Anti-social, Loose Poops, Low Appetite

[Guest hattiepumpkin]

Hi Everyone,

I had a super long post going, and something happened and it completely disappeared. So . . . . here's the somewhat shorter version. Hattie is acting weird--her poop has been getting looser and looser this week, and it was finally the consistency of melted ice cream yesterday. Usually she has a great poop first thing in the morning, and then each one gets progressively softer. This week it has been bad for every single poop. She has been somewhat anti-social over the past few weeks--she goes in other rooms to lie down, she doesn't follow us from room to room, and she has to be persuaded to get up. Once she's up, she's fine--she loves going for walks, she is super excited to see other dogs and people, she loves to sniff, etc. She also has been picky about her food--she even turned up her nose at dinner tonight--she wouldn't touch it. Normally she's picky about breakfast, but almost never dinner.

 

We are still trying to settle on a food--we are wondering if the food she is on is a problem. Right now, she's on Solid Gold/Wolf King--it's made with Bison or something. In the past 2 years we've had her, she's been on:

 

Nutro--chicken/rice--her poop was too loose

Breeder's Choice--chicken/rice--poop too loose

Blue Buffalo--venison--her poop was too loose

Blue Buffalo--chicken/rice--poop was great, but her gas could be used as a WMD

Dick Van Patten--chicken/rice--poop was pretty good, she didn't seem to like the taste

Diamond/Costco--lamb--poop was too loose

Diamond/Costco--chicken/rice--poop was fantastic, but vet set there was mucus around her poop (?)

Iams-chicken/rice--poop was great, she went on a hunger strike b/c she didn't like it

Solid Gold--whatever the green bag is--her poop was ok

Solid Gold--Wolf King/Bison--HORRIBLE poop

 

Could the food be the problem? Right now we're putting her back on the Costco brand because we want her to be able to have a normal poop. Has anyone noticed their dogs acting like this lately? I bring her to the vet at the drop of a hat, and there never seems to be anything definable wrong. She has been tested for lyme twice over the past 6 months.

Please let me know if anyone has any insight/suggestions/experience with this behavior?

Thanks,

Alex and Hattie the Fire-Fanny Princess

[Trihounds]

The anti social behavior andlack of "get up and go" is a bit concerning and could be as basic as her not feeling well because of tummy upset.

 

I am not suggesting you do this without consultation from your vet to rule out other issues, but our boys went through a similar pattern of poop softness while eating kibble. We tried 4 different brands and switched to raw food and the problem was eliminated over night. The addition of raw bone to their diet firmed up the poops right away. We now mix in some kibble to keep them "regular" as needed.

 

You will get lot's of other good advice here too. Good luck!

[greysmom]

The first thing to figure out is if she is having an allergic reaction to the protein or carbs in the food. If mine had been having diarrhea like this they would have been fasted for at least 24 hours - long enough to clean her out and calm her gut down, maybe 36 hours if necessary - then started back on a bland diet of boiled hamburger or boiled chicken and rice. Small snack-type meals several times a day. Stay on this for several days. Make sure she has plenty of fresh water available. No treats or any other food.

 

If she begins having loose stools right away change to the other bland protein with rice. You can also switch to macaroni or another pasta for the carb. You may also want to try a unique protein like duck or fish - there are several good brands out there though they are more expensive.

 

If she still has looses stools you can try adding some dietary fiber either by adding beet pulp, canned pumpkin (not the pie filling), OR Metamucil-type supplement.

 

And if nothing really works then it's time for a complete medical evaluation to see if there's something more serious going on like IBD.

 

If you're switching foods make sure you stay on each food at least two weeks unless there's a violent reaction. I would probably not switch until after 4 weeks. Make sure you are switching gradually to the next food and not shocking her system by doing it too fast. IMO that list is an awful lot of foods to be trying even in a two year period. In the abcense of ay medical problem you might just need to stick with something for a while and add in the fiber.

 

Something else to think about - and totally my own opinion - lots of dogs, including my own, do fine on store brand food and don't need anything too fancy. Dogs even lived just fine before there were commercial dog food available! Consider the *level* of protein in the food you're feeding - she may not need that much - around 20% seems to be a consensus. Though if you do feed a high protein food you may not need to feed as much since they're getting their nutrition in a more concentrated fashion.

 

There's also a ton of info on all this in the Food section here.

 

Good Luck!

greysmom

[Guest mandm]

The change in her behavior would also concern me. Could be pain or exhaustion that is causing it.

 

I always assume worms when there is a stomach problem. Although I have not seen worms or even IBD cause a big change in behavior. Have you wormed her recently? Did you worm her when you got her? Fecals are helpful, when they are positive. But I don't put a lot of faith in negative fecals when a greyhound seems "wormy." I just worm with Panacur if I have good reason to suspect worms.

 

Could be the diet. Sounds like you have been trying to find the right one for a long time. Raw might work. Can you get her history? Find out if she had similar problems at her adoption kennel/foster home, or even better, in her racing kennel? If she had no stomach problems while racing, then there's a good chance that feeding her raw might fix her.

 

You said you have tested her for Lyme. But have you also tested her for Ehrlichia and Babesia? Those TBDs are much more common in greyhounds, and more likely to cause the problems you describe. I've had 2 TBD greyhounds and both had bad stomachs and were lethargic, not really antisocial, but too tired to interact.

 

How's her weight? I assume she is skinny. Maybe long term poor nutrition could cause the behavior changes, I don't know. Sounds like maybe she is exhausted or achey rather than antisocial. She doesn't want to get up because either she is too tired or something hurts, but once she gets up, then she is happy to be with you. Could that be it? Either way, you'd want to find out why.

[Guest luckydog]

I think you need to visit your vet first to rule out any medical problems. Sounds to me like you dog is in pain/discomfort.

 

[Guest kydie]

I too would get her to the vet, the sluggishness could be a variety of things, and that could put her off her eating, your list sggests you have been feeding good quality food, but there is some issue here, try adding fat free yogurt and some pumpkin to her food, for a few days, Good luck keep us posted

[JAJ2010]

Sounds almost like what we were going through with the poop before we switched to raw. The tiredness would worry me though. let us know how it goes.

[PrairieProf]

The first poop of the day being best and then getting progressively softer is really more normal/common than not. And Hattie's behavior sounds like a fairly normal, settled-in greyhound to me.

 

All your foods have had grain, and none have been fish. I agree with the vet check, but it might be worth considering something grain free and/or fish-based, and/or otherwise hypoallergenic. Lots of us have dogs who do better on those.

 

Has she ever been on metronidazole (Flagyl)? This is the first-line medicine for dealing with poop issues. Beth has a tendency to those, and has been having some problems in the past month. My vet thinks she may need to be on it periodically or possibly (too soon to tell) longer term, and says there's no problem with that.

Edited September 11, 2009 by PrairieProf