom]

Did you vet ever do a diarrhea panel? IDEXX Canine and Feline Diarrhea RealPCR Panels - IDEXX Reference Laboratories (netnews.cz)

 

[Laco]

Blood in their stool is a definite red flag. Your Vet should determine the source of that blood, then treat it. If he were mine, I would most certainly want to know where that blood is coming from and why.

 

[Gary_Dog]

When our dogs have diarrhea, we usually feed them plain canned pumpkin. It seems to help.