Food Sensitivities/diarrhea Only In The Afternoon?

[christinepi]

Apparently Tracker has some kind of food sensitivities. He's been having mild diarrhea for over 4 weeks now. An abdominal ultrasound came back negative (save some slight thickening in the cecum and proximal colon wall, as well as the urinary bladder wall); he was initially diagnosed with coccidia and treated with Albon, which cleared up the parasite. No fever, vomiting, and the vet says he feels totally normal. But his diarrhea continues. What strikes me as so odd, but what do I know, is that his stool 99% of the time is perfectly firm in the morning; any poop after, say, 2 pm turns soft. Not runny, but soft, and occasionally sort of soupy. Is this morning firmness vs afternoon/evening softness indicative of anything in particular? If he indeed had a food sensitivity, wouldn't he always be soft, not just in the afternoon? Or is this just Tracker's "personal style" of dealing with food sensitivity?

 

We put him on a hypoallergenic kibble two days ago to see what that'll do. I'm hoping that it'll clear the soft stool up.

[cleptogrey]

Strange, but the longer the stool sits in the colon the firmer it is. A second opinion or going on rice and one protein might start to unearth this mystery.

Edited August 22, 2018 by cleptogrey

[greysmom]

Your feeling is correct. A food sensitivity is always there, so unless you are feeding him different foods morning and evening, I doubt that's what it is.

 

Has he been on a probiotic like Forti Flora during treatment? Sometimes the gut flora get out of balance and need a reboot, just like with people.

 

The other question is what is his exercise like? Sometimes mine will have looser stools after particularly vigorous play. Not to be too delicate about it, but it's like the poop gets pounded around in the chute, so to speak.

 

We actually are going through a similar thing here following treatment for coccydia. We just got through 14 days of metronidazole to try and sooth and restart my guy's intestines. So far so good. You can also use a longer course of Tylan Powder. Both are very mild antibiotics and good for the system as long as you add in a probiotic at the same time.

[christinepi]

He gets fed the same stuff 3 times a day... and he doesn't exercise any longer, he just doesn't have the energy; he just putters. He is on Fortiflora and has been for 4 weeks. This is all bizarre. I'm pondering a second opinion, but he's already had blood samples, urine samples, stool samples, abdominal ultrasounds taken and all returned normal, so I'm worried a second opinion would just subject him to more testing and being away from home (the specialists are 45 minutes away), which he now HATES (he's going on 12). But I'll go, if things don't get better on this hypoallergenic diet.

[cleptogrey]

did he clear up at all on any of the antibiotics? pancreatitis usually just results in nasty foul smelling stool and discomfort. you didn't mention any of those. honestly that sounds like a lot of testing, did your vet try another antibiotic for a longer period of time? huh??? second opinion w/ records sounds like it's in order. i would only retest the stool. try another experienced vet rather than a specialist, one never knows.....best of luck.

 

oh, one thought....cut down on the amount of food. most dogs eat too much(like humans) and less just might be the answer. if they are not running hard, living in a stressful situation dogs need much much less to exist. my whippet went from 4 cups of Proplan Sport 30/20 to 1.5 c. of Proplan Salmon and Rice.(not in one day- over time) Less calories per cup and he wasn't kenneled. His needs changed drastically over a 3 month period. Now it's getting the extra weight off of him.

[christinepi]

did he clear up at all on any of the antibiotics? pancreatitis usually just results in nasty foul smelling stool and discomfort. you didn't mention any of those. honestly that sounds like a lot of testing, did your vet try another antibiotic for a longer period of time? huh??? second opinion w/ records sounds like it's in order. i would only retest the stool. try another experienced vet rather than a specialist, one never knows.....best of luck.

 

oh, one thought....cut down on the amount of food. most dogs eat too much(like humans) and less just might be the answer. if they are not running hard, living in a stressful situation dogs need much much less to exist. my whippet went from 4 cups of Proplan Sport 30/20 to 1.5 c. of Proplan Salmon and Rice.(not in one day- over time) Less calories per cup and he wasn't kenneled. His needs changed drastically over a 3 month period. Now it's getting the extra weight off of him.

 

Initially after diagnosis of coccidia, 3 days of Metronizadole made things worse. Then we switched him to 6 days of Albon. Things mildly improved, but didn't clear up. He's quite a bit better than he has been at its worst, but the soft stool in the pm is still there.

 

First stool sample: negative. Didn't trust that, did another: Coccidia. After two weeks incl those 6 days of Albon: re-test: negative, incl. a full diarrhea panel that looks for 14 pathogens. he's only been seen by a general vet, not a specialist. But yes, I'll seek a second opinion if this hydrolized protein diet doesn't clear up things.

 

He's at a great weight, never put on any, so I'm not sure why he should be eating less?

[greysmom]

Many dogs need less food as they age. All this could also be stress colitis too. And just IMO, you may want to experiment with just not doing anything. He doesn't feel bad, he's not in pain, there's no parasites present, his poop is formed but soft - it might just need some time and watching to see if this is a new normal for him. Intestinal changes are normal in older dogs.

 

It would also be normal to see about adding in a good amount of fiber - just like an older person needs more fiber - oat bran or beet pulp or even regular metamucil tablets. Add it into his diet slowly.

 

IF he's having full on diarrhea, or his poops deteriorate, then would be the time for a records review from a specialist to see what they say.

[christinepi]

Many dogs need less food as they age. All this could also be stress colitis too. And just IMO, you may want to experiment with just not doing anything. He doesn't feel bad, he's not in pain, there's no parasites present, his poop is formed but soft - it might just need some time and watching to see if this is a new normal for him. Intestinal changes are normal in older dogs.

 

It would also be normal to see about adding in a good amount of fiber - just like an older person needs more fiber - oat bran or beet pulp or even regular metamucil tablets. Add it into his diet slowly.

 

IF he's having full on diarrhea, or his poops deteriorate, then would be the time for a records review from a specialist to see what they say.

 

Wise advice. Funny you should add beet pulp--I added Olewo carrots to his diet for exactly that reason and they helped a lot, but never cleared up the softness entirely. He's been on them for two weeks now. I'm actually in the process of slowly weaning him off them to see what this hydro-diet will do on its own.

 

But I hear you on this just being old age creating changes; maybe his intestines also just take a long time recovering from the effects of the coccidia? I'm hoping very much he'll clear up fully on this new diet and then we can re-introduce a few items. It's heartbreaking to see his expectant face when I come back from the chickens and he can't have his daily egg, or no more gullet strips to chew on, just this gross cornstarch/chicken liver stinky stuff all day long...

[cleptogrey]

if the dosage of flagyl/ Metronizadoleis too high it will result in the runs.

 

even though you may feel your dog is the right weight, it might be a matter of 1/3 to 1/2 cup less per day that might keep things in check. i find that as my dogs age they need less food. fiber is most important, but what does it cost you to reduce the intake for a week or two? start w/ 1/4c per meal and why are you feeding 3xs a day? i only do that when a dog is ill. and they are small meals.

 

also if your dog is still in good weight i tend to think it's not coccidia or colitis. dogs with either drop weight really fast. annie lost 10+ lbs in a month with colitis. felix's littermate had coccidia and it took quite a few rounds of antibiotics to find the one that worked. she too lost a ton a weight during her bout with it.

 

"It's heartbreaking to see his expectant face when I come back from the chickens and he can't have his daily egg, or no more gullet strips to chew on, just this gross cornstarch/chicken liver stinky stuff all day long..." WOW !!!!!that's a lot of goodies!

unless there is a medical problem i'm mean....kibble and that's it. felix's kidneys are compromised due to lyme and anaplasmosis. so he get wonderful high carb goodies to cut the protein level down since he has chronic pancreatitis and can't eat a normal kidney diet which is high in fat.

[christinepi]

 

if the dosage of flagyl/ Metronizadoleis too high it will result in the runs.

 

even though you may feel your dog is the right weight, it might be a matter of 1/3 to 1/2 cup less per day that might keep things in check. i find that as my dogs age they need less food. fiber is most important, but what does it cost you to reduce the intake for a week or two? start w/ 1/4c per meal and why are you feeding 3xs a day? i only do that when a dog is ill. and they are small meals.

 

also if your dog is still in good weight i tend to think it's not coccidia or colitis. dogs with either drop weight really fast. annie lost 10+ lbs in a month with colitis. felix's littermate had coccidia and it took quite a few rounds of antibiotics to find the one that worked. she too lost a ton a weight during her bout with it.

 

"It's heartbreaking to see his expectant face when I come back from the chickens and he can't have his daily egg, or no more gullet strips to chew on, just this gross cornstarch/chicken liver stinky stuff all day long..." WOW !!!!!that's a lot of goodies!

unless there is a medical problem i'm mean....kibble and that's it. felix's kidneys are compromised due to lyme and anaplasmosis. so he get wonderful high carb goodies to cut the protein level down since he has chronic pancreatitis and can't eat a normal kidney diet which is high in fat.

 

 

I reduced his diet by 1/2 cup maybe a year ago or so, but not since, and he's ultimately kept his weight at where it was before I started giving him less, so yes, he needed less then, but not sure why I'd do that now. Anyway, I feed him 3x per day because he's got laryngeal paralysis and started regurgitating his food right after eating 3 times so far, though over the course of 3 weeks. I figured (and the vet concurred) that wetting the food and giving smaller portions may help with the larynx issues. So far, so good.

[cleptogrey]

ah-ha medical issue, that makes total sense. dogs need very little to survive.btw-how old is your gh? size and weight? total caloric consumption(it's on the bag)? just curious.

 

does my comment about being in good weight and not having a parasite make sense?

[christinepi]

ah-ha medical issue, that makes total sense. dogs need very little to survive.btw-how old is your gh? size and weight? total caloric consumption(it's on the bag)? just curious.

 

does my comment about being in good weight and not having a parasite make sense?

 

He's 3 lbs less than his race track weight (according to Greyhound-Data). He's 73 lbs. He'll be 12 in December. Not sure about his size. I never keep the feed bags, so I don't know about calories.

 

Yes, your comment makes sense.

 

For what it's worth, since I've been tapering off the Olewo carrots, his pm poops have been getting softer, bordering runny-ness on the last walk at 9pm. In order to transition him to the hydrolized diet, I have to taper him off everything else. This just will take time and patience. But I feel I should give the possibility of a food sensitivity a chance, even though I'm not so sure this is what's causing the problem. At the same time, it won't hurt him.

[cleptogrey]

just look it up on the internet. but an older dog does less, needs less....unless your dog has found and drank from the fountain of youth and acts like a 3 year old pup! they loose muscle mass as they age. it's difficult to keep the weight on. have you tried good short grain asian rice? higher carbs and calories than white rice, most agreeable with the tummy. basically congee is great for everyone/every dog at every age! and it binds and adds calories and is hypoallergenic! can't beat rice, most of the world lives on it! i personally just invested in a zorisho rice cooker- so much better than my old aroma rice cooker.

Edited August 23, 2018 by cleptogrey

[christinepi]

just look it up on the internet. but an older dog does less, needs less....unless your dog has found and drank from the fountain of youth and acts like a 3 year old pup! they loose muscle mass as they age. it's difficult to keep the weight on. have you tried good short grain asian rice? higher carbs and calories than white rice, most agreeable with the tummy. basically congee is great for everyone/every dog at every age! and it binds and adds calories and is hypoallergenic! can't beat rice, most of the world lives on it! i personally just invested in a zorisho rice cooker- so much better than my old aroma rice cooker.

 

Tracker never lost weight nor gained weight in any significant way, so I'll leave things as they are. Besides, he may have food sensitivities to something as of yet unknown, so I'll stay on the hydro diet only.

[Simonsays]

My dog has the same as yours, good in the am, looser in thafternoon and just tested positive for hooks. I thought it unlikely as it wasnt loose all the time, and thought it might be the food too. If you havent tested for parasites you might want to check.