[Kobys Mom]

Hi there,

I have a 1 year old Golden (koby) and he seems to have had stomach problems pretty much since the day he came home to us. He started out on Nutro Large Breen Puppy formula, but he was allregic to that so we switched him to Acana Large Breed Puppy. He is currently on Acana Large Breed Adult, which seemed to work great for about a month or two, but for the last 2 months or so, he has pretty much constant Diarreah. I took him to the vet about a month ago and she gave him Metronidazole for 7 days, which slightly works, but his poop still wasnt 100% solid. she also ran a test for parisites and Giardia, both of which came back negative. A day an a half ago, he started back having really bad diareah so I took him off his food and gave him a mixture of plain cooked white rice, egg, chicken and a little bit of sweet potaote. this seemed to work as he had a solid poop yesterday afternoon, but this morning i took him out and his poop was 95% liquid with a mucus coating. anyone have any ideas? thank you!!

 

[cgriffin]

I would not feed him anything for a day at least to let his tummy calm down. You can try giving him some pepto bismol, chewable or liquid. Always worked for my boys. If that does not help, you might want to take him to the vet again. Also at the vet's office, you might want to get some science diet canine i/d canned. It works well for upset tummies as a bland diet for a few days.
Here is the pepto dosage:

regular strenght liquid: 0.1-1.0ml/lb 3-4 times a day
regular strength tablets: 1/4 tablet/20 lbs 3-4 times a day

I read about some people here using Immodium but I do not know the dosage for that.

 

[WasChampionFan]

I would fast the dog for a day and use a simple food. Those Champion foods are very busy and many dogs just don't do well on them.

Nutram, Inukshuk and Corey Pro Series all make simple chicken/fish and grain diets that are probably better for that dog. I have heard good things about FirstMate as well.

 

[Kobys Mom]

Thanks

Thanks for the tips. I gave Koby some liquid pepto bismol on Sunday morning (no food). I gave him a rice and chicken dinner sunday night... so far so good...

I live in Canada so I have never heard of Nutram, Inukshuk or Corey Pro Series. anyone have any thoughts on Innova or Eukanuba Naturally Wild?
Thanks!

 

[Wagners Mom2]

Thanks for the tips. I gave Koby some liquid pepto bismol on Sunday morning (no food). I gave him a rice and chicken dinner sunday night... so far so good...

I live in Canada so I have never heard of Nutram, Inukshuk or Corey Pro Series. anyone have any thoughts on Innova or Eukanuba Naturally Wild?
Thanks!

I actually really like the Eukanuba products. Two of my dogs did really well on it--but my golden has an intolerance to I believe chicken--which unfortunately is in even their Naturally Wild formulas. I really wish they didn't. They had great coats, stools, clear eyes and good energy on the Adult maintenance formula.

 

[oakleysmommy]

Innova can sometimes be too rich, i would say if you want a "sure thing" go with Eukanuba

 

[Dallas Gold]

If he's truly free of parasites and continues to have issues like this, my suggestion is to start testing for some sort of inflammatory bowel disease or food allergy. It may mean that you need to go to a prescription IBD diet. My guy has a history of soft stools and is diagnosed with a cobalamin and folate deficiency, which we manage with medication. His vet and I suspect he is probably suffering from IBD, but we haven't done the diagnostic biopsy for that. It's a challenge to find a food that works for IBD dogs.

 

[Max's Dad]

Our last GR, Chewy, had iffy digestion. We end up feeding her Science Diet Sensitive Stomach for adult dogs. It worked very well and she lived to be over 14 years old.

 

[Kobys Mom]

trying something different

Thanks everyone! I kinda feel as if there has to be more going on with Koby than just the food. He has had periods of about 2 weeks of solid poop and then he does right back to the diarreah with no explanation as to why and it lasts for months at a time. I feel like I am starting too loose my mind being on constant "poop patrol". We have added probiotics into his diet and they dont seem to be helping.... although this morning I got a 60% solid poop from him and that was from being on 1/2 food and 1/2 cooked white rice... so fingers crossed that I am getting somewhere.... if not, I think I will be switching foods sooner than I would like!

 

[Dallas Gold]

Thanks everyone! I kinda feel as if there has to be more going on with Koby than just the food. He has had periods of about 2 weeks of solid poop and then he does right back to the diarreah with no explanation as to why and it lasts for months at a time. I feel like I am starting too loose my mind being on constant "poop patrol". We have added probiotics into his diet and they dont seem to be helping.... although this morning I got a 60% solid poop from him and that was from being on 1/2 food and 1/2 cooked white rice... so fingers crossed that I am getting somewhere.... if not, I think I will be switching foods sooner than I would like!

Oh boy, been there and it's not fun at all. BTW, probiotics made my Toby's stool much worse--his vet said that can happen with some dogs.

 

[Dallas Gold]

While you are in Canada, there is a research study going on at Texas A&M on IBD. You might ask your vet to contact the researchers to see if your dog is eligible--it may involve shipping costs for you, but the study pays for diagnostic testing and offers a course of treatment:
Canine Inflammatory Bowel Disease - Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences

The contact person's email is at the bottom of the link.

Good luck--getting a diagnosis is so tough!

 

[Swampcollie]

The symptoms you're describing are typicla of chronic Giardia.

 

[desi.n.nutro]

The mucus sounds like illness to me too. I'm sorry.
I like the idea of fiber over probiotic to firm up stools. Maybe mix in some oatmeal or get a "Limited Ingredient" food that contains oatmeal. When we first got Goldie, she was 2 and was pooing puddles. (sorry for the visual) After the vet ruled out parasites, I put her on a Sensitive Stomach that has oatmeal. After 6 months she went to the Lage Breed Chicken and Rice that I was feeding the others with no more loose episodes. Both are Limited Ingredient. Maggie is another story. When she has issues, she gets pumpkin and oatmeal. Her issues are probably always parasites because she treats herself to litter box crunchies and horse poo. (again, sorry for the visual) She likes to go after the rabbits and mice too. I wish I would have trained that out of her. errrr

 

[oakleysmommy]

Definatley sounds like Giardia..its frustrating!!

 

[Kobys Mom]

Okay, so the solid poop was short-lived... we are back to runny poops.... I have had just about enough of this... I just returned from the pet food store... we are going to give the Hills Science Diet Sensitive Somach food a try. I have already put a call into the vet about putting him back on the Metronidazole temporarily to help.... fingers crossed!!

 

[Dallas Gold]

Okay, so the solid poop was short-lived... we are back to runny poops.... I have had just about enough of this... I just returned from the pet food store... we are going to give the Hills Science Diet Sensitive Somach food a try. I have already put a call into the vet about putting him back on the Metronidazole temporarily to help.... fingers crossed!!

I personally think the Hills dry ID (rather than the Science Diet sensitive stomach) is a better option for the sensitive stomach issues that cause soft stool. It's sold by your vet, but if you go onto the website you can get a $7 off coupon to use. They guarantee the food, meaning if it doesn't work you can take it back and get a full refund, no questions asked.

We recently had an incident of soft stool, did a slow item by item elimination of everything that might be a cause, including some non-essential meds and supplements, then did a preventive de-worming (fecals are not totally reliable in catching things) and finally switched to dry ID to give his stomach a break--immediate improvement in stool. At that point we knew he had an issue with his previous food--either a production issue or he developed a new food intolerance, which happens with dogs with digestive issues. We are keeping him on this until we can find a new safe food for him.

Chronic giardia is an issue, like the others said. I'd probably do another test as well.

 

[Kobys Mom]

Thanks for the advice. (im finally starting to see I am not alone in this battle haha). I am hesitant to switch him to the Hills I/D prescription diet as his weight is just fine according to the vet. his is 13 months old and has been steadily gaining weight and is now 82 pounds, which he has been for the last few months (I am hoping he is done now haha). I only bought a small trial size bag of the sensitive stomach brand, so I am willing to try other things if this doesn't work though!!

 

[Dallas Gold]

Thanks for the advice. (im finally starting to see I am not alone in this battle haha). I am hesitant to switch him to the Hills I/D prescription diet as his weight is just fine according to the vet. his is 13 months old and has been steadily gaining weight and is now 82 pounds, which he has been for the last few months (I am hoping he is done now haha). I only bought a small trial size bag of the sensitive stomach brand, so I am willing to try other things if this doesn't work though!!

I'm not sure I understand--why would Hills cause a weight gain? I'm just feeding according to the guidelines for the weight range he is normally. Are you measuring food? 82 pounds for a 13 month old sounds like you may already be overfeeding. I don't mean to be rude, but that is over standard weight for a male golden, especially one that young. Hills now has a lower fat version of ID dry by the way, as well as a diabetic version of ID.

 

[oakleysmommy]

My vet gave me the Iams/Eukanuba low residue to use after the giardia, loose stools, bad bacteria still left in intestines. worked like magic. along with Tylan Powder. i havent had a loose stool in 2 weeks now. I am back to his normal food and still adding a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the low residue til it runs out. Tylan for 4 weeks..I tried Metro, Flagyl 3 times, did absolutely nothing for him.

 

[Kobys Mom]

According to the Hills website, the i/d brand has the following benefits:

Prescription Diet® i/d® is formulated with the following benefits:

• Highly digestible protein and fat to help assimilate nutrients and repair tissues faster
• Mixed fiber source to help maintain gastrointestinal health
• Optimal balance of nutrients to help replenish the body and help encourage recovery
• Added antioxidants to help control cell oxidation.

Koby dosnt need any of these things as far as my vet is concerned. Yes, I know 82 pounds is big for a golden, but I specifically asked my vet last time we were there and she said he is right on target for his height (he is taller than most goldens). (and I dont take offence to any help! I will take any suggestions I can get at this point!)