The Lastest On Bailey

[Guest dray1965]

Well, Bailey is still having problems with the big D. - not all the time though. Here's what's going on in total with him. He is still eating a diet of rice and chicken - one additional thing now is I'm slowly adding in Fish & Potato by Nature's Recipe, he was eating Chicken & Rice by Nature's recipe before. He is back on Flagyl for a week or two. Sometimes he is formed, sometimes he is half and half and other times he is completely loose (with bits of rice in it). He eats grass pretty much every time he goes out. He still has a great appetite and he is drinking water. He's been checked for parasites and has none. Any ideas on what this could be? There is no vomiting involved, just diarrhea. He is still active and happy, not lethargic. Should I even be worried at all?

[Walliered]

Your story sounds like mine..He might be allergic to the chicken..try him on something he has NEVER had before. I put mine on Dick Van Patton's Bison and Sweet Potato with nothing except his food for treats..And that means nothing. I have since started giving him Sweet Potato treats from The Front Porch..it has nothing in it but sweet potato. This sure worked for my grey. Good luck.

[Batmom]

Walliered could be right about the chicken. And then there are two things about rice: First, for most dogs to digest it well, it has to be overcooked -- I add @ 30% - 50% more water and simmer till all the water is absorbed and it's very mushy. Second, some dogs never get totally firm on rice. YMMV, but I would probably complete his transition off the chicken/rice to one of the other foods and see how he does. Good luck!

[Guest Fasave]

I had a pup who was actually allergic to rice. I cooked for him and for grains he had millet, oatmeal, quinoa or barley. If you suspect allergies, a novel protein is a good idea but sometimes carbs can be the problem too. I hope Bailey feels better soon. The big D is no fun.

[Guest Stripeyfan]

It sounds like there's some intermittent GI irritation going on still. Have you tried starving him for 24 hrs to give his insides a rest? Whenever Kelly's IBD flares we do this, then feed little and often for about 2 days - about half the normal amount of food on the 1st day, slowly increasing back up to the full amount by the end of the 2nd, feeding every couple of hours. If he's ok on day 3, it's back to usual amounts/feeding times. He's on a long-term bland diet of chicken and rice, and has no problems with this normally, but when he's flaring badly even rice will give him blowout D if we don't do a starve.

 

You could try slippery elm powder, too - this coats and soothes the GI tract. Kelly gets 3 capsules 3X a day, at different times to his meds (he's on abs/pred) so it doesn't intefere with their absorption. We buy them from a human health food store as over here it's much cheaper than any of the stuff manufactured specially for dogs.

 

Also, Kelly went through a major grass-eating episode last month, and although it didn't make him vomit it did give him D, as grass is very hard to digest. Our vet recommended giving a probiotic (again, at a different time to his ABs) to help with this, as we think it was because the ABs were upsetting his tummy - so don't know if it would be worth trying that too.

 

Good luck and sorry about the essay!

[Guest dray1965]

It sounds like there's some intermittent GI irritation going on still. Have you tried starving him for 24 hrs to give his insides a rest? Whenever Kelly's IBD flares we do this, then feed little and often for about 2 days - about half the normal amount of food on the 1st day, slowly increasing back up to the full amount by the end of the 2nd, feeding every couple of hours. If he's ok on day 3, it's back to usual amounts/feeding times. He's on a long-term bland diet of chicken and rice, and has no problems with this normally, but when he's flaring badly even rice will give him blowout D if we don't do a starve.

 

You could try slippery elm powder, too - this coats and soothes the GI tract. Kelly gets 3 capsules 3X a day, at different times to his meds (he's on abs/pred) so it doesn't intefere with their absorption. We buy them from a human health food store as over here it's much cheaper than any of the stuff manufactured specially for dogs.

 

Also, Kelly went through a major grass-eating episode last month, and although it didn't make him vomit it did give him D, as grass is very hard to digest. Our vet recommended giving a probiotic (again, at a different time to his ABs) to help with this, as we think it was because the ABs were upsetting his tummy - so don't know if it would be worth trying that too.

 

Good luck and sorry about the essay!

 

 

Don't apologize for the essay. I'm going to try your suggestions. When this started almost a month ago, I did a 24hr fasting on him so his system could settle , then I did chicken and rice for about 2 days, then tried to add back in his regular food - then he went back to having D. I went back to just chicken and rice, but he just as this cycle almost of a couple of normal movements, then partially loose, then completely watery, then back to normal for a day or two, and so on - without me changing anything in his diet. I am beginning to wonder now about his grass eating, maybe that's the factor causing his D. to begin with. Thank you for the info and we'll see how things go here.