# Severe diarrhea. Help needed



## ashleylp (Jul 23, 2011)

I don't really have any good advice but wanted to say that your pup is in my thoughts. Ours went through bad diarrhea for a while... it was giardia, though. All I know is that if he's straining at all to poo it can be bad for their anus. My boyfriend has seen a few dogs that have strained too long and their anus will pop out a bit, this normally ends up requiring some form of surgery. So if he's straining a lot, def back to the vet.


----------



## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

I am sorry Major is having this problem. I he neve had to deal it long term--just once in a while whey one of mine ate something they should not have gotten into. I do know many suggest pumpkin, the plain pumpkin, not the kind tht already has spices in it. 
Also, it is possible tht bing on Science Deit for stomach/bowel torulbe could help. I am not a fan of regular Scicne Deit, but I have used the prescription kind 2 times--once when my girl kayCee needed to get weight off and nothing else worked. She had both knees operated on 14 months apart and between her knees being bad, recovery, etc, she managed to put on to much weith.

I use the kidney forumla for my old golden when he developed a bad kidney infection--only time in his 12 yrs. 3 months he was ever sick--and the problme cleared up and he never had noather one. And just recently, my Honey was on the same one for kidney issues, and they cleared up. As I said, I am not a fan of it as their regualr food, but the prescriptions do work as intended. You may want to talk to your vet (or a second one) about this opetion.

But wahteever, I wish you and you rpoor boy all the best, a quick solution and long life without this happening again.


----------



## Deber (Aug 23, 2011)

I might consider another Vet. Even if the tests came back negative I would think he would start your dog on Metrondazole (Flagyll) to help stop the diarrhea and some probotics to replace the good germs he needs in his tummy. Diarrhea can really take a toll on your dog. Food changes might cause stools to be loose but usually this clears within a few weeks. I would rather play it safe and take another sample in to be tested. Giardia can show false negatives, so even if the test came back clear, my Vet will treat as if it was possitive when symptoms sound suspicious. 

Good luck and let us know how he does, but he shouldn't have to have constant diarrhea, this is not right.


----------



## KevinM822 (Nov 27, 2011)

Thanks for your thoughts. Hrs going to a new vet in the morning to get checked out. 
Thanks for pointing out about the "protruding anus" issue I wasnt paying much attention to his butt, but after reading your comment I have been. Scary my vet didn't bother to check his butt for this or even warn me about it on Friday when he had his lime shot. I even told him how he was straining to poop. Hopefully new vet is more thorough and able to cure this issue!


----------



## vcm5 (Apr 20, 2011)

I'm so sorry you guys are dealing with this. Have you tried a diet of just rice and boiled chicken or pumpkin until he feels better? Good luck at the new vet, let us know how it goes!


----------



## Goldens R Great (Aug 19, 2010)

I'm glad you're taking him to the vet. Finn has had mushy poo on and off for quite awhile now and I kept taking in samples to the vet to be tested. Each test came back negative for parasites. Finn had diarrhea over the weekend and I ended up taking him to the emergency vet on Sunday. She put him on a bland diet (hamburger and rice) and also gave him Metronidazole and Proviable. The vet said he had a bacterial infection and blood in his stool. Last night his stools looked great.

Good luck with Major. Please keep us posted!


----------



## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

Also once you find the cause, the intestines will be quite irritated, and that will cause more diarhea. A bland diet for at least a few days will help. I highly recommend Prescription Science Diet I/D from the vet just for this. It appears to be more filling than a homemade bland diet.


----------



## Karin Wise (Mar 23, 2012)

Gabby had this as a young pup... The boiled chicken and rice for a few days worked, (Vet also gave her medication) and it stopped the diarrahea after a few feeds. But I took her to the Vet after only an afternoon of "squirts", I didn't want to leave it too long... Rather safe than sorry! The pumpkin definitely works, if my two has poo's that is a bit soft or mushy, I give them pumpkin right away, it firms the stool up alsmost immediately. Levi seldom gets loose poops, his tummy seems to be quite strong now, but Gabby might have the now and again loose and soft poo..


----------



## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

What is your dog eating? I would check with recalls pertaining to your dog's food JUST in case, as there seems to be a plethora of foods under recall in certain areas right now, although I don't think NH is one of them.

I second the advice of putting your dog on a bland diet for a while to allow his stomach to settle down. Colitis is a pain, I hope Major feels better soon!


----------



## Sally's Mom (Sep 20, 2010)

We send fecals to Idexx. If your pup is having severe problems, we would send a DNA(PCR)
fecal test to Idexx.


----------



## KevinM822 (Nov 27, 2011)

I'm not sure what idexx is. Is it a lab?

He went to the new vet today and it was the most thorough checkup he's had so far. We were impressed, however Major wasn't!

They tested the stool right there and even did a swabbing of his butt to test that. In house tests came back negative for parasites but they told us they send out a sample of the stool to test for giardia. 

They also took a blood sample to test for a number of things that I cant think of off the top of my head right now. 

Results will be in tomorrow sometime they said. 

Meanwhile they prescribed us some food(the science diet I/d that cubbysan mentioned), but we are going to wait until tomorrow to see what the results are before starting him on the food because it cost us $80 for a 17lb bag. They told us if the food was the only thing that helped then he would have to stay on it. That's a lot of money!

I just hope its something simple that's treated with antibiotics and not something a lifetime supply of prescribed food is the only option, though he's worth every penny. It would just be hard to do. 

I'll post the results when I get them tomorrow. Thanks for the support everyone.

I've been reading this section of the forums the past couple days and I have to say this community really is amazing.


----------



## MyBentley (May 5, 2009)

I'm glad you saw another vet who did more thorough testing. Your dog has been having abad bout of colitis, but the question is why? Sometimes you never do find out.

I am surprised that neither vet started your dog on a 5 day dose of Metronidazole (Flagyl). That typically improves the severe diarrhea within a day. This is usually done in combination with feeding well-cooked rice and ground meet. The antibiotics wipe out the good as well as the bad gut bacteria; so often the vet prescribes a probiotic too.

I seriously doubt that a dog needs "prescription" food for life just because it had an episode of colitis. Many people, myself included, are very successful with feeding their dog a simple formula like California Natural Chicken Meal & Rice or Lamb Meal & Rice Puppy formulas; or a straightforward formula like NutriSource. Once you look closely at the ingredients contained in most "prescription" food, many people realize that they are not ingredients which promote long term health. They are temporary solutions, at best, for people who don't feel confident in home-cooking food for their dog during an illness.


----------



## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

Darn, I thought $50 a bag for 17 pound back of Science Diet KD was bad--that is what we have to pay for Honey's. However, since her last tests wer good, we are mixing half KD and half TOTW. She would not get getting the TOTW if Texasd had been one of the states to get bad food....and I may still change when this is gone. tho every time I turn around a new food is being recalled. As my Mom wuld hae said, it is 6 of one and half a dozen of the other.

I hope all the test come back fine and that things are under control soon. I know a lady on the all breed forum whose dog has had to spend most of her life on the ID, but recently has been able to combine other foods with it without problems.


----------



## KevinM822 (Nov 27, 2011)

Vet called!

Major came back positive for giardia so he's going to be started on azithromycin. vet said he would be on it 7 days. He couldn't say if this was causing the problems and only said that "He has been exposed to giardia". We are praying this is taken care of in a week with the medicine!

He also said he tested positive for lyme, but said he didn't have lyme disease?
I tried to get an understanding of that from him on that... he just told me he has the antibody and it's really nothing to worry about at this point. 
Could his lime booster from this past friday cause a positive testing of this?
We actually ARE worried about this. Should we be?

All other blood tests were normal and when I asked what those other tests were he named 10 before I stopped him because it was jibberish to me. Guess I'm fine with "all other tests were normal" lol

I'll post updates along the way this week


----------



## Tahnee GR (Aug 26, 2006)

Which test did he run for Lyme Disease? The Snap4 will only test positive if the dog has Lyme Disease, and should be followed up with a QuantC6 to determine if treatment is needed. A score of less than 30 on the QuantC6 indicates no treatment necessary.

I believe the new Cornell test claims to be able to show both active infection and antibody titer (which would be impacted by his Lyme vaccination).


----------



## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

Well, I have never faced this problme, tho I think several here. Hopfully this is the causes of his "bathroom trots" as my Grandma use to call it.

As for the Lyme, I have read on various boards of dogs testing positive but not actually having it. I don't undertand it either. Like I could never undstand how typhoid Mary could carry the disease, give it to others, but not have it herself. Somethings are strang.e

As for the test, my vet will give me the report and it shows what the levels are and what the normal range is for all that stuff (like my doc does with my blood work). Thenis is grb the dictionary and look up the words. Or go on the net---probably easier as many are must initials, etc.


----------



## KevinM822 (Nov 27, 2011)

I just picked the meds up and asked about the booster shot making a test positive and they said no. Their test will only show if he has the antibody and will not show positive because of a lyme vaccine.

I've uploaded a couple new pics if you care to see my boy 
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/member-introductions/106568-new-forum-major-says-hi-2.html

They DO want me to treat for the lyme apparently and gave me the medication for it, however due to the common stomach side effects with the med they told me to wait until 5 days after I finish with the azithromycin. Better safe than sorry I suppose.


----------



## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

I am so glad you got the second opinion and that vet sent the test out to a lab--that is definitely preferable to an in-house test when dealing with persistent parasites/diarrhea issues. 

I hope the antibiotics and ID clear things up. My guy has bouts of colitis, usually related to eating indiscretions and his digestive enzyme deficiencies, and when he is in the throes of colitis our go to food is canned ID and the Flagyl. 

To minimize stomach distress, try to give the antibiotic with food, unless the antibiotic dosing instructions advise against it. I'm not familiar with azithromycin so don't know if it needs to be dosed on an empty stomach. You might ask the vet about adding in a probiotic at some point. 

Giardia is hard to treat, but now that you know about it you are on the road to full recovery. Best wishes!!


----------



## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Kevin*

Kevin

So glad you went to another vet!! How old is Major?
Keep us posted!!


----------



## KevinM822 (Nov 27, 2011)

He's 9 months now 
Thanks again


----------



## KevinM822 (Nov 27, 2011)

Update:
Major's only been on the meds for a couple days now and he's already started to have solid stool! YAY for vets that care!


----------



## 3 goldens (Sep 30, 2005)

That is just great. So glad he is doing so much better, bless his heart.


----------

