Big D Troubles - Any Insights?

[Guest Trey2]

My poor 9 year old brindle boy Trey has been having a tough week. Last Tuesday he started with cowpie-esque poo, but I didn't worry too much about it since it happens to him on occasion and usually resolves itself within 24 hours. But on Thursday night, he went from "cowpie" to "soup" so I put him on a bland rice and chicken diet. No improvements. So he went to the vet on Saturday - fecal float didn't find anything and he was prescribed Flagyl. In the past, Flagyl firmed him up within 24 hours, but this time while his first poo after starting the flagyl was half formed, half pudding, he returned to "soup" by the end of the day and everything has been liquid since.

 

I don't know what started it. No food changes or stresses that I can think of.

 

He's going back to the vet tomorrow, but I'm just worried/confounded. Usually the Flagyl does the trick, but this time it did nothing. To make matters worse, I think he's got some (bright red) blood in his poo now (though I guess it makes sense if he's had the runs for about a week now) and tonight he's started leaking a bit and I've had to cover his bed with blankets and break out the baby wipes.

 

Other than that, he's been acting fairly normal. Appetite is normal, and he eats and drinks with enthusiasm. His gums tell me he isn't dehydrated. No vomiting. He's maybe a little lethargic, but I would be too if I had the Big D for a week, so I don't think that is too surprising. I've just never had a dog with diarrhea that resisted medication and lasted for this long.

 

Has anyone faced a similar issue?

 

Anything I should ask the vet to look for or suggested meds? I've seen some people talk about Tylan powder, but when I looked it up on Amazon, it said it was for respiratory problems in chickens and turkeys. I know some drugs have off-label uses, but that seems really off-label.

 

I just want the poor pup to get better. This can't feel great and he's coming with me to house/dog sit at the end of next week, and I don't want him still dealing with this while also dealing with the stress of staying in a place while familiar, isn't home.

 

 

Any insights or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[Brandiandwe]

If it were me, I'd probably fast him for 24 hours to try to give his system a break. Keep up the water obviously, but no food for a bit.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Tylan use in dogs (one of many sites): http://www.petmd.com/pet-medication/tylosin Yes, using it for diarrhea is off-label, but it's very common.

 

Metronidazole can trigger neurological difficulties if used for long periods at high doses. Tylan doesn't carry the same risk. But sometimes one is effective and the other isn't. Tylan did nothing for my angel Sam. For the last year or more of his life he took a maintenance dose of flagyl--half a pill every other day--and that helped enormously. (The neurological problems from metronidazole normally reverse themselves if you stop the meds, but sometimes there are lingering effects. But the dose Sam was on was too low to be dangerous.)

 

Has your boy been taking any other meds? An NSAID? Those can cause stomach trouble over the long term. Also, are chicken and/or rice in his normal diet? If either one isn't normal for him, try changing it out: potatoes or oatmeal or pasta in place of the rice, beef in place of the chicken.

[Time4ANap]

Since it's his first real long term incident, I would definitely skip a meal or two, then continue with the bland diet.

 

Flagyl (metronidazole) for a week to 10 days might be needed to help stop the D and heal the tummy. I would not use Tylan for a first time treatment. We've been through this with Rocket many times in five years, and the vet only agreed to use Tylan after exhausting all other possibilities after almost 5 years. According to our vet, Tylan isn't really a first line of defense, but more of a "try this if nothing else works" type drug. We actually use Tylan before with every meal now for Rocket and it has worked wonders, but again, it doesn't seem that you are at that point.

 

If he hasn't been de-wormed in a long time, a round of Panacur along with the Flagyl wouldn't hurt. We've never had a positive fecal, ever, but getting one is a matter of perfect timing with the cycle of the worms. At this point you could be dealing with anything from a stomach flu to worms, to Giardia, or some type of stress that triggered this. Until you know more and as long as he is acting pretty normal, I would do the Fasting, Bland Diet, and Flagyl. If your vet thinks deworming might help, then also a round of Panacur. Depending on your location, worms and Giardia can be very likely in the summer.

 

You need to cut out all snacks also. Feed only the bland diet. We usually go from 2 meals a day to 4 smaller meals to make it easier on his stomach when the bland diet is needed.

 

Good luck. Hope Trey is feeling better soon.

[Guest Trey2]

 

Has your boy been taking any other meds? An NSAID?

 

The only thing he's had is one dose of Pepto that I gave him Thursday night when the soup-poo showed up (it did nothing, so I didn't give him any more). So nothing long-term and he just started the Flagyl on Saturday, but the vet thought it was odd that it hadn't helped at all at this point.

 

 

If he hasn't been de-wormed in a long time, a round of Panacur along with the Flagyl wouldn't hurt. We've never had a positive fecal, ever, but getting one is a matter of perfect timing with the cycle of the worms. At this point you could be dealing with anything from a stomach flu to worms, to Giardia, or some type of stress that triggered this. Until you know more and as long as he is acting pretty normal, I would do the Fasting, Bland Diet, and Flagyl. If your vet thinks deworming might help, then also a round of Panacur. Depending on your location, worms and Giardia can be very likely in the summer.

 

He hasn't received any worm medication for a couple years - last time was a few years back when he got tape worms, and before then he hadn't had anything since he first left the track five years ago. I'll definitely ask the vet about Panacur. And thanks about the Tylan powder - I just wasn't quite sure what was going on there.

 

As far as his regular diet, chicken/turkey are a regular part, but rice is not. I gave him pasta with dinner tonight to see if that makes a difference. I'll ask the vet about potatoes tomorrow.

 

Thanks for the info, everyone. His bum seems to have stopped leaking at least, but we'll see how he does overnight. I just feel terrible for him because he must feel crummy.

 

I will start fasting him tonight and wait until after he sees the vet tomorrow to determine when he should go back to food. He'll be a total drama queeen about it - he's eating a little less with the rice/chicken than he normally does and he's acting like he's starving to death.

[Time4ANap]

If the diarrhea is subsiding, you might only need to skip one meal, then gradually give him a little food at a time.

 

Make sure that any rice or pasta is way overcooked. Cook it with about 2-3 times the amount of water it calls for and make it mushy. it will be easier to digest.

 

If you want to have something on hand in the future for a bland diet, we use Evanger's Canned Organic Chicken instead of cooking (note - the can looks different now but is the same product) . It is very finely ground and easy to digest. We also use it to make meatballs to put Rocket's monthly Trifexis in. He gobbles it down. We just mix that with the rice, pasta, or scrambled eggs.

[Guest Trey2]

Thanks - I'll try the Evanger's. The vet said to keep him on the bland diet and he just picked out the turkey and left the pasta behind.

 

The vet said we will try upping the Flagyl dose for a few days, added another antibiotic and Endurosyn gel to help calm down/heal his guts. I really hope this helps. If it doesn't, he goes back Friday or Saturday for blood work and x-rays.

[Guest Trey2]

Poor Trey - he feels crummy and I'm frustrated. He was okay last night - ate up the Evanger's and generally seemed to be acting normal. Poo was still liquid, but I figured it was too soon for the meds to have an effect. Cut to this morning and he's lethargic and doesn't really want to eat (took the Endurosyn and ate a little Evanger's, but the enthusiasm wasn't there). Usually in the mornings he follows me around as I get ready, but this morning he barely moved from his bed. I came home at lunch to check on him and found that he had thrown up. I took him out to go potty and it was still liquid (couldn't see blood, just bits of Evanger's).

 

So back to the vet this afternoon for round three. It could be the Amoxicillin that is causing the change, but he's had it before without issue. They will probably x-ray and do blood work. I saved the poo so they can run another float or at least just take a look at it. I hope they can figure it out.

Edited September 4, 2014 by Trey2