Rego Having Digestive Issues

[Guest greyers]

Hi all,

 

First off, let me state that he IS already going to the vet. I've spoken to their office and I have an spare sterile specimen cup at home, so sometime today I will "hopefully" be delivering a fecal sample to the vets office and we should be able to get the results same day. So as soon as they have those results we will be having an exam and start any needed meds if something turns up.

 

Now that said, I am just curious if anyone has any ideas or experience on what it could be? I have only had one greyhound with a messed up tummy and hers was simply that everything upset it. Rego came to us with digestive issues as part of the reason for return. But that was all contributed to rawhides, people food and his pooping in the house was apparently because his past owners didnt let him in the bedroom at night so he couldnt tell them he had to go.

 

As many of you might have read in my car poop story last week, my new boy Rego had sudden onset diarrhea in my car last Thursday. He has only been with us 2 weeks today and we had 8 days of no poop problems and integrating well into his new food, then BAM! He crapped all over my car and had upset belly for the next 24 hours! So I switched him to chicken and rice and yogurt and the belly settled and he was doing great. Poop almost back to what it had been prior to the car incident. then this morning at 4:45, he woke me to go out and he had mucousy pudding poop. Then again at 6:45 am and then at 7:45 he vomited some bile.

 

The car incident I contributed to initially to the fact the boy tries to be sneaky and eat cat poop and such on walks. I figured since nothing had changed in his diet, it might have been something as simple as that. But now, 5 days later and its happening again after his belly has settled AND he vomited, it makes me question that reasoning. Thus, the fecal test and vet visit.

 

Anyway, I hope to know more in the next 24-48 hours if he poops again today. But in the meantime I just wondered if there were any ideas on what could be causing it or questions I should be sure I address with the vet.

 

thank you in advance!

[tbhounds]

Could be parasites, IBD, SiBO, food intolarance, stress....or heaven forbid -cancer. I'm sure your vet will run maybe tests to try to determine the cause of his gi issues. Some of these tests may include-- a routine chemistry panel, CBC, spec cpli, TLI, fecal, fecal culture........ I'm sure your vet will go step by step.

Have you tried adding a probiotic?

[Time4ANap]

There are just too many possibilities for anyone to diagnose online. Many of us have been through this more than once with the same pup, and sometimes, there just isn't a firm answer.

 

We went through something similar with Rocket for an extended period. (Mucousy pudding poop) We did mega doses of Flagyl for several months, and finally got him to a point where we could slowly try a new food. The new food took care of the problems, but it took several months before his tummy was good enough to try it. In the meantime, he ate a lot of rice and scrambled eggs, because that's what he could tolerate. He lost a bunch of weight, but has since put it back on and has remained perfectly healthy. To this day, we don't really know what the true problem was, other than he suddenly couldn't tolerate the food he was on and had been eating without a problem for months. We weren't able to ocnfirm a formula change in the food, but did hear of several others with similar issues on the same food at the time.

 

If you changed his diet when he came to live with you, he may still be adjusting to it or may not be able to tolerate the food you are using. If using the same food he was eating prior to adoption, can you find out if he had any similar issues? That might point to the need for something more digestible.

 

 

Your vet will most likely try the standard treatments first. Also remember that sometimes worms are there but do not always show up on the fecal. I would think about de-worming even if it was already done, especially in a new pup.

 

Hope Rego is feeling better soon.

Edited November 1, 2011 by Time4ANap

[Guest greyers]

Thanks tbhounds.... I still have my fingers and toes crossed for parasites!

 

My vet is very good at balancing the tests the dog needs with the fact the owners are having to pay a ton for every test. So I do have full confidence that my vet will start with the fecal and work our way up depending on what we do or do not find. I am having his medical records sent from his last vet over to ours as well.

 

As for the probiotics, I have not added anything separate no. Other than acidophilis, bifidus, thermophilus, and bulgaricus that are in the organic plain yogurt I have been giving him with each meal the past 4 days. I think also his grain free kibble has probiotics in it, but not sure how high those amounts truly are when in kibble.

[greyhead]

As mom to a dog with many of the problems tbhounds mentioned, my fingers and toes are crossed with you!

[Guest greyers]

Poor Rocket! That is a nightmare. My very first grey had the WORST tummy issues and we too never found exactly what was causing it in her foods. Though back then I didn't know about a TRUE elimination diet, In fact that was about 15 years ago now and I didn't know a fraction about dog food ingredients that I know now. I would never let my current dogs eat some of the ingredients I fed back then!

 

The adoption rep didn't know what the foster parents where feeding. (Rego sort of came for a "visit" for us to look at his arthritis situation and then he just never left our home! ) So i truly expected a "blow out" from the new food, but he tolerated it very well and had been for 9 days until the car incident.

[Time4ANap]

Poor Rocket! That is a nightmare. My very first grey had the WORST tummy issues and we too never found exactly what was causing it in her foods. Though back then I didn't know about a TRUE elimination diet, In fact that was about 15 years ago now and I didn't know a fraction about dog food ingredients that I know now. I would never let my current dogs eat some of the ingredients I fed back then!

 

The adoption rep didn't know what the foster parents where feeding. (Rego sort of came for a "visit" for us to look at his arthritis situation and then he just never left our home! ) So i truly expected a "blow out" from the new food, but he tolerated it very well and had been for 9 days until the car incident.

 

 

i won't bore everyone with details of all the foods we've tried over a few years, but we do know that the things that are supposed to be good add-ins like pumpkin and yogurt cause pudding poop when Rocket eats them.

 

Could it be the yogurt causing the issue?

[greyhoundgang]

If not worms, i usually look to foodas the culprit. I've seen greyhounds with food allergies. sometimes a no grain kibble (usually fish based) will clear up allergy issues. Raw feedingdefinitely will, from my experience.

 

Digestive enzymes can help. Prozyme, Medizym- there are others.

 

Definitely probiotics.

 

I also like to use slippery elm, and make it into a gel like substance, i put in food, or syringe down the throat for diarrhea issues. It coats and soothes the intestinal track.

 

I've found holistic vets helpful to get to the root of the problem - usually inflammation - and fix that without harsh drugs which might cause even more issues.

[Guest greyers]

 

 

i won't bore everyone with details of all the foods we've tried over a few years, but we do know that the things that are supposed to be good add-ins like pumpkin and yogurt cause pudding poop when Rocket eats them.

 

Could it be the yogurt causing the issue?

 

Hmmm... there is a thought.

it "could" be for todays issue I suppose, but he wasn't getting any before the car poop incident. They had said he didn't do well on human food. So I wasn't giving him any however he seemed to tolerate the chicken, rice and yogurt JUST FINE for 9 meals, then today this happened. So one would think that if it were yogurt he would have had it cause issues before now.

 

ohhhhh... interesting. I just remembered something. I gave him half a hardboiled egg divided up into several chunks last night because I forgot to put his pills in his food. So I got him to swallow them after he ate by giving him half or more of an egg. wonder if he is egg sensitive? Still wouldn't explain last weeks car deal though.

[greyhead]

Hmmm... there is a thought.

it "could" be for todays issue I suppose, but he wasn't getting any before the car poop incident. They had said he didn't do well on human food. So I wasn't giving him any however he seemed to tolerate the chicken, rice and yogurt JUST FINE for 9 meals, then today this happened. So one would think that if it were yogurt he would have had it cause issues before now.

 

ohhhhh... interesting. I just remembered something. I gave him half a hardboiled egg divided up into several chunks last night because I forgot to put his pills in his food. So I got him to swallow them after he ate by giving him half or more of an egg. wonder if he is egg sensitive? Still wouldn't explain last weeks car deal though.

It sounds like you're looking for ONE thing when it might be one over-arching thing making him react to many things he eats. The over-arching thing could be anything from worms to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Most dogs should handle hard-boiled eggs okay, shouldn't they?

[Remolacha]

I had several months of stomach/poop issues with Fletcher when I first got him. He was eventually diagnosed with IBD, and It took more time (trial & error) to discover what he could eat and what to avoid. There are multiple foods that are a trigger for him. Also, in the beginning, he had worms (hooks? it's been 7 1/2 yrs, I forget ) and giardia, which I am convinced he got from feral cat poop. He is a stealth cat poop eater like Rego

 

I guess what I am saying is, it might be more than one thing, and it might take awhile to figure it out, but you can resolve everything and he will be fine!

[Guest greyers]

If not worms, i usually look to foodas the culprit. I've seen greyhounds with food allergies. sometimes a no grain kibble (usually fish based) will clear up allergy issues. Raw feedingdefinitely will, from my experience.

 

Digestive enzymes can help. Prozyme, Medizym- there are others.

 

Definitely probiotics.

 

I also like to use slippery elm, and make it into a gel like substance, i put in food, or syringe down the throat for diarrhea issues. It coats and soothes the intestinal track.

 

I've found holistic vets helpful to get to the root of the problem - usually inflammation - and fix that without harsh drugs which might cause even more issues.

 

Thanks for the info and I will def check out the probiotics you mentioned! He is on grain free salmon based Kibble. I pretty much only do grain free in this household since most my doggies have had arthritis and I had grain free duck with turkey or grain free salmon in the house at the time he came to us. So I opted for the salmon and vowed to stick with only that for his first month with us (as long as he seemed to tolerate it well, which he did for his first 9 days).

 

Hmmm... there is a thought.

it "could" be for todays issue I suppose, but he wasn't getting any before the car poop incident. They had said he didn't do well on human food. So I wasn't giving him any however he seemed to tolerate the chicken, rice and yogurt JUST FINE for 9 meals, then today this happened. So one would think that if it were yogurt he would have had it cause issues before now.

 

ohhhhh... interesting. I just remembered something. I gave him half a hardboiled egg divided up into several chunks last night because I forgot to put his pills in his food. So I got him to swallow them after he ate by giving him half or more of an egg. wonder if he is egg sensitive? Still wouldn't explain last weeks car deal though.

It sounds like you're looking for ONE thing when it might be one over-arching thing making him react to many things he eats. The over-arching thing could be anything from worms to Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Most dogs should handle hard-boiled eggs okay, shouldn't they?

 

I definitely think there could be several issues going on at once. Food issues (be it allergies or upset tummies) are SUCH a complicated thing and tough to deduce the causes quite often).

 

I had several months of stomach/poop issues with Fletcher when I first got him. He was eventually diagnosed with IBD, and It took more time (trial & error) to discover what he could eat and what to avoid. There are multiple foods that are a trigger for him. Also, in the beginning, he had worms (hooks? it's been 7 1/2 yrs, I forget ) and giardia, which I am convinced he got from feral cat poop. He is a stealth cat poop eater like Rego

 

I guess what I am saying is, it might be more than one thing, and it might take awhile to figure it out, but you can resolve everything and he will be fine!

 

HA!!! What is it with the cat poop! I knew that cat poop might be bad news! The way I have seen him "dig" shallow, I KNOW he is looking for cat poopies. And I am positive he has eaten some. Can I ask how they diagnosed with IBD? Is it something that can come out in bloodwork, or is it more something where They can't find anything else so it "likely" labeled as IBD?

[greyhead]

How to diagnose IBD is a long story! We did it by symptoms and an ultrasound that showed structural changes in the intestine that to experienced veterinary eyes were consistent with moderate to severe IBD. In his case it was a no-brainer, given everything we saw. However, orthodox veterinary thinking is that IBD can only be definitely diagnosed by either an endoscopic or surgical biopsy, which will reveal what type of inflammatory cell(s) is(are) involved. Our dog was already so sick and had lost so much weight, and was an old 8 years old, that the vet and I agreed that putting him through that procedure wasn't worth it, especially because the knowledge gained wouldn't change the treatment much if at all. It's treated mainly with metronidazole, tylosin, feeding a novel protein exclusively, and an immunosuppressant (prednisone or budesonide).

 

Hopefully, you won't need to go there!

 

ETA: Eating poop, cat or otherwise, is likely to indicate nutritional inadequacy, perhaps because of something like Intestinal Malabsorption. With IM comes a loss of ability process B-vitamins in the gut and the need to give B-12 shots monthly for life. There is a simple blood test test for it. If it'spositive, you then have to ask what caused the IM, and then you're looking at possible intestinal infection or IBD as likely culprits. And all of this seems to develop more often in dogs with a history of hookworm, as near as I can tell, especially if the hookworm wasn't diagnosed promptly or treated aggressively.

Edited November 1, 2011 by greyhead

[Guest greyers]

hmmm... well thats interesting! Yeah, I certainly hope we do not have to go there with the IBD.

 

As a side note, Rego is SUPER thin, and I was told he always has been. However he looks like greyhounds look who are picky eaters. Yet he eats everything and he is food aggressive. He is always food focused. Yet you can see every single bone protruding in his body. Every rib is clearly present and his hip bones and his shoulders are crazy how much you can see. yet he otherwise acts and seems healthy. I thought that was odd considering how well he eats. I have tried to put weight on him and so far I think I have put on a couple pounds. I look forward to weighing him though on our first vet visit. not sure if any of that is related to this stuff or not. but it certainly might be.

[Remolacha]

To get a positive, definitive IBD diagnosis, they have to be scoped. I did not want to go there with Fletcher (even though he was only 2). We had tried everything else "easy", so my vet said, let's treat it as if it were IBD, and see what happens. That worked for me, and really turned him around! He was very skinny, even though he would (and still does) eat just about anything in sight. He was on Flagyl until his poop became stable, and would go back on it when he had a flare up. I am lucky, in that I can manage his condition with diet, and he rarely needs the medicine anymore. He doesn't try and eat cat poop anymore, either! He will occasionally eat his own poop when he is feeling off. One thing that has helped when I see him getting a bit "off" is Manuka honey. I was very skeptical, and it is expensive, but, at least for him, it really does help.

[Guest greyers]

Thanks everyone for the info!

 

Just finished at the vet. He finally pooped and they let us wait for the results of the fecal test and it was negative for parasites. So there goes my "easy fix!"

 

The vet talked with us for a few and we have an appt set for Friday for a blood draw and further discussion. We weighed him and he is 66 pounds and I'm certain we have put at least a couple pounds in him since we got him. She thinks the 4 cups a day of kibble with raw is not enough kibble and she thinks he needs to absolutely put on weight.

 

She says that depending on what the blood test may or may not tell us (and if it tells us nothing there is another draw they can do that might give us more info) but that just based on initial look and based on the issues with digestion that happened at his previous home, she thinks he might very well be IBD. She said has had very good results with one of the low residue dog foods (I'm not

thrilled about the idea of this change and am almost certain I know what brands will be recommended to us). However if need be just to get him started with getting on the right tack and health again I don't mind it for awhile.

 

Anyway so I guess now we wait and see what happens with the blood test and go from there!

[tbhounds]

Blood work might show low protein values if he has IBD--(PLE), further testing may include a TLI test. I have seen great results with the low residue food. I would try it before I got into more extensive testing. Royal Cain also makes a low fat food that I have seen first hand work really well with an IBD dog. Remember- fat is very hard to digest- even in a healthy hound fat may cause diarrhea.

Also- did you ever give your hound a course of Panacur??

If not I sure would- can not hurt. Fecal check can never truly be called negative.

Edited to add-- you might want to do a 12 hour fast for the blood draw on Friday if possible. You will receive more accurate results and if the vet wants to run a TLI test- B-12/folate test he must be fasted for that. Good luck- keep us posted!

Edited November 2, 2011 by tbhounds

[Guest 4dogscrazy]

Tempe came to me with an inflamed face, she was on medical hold but I insisted she was "my dog" and took her to my vet. We still don't know what she was allergic too. Beef seems to bother her, she will scratch her face if she eats too much. Dairy too. Piper is unusually skinny, we've tried and tested evrything, and my vet now says she has skinny greyhound syndrome. Figuring these things out is so hard!

 

Back to Tempe: she is my car pooper if you remember. She also has SA which didn't really come out until I had her for a while. She did have blowouts in the beginning. I remember she decorated the wall behing her crate when I first got her. She just got my windows/curtains a month ago. She doesn't do it often, it comes and goes with SA cycles. She is on an anti-anxiety med, and it works. She does still have to go IMMEDIATELY when she has to go. For the most part things are okay, most of the time. I feed TOTW Pacific stream with small add ins of table scraps. She is also taking a supplement. Its mostly trial and error and not too much of any one thing. I think his tummy will settle, he is still new. Do the vetting for peace of mind though. Hope you can get weight on him I know it's very frustrating! Good luck!

[Guest greyers]

Blood work might show low protein values if he has IBD--(PLE), further testing may include a TLI test. I have seen great results with the low residue food. I would try it before I got into more extensive testing. Royal Cain also makes a low fat food that I have seen first hand work really well with an IBD dog. Remember- fat is very hard to digest- even in a healthy hound fat may cause diarrhea.

Also- did you ever give your hound a course of Panacur??

If not I sure would- can not hurt. Fecal check can never truly be called negative.

Edited to add-- you might want to do a 12 hour fast for the blood draw on Friday if possible. You will receive more accurate results and if the vet wants to run a TLI test- B-12/folate test he must be fasted for that. Good luck- keep us posted!

 

WOW! Great information! Thank you so much TBHOUNDS! Our vet said some of the very same things. She said the low residue diet (or at least one they have at the vets) had had really great results in many of these dogs and it sounded to me like she would most likely be recommending trying this after our appt on Friday. She said too that the fecal may need to be redone again because sometimes they don't show something in that particular sample, but it doesn't mean there isn't something there. So she may want to do another fecal exam after we look at bloodwork. As for the panacur, we have not given him any, but not sure what was done prior to us getting him a couple weeks ago. His local adoption rep works at a vets and has all of his previous medical info that will be coming over to our vets before Fridays appt.

 

Thank you again! Even though nothing was found tonight, I really have hope that this is something we can control and get him healthy again. I really have had a feeling from the get go that there is "something" digestive that just isn't right with the boy. I have hope we can get this sorted, get him healthy and get some weight on him! I must say though that if his tummy issues are at all related to the incidents in his last home and the reasons why he was given up, then I am damn happy for the tummy issues because I love this boy! :wub: Their loss is my incredible gain and I think we can manage his stomach better with time and info, trial and error.

 

Thanks 4dogscrazy for the info! Poor tempe. I really feel bad for that babies problems and also for you with the car poop!

[Remolacha]

I would agree with trying a round of Panacur even if nothing shows in the fecal. Fletcher's giardia took three tests to show! It can't hurt. It won't hurt to try the low res food. It didn't work for Fletcher, but it does for a lot of dogs. You will get this sorted, it just may take a little time

[Guest greyers]

I would agree with trying a round of Panacur even if nothing shows in the fecal. Fletcher's giardia took three tests to show! It can't hurt. It won't hurt to try the low res food. It didn't work for Fletcher, but it does for a lot of dogs. You will get this sorted, it just may take a little time

 

Thank you! I think we will get it all worked out enough at least! I was just reading up on IBD and I swear that is what my first greyhound had, but was never diagnosed and I didn't know the right questions to ask, etc. Guess I have come a long way in 15 years!

 

May I ask what food or things in his diet DO help fletcher?