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Endless Diarrhea and No Weight Gain

2K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  Jenny720 
#1 ·
I’m new to the forum, and I’m totally stumped right now. I’m not new to the breed, I grew up with 5 of them, but this is the first time I have my own. Sorry for the wall of text.I'm not sure if this should go in health or diet section...

Piper was born 4/30/16 – she is almost 6 months old. I adopted her from a rescue on 9/12/16, so I’ve had her a little over a month. From 9/12 to 10/12 she only gained a half a pound, and has had loose/sometimes watery stools the entire time. First I had her on Wellness Core Grain Free Puppy food. Thought that was a problem. Switched her to Blue Wilderness Puppy, whatever the red meat one is. Still no change. We did a round of hamburger and rice during that time and while it reduced the number of stools a day, they were still extremely loose.

She has been dewormed twice, her fecal was clean for parasites, and her diarrhea panel (Is that what they call it?) was clean also, so no giardia or salmonella or anything like that. She was tested for EPI, because the vet was concerned as it’s prevalent with the GSD – that was negative. She’s on antibiotics just in case something was missed in one of the tests.

The vet said that she may just not need to be grain free, because some dogs “need” the grains to bulk up their stools. Okay, that sounds somewhat valid to me. As of Tuesday she’s been on just regular cheapo Nutro Puppy food with chicken and oatmeal and whatever. Stools are just pouring out of the poor thing.

Vet also mentioned a single protein food allergy or sensitivity. Wouldn’t that cause more than just gastrointestinal distress? She suggested we find something that isn’t beef, chicken, turkey, or lamb – so, I was thinking duck or game?

I don’t know. I’m overwhelmed and I feel terrible because she’s just so skinny. I feel like a bad mom. :frown2: I have another dog with thyroid issues who requires a lot of special care, so I’m not opposed to handling it, I’m just not sure what to do.

Sorry for novel. Thanks for any insight.
 
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#2 ·
You've only had her a month. During that time she has been on .. what .. 3 different dog foods and also a round of hamburger/rice? She has had wormings and is now on antibiotics. I'm not surprised that she has loose stools.

Was she having this issue before you adopted her? What were they feeding her? Be aware that antibiotics can also cause diarrhea so it's kind of hard to get a fix on what might be causing it --or exacerbating it--at this point.

I'm sure someone will come along with some suggestions, but I think that it's just a lot that has happened in only a month. Her gut needs a rest.
 
#3 ·
When my dogs or even my kids are on antibiotics I give them some yogurt, it helps with rebalancing. Was she thin when you got her? What were they feeding her? I agree with Galathiel, that's an awful lot of food changes. I think I would possibly be thinking of getting anther vet's opinion. I'd look for a people with GSDs and ask what vet they use.
 
#4 ·
I forgot to mention, I do have her on probiotics since starting the antibiotics.

I think they were feeding her regular adult Iams at the rescue. They only had her a few days, and her background was kind of unclear. She came in with her two sisters, and they were all thin, but it was more that puppy-gangly-too-long-legs kind of thin -- they didn't look unhealthy to me. The rescue sent me home with some of the food, but not a lot. And honestly, I think since they get a lot of their food donated they probably just use whatever.

Is there a way to just give her system a rest?


 
#5 ·
Are you giving the probiotic at the same time as the antibiotic? It's best to give it at the midpoint between doses, so that the antibiotic doesn't kill the probiotic.

I would actually mix the probiotic you got from the vet with some bovine colostrum (a human supplement, from the health food store). You can use some filtered (non-chlorinated) water to make a colostrum/probiotic slurry, and give that to the dog between meals. The combo of the two works very, very well (and is supported by a good study using Fortiflora, showing the combo was better at solving diarrhea than just the probiotic or colostrum alone). You can also mix some canned 100% pure pumpkin (unsweetened) into this mix.

It is also absolutely true that a true allergy can cause GI distress by inflaming the GI tract. I don't think you are there yet though.

If you are at your wit's end, you might ask the vet about RX food for GI distress. It's not a long-term solution, but it really does help when you just need to calm things down, then slowly reintroduce kibble. A lot of clinics stock the canned Hills I/D prescription diet.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Yes ito what many have mentioned and adding rice in food or feeding the prescription food recommended by the vet will help it's worth trying as temporary. I had went to a acupuncture seminar for dogs as my daughter wants to go into the animal medical field in the future so thought it would be good to explore. They had mentioned acupuncture is helpful for the gi tract issues diarrhea etc. Just a thought if you are not seeing improvements you like also helps pets with thyroid issues.
http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.co...cture-gastrointestinal-conditions-proceedings
 
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