Going in circles....Advice/Info please
 

Okay, Bailey started getting diarrhea about a month ago, it was mucus-like and started to get bloody, so I took her straight to the vet.....They put her on some medications, the meds helped, but then it came back two days after she was finished her meds.....So they put her back on the same meds It was metronidazole.

The exact same thing happened, it helped but came back after she was of the meds...So this last time (last week) he tried something different...One med to get the probiotics back in her system and a new med called proviable....

Anyways, it helped, but then this morning she woke me up with dirrhea AGAIN! I'm so upset, not sure what to do...Were going back to the vet this afternoon. Has anyone heard of this happeneing before?? Any advice??

I was feeding her some gerber chicken and rice to help her stool. Oh also, she has been eating and drinking her food and water like normal, AND she hasn't acted sad or down at all...she's been very happy and her normal playful self the whole time...so that has to be a good sign!

What is a good food that i should switch her to to help with sensitive stomachs or GI probs?? Ive heard Innova is one of the best ones out there...is this true?? can i get it at petsmart??

What do yall suggest? what would you do? do you think it would be necessary to have blood work done on her? i have no idea....Please help :/

Im desperate...but i'm also in college about to graduate with no job, so money is a big problem...but i think my vet is going to work with me.....I started crying instantly this morning when i heard her having dirreah again, it breaks my heart...i've done so much for her, she is my world.

What dog food is she eating now? What kind of treats does she receive in addition? Is anyone else possibly giving her table food?

I would stay away from the baby food. When a dog has a problem like this, keep things simple and stick to the dog food only.

Has the vet run bloodwork to check liver enzymes?

I feed mine pumpkin to stop diarrhea. PLAIN pumpkin not the pie filling. About a teaspoon full. I had a pom that did that & my vet put him on erythromycin syrup. An anti diarrhea paste called Pro Pectalin...........that took care of it. Didn't give the pumpkin while on thePro Pectalin. If she will drink the stuff they give babies when sick. I cannot think of the name of it. It will help to keep her from dehydrating. Did they do a stool sample on her to make sure she didn't have worms? They can cause that kind of problem too. Ask your vet if you can work something out to pay out your bill.....sometimes they will work with you, especially if they are really there to care for your pet. My vet will help out if need be. He is great. Hope you get answers soon.....

Pumpkin may help, but it doesn't address what is causing the diarrhea, which is a serious concern, especially if it is recurrent.

I agree...........

Kasey, sorry to hear Bailey is still having problems? Didn't you try the pumpkin? Has she been upset with all the changes you have going on? I don't think baby food would help, fortunately mine have never had any health problems yet. I am sure they make a food for sensitive stomachs. Hopefully when you get out of school and back home things wil be better.

Did your vet diagnose giardia as the cause? Was a fecal done to see if it is still present or if another parasite may be present as well? Sometimes it can be hard to get rid of these. A special diet may not be necessary at this time if there is a parasite problem that is causing this. Your vet should be able to advise you. Is your pup very young? We went through several months of fighting giardia and coccidia when we first brought our babies home. I hope your vet can help your pup feel better soon. Please let us know how she's doing and what the vet says.

yes i forgot to add they did 2 stool samples, no parasites. i will ask about all of the things mentioned in the comments on here. i nees to do research about these other possible causes...i hope its nothing serious :(

Kasey, I sent you a couple of emails. You are getting excellent advice right here. Since Bailey does not act sick when this happens, I keep wondering if she has something like an irritable bowel. Bailey will probably need a good quality dog food with simple ingredients. Don't let anyone give her treats or table scraps. I would try the pumpkin too. Marlee12107 suggested a teaspoonful and she mentioned that Pro Pectalin and I think that may be a good idea.

Just breathe! Bailey needs you to keep it together and you know you can call me even if you just want to talk. There are a lot of knowledgeable and kind people here that are reaching out to help you. You aren't alone. :)

I have been feeding her Nutro Natural Choice Small bites, chicken meal, rice and oatmeal formula....which she is almost out of.....so i guess i need to switch to something better.

Do yall think bloodwork is necessary to help diagnose her? I caled my vet this morning very upset, I shouldn't have had to bring her up there as many times as i have here lately and from what it sounded like he is wanting to put her on something new that is a powder that i will need to sprinkle in her food for a couple of months?....and Im sure it will work, but what about when shes done with it and it comes back again??...on top of i will not be living here by then. So i'm bringing her in in like an hour and a half to discuss other options. Should i lean towards blood work?? Is that super exensive to have done? If it's a way to find out exactly what the problem is, i will be all for it but this is killing my bank account with switching the meds, then the problem continues to appear.....

Also i'm nervous about if this new med is going to need to be sprinkled on her food, like how im going to do that b/c the soft food is what i think started the dirrahea in her a month ago....so how am i going to do that ya know??


Urghhh....And susan and Marta, I'm trying to email you both back now. Sorry Im at the preschool now using their compter, I will contact yall asap...Im bringing Bailey to the vet in about an hour...

Oh yeah and Bailey will be 1 year on Sunday, so she's a young girl!


And p.s. I heard pumpkin was good for constipation, not so much dirreah, and she's going a good bit, so im scared with that it will just make her go even more....i dont know :(

Pumpkin can help in both situations.

Mama2yorkies, I thought I remembered my former vet telling me that. I hate to say he was old fashioned and used some "folk" remedies because he and I are same age. I do know that doctor's had recommended increased fiber intake for my ex-husband and I. One of us suffered from chronic diarrhea, the other suffered from constipation.

Bailey is going to be fine. The fact that Kasey is so concerned about her dog and cares to reach out to everyone that she knows may be able to help her lets me know that Bailey is in good hands. I knew that Bailey had stool specimens taken and the results were negative. Blood tests may show something. Bailey may have some condition similar to irritable bowel syndrome. Again I feel that Bailey will be fine because she is so well loved.

I am hoping in the short time Kasey will be back in Georgia that she and I can get together and I can meet her Bailey.

Dogs can be such a good influence in a person's life. My Dad is 82 and he walks a mile with his dog every day. During the time that he was without a dog, Dad didn't do his exercise. I am convinced he is going to live forever because of his dog.

I frequently remind myself that "dog" spelled backwards is "God". It's a simple connection, but I like to think that dogs have a special relationship with the Creator.

Bloodwork needs to be done.
Not wanting to alarm you but last Oct my little poodle started out this way. Did bloodwork and it was fine. Then in Feb 2011 it all started back up,did blood work at the beginning of March,my sweet baby passed away March 9th from liver failure.
I know that $$ is tight,but bloodwork will at least rule out some things.

I am so sorry that your baby is ill. My heart hurts for you.

I think at least a chemistry panel and CBC should be done.

Definitely switch from Nutro. I would go with something like Natural Balance, unless your vet recommends a prescription diet.

Stick to strict diet of dog food only, kibble rather than canned, if possible. No treats, no chews of any kind.

Personally I would not mess with the pumpkin for many reasons. Keep her diet simple.

:thumbup::thumbup: Just what I was going to say.

as soon as i get internet service, i will post an update from the vet, thank you all for caring and offering help :)

Looking forward to your update and sending best wishes for your little girl. It's no fun when something is wrong.

Have you asked about IBS? Rosie has been diagnosed with it. We have numerous vet trips due to tummy issues and finally got this diagnosis. She is having to eat Science Diet I/D. So far so good since our last incident.

About the bloodwork, my vet will not do anything without doing blood work first. It is expensive but I think it is worth it. I think it is about $200.

Hope your baby is better soon!

I'm sorry you're having these issues with your baby...I do have some suggestions:

Why didn't the vet put her on a bland diet? Chicken and rice or I/D? When the intestines are irritated, by parasites, bacteria, or a virus, a bland diet is the only way to go to give them a chance to heal. Usually 1-2 weeks, then the regular food is introduced slowly and gradually back in with the bland diet until the bland diet is weened out of the mix, and she's eating her regular diet.

If you can't do the I/D, chicken and rice will work too. If you can't cook, you can buy precooked chicken (like to put in salads) but get it as plain as possible, and rinse off any seasonings (even the plain has some seasoning) and a steam-in-the-bag bag of plain, white rice (nuke it in the microwave) or Uncle Ben's Minute Rice. The ratio is 1:1, or equal amounts of each. You can use Gerber's Stage 2 chicken Baby food, it is also bland, to mix with the white rice. Don't get the 'Dinners' Gerber makes for babies... these are not bland enough.

Pre-op bloodwork ($60) would check her liver enzymes and basic chemistries, and would provide enough info to determine her immediate state of health.

The Tylan powder is an antibiotic, so if she has a bacterial infection, it may work and no further testing would be needed.

Canned I/D is really lacking in moisture, it's more like a damp, clay-like consistency. I really don't think it would make any diarrhea worse.

And this is JMHO: I wouldn't feed Nutro, Solid Gold, Eukanuba or anything that is over 25% protein. The pumpkin would work, as it stops diarrhea from the increased fiber, but whatever is causing the diarrhea may need to be expelled and the pumpkin may slow down this process.

And probiotics can help, if your vet recommends them for her. Doesn't hurt to ask...

Quite a few years ago I fed Nutro for some time ... I kept having problems with diarrhea in my pups and finally figured out that it might be that food. Took them off of it and they were fine!

I posted on another of your threads about Hills Ultra Z/d. It might be worth asking your vet what he thinks of trying that.

Kimbo was sick like this for a couple of weeks in November. It was terrifying for me. His bloodwork came out ok, so they told me to take the meds and wait it out. It felt like it took forever, but while he was sick, i only fed him boiled chicken breast that i cubed up. That's all he ate for about 14 days. He wouldn't drink much, so I held up ice cubes to his mouth so he could lick them. One of the meds was an anti-nausea/diarrhea paste that I squirted in his mouth several times a day. When the diarrhea FINALLY stopped, I bought a brand new bag of his kibble (thinking maybe something was wrong with the bag he was eating from when he got sick) and I introduced his food back to him over the course of 10 days. A few kibbles at a time mixed with chicken. I also make it a point to clean his water bowl very good with hot soap and water more often. I wondered if he could get bacteria from that.

P.S. We also think he may have gotten sick because I gave him some honey nut cheerios, and not his regular plain cheerios for treats. The Dr. said the honey could mess things up in his belly. Either way, we've never given him either kind again only for fear that maybe his sensitive little belly can't take it.

Sending our prayers to you and your furbaby.

thank yall for the tips, thoughts, and nice words...i wrote an update in a new thread in this same forum' so please read and give any feedback you may have, shes an only furbaby' so she is very spoiled and xtra cared for and worried about. shes my first baby on my own and its just the 2 of us' shes my best friend...seriously :)

Trust me, we all understand. Even if you have more than one they get very spoiled. Mine are not spoiled at all. :p Lol. And yes, I think many of us would say they are our best friends too. Your a good mommy. Keep it up. :)