Help Needed! Diarrhea issues...

[Fat Boy Frankie]

Hi Everyone,
I'm new here. Maybe someone here has had the same issues. I'll try to keep it short...but no promises

We rescued our bully, Frankie, back in April. We were told at that time to feed him Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast. So we did. However he always had very loose stools that eventually got worse. Went to vet and found out he had 2 types of worms. While he was on his meds, we gave him a bout of boiled chicken and rice to firm him up. It did. We slowly added the Earthborn back in and his stools got very loose again. Took another stool sample to the vet and it was normal. They said it was dietary. So we tried to switch him to Taste of the Wild, a mix of salmon and chicken (?), I believe. More diarrhea. Chicken and rice again. Back to the vet. They checked him (no blood work or xrays), said it's dietary. They gave us three recommendations for food. After more chicken and rice, we started him on the recommended Purina EN Gastroenteric Naturals. Finally, once completely on the Purina, his stool was hard for the first time in seven months. It lasted two weeks. He went to the bathroom in the evening with normal stool. In the morning he had diarrhea again. He's now on chicken and rice AGAIN. I did make an appointment with the vet but I am very frustrated with them as well. If this appt doesnt go well, we may seek a 2nd opinion. Anyway, any suggestions? Is it possibly these foods are too rich for him? An allergy to an ingredient?

He does drool now and again, tries to eat grass....or anything else for that matter. He is always hungry. Doesn't seem to be in any distress. Plays and is excited to be around us. He is very attached to my husband and I think has a bit of separation anxiety. In fact, the last time the diarrhea started suddenly was when my husband was out of town for 2 days for work. Anxiety realated?

Thank you in advance for any advice.
Tracey

 

[Donnam]

Have you tried giving him a probiotic on his food? Also giving him some pumpkin on his food should help. I'm sure some other members will have some other suggestions.

 

[Fat Boy Frankie]

Yep. Tried them both. The probiotics made things worse. The pumpkin didn't really make a difference.

 

[nycbullymama]

Is it true diarrhea or is it just soft stool?

It could be too much food or, like you said, it could be separation anxiety or any type of anxiety.

How long have you kept him on each food? It generally takes a little time for them to get accustomed to it even after a slow switch. Also, did you do a slow switch or just changed food all at once?

 

[TyTysmom]

Hi there, may I ask which probitoic you tried? With this issue, I would get one that has digestive enzymes in it. This is the one we use: ( I swear by it )

Amazon.com: Herbsmith Microflora Plus Capsule for Pet Digestion, 120 Capsules: Pet Supplies

Also, in the food dept. I would go to a limited ingredient diet. Something that contains a single protein, they make kibbles like this (Zignature, Nature's Variety). It could be the food is too rich, we finally got to the point where kibble just didn't work for us, we went through almost every 4 & 5 star kibble.... I would look into The Honest Kitchen. We're on it now for allergy & belly issues, its been WONDERFUL. We got the grain free base in (Preference) - so its solely fruits & veggies, then we add our own protein, which we've done beef so far. This lets us control what he gets. He's done great on it so far, and his poops are solid as ever. I also do the probiotic daily.

 

[Fat Boy Frankie]

No...it's full on diarrhea. Not water though. I can't remember the probiotics, but I do know it was for digestive problems.

We do a very slow switch. In fact, the last time I literally added 5 pieces of kibble each day.

Our thoughts were that the food may be too rich as well. TyTysMom....where can we find The Honest Kitchen? Petsmart, Pets Supplies Plus? Hopefully. No in our area carries this Purina EN except our vet! We're kinda desperate here. Our poor sweet boy.....

 

[ddnene]

No...it's full on diarrhea. Not water though. I can't remember the probiotics, but I do know it was for digestive problems.

We do a very slow switch. In fact, the last time I literally added 5 pieces of kibble each day.

Our thoughts were that the food may be too rich as well. TyTysMom....where can we find The Honest Kitchen? Petsmart, Pets Supplies Plus? Hopefully. No in our area carries this Purina EN except our vet! We're kinda desperate here. Our poor sweet boy.....

I use the same probiotic that Jessica recommended, and I'm going to tag some members that have used the Honest Kitchen. I hope you get some answers soon...

 

[dolphin]

Have you considered Fromms? Its pretty good food. You can get almost any kind of dog food from Petflow online, the link is on the homepage. They're very fast and prompt with delivery.

 

[TyTysmom]

No...it's full on diarrhea. Not water though. I can't remember the probiotics, but I do know it was for digestive problems.

We do a very slow switch. In fact, the last time I literally added 5 pieces of kibble each day.

Our thoughts were that the food may be too rich as well. TyTysMom....where can we find The Honest Kitchen? Petsmart, Pets Supplies Plus? Hopefully. No in our area carries this Purina EN except our vet! We're kinda desperate here. Our poor sweet boy.....

Go to their website, and search by your location - Where to Buy Honest Kitchen - Honest Kitchen Stores | The Honest Kitchen

We've had Tyson on it now for about a month or more, I was shocked at how firm his poop was almost the day after we started him on it. Keep in mind they carry different flavors, etc. You want one that is grain free, and also since he's having these issues, I'd go with one of their bases, and add your own protein. They are extremely helpful too if you call. I would also try the probiotics I linked for you. If you do order them, start him off with 2 twice a day, until his poop firms up.

Side note: you mentioned drooling, and eating grass - I know you also said the vet can't find anything, but have they done xrays to confirm he doesn't have anything in his belly that he could have eaten? A foreign object?

 

[Marine91]

There is something underlying here that needs to be checked as I went through this with one of my Ridgebacks many years ago. No matter what food he was on he had liquid poo. When your vet looks at the stool sample are they just looking for worms or are they actually doing a full panel including a bacteria count? The reason for the ask is what you are describing sounds like a very high bacteria count in the stomach and intestines which cannot be fixed by changing the food they eat. When we went through this my Ridgeback had a bacteria count almost 100 times normal that was causing the problem so the vet prescribed Tylan powder which is normally used to control the bacteria in chickens, turkey's and swine to bring the count down and after the first dose he was almost back to normal and by the end of the treatment he was perfectly find with no food change involved. Now on the other hand it could be food related as what you are feeding may be too high in protein for your boy. For the best control over what he eats I am with several others as The Honest Kitchen is a wonderful food to use when identifying or trying to eliminate food related issues.

 

[2BullyMama]

Hi Everyone,
I'm new here. Maybe someone here has had the same issues. I'll try to keep it short...but no promises

We rescued our bully, Frankie, back in April. We were told at that time to feed him Earthborn Holistic Meadow Feast. So we did. However he always had very loose stools that eventually got worse. Went to vet and found out he had 2 types of worms. While he was on his meds, we gave him a bout of boiled chicken and rice to firm him up. It did. We slowly added the Earthborn back in and his stools got very loose again. Took another stool sample to the vet and it was normal. They said it was dietary. So we tried to switch him to Taste of the Wild, a mix of salmon and chicken (?), I believe. More diarrhea. Chicken and rice again. Back to the vet. They checked him (no blood work or xrays), said it's dietary. They gave us three recommendations for food. After more chicken and rice, we started him on the recommended Purina EN Gastroenteric Naturals. Finally, once completely on the Purina, his stool was hard for the first time in seven months. It lasted two weeks. He went to the bathroom in the evening with normal stool. In the morning he had diarrhea again. He's now on chicken and rice AGAIN. I did make an appointment with the vet but I am very frustrated with them as well. If this appt doesnt go well, we may seek a 2nd opinion. Anyway, any suggestions? Is it possibly these foods are too rich for him? An allergy to an ingredient?

He does drool now and again, tries to eat grass....or anything else for that matter. He is always hungry. Doesn't seem to be in any distress. Plays and is excited to be around us. He is very attached to my husband and I think has a bit of separation anxiety. In fact, the last time the diarrhea started suddenly was when my husband was out of town for 2 days for work. Anxiety realated?

Thank you in advance for any advice.
Tracey

I would be looking for a new vet to get a second opinion.... also whent he run the stool test are they checking for giardia -- sometimes you have to specifically ask for it

 

[Fat Boy Frankie]

Hi everyone,
Thank you for all of your replies. We are still having issues. I called the vet and they insist it's dietary. Time for a second opinion. I agree that it is more than dietary. This is the 4th food we have tried. Currently, we have "perfect form" powder on order from the Honest Kitchen. I also thought the protein content may be too high. We went through Earthborn, Taste of the Wild, Purina EN, and even cheap dog food thinking he would react better. But alas.....soft to runny poo.
And to answer the question of checking stool samples....I believe it was just for worms.
Back to chicken, rice, and pumpkin.

 

[Fat Boy Frankie]

Oh....and is there anyone from the Pittsburgh are know of a vet experienced in/with bulldogs?

 

[TyTysmom]

Oh....and is there anyone from the Pittsburgh are know of a vet experienced in/with bulldogs?

[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] ?

 

[2BullyMama]

Oh....and is there anyone from the Pittsburgh are know of a vet experienced in/with bulldogs?

Other side of the state from me..... but let me check the list