Loose Stool
For the past 3 weeks to a month Finn has had diarrhea and we're having trouble pin pointing the cause. We started switching his food by slowly mixing in the new kind and he was fine, then after getting neutered the vet put him on antibiotics as well as glucosamine supplements for his hips and next thing we know he has diarrhea. We finished the food switch so he is now eating only the new food, then we stopped the antibiotics and I even cut back on the supplements giving him half a tablet instead of a whole one and he still has loose stool. I've now stopped the supplements for the time being and tried adding yogurt to his meals and nothing helps. He had one or two semi normal stools over the past week but the rest are not so good. I don't know if his system has still not recovered from the antibiotics, if the supplements were to blame or if it's his new food even though it didn't bother him until about the same time he started taking the antibiotics. Any suggestions?
Replies to This Discussion
-
Permalink Reply by Bev Levy on
-
What does the vet say? Two of my corgis have had colitis and usually they want you to with hold food for a day and then start food back with a rice and non fatty meat mix. The digestive tract needs to rest. Our Doberman has frequent problems due to 3 surgeries to remove fabrics she ate while not being probably supervised! With her I usually add some Imodiumn to the same process. But I would still talk to the vet first.
-
Permalink Reply by Susan Stanton on
-
Please take a stool sample in to your vets to check. I had issues with my pup for several weeks -- not uncontrollable diarrhea, but loose, watery stools one time, a firmer stool the next. I thought it might be his food, etc., too. Then one day he threw up that white foamy bile stuff -- so I took him in, and he had Giardia, a parasite that can often be found in standing water. Before you say, but he didn't drink anything but clean inside water -- years before I had Bertie, I got Giardia myself, and believe me, I never drank out of any roadside or parkside puddles, either ;-) But he could have something in his belly like that that's not making him overtly sick, but just keeping him at a low level of discomfort. So that'd be my step one, to rule out anything like that. My step two would be to look at the food ingredients and try to figure out if maybe he's sensitive or allergic to any of them, so having trouble digesting? Neither of my ideas may be the problem, but it's at least a place to start -- good luck!
-
Permalink Reply by Alice on
-
I guess we'll have to call the vet. I feel like we are always there so I was hoping to avoid going to the vets but I don't know what's wrong. I don't know of any allergies he has. The ingredients in his new food are very similar to his old food. My first thought would be the antibiotics he was on but it seems like he's been off them long enough to have gone back to normal. Our vet will probably think we're the biggest hypochondriacs around. :(
-
Permalink Reply by Sam on
-
While yogurt is a great supplement to add to food it should not be used when a dog has diarrhea. It may be the new food is too rich, it may be parasites, it may be colitis. Best to take him for a visit to your vet. You may make chicken and rice meals for him until you can get to the vet. This is very gentle on the stomach. Canned plain pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling) also seem to help regulate a stool. Good luck.
-
-
He was given yogurt because of the probiotics it offers since we all know antibiotics wipe out even the good stuff. I forgot all about trying pumkin. I don't know how that slipped my mind but I'll give it a try. Thanks!
-
-
I know what you mean about going to the vet -- my vet and I are now so close I invited him and his wife to my Christmas party this year (well, it IS a small town...). But although I call myself the dog hypochondriac, I remind myself that our beloved puppies can't tell us exactly how they feel or what feels bad, so we need that extra voice of the vet in the mix sometimes. And honestly, I've certainly been there when it's been nothing at all -- but I felt better for having made sure that it WAS nothing! At least you can chat about other things it might be and what you can do.... I think vets understand how we feel about our puppies!
-
-
We know our vet really well too. I think our family is helping to put his kids through college. But it helps to have someone you can trust and I know he loves them too even if Sparty does have to be muzzled half the time. He got choked up when he called to tell me Buffy died and sent me flowers too. They wouldn't be in that business if they did not understand how important our furry friends are. Vet school is very difficult.
-
Permalink Reply by Boo Buchheit on
-
I am allergic to glucosamine, maybe your dog is too. My doctor told me to take it for arthritis but it makes me sick. I think if he has colitis you can get an anti-diarrhea liquid medicine and feed the rice diet for a bit.
-
-
I've been wondering if this could be the cause. My husband's Dad had a Pembroke who could not tollerate it either and she would throw up. If the same is true for Finnigan, I don't know how we are going to get him what he needs.
-
-
So far yesterday and today Finnigan has had solid stools. I was just about to take him to the vet and he must have known and made the sudden change. :) Let's hope the trend continues. I guess it's safe to assume his food is not the cause. Once he's had more time we'll try to start the Glucosamine again and see if the it effects his tummy. I really hope that's not what caused it because I don't know what to give him as an alternative. The supplements I have for him have a lot of other stuff in them besides glucosamine so I wonder if it could be one of the other ingredients.
-
Permalink Reply by Jessica on
-
We were giving Charlie glucosamine and she got diarrhea... We started eliminating things we were giving her to see what would change and as soon as she had solid stools again, we were giving her each thing back. I thought she might be allergic to treats or something since we had changed those too. But everything we reintroduced to her didn't give her diarrhea until we gave her glucosamine. Something about it just doesn't agree with her. I thought maybe it was allergies for Charlie. Maybe Finn has the same problem :(
Rescue Store
Stay Connected
FDA Recall
Canadian Food Inspection Agency Recall
Groups
We support...
Badge
© 2024 Created by Sam Tsang.
Powered by
