Still Not Formed Poops

[rschultz]

about a month ago after picking lexie up from a well cleaned kennel she had diarrhea. vet put her on an antibiotic which cleared it up .He thught maybe she ate something out in the kennel yard. as soon as the antibiotic was done the diarrhea came back. Vet put her on antibiotic again. This time it is not helping. She has been on it a week. He did a stool sample the first time and no parasites. I am calling tomorrow cause i think he said if she still has no change he would have to send out a screening. What will they be looking for in that screening and what could she have? The vet had me add bil jac to her food. He said that always firms up poops but that didnt even help. Was wondering if anyone knew what they screen for and what could she have? She still poops the same amount each day..three times.. but it is not formed at all. she is not lethargic. She is still her happy self.

thanks

[CaliforniaGreys]

I'm sorry not to have any ideas, but hopefully someone here will

[Burpdog]

I'd worm her with panacur regardless of what the stool sample says.

 

Straight BilJac frozen and see if it helps

[Guest argolola]

Another vote for panacur. Sending prayers for your little sweetie.

[Guest SoulsMom]

I posted in the other thread, but I'll do it here too. I third the Panacur. I just went through this with Soul. It took a month, but he's back to having bouncy poo!

[tbhounds]

Never hurts to give them a round of Panacur--just because the fecal results came back with nothing being seen doesn't mean that she's negative--just means that the parasites weren't shedding eggs at the time of collection. I would think that your vet might being considering IBD--bloodwork might show low blood proteins (PLE). Have you tried putting your dog on novel food diet? (protein he's never had before--rabbit-venison... and a carb source such as potato) The other thing your Vet be be suspicious of would be a pancreatic insufficiency--A TLI test would be required for that (Blood work that Lexie needs to be fasted for)

Diarrhea can be so frustrating (been there, done that)--if you don't feel that your Vet is helping you please ask for a referral to an internist.

[Guest longdogs]

I'm with Burpdog. Some parasites can be hard to detect, it could be cryposporidium or something similar. They should pick it up in a screening though. Things aren't going to improve much if her insides are inflamed and losing a lot of fluid. Have you tried her on a bland diet? It's basically rice cooked to mush along with some defatted meat such as ground beef or chicken, blanched in boiling water or briefly microwaved and drained. The rice mush is both soothing and firming.

[MandysMom]

I concur with the Panacur--we went through the chronic runny deposits and my vet told me that, despite negative fecals, it was likely there was some little nasties there, we did a bland (chicken and rice) diet for 5 days with a round of Panacur. I transitioned Mandy back to regular food and she's been fine since. I will add that Mandy is one that definitely needs extra fiber, and the fiber that does best for her is dried beet pulp. Every food I've given her with beet pulp has firmed things up. Every food I've trieid without it, even when I've added Metamucil (at the vet's direction) or pumpkin, resulted in soft or runny stools.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Bland diet with panacur.

 

Good luck!

[Guest the36thchamber]

I kept reading panacur which I've never even heard of... all I know is that Lego's poo is never truly solid that the black hard as rock logs that I see from the other dogs in the neighborhood. It definitely does improve when I add pumpkin or sweet potatoes to his food. I hope you find your cure though and please update once you do.

[Guest SoulsMom]

I kept reading panacur which I've never even heard of... all I know is that Lego's poo is never truly solid that the black hard as rock logs that I see from the other dogs in the neighborhood. It definitely does improve when I add pumpkin or sweet potatoes to his food. I hope you find your cure though and please update once you do.

 

Lego is a new adoptee, correct? Panacur is a de-wormer that is often given when a dog has Big D but no other symptoms. Soul and I just ended up and Tufts for bloody, soft stools. After a month and treating with Panacur he's back to firm poops. In your case I might try a different food inconjunction with the pumpkin and/or yogurt. Soul has good poops on the grain free kibbles.

[Guest the36thchamber]

I kept reading panacur which I've never even heard of... all I know is that Lego's poo is never truly solid that the black hard as rock logs that I see from the other dogs in the neighborhood. It definitely does improve when I add pumpkin or sweet potatoes to his food. I hope you find your cure though and please update once you do.

 

Lego is a new adoptee, correct? Panacur is a de-wormer that is often given when a dog has Big D but no other symptoms. Soul and I just ended up and Tufts for bloody, soft stools. After a month and treating with Panacur he's back to firm poops. In your case I might try a different food inconjunction with the pumpkin and/or yogurt. Soul has good poops on the grain free kibbles.

 

We've had Lego for around two months and he was in a really good foster home for a month before that. I don't worry too too much about his poo other than last week when he ate the piece of chicken that he found that made his belly ache for the most part, his poo is pretty decent... ya know, I just realized that I talk more about poo now that I have a grey than I ever did before

 

[Guest jettcricket]

If it's not due to parasites, try beet pulp. The stuff is amazing and it's cheap.....

[Guest MZH]

Maybe Lexi really did eat something in the kennel yard.

 

Our 7 month old pup is into everything and gets awful D from eating non-food items. We've had her xrayed twice to see if she had an obstruction. We were lucky; things were passing through. She now wears a muzzle when outside and frankly, I think she may need one inside for a while! She goes through stuffies in a flash and will eat anything that goes down her gullet, including stones. All but one very sturdy stuffy are put away for the time being. Hard rubber toys are "it" for now.

 

Could he have a partial obstruction?

 

If it's an infection might he need a longer course of antibiotics?

 

Diarrhea is really vexing.

 

Marcia

 

 

[rschultz]

well she finished the antibotics and nothings changed. the vet had me bring in another sample. this one he will send out. i told him about trying the panacur and he agreed. She has been on it one day and no change yet. I am trying the straight bil jac. I know it is something that she must have picked up from the kennel cause she has been fine the past year. The vet said if the fecal comes back normal, she may need a colonoscopy? I am really concerned about doing that. He said her first fecal was for parasites. This fecal he is sending out. I guess it will show if she has salmonalli or things like that. Anyones dog out there ever had that done or have had a colonoscopy? My husband says the dog must take after me cause I have a bad stomach too...lol. It is just so frustrating cause she has been at this kennel before and these people are neat fanatics. I do appreciate all your input and advice. My vet is real good about listening to me and he had no problem when i mentione the panacur that I told him some "grey" friends told me to give it a try. We are supposed to go away again in three weeks so I am hoping we know something by then.

[Guest EnzaFerrari]

Have you tried the bland diet as well? With Enza- her system was so screwed up from the buggies, it took a week of straight rice and chicken plus the panacur to make it right. Then I added in the kibble and she was good as new. But I was told by the vet to not do panacur and kibble as her stomach was still upset. But she;d been sick for a week....

[Guest SoulsMom]

With Soul he got the bloody big D on 9/27 and we went to the E-vet. They gave him flagyl and 6 doses of Panacur. He was to get three dose a day for the next three days. Then I was to repeat the process in three weeks. Well, EXACTLY three weeks later, bloody big D again. I gave him the next three doses and kept him on a bland diet for almost five days. Now, all better

[Guest MZH]

well she finished the antibotics and nothings changed. the vet had me bring in another sample. this one he will send out. i told him about trying the panacur and he agreed. She has been on it one day and no change yet. I am trying the straight bil jac. I know it is something that she must have picked up from the kennel cause she has been fine the past year. The vet said if the fecal comes back normal, she may need a colonoscopy? I am really concerned about doing that. He said her first fecal was for parasites. This fecal he is sending out. I guess it will show if she has salmonalli or things like that. Anyones dog out there ever had that done or have had a colonoscopy? My husband says the dog must take after me cause I have a bad stomach too...lol. It is just so frustrating cause she has been at this kennel before and these people are neat fanatics. I do appreciate all your input and advice. My vet is real good about listening to me and he had no problem when i mentione the panacur that I told him some "grey" friends told me to give it a try. We are supposed to go away again in three weeks so I am hoping we know something by then.

 

Hi,

 

A friend's dog who has soft to liquid poos and an "iffy" stomach off and on for much of his life -- he's almost 11 now -- just had an endoscopy; they found a large colony of H. pylori -- the same bacteria that causes stomach ulcers in people! He was on flagyl for a month and another antibiotic that has escaped me -- amoxi perhaps. I'm not sure if he had a colonoscopy or not but they did a bowel biopsy so they probably did do that first.

 

During the endoscopy they also removed some unidentified junk out of his stomach. He's now on Eukanuba low-res food mixed with home cooked chicken and rice for the time being. Word is that his movements are getting better. He had been raw fed all his life but it's disagreeing with him now.

 

Rather than experimenting it might be best to bite the bullet and go for the colonoscopy or maybe the endoscopy. But then one day's worth of Panacur is too soon to tell if it's working or not.

 

Marcia

[Guest LynnM]

Panacur and high-dose flagyl will clear just about anything parasitic that could be causing the issue (various worms, giardia). The screening the vet spoke of was most likely TLI/PLI/Cobolamine/Folate. It's a screening for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (autoimmune disease of the intestine, frequently in the small intestine of dogs, but can also be somewhat similar to Crohn's Disease in people).

 

I just went down this road with Joplin. He's always had a gut that's a bit off. We screened him for IBD several years ago, and lab work was normal. We decided against an exploratory and biopsy (the only truly definitive diagnosis for IBD) then because he wasn't "that" bad. In the last month or so, his gut has flared up again, and this time the lab results were textbook IBD. He's on B12 injections, low dose of flagyl (low dose is antiinflammatory and mild immunosupressant), budesonide and a supplement for enteric support. He also gets acupuncture and chiro adjustments. He's received and responded well to acupuncure over the years for various ailments, aches and pains. His food was recently changed to Eukanuba Low Residue. I'd prefer to feed a food that didn't have such a "scary" ingredient list, but the stuff does work well! There isn't much out there for a good, everyday, balanced homemade diet for IBD.

 

Anyway, true IBD isn't very common. Parasites are a more likely cause, but that's the basics of IBD if you exhaust all possibilities with parasites.

 

Lynn

 

Panacur and high-dose flagyl will clear just about anything parasitic that could be causing the issue (various worms, giardia). The screening the vet spoke of was most likely TLI/PLI/Cobolamine/Folate. It's a screening for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (autoimmune disease of the intestine, frequently in the small intestine of dogs, but can also be somewhat similar to Crohn's Disease in people).

 

I just went down this road with Joplin. He's always had a gut that's a bit off. We screened him for IBD several years ago, and lab work was normal. We decided against an exploratory and biopsy (the only truly definitive diagnosis for IBD) then because he wasn't "that" bad. In the last month or so, his gut has flared up again, and this time the lab results were textbook IBD. He's on B12 injections, low dose of flagyl (low dose is antiinflammatory and mild immunosupressant), budesonide and a supplement for enteric support. He also gets acupuncture and chiro adjustments. He's received and responded well to acupuncure over the years for various ailments, aches and pains. His food was recently changed to Eukanuba Low Residue. I'd prefer to feed a food that didn't have such a "scary" ingredient list, but the stuff does work well! There isn't much out there for a good, everyday, balanced homemade diet for IBD.

 

Anyway, true IBD isn't very common. Parasites are a more likely cause, but that's the basics of IBD if you exhaust all possibilities with parasites.

 

Lynn

[rschultz]

ty all i have tried the bland diet. the vet will have the results next wed so i will let ya know.

 

ty all i have tried the bland diet. the vet will have the results next wed so i will let ya know.

 

ty all i have tried the bland diet. the vet will have the results next wed so i will let ya know.

[Guest MZH]

The dog I'm speaking of -- his name is Merlin and he's a sib to our departed Cullen -- has been on almost the exact same regimen that Joplin's been on, right down to the B12 shots. I hope Merlin does as well as Joplin.

 

One thing I wish Merlin were on is budesonide; I've been pushing for him to be put on that. I've been on it and it works really great for me. In the meantime, I've been fortunate to have a GI doc who said to try Welchol instead. It's a bile acid sequester, and it's taken the place of budesonide (Entocort) for me for the time being -- hopefully permanently!

 

I read that corn grits is the first ingredient in the l0w res food; yikes! I wonder if Hills ZD could work too. Yet another friend has a dog with IBD and that food has been a lifesaver for her.

 

There sure are a lot of greyhounds with apparent IBD lately. Strange.

 

Marcia

[Guest LynnM]

Joplin has always had a tricky gut, but it's only been recently that his labs have supported the diagnosis. He's been on Flagyl/Amforal as needed for just about as long as I've had him. We were fortunate to have more or less a "remission" for a few years, but the last several months have been tough on both him and my steam cleaner.

 

Yes, the Euk Low Residue has a pretty icky looking list of ingredients, but whatever works! I've seen it work too many times to not give it a try. Joplin has done about the same on any food I've fed him, so I don't know that it's going to make a huge difference for him. Right now (early in this round of treatment), his stools are still nasty, but there's a lot less of it and he has more control. Whether that's due to the food or the Flagyl remains to be seen.

 

The only time I've ever seen him have TRULY good digestion was when he was on prednisone following his tick paralysis. That was the other thing that clued us in that it was probably inflammatory bowel disease. Budesonide is a steroid like pred, but its action is more concentrated on the intestine, so there tends to be fewer side effects. The main side effect is on my wallet... there's no generic yet. 21 prednisone = $4. 21 budesonide = $118, but the old man is so worth it!

[rschultz]

well the three days of panacur seemed to have made her worse. I guess it means she doesnt have a parasite/?? Her poop is all water now. I called the vet again this morning. It is so frustrating. She and I worked so hard for her to become a therapy dog and i am so down now, worried that she is sick. We had a very sick dog before lexie for 2 years and I guess it is just bringing back depressing memories. If the vet wants to do a colonoscopy, do they have to be cleaned out like people with laxatives? How long is the recovery? Sorry, I am going a little overboard with emotions. I just wasnt ready for this.

ty

[Guest BackUptheTruck]

Assuming she's otherwise healthy, we've had great results with a grain-free kibble that is 30% protein or less. Some dogs are really sensitive to oatmeal and other grain fillers (just be careful not to get one with a too-high percentage of protein).

[Guest SoulsMom]

Soul's also went to all liquid for the first few days of the Panacur and then once he was finished with the meds his poops got back to normal. I fed him a bland diet during that time.