Guest jeaninedavis Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 I know someone here has had this experience and I would like to hear what worked for you before I waste thousands of $ at the vet for them to tell me they can treat the symptoms and not the cause! Isabelle is a 3 year old grey, started with muddy diarrhea last January. All fecals come back negative, bacterial smears normal. We started her on flagyl, with no help, and tylan which did help until now. She has started having bm's in the middle of the night (sometimes she wakes me up, most of the time she doesn't). She also eats the other dog's poo, depsite treatment (used fosters and smith Distaste tablets on everyone) and then comes inside and spits some poo/water mixture on the floor. Thoroughly disgusting. I have been researching the net, but would like to hear from other sighthound owners, because to me they are a special group. What food, supplements, meds, treatments (holistic/medical) have helped you? Money is an issue to me right now, but I would be willing to try a more expensive food or supplement, if it means she gets well. I am trying to avoid the run around at the vets (not that I don't trust them, but when I was a vet tech, I watched many people pay for tests that gave no answers, and I refuse to do that right now!) Any suggestions are greatly appreciated! Jeanine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 What color is the poop? What are you feeding now? What area of the country are you in? Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mandm Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Has she had a TLI & folate/cobalamin test, a fasting blood test sent to Texas A&M which tests for EPI & SIBO? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeaninedavis Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Poo is light brown. No blood, fully digested. Currently eating Diamond Naturals lamb and rice with 1 tbsp tylan powder twice a day. We live near Savannah, GA. BTW, she is a very active, happy, normal acting girl. No abdominal pain or other severe symptoms beside the mushy stool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeaninedavis Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Has she had a TLI & folate/cobalamin test, a fasting blood test sent to Texas A&M which tests for EPI & SIBO? No, but just knowing specifically what tests should be run, will help me with the vet. Thanks. Jeanine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jupiterooos Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Is metronidazole the same as flagyl? Just wondering. We dealt with our boy's IBD by switching to a raw diet, after ruling out everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Is metronidazole the same as flagyl? Just wondering. yes, it's the same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeaninedavis Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Is metronidazole the same as flagyl? Just wondering. We dealt with our boy's IBD by switching to a raw diet, after ruling out everything else. Do you prepare your raw diet yourself, or are you using a pre-packaged? I have considered this but with 5 dogs, the price is scary! I may try just Izzy on it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahicks51 Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 Is metronidazole the same as flagyl? Just wondering. We dealt with our boy's IBD by switching to a raw diet, after ruling out everything else. Do you prepare your raw diet yourself, or are you using a pre-packaged? I have considered this but with 5 dogs, the price is scary! I may try just Izzy on it... Try just the sick dog, yes. Find a good butcher store- one that sells "parts," not just packaged flats at the grocery store. One need not feed chicken breast at $$$/pound when you need the bone material- so $0.19/pound necks, frames, and other parts can be had. A good butcher store that can get in animal products by the case can end up *dropping* your food bill. Even when it's the same price on a per-pound basis, the canine needs less raw food than bagged kibble- if for no better reason, there are no fillers and anti-nutrients like wheat and corn. There is also the potential for cost savings down the line in terms of medical expenses- primarily dental. Quote Coco (Maze Cocodrillo) Minerva (Kid's Snipper) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burpdog Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 We live near Savannah, GA. My 5 or 6 dollar test. PetsMart in Savannah carries BilJac frozen. Buy it and feed it only and see if she straightens up Quote Diane & The Senior Gang Burpdog Biscuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeaninedavis Posted November 20, 2008 Share Posted November 20, 2008 We live near Savannah, GA. My 5 or 6 dollar test. PetsMart in Savannah carries BilJac frozen. Buy it and feed it only and see if she straightens up I love you. Consider it done. Will let you know in a week or so if there is improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 When you go to the vet they will most likely run a basic chem and a cbc. Your vet might also want to run a test called TLI (most labs can run this test with results in days) that's checking for Pancreatic insufficiency. Your dog will need to be fasted for this test you will most likely need to schedule that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rschultz Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 gosh my thread is almost like yours. lexie did all the tests all negative. tried bil jac that didnt work. now doc trying low residue iams. If that doesnt work I may try raw or else she has to have an endo and colonoscopy. gl I just tried giving lexie some of the probiotics I take cause I have colitis. (must run in the genes) Maybe that will help. I am hoping this new food will help. Prayers for your dog too Quote Lexie is gone but not forgotten.💜 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MZH Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Don't let her eat poop. Put a muzzle on her when she's in the yard so she can't. When she stops eating the stuff she'll likely be OK. If not eating poop and she's still got troubles then do all the other suggestions. Marcia PS forgot to add, use a muzzle with a stool guard. The NGA sells these things. You can also use duct tape in strategic places until the stool guard arrives. Keeping the yard picked up will help too so there's nothing to eat out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeaninedavis Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Don't let her eat poop. Put a muzzle on her when she's in the yard so she can't. When she stops eating the stuff she'll likely be OK. If not eating poop and she's still got troubles then do all the other suggestions. Marcia PS forgot to add, use a muzzle with a stool guard. The NGA sells these things. You can also use duct tape in strategic places until the stool guard arrives. Keeping the yard picked up will help too so there's nothing to eat out there. She didn't start with the poop eating until after the diarrhea started. I think she may be trying to compensate for the malabsorption. We have a vet appointment next week, at least now I have a list of reasonable tests to run that will help us find answers. After reading up on EPI, her symptoms seem to lead to that. Hopefully the lab work will confirm that. The thought of having a poop free yard is nice, but not going to happen. We have 5 dogs and 3 cats and our yard is over 2 acres fenced in. I do not have that much time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Ditto about not letting her eat poop. Also try: 1 - different food! as already suggested. 2 - giving her 2 rounds of worming with something like Panacur, even tho the fecal shows clean. Good luck! Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Remolacha Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 Fletcher had mushy-to-runny poops and was a poop eater. I switched him to raw, and the poop eating stopped, and his own personal poops are great I can't feed him the pre-packaged raw food, (even if I could afford it!) it has stuff that triggers his IBD. Whether it is IBD or food allergies, it's mostly trial and error to find out what the problem food is (or are). I also agree with the Panacur. Can't hurt, and some of those nasties don't show up in a fecal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tobinhr Posted November 21, 2008 Share Posted November 21, 2008 I would give raw a try. What do you have to lose? (Except the big D and a few vet bills..) Jan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nicolapez Posted November 23, 2008 Share Posted November 23, 2008 I went through the ringer getting my girl Ella diagnosed after only having her 2 months. Started out with liquid poo and treatment for Ringworm. she got better then no poo at all- I insisted on an x-ray after two days and it showed a mottled area, vet wasn't sure so he wanted to open her up or use pain meds- we opted for surgery and turned out she had an ileus and her cecum (like an appendix in humans but not removed in dogs) was filled with some foul liquid and her gut was barely moving and not even pink- once he milked it out she pinked up and her gut showed movement- no clue what this was but through the biopsy since she was open it was consistent with ibd. Two days after surgery she wakes up and throws up a 12 inch binding/edge off a bath towel. Pretty positive this didn't come from track and definitely not my house as she was with me all the time and not a chewer- probably from the vet as she was catastrophic when she came out of surgery so we took her home on oral antibiotics instead of the IV which she had tried to rip out. She rebounded but not with any tremendous progress- vet still not sure what to do- we tried prednisone and Science Diet ZD to eliminate allergy considerations and give her gut time to heal but she kept losing weight. We even did the barium swallow for dogs to see how she processed foods. At 49 pounds and with me freaking out at how deconditioned she appeared, I took her to a vet that has seen greys for 20 years in Baltimore MD. He put her on Sulfasalazine and flagyl and Royal Canin High Fiber Calorie Control- go figure dog with weight loss and liquid poo gets this food but I kid you not she started gaining weight instantly and has since stabilized and I have weaned her off all meds! The sulfasalazine has the ability as a med to pass on through her small intestine intact before it released in her large intestine thus giving her gut the meds it needed when needed. I have not varied her food though because I don't want to mess with a good thing- food is expensive ($60 for a 33lb bag through vet) and the fiber has her poops pretty bulky but she is a healthy 59 pounds and happy. Through out it all she acted normal minus the constant need to poop and whining and pacing and inconsistant poo- never lost appetite. Hope this helps as I know I was relieved- keep in mind though may or may not work as the right concoction for every IBD dog- I know I research galore trying to figure what to do with her and it still resulted in a certain amount of trial and error- good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeaninedavis Posted November 24, 2008 Share Posted November 24, 2008 Just checking in since you have all been so kind in replying. We have chaged to the Bil-Jac frozen. It started Saturday, and already sunday the stool was more formed, though not perfect. I did continue the tylan with it. I had dewormed her with panacur 2 weeks ago (I am not completely clueless!) and did the standard follow up this weekend. We will continue this path until something changes again. Thanks again, Jeanine and Isabelle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest manymanyhounds Posted November 25, 2008 Share Posted November 25, 2008 Hey Jeannine! I saw your post and spoke with a friend this weekend who has a lot of experience with IBD. Has Izzy been scoped and diagnosed with a biopsy? I personally have been through this as I have Celiac and unless diagnosed with a biopsy these symptoms can appear to be other things. Until you get the correct diagnosis you can go through a lot of crap (literally) until the diet is changed. I hope the Biljac is working. It's so important to get the correct protein working for her. Keep us updated. Hugs to you and the hounds! Dione Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jeaninedavis Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 So, the bil-jac worked great until Wednesday, when she started acting ill. Lethargic, nauseous, febrile. Took her back to the vet where all labs came back normal, except for bacterial overgrowth (again). We started her on reglan for nausea, Tagament, and SMZ for antibiotic. She is back to herself and the poo is great. Silly question for Burpdog- I can keep her Bil-jac indefinitely, right? It is working great. Thanks again Jeanine and Izzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiona3 Posted December 6, 2008 Share Posted December 6, 2008 Don't know if this helps, but we had a dog with severe IBD symptoms. After all the tests were done with negative readings (and couldn't find any food allergies) our vet put him on a daily dose of 250 mg. Flagyl and 20 mg. of Prednisone. The medication over time was reduced to a "maintenance dose" but the change was dramatic. Probiotics were also helpful added to his food. Keep us posted on how your pup is doing. Quote Hobbes - April 2, 1994 to April 9, 2008-----Tasha - May 23, 2000 to March 31, 2013 Fiona - Aug 29, 2001 to May 5, 2014-----Bailey - March 22, 2001 to Jan 20, 2015 Zeke - June 1, 2004 - Jan 26, 2016----Callie - July 14, 2006 to July 27, 2019 Forever in my heart: Chooch, Molly, Dylan & Lucy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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