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Argh, Diarrhea Again & Eating Grass


Guest Stripeyfan

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Guest Stripeyfan

This last week or so, Kelly has been trying to eat grass in the yard (and I've been trying to stop him!). He's seemed fine otherwise, no vomiting - just slightly grassy poop - and no D... until about an hour ago. :(

 

Ironically, I was speaking to our vet on the phone this morning as she'd asked me to ring with an update some time around now. I mentioned the grass eating and she said she thought it might be because the ABs were starting to make him feel a bit rough, which I'd wondered about too. She said to give him a probiotic as this might help. I have some Protexin Bio Premium granules (Enterococcus Faeceium) already so I started to add that to his food today. At that point he hadn't got diarrhea, though - his poop was a bit soft this morning but within the 'acceptable' range.

 

The problem is this - both times we've tried to finish the ABs previously, Kelly has ended up with blowout D within 24-48 hrs and he's needed to go back on the ABs to stop it. He has about 2 days of the tablets left, but if they're now causing him to have diarrhea, I'm scared to give him any more. He's not at the blowout stage yet but definitely going that way. He was also loose a couple of weeks ago after being wormed, which cleared up again, but I wonder now if that's not helped either.

 

So what do I do? Should he finish the ABs regardless or stop now? And what do we do if he gets diarrhea again from stopping the ABs? I can't starve him as he's also on pred, but will be cutting his food down a bit tomorrow to try and calm things down. Apart from that, though, I'm really out of ideas.

 

Help!

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Oh jeez, you and Kelly didn't need this, did you? blink.gif Okay, don't panic, here's every relevant thing I know that I can think of now.

 

Some dogs don't do well on probiotics. Spencer has consistently reacted badly to them. The internist didn't find this surprising. I know some people swear by them, and I know they help some dogs, but not ALL dogs.

 

Second, some IBD dogs have to stay on metronidazole forever. That's my vet's expectation and that has been the experience of at least one owner I know here in WA; every time you try to take them off, they get soft poop or D. I'm always looking for an opportunity to test it, yet again, with Spencer. I've gotten as far as halving his daily dose, successfully for a while. But after 2-3 months I had to double it again. Same thing happened with his tylosin.

 

As for grass eating, I don't know what to think about allowing it or not. We just try to keep it to a minimum but do allow a few blades in the spring. Apparently spring grass has some beneficial chemical properties that it doesn't have at other times of year; but that may only be true for animals whose guts are basically healthy, which is why we don't let Spencer get too carried away with it.

 

As you've discovered, even good things -- like worming -- can lead to negative temporary reactions. Then there are not-so-good things like emotional stress -- one minute of upset leading to two weeks of soft poop -- and unannounced changes to commercial pet food. (We're struggling with that second one now.) So while you may not know what brought this on, don't despair. From what the internist told me, at least one annual "flare" is normal for these guys and can be expected to go away. Not that you shouldn't react. I'd be hitting GT and the vet for advice too. Just keep observing, reporting, and perhaps consider letting go of the probiotic. And for what it's worth, when these things happen to Spencer, I discontinue anything that's not entirely necessary (e.g., omega-3 and glutamine supplements) and raise the dosage on his essential meds if there's that kind of wiggle room.

 

Remind us how long all together Kelly has been having GI trouble. And know we'll be thinking good thoughts for you and Kelly and hoping things improve. Quickly! smile.gif

Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13).

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Guest Stripeyfan

Thankyou Greyhead. Yes, I am panicking. :( I get terrified Kelly's going to go downhill again and that this time we won't be able to help him. STUPID, I know, especially when others on here are dealing with far more serious problems, but if there's one thing I'm good at, it's worrying! :rolleyes: He has just been running round the garden like a total lunatic after his rag toy though so he obviously isn't feeling too horrible... at the moment anyway...

 

He first got sick on 9th Jan this year Link Here, and at the risk of going on and on about this, I do think if our old vet hadn't taken a month to find his worms, and hadn't then insisted his recurring D was down to allergies and putting him on foods which damaged his insides even more, he probably wouldn't have needed to go on such high doses of meds when we switched to our new vet, if any. Sigh.

 

He's on Oxytetracycline as opposed to Metronidazole/Flagyl, but had 1 week of Met when this 1st started without any problems. Maybe I should ask about switching to a different AB if he does need to stay on them?? Our vet did say we could try a lower dose of the Oxy if he had to keep taking it, and we're picking some up tomorrow to have on standby in case coming off it triggers another flare. She doesn't know he's getting loose again because of course that started this evening, after the vet had closed. :huh I'm hoping we can get this under control by treating it in the same way as we did the flare-up caused by the wormer, though I'll ring her again if it doesn't improve.

 

DH has just cut the lawn so hopefully we can curb the grass-eating. We don't use fertiliser but like you I think that in a dog with an iffy GI system, grass eating's probably not a good idea!

 

Please can we have some more firm poo chants from GTers as they worked so well last time! Thanks!

Edited by Stripeyfan
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Okay, y'all heard the lady. Chant Firm Poo! Firm Poo! Firm Poo! coolman.gif

 

Xan, where are you? You're needed here! Or even a Xan-equivalent!

 

ETA: You needn't feel apologetic for your concern. IBD, hookworm, GI infections can all be lethal, especially if mistakes are made and things get out of hand. There *is* no "worse problem" than having to fight to keep your dog alive and well. heart.gif

Edited by greyhead
Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13).

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