Update: Poo And Appetite Issues

[Feisty49]

UPDATE on info below: Our vet said it's a possibility that the Panacur spoiled her appetite. It would be unusual, but, as she said, with Greyhounds who are picky, we should never be surprised.

 

Today on our morning walk, Annie had an almost normal poo. Phewwww....

 

Today at lunch time Annie ate a cup of chicken & rice and half a cup of kibble. I didn't dare mix the kibble with the chicken/rice, so her bowl looked like a child's plate where no food touches another. I was so happy about her eating that I texted and called everybody I know!

 

The vet has now prescribed Drontal Plus Taste Tabs (136 mg) to complete the deworming, if indeed she has parasites. I give one dose the next time she eats (could be today, could be tomorrow) and then the other dose in 10 days.

 

Hopefully this will do the trick and "almost normal poo" will become normal for her.

 

 

_______________________________________________

 

My girl Annie has always been healthy, except for her eye disease which was easily diagnosed and is controlled right now. Now, though, she has an issue, and I'm looking for advice, ideas and to find out if your dog has had similar issues.

 

Annie is 9 years, 7 months old. About 3 months ago, her poo stated to deteriorate, ending up in very soft serve. She’s never had bouncy poo, but it’s usually been pick-up-able without leaving a mess. I bring a lunch-size paper plate with me and hold it under her when she gets in the position because what comes out looks like a long snake with the consistency of the soft serve mentioned above. There's no mucus, and it's not watery. Chicken and rice don't do anything to the consistency.

 

There have been trips to the vet. She's had fecal tests done. It looks good. She's had a GI Panel done (at a cost of $340). Everything is normal. She was put on Hills ‘script food. It changed nothing. She had an ultrasound. It showed nothing out of the ordinary. She’s been on Panacur and her output has improved, but it’s still not great, and every other poo is still the soft serve.

 

Her appetite is now way off. At first she liked the Hills ‘script. She ate it right down. Then she didn’t like it. I switched her to her original kibble, and she won’t even taste it. I’ve put a couple of tablespoons of wet food in with the Hills kibble. That worked for a few meals, and then didn’t. She likes scrambled eggs but that isn’t tempting her. Obviously she’s losing weight, and because she’s eating so little (in the past 36 hours, she’s eaten one full meal total), I wonder where the poo comes from! Her spirits are good. She does a zoomie or two in the morning. She still begs to go for walks. She runs up to her people friends when we see them on our walks. She’s up and down the stairs (I have a split level) with no problem. Treats are still high on her list of wants.

 

I will be calling the vet tomorrow. When Annie had the ultrasound last week, the vet said that if the Panacur doesn't work, they will refer me to the GI vet at the local specialty vet practice where they'll probably want to do a colonoscopy, an endoscopy or both. Both practices are good (Annie goes to the ophthalmologist vet at the specialty veterinary practice) so I don't have an issue with either our regular vet or the specialists.

 

I'm reluctant to put Annie through these tests. Thankfully I have insurance (through Healthy Paws) and am reimbursed 90% of the cost, so my reluctance has nothing to do with money, though I won't waste their money any more than I would waste mine. I'm concerned about the procedures being done on her.

 

Any ideas? Advice? What do you think of the GI procedures that will probably proposed?

 

Thanks in advance. P.S. I'm cooking up chicken and rice for her right now just to get something into her. Hopefully she'll eat it.

Edited June 26, 2017 by Feisty49

[tbhounds]

Gi issues can be hard to diagnose. Sibo, epi, parasites, ibd, food allergy/intolerance......

Honestly I think seeing a vet that is astute in the gi is a greyt move-I wouldn't hesitate to scope your dog if recommended-it's a good relatively non-invasive procedure that will yield lots of info.

[Feisty49]

Gi issues can be hard to diagnose. Sibo, epi, parasites, ibd, food allergy/intolerance......

Honestly I think seeing a vet that is astute in the gi is a greyt move-I wouldn't hesitate to scope your dog if recommended-it's a good relatively non-invasive procedure that will yield lots of info.

 

Thanks for your opinion about scoping. I'm sure that my human emotions are being transferred to what *she* will feel, which I know is stupid because she's a dog and has no idea what's happening. We know she doesn't have IBD because of the GI blood work that was done. Maybe she has developed an allergy. About 2 months ago, I did a week of low-fat, drained beef with rice. That didn't change a thing in her output. Then I did a week of chicken with rice. Again, her poo remained soft to soft serve.

[greysmom]

Is she on a pre-/probiotic? Has she ever been on Flagyl/metronidazole or Tylan powder?? Some dogs seem to do better on a constant low dose.

 

How many treatments of Panacur did you do? One treatment may not be enough to clear a heavy worm infestation.

 

Bloodwork results for kidney and liver values OK (unchanged from previous testing)??? Nausau from kidney and liver failure can make a dog not want to eat.

 

Have you ever added more insoluble fiber to her food - olewo carrots, regular metamucil, oatmeal? Since this is a long term issue, it might have a simple answer. But it needs to be insoluble fiber, not the kind that turns clear in the glass of water, so fiber from food or old-style Metamucil.

 

Have you ever tried a food with a unique protein source and no rice? A limited ingredient commercial food like Tilapia or duck or salmon, and a different carb like sweet potatoes or chickpeas or oatmeal. Or home-cooked with the same.

 

Have you ever done a long food trial or done bloodwork to see if she has any allergies or intolerances?? Don't count on the Hill's allergy food to predict this. My Lilly has a chicken intolerance and she can't eat the Hill's even though the chicken is suposedly hydrolyzed to take out all the bad bits. You need to eliminate ingredients completely from her diet - including treats and chews - to make sure she's not getting sneaky allergens.

[Dawnnziggy]

I am going through the same thing right now. First my female got it. Now she seems to be doing better and our old guy has it! He refuses to eat anything. I will be calling the vet in the morning. He's 14 and can't afford to lose any more weight!

 

My prayers are with you!

[Feisty49]

Is she on a pre-/probiotic? Has she ever been on Flagyl/metronidazole or Tylan powder?? Some dogs seem to do better on a constant low dose.

 

How many treatments of Panacur did you do? One treatment may not be enough to clear a heavy worm infestation.

 

Bloodwork results for kidney and liver values OK (unchanged from previous testing)??? Nausau from kidney and liver failure can make a dog not want to eat.

 

Have you ever added more insoluble fiber to her food - olewo carrots, regular metamucil, oatmeal? Since this is a long term issue, it might have a simple answer. But it needs to be insoluble fiber, not the kind that turns clear in the glass of water, so fiber from food or old-style Metamucil.

 

Have you ever tried a food with a unique protein source and no rice? A limited ingredient commercial food like Tilapia or duck or salmon, and a different carb like sweet potatoes or chickpeas or oatmeal. Or home-cooked with the same.

 

Have you ever done a long food trial or done bloodwork to see if she has any allergies or intolerances?? Don't count on the Hill's allergy food to predict this. My Lilly has a chicken intolerance and she can't eat the Hill's even though the chicken is suposedly hydrolyzed to take out all the bad bits. You need to eliminate ingredients completely from her diet - including treats and chews - to make sure she's not getting sneaky allergens.

 

She's been on probiotics, though not recently. They've never changed her output. She was on Tylan. Did nothing. Today is the last day of a 7-day course of Panacur. I'm calling the vet to get another dose because the past two poos have been much better, though where it's coming from is beyond me because she's eating so little! In the past 4 months, she's had blood work done three times, the most recent one being the full GI panel. All her stats are normal. She doesn't like the Olweo supplement. I've tried that in the past and she walked away from her bowl.

 

Haven't done any testing re allergies. If she has them, they are new. While she's never had bouncy poos, up until the past couple of months, they've usually been firm enough to pick up. I'll ask my vet about that.

Edited June 26, 2017 by Feisty49

[claudiav]

My first grey had this horrific diarrhea for 6 weeks straight.... no meds/powders worked... no kibble change worked... the only thing that worked was complete change to raw diet... he was 100% cured in 24 hrs, and stayed completely GI healthy for the rest of his life...

[Remolacha]

Sounds like you have tried most of the "try this first" remedies, so I think seeing a specialist is the next logical step. I think GI issues are one of the most frustrating things we can face, good luck!

[RaineysMom]

I am going through the same thing right now. First my female got it. Now she seems to be doing better and our old guy has it! He refuses to eat anything. I will be calling the vet in the morning. He's 14 and can't afford to lose any more weight!

 

My prayers are with you!

we too are having issues with our 8 year old Zeke! this has been going on since mid-April. He has not eaten a normal-sized meal in almost 3 months now. This is a dog that ate every single bit of food -- with zeal -- until this started. We are at our wit's end trying to get him to eat. He's had 2 ultrasounds (only showed a slightly enlarged spleen), a full GI panel (only low in vitamin D, which he now gets a shot weekly for) and fecal tests done. They (our regular vet, and the specialist) think possibly IBD so we tried that Hydrolized food as well, but he only ate it 2 meals then said "enough" and would not eat anything. I tried the multitude of kibbles we have on hand now (in the attempts to get him to eat ANYTHING) and he ate that, then stopped. I cook ground beef, ground pork, pork roast, fish, you name it -- I just did the fish on Saturyday and he inhaled that but is not eating much of anything else.

 

I honestly do NOT think it is IBD, and don't even think it's from nausea, as he'll usually eat 2 types of high value treats 99% of the time even when he snubs everything else.

 

he hasn't lost too much weight (yet) because I am getting him to eat something but no idea what is going on

 

this seemed to have started right after we opened the bag (before this last one) of Kirkland Lamb & Rice, but that's probably just a coincidence, as Larry (thankfully) has been eating that all this time and is fine.

[RaineysMom]

couldn't ETA but sending prayers for your sweet girl :hope

 

forgot to add the Specialist wants to do an end-to-end endoscopy on Zeke too, and I do not want to for exactly the same reasons you are hesitant about

Edited June 26, 2017 by RaineysMom

[Feisty49]

we too are having issues with our 8 year old Zeke! this has been going on since mid-April. He has not eaten a normal-sized meal in almost 3 months now. This is a dog that ate every single bit of food -- with zeal -- until this started. We are at our wit's end trying to get him to eat. He's had 2 ultrasounds (only showed a slightly enlarged spleen), a full GI panel (only low in vitamin D, which he now gets a shot weekly for) and fecal tests done. They (our regular vet, and the specialist) think possibly IBD so we tried that Hydrolized food as well, but he only ate it 2 meals then said "enough" and would not eat anything. I tried the multitude of kibbles we have on hand now (in the attempts to get him to eat ANYTHING) and he ate that, then stopped. I cook ground beef, ground pork, pork roast, fish, you name it -- I just did the fish on Saturyday and he inhaled that but is not eating much of anything else.

 

I honestly do NOT think it is IBD, and don't even think it's from nausea, as he'll usually eat 2 types of high value treats 99% of the time even when he snubs everything else.

 

he hasn't lost too much weight (yet) because I am getting him to eat something but no idea what is going on

 

this seemed to have started right after we opened the bag (before this last one) of Kirkland Lamb & Rice, but that's probably just a coincidence, as Larry (thankfully) has been eating that all this time and is fine.

 

 

IBD: I thought it could be detected via the GI blood work. When the results came in from Annie's blood work, my vet said her issue is not IBD as indicated by the results of the blood draw. Also, while Annie has snakey soft serve, she's not going any more often than usual.

[Feisty49]

couldn't ETA but sending prayers for your sweet girl :hope

 

forgot to add the Specialist wants to do an end-to-end endoscopy on Zeke too, and I do not want to for exactly the same reasons you are hesitant about

Thanks RaineysMom for your prayers. I'm sending good thoughts to Zeke and I hope you don't have to do the endoscopy, no matter which end.