What else could I do

[NW_MONTANA_BC]

1 hour ago, NW_MONTANA_BC said:

At the vets now with a stool sample they said they would run tests for worms, giardia, and coccidia. I am waiting for the results. 

All the test came back negative. I asked why they had him on antibiotics they said that his stomach and intestines were inflamed from the diarrhea and it was for a precautionary measure. They said if he is not doing better by Monday to bring him back in. They wanted me to put him on a special food (Hills ID) diet and I told them that i already had him on boiler white rice and chicken. The Hills ID was $3.00 for a small can and it would take 1 1/2 to 2 can a day to feed him. I did by a couple cans the last time and it had a lot of rice in it. So I am going to see how he does on boiled chicken and rice, finish his meds and then determine what I need to do after that if anything.

[terrecar]

I am glad the tests came back negative so you could rule out those parasites. Now you can concentrate on finishing out the course of antibiotics he was given.

One thing I didn’t think of; it is possible that his stools will be somewhat affected by the antibiotics. It is important to finish them out under the guidance of your vet, now that you’ve started. However, it is possible that his stools will not completely firm up until he is finished with that course. I have had dogs whose stools got softer while on antibiotics.

When you do switch him back to his regular food, you might want to do that gradually by adding it to the chicken and rice and decreasing the amount of the latter over a few days.

Sending good thoughts for your pup.

[Riika]

My current dog went through something similar when she was 4-7 months old. She had multiple food sensitivities as well, but when we cut her down to raw meat only, we still couldn’t fix it-certain, known foods gave her explosive, sometimes bloody diarrhea, vomiting, etc., but no diet we tried made her stool better than loose cow pies, ranging to diarrhea. We ruled out IGS, EPI, Addison’s, Coccidia and worms, a fecal culture for bacterial causes was clear, and though she did test postitive for giardia on the snap test, there was some doubt as to whether or not she actually had it, as it can test positive just from them having it in the past-she had already been treated for it-and the symptoms weren’t quite matching. Regardless, after a round of metronidazole she cleared up.

[Riika]

My dog always acted completely normal and was super high energy. She was a voracious eater, inhaled all her meals, was hungry to the point of being food agressive, and ate A TON. Often her cow pie/diarrhea contained undigested bits of food, grass, hoof clippings, etc. that our dogs often eat and always digest well. Since the issues have resolved, all of these issues, except for slight food agression, are gone-she’s even to the point of being picky about food now. 

 

Have those above issues, that my dog was tested for, been ruled out in yours? 

[NW_MONTANA_BC]

Not all.........I am not sure what some of them are. I will have to do more checking.

[diane allen]

Lots of good advice here.

Metronidazole is a typical antibiotic for diarrhea, though like others have said, I'm a bit leary of using it often.

My youngster had some serious GI issues for his first year. Admittedly he did eat a lot of "stuff" (including poop....from any critter!), and I changed his kibble with pretty much every bag.  Tested frequently and found nothing.  We even sent samples off to Texas A&M for a full GI panel.  All negative.  Good news/bad news!

After he turned a year old, I put him on a homemade raw diet.  I won't say he's never had diarrhea since, but it has been very infrequent!  And he does get several protein sources (over time).

My vet also prescribed Tylan powder (or tylosin/tylocine).  You use a tiny amount (1/8 tsp. twice daily on food - it's practically tasteless).  It helped a LOT!!  I keep some on hand - for example, about two weeks ago, two of my three dogs seemed to have picked up a bug of some kind.  The youngster had diarrhea, it seemed to clear up; old man got it; then youngster got it again.  I gave all three (including the one who seemed symptom free) the Tylan for 5 days, and voila!  All gone.  You might ask your vet about it. It is technically not FDA approved for use in companion animals, rather for farm animals; but it's common for vets to prescribe it for cats and dogs.  It's also pretty cheap! It doesn't actually kill bacteria, but prevents it from growing and reproducing, allowing the animal to cope with the infection using it's own defenses. 

Good luck!

diane

[denice]

Just one thing to add - for most parasites they are looking for worm eggs.  Worms have to shed eggs in sufficient numbers on that particular day to be seen on a small slide.  Simply not seeing them does not mean they are not there, it just means they did see them.  Since he did have coccidia I would specifically ask your vet about their thoughts on repeating the treatment.  Coccidia lives in soils and is easily contracted and does not take much to cause trouble.  

That is were I would lean before I began the long battle with food.  Although if he has been eating from ONE bag I would toss that and buy a new one.  I would be thinking of an adult food or lower protein food in the process as well.