Best Wishes to Thor and Family ...
Lactulose, as suggested in a previous post, is really great stuff. It is a man-made sugar solution and is used to treat or prevent complications of liver disease, or may be taken to treat constipation. The dose can be adjusted to produce the type and frequency of BM desired, regardless of the brand of food that is being fed. So you can feed him something he likes that is nutritious instead of changing his diet so much. Much harder to regulate with oils and such. Oils can coat the intestinal tract and interfere with absorption of nutrients from the food if used on a regular basis.
Another previous post suggested Preparation H. I think they make a PH Plus with pain reliever too. I would try this on his anus after each cleansing. If this helps him to have painless poos, then that tells you the problem is there and not further up inside.
One other concern I have is anal glands. Many dogs will hide when bothered by anal glands. Some dogs have a problem with their glands but it doesn't seem to bother them at all. Others will tremble and shake when their glands are barely full. Some dogs scoot their butts across the floor or ground in an attempt to find relief. Anal glands contain extremely stinky liquid (skunk stinky, can gag you stinky). If you raise your dog's tail and pretend you are looking at a clock with the tail being the 12, the glands would be located at the 4 and the 8., the anus being the center of the clock. Any swelling in this area is not normal. The glands may fill but when BM's occur they should empty out. I have seen this problem overlooked and /or dismissed many, many times. I have seen anal gland function improve with consistant diet management.
Never give any kind of rawhide treats or bones.
I am just making these suggestions as these are things you can do between vet visits and they don't cost alot of money. The Lactulose is by prescription and may not be necessary if stools are of an acceptable consistancy and frequency. |