Up every hour last night...

[RachelandSadie]

We have still been fighting diarrhea. This makes almost a full month of off and on battles with this. We decided that it might be the orijen dog food 6 fish formula and that we're either overfeeding or it's just too rich in fish oils or protiens for their tummies. Sadie was doing fine but Bentley wasn't. So we switched them back to pheasant raw primal. Bentley's stools are normal and no Sadie has watery diarrhea. I'm getting her some more propectalin today and i'm not going to do any food changin at all for at least a week and see if this resolves itself or not. If nothing changes i'll go to a bland chicken and rice diet until we get this resolved and then slowly change to a new kibble formula. I think all the changes in our lives and with my new job coming up and Mike working overnights last week that the whole family is just nervous, stressed and chaotic. we're all sick to our tummies and i have a cold now. i'm so sleepy and stressed and the more stressed i am, the more sick they get, the more money it costs, and the more financial stress i feel again...endless cycle of depression this month. but next week is my new job start and more money will come rolling in hopefully fast. and hopefully new routines can get established and everyone can get well fast! i can't take these up all nighters anymore and i really want my babies to feel better. they act fine, but their poops are anything but fine. at least Sadie is trained and always lets us know that she needs outside or makes it to the tile in front of the door if she's not out fast enough. poor things.

more prayers, doesn't seem to be anything from the daycare Bentley was Giardia and coccidia negative. Sadie didn't have anything until yesterday.

am i crazy here? do you guys think it's the stress, changes and the food? or what? vet doesn't have any new suggestions other than try them on hill's d/d canned which i can't bear to do. she said we could do a fecal pathogen's profile just to rule out salmonella but it's $135 for employees and until our routines and our feeding are normal i don't know if that's worth the expense. i guess i'd like to rule out the food and the stress first and then see when things slow down and get back to normal whether they are fine or not. they act fine, no lethargy or anything, just the runs. they are eating and drinking fine.

thanks

[princessizzy]

My izzy if the same way... She has to eat raw then she gets Natural Balance L.I.D Bison and sweet potato dry kibble. Whenever I try and switch her dry food she gets loose stool... no matter what.. I'm so sorry your going throught this... it can drive anyone crazy

[princessizzy]

Try what a mentioned above...it really worked for Izzy

[ally173]

sorry you are going through this. what about giving 1/4 tablet of pepcid and some pumpkin to settle the stomach. i hope it all gets well soon.

[baby yorkie]

How many times did they get a fecal test? Giardia doesn't show up in every stool sample. I just took in samples (without the exam), just to have the vet check. They can be reinfecting themselves too. That stuff can live in the ground for up to two months. All it takes is for them to walk in the same spot (even after it's been picked up). I hope your babies get better soon. I know what you're going thru.

[kjc]

I've had great results with a tsp of canned pumpkin... firms them right up.

[lynnelily]

I agree with baby Yorkie I had my dogs stool tested 3 times because they had diarrhea before they found Giardia. It doesn't always show up.

[RachelandSadie]

i've given in a few times here and there, how long does pumpkin last in a tupperware container in the fridge? i will have mike feed some soon. and maybe the pepcid as well to help. she's very gassy inside her tummy again. if it doesn't resolve with sticking to ONE food and with our schedules becoming more normal then i will run another fecal on them.

thanks, anything else please feel free to advise. i kinda just need a big hug too.

[AllDogBoots]

Originally Posted by RachelandSadie

i've given in a few times here and there, how long does pumpkin last in a tupperware container in the fridge? i will have mike feed some soon. and maybe the pepcid as well to help. she's very gassy inside her tummy again. if it doesn't resolve with sticking to ONE food and with our schedules becoming more normal then i will run another fecal on them.

thanks, anything else please feel free to advise. i kinda just need a big hug too.

I can't add anything other than a big hug

[Ellie May]

Has your vet tried a round of Metro on both dogs?

The food is being changed way too much to have time to notice if one is worse than another. Personally, I would be listening to the vet now. Chicken and rice would be fine if they haven't shown any sensitivity to chicken in the past. IMO, it's time to stick with a bland diet for a couple weeks and see how things go.

BTW, pumpkin makes Ellie's stool way softer.

[RachelandSadie]

they've been on and off antibiotics for weeks. we've had clavamox drops, metro, and amox. it keeps coming back so i think it's stress/food related versus bacterial/viral. or parasites, but that was temp. ruled out for now because of a clean fecal

[107barney]

This is what I would do if these were my dogs -

1. I'd do the fecal profile including all the tests despite the costs. They are dependent on you for their well-being and I wonder how you'd feel if you had diarrhea for a month. It isn't comfortable for them - I don't say that to attack you but to impress upon you that this is not a good situation you have going for these dogs and enough already. I'd do the salmonella profile if for nothing else but as a rule out cause. Given that you feed raw, there is a higher chance of salmonella. Salmonella is the most frequently reported cause of food borne illness in humans and lately many recalls of dog foods and treats are showing contamination with salmonella.

2. I'd switch off of dog food and feed home cooked food and never go back to raw. I realize that some dog owners report their dogs do well on raw, your dogs do not seem to be in this category.

3. I'd remove any raw foods or any treats that were processed or store purchased. I'd never add them back and I'd feed fresh treats - frozen veggies thawed, fresh veggies and some fruits, etc. My dogs very rarely eat treats - I have one local bakery I buy from where I know every last ingredient going into the product, the person making it, the human grade ingredients used, and the preparation methods and cleanliness of the facility.

4. I'd add probiotics -- I keep this on hand for my dog Daisy who has multiple problems including IBD and liver shunt. One dietary indiscretion and there are loose stools. This product clears it up in 1-2 days -- Acidophilus for Dogs & Puppies, Dog Probiotic, Kosher & Lactose Free - 16 fl. oz. - Dynamic Health. I caution that I would only use a natural remedy IF AND ONLY IF AND WHEN I had ruled out ANY AND ALL bacterial or viral causes of the diarrhea by doing #1.


Good luck.

[Rhetts_mama]

Originally Posted by RachelandSadie

i've given in a few times here and there, how long does pumpkin last in a tupperware container in the fridge? i will have mike feed some soon. and maybe the pepcid as well to help. she's very gassy inside her tummy again. if it doesn't resolve with sticking to ONE food and with our schedules becoming more normal then i will run another fecal on them.

thanks, anything else please feel free to advise. i kinda just need a big hug too.

You can keep it in your fridge for up to 3 days. What I do though, is I buy a can, freeze it in ice cube trays and then pop the cubes in freezer bags to store. That way I can just take out what I need and defrost it in the microwave.

[Ellie May]

I'm just going to throw out ideas and thoughts because I know how incredible frustrating GI problems are.

I am not convinced that it is stress. Stool issues with "both" dogs on and off for a "month" makes me think it is something else.

Something like giardia is both hard to detect and hard to get rid of. A clean fecal and a week or two on Metro doesn't rule it out.

Other parasites are possible, but really doubtful.

They could keep getting reinfected with whatever it is if they are getting in the yard or whatever. IMO, if it doesn't clear up soon, a fecal profile is not a bad idea.

Just because it comes and goes at different times for both, maybe they are just both very food sensitive. If one does ok on one and the other does better on something else, could you feed two different things? It may just be a matter of trial and error to figure out what works best for them as individuals. If they have both done really well on chicken and rice in the past, that's what I'd do for a couple weeks to see how they do.

ETA: Because raw is involved, there is way more to consider than salmonella, esp. if they have gotten something besides premade (tested for pathogens) lately.

[Ladymom]

I agree with Cathy and Crystal. I'd get further testing done to rule out Salmonella and a fecal profile done. You've got two things going on here - feeding raw recently and the possible exposure to giardia at daycare. I just don't think stress would would give them diarrhea for a month.

Not all dogs do well on raw and not all dogs do well on high protein commercial food. We've had Maltese on another forum I belong to have elevated kidney values on both Acana and Evo. Each dog is an individual and what works for one may not work for another. Short term you don't have to worry about supplements.

I would definitely give probiotics a try like Crystal suggested. Animal Essentials makes a good one. I also think a bland diet of chicken and rice is a good idea at this point. Some dogs, like Lady, don't digest rice well so I use oatmeal or barley.

BTW, congratulations on the new job! Is it with the vet clinic or something completely new?