Liquid Diahrrea.. Please Help

[MaKoda]

I have an issue with my 12 week old girl, Koda.

We got her at 8 weeks, she had really bad diahrrea which was painful for her & just like puddles of mud. The vets gave us scourban which cleared it up whilst she was taking it. One day of no scourban it came back.

Another trip to the vets & they gave us protexin paste & a course of anitbiotics. I was told to bring a sample of feaces in for testing & when I did this the silly receptionist left it sitting on the counter for 4 days. Again the diaherrea cleared up whilst on the medication but exactly a day later it was back with avengance.

Yet another trip to the vets & this time we are trying scourban for 10 days (instead of the first time which was 5 days) & double the dose. **Is this going to be bad for my little girl??**

At present we are 5 days into the 2nd round of scourban & no pain whilst using her bowels & no diahrrea, but who's to say it will stay the same once we've finished

We had to make food adjustments at the start with the diahrrea by cutting out chicken mince & then beef mince. We now only feed her moistened kibble (Advanced) with a desert spoon of Nat Yougurt in the mornings & the odd chicken neck as a treat here & there.

The breeders diet was moistened Bonnie Working Dog or Supercoat Puppy with a spoonful of mince at night & Nat Yogurt in the morning.

Could it be the change in kibble & possibly the amount that I feed her (2 cups morning & night)??

As you can imagine I would appreciate any help or advice please.

I have always feed premium kibble to my dogs & it has always done them & their coats wonders, I like to keep meals simple however they always get the odd chicken necks & marrow bone.

[Ons]

gorgeous looking girl! Sounds like she has been through the wars though

have you tried just chicken and rice to see if that will get rid of anything bug in her once she gets off the scourban.

It may be the kibble not agreeing with her. I know when I got my Tilly that she was being fed Supercoat Puppy but I found that gave her the trots so I switched her, from memory to Eaglepack. She now eats Advance and is fine with Natural Supercoat but every dog is different and some dogs are far more sensitive to food than others. My boys have no trouble with what I feed them.

it may be an expensive exercise but I would try her on a few other kibbles, gradually of course introducing them to her.

I am assuming that she has been wormed regularly? And I would be taking her faeces back for checking and asking them to do it properly this time!

just my opinion and what I have had learnt from having a dog with "upset tummy" and other food sensitivites issues. She had a huge flare up just before christmas, everything was coming up or going straight through her and stuff she could tolerate before she couldn't, this lasted a couple of months. This is just my very misinformed opinion but I think she did pick up a tummy bug, got rid of most of it but just a little bit was still there ready to flare up, the vet gave her extensive tests which showed nothing and really were for my own peace of mind. I knew the problem was food and I was extra extra careful about what I gave her and still am strict with her.

good luck!

[pebbles]

It sounds as if a more detailed examination/tests by your Vet would be in order rather than just prescribing something to stop the diahrrea? Perhaps going back to the diet the breeder was feeding might help? Did she have diahrrea when you picked her up or only since changing food? Having fed Supercoat for ages without any problems, I changed a young dog to one of the dearer recommended brands thinking I was doing the right thing and she started scratching her coat out so back to Supercoat and not another problem so the dearest isn't always the best!

[persephone]

Our pups get supercoat- and we have never had probs. We change them over at about 4-6 mths to a basically raw diet

I agree with the suggestion that more needs to be done to find the CAUSE. You cannot cure it if you don't know what the cause is

Is there another vet you can use? Or a Vet Hospital?

[stacyk]

I would get a further examination by your or another vet first.

But if you continue with Scourban treatment I would keep her on protexin, rather then switch foods around too much and upset her belly even more maybe switch to a sensative stomach version of advance, this may be a bit more gentle for her (though not sure how that would go being a puppy, she really should be on puppy food). Also when was she last wormed and has she been wormed regulary? As she has an upset tummy a strong wormer may upset her more so you may have to start her off on something a bit weaker and build her up to a broad spectrum wormer (a facel sample will be able to answer this for you though).

[MaKoda]

Thanks for all the wonderful suggestions. She only had diahrrea from the moment we picked her up from the airport - admittly this would have been a stressful time as she came from QLD to Broome via Perth with a stop over (2 days).

I will finish this course of scourban (with the Protexin) & will gradually introduce Supercoat. I half wonder if it is the kibble, Advance does smell rich. My 2yo loves it & has been eating it in smaller quantities since Koda came along (he decided her kibble was nicer).

I am hesitant to go back to the mince (as per the breeders diet) coz my 2yo has reactions to it & I dont want her doing the same, besides what she eats he wants too.

If with this combination she gets the diahrrea back then I will try the other vet clinic in town (we only have 2 & I have been going to the Vet Hospital).

Thanks heaps.

PS: All worming (heart & intestinal) are up-to-date, as well as vaccinations.

Edited May 12, 2009 by Chiccy

[poodlefan]

Get the faecal sample done. It could be something like Coccodia which isn't diet related.

I'd not be feeding anything raw at the moment - cooked chicken and rice is a good plan.

[Dogsfevr]

I am hesitant to go back to the mince (as per the breeders diet) coz my 2yo has reactions to it

This diet isnt for your 2 yr old & having constant runs because the diet change may be too much isnt fair either.

Personally we cant use advance ,our dogs get the runs & scratch like crazy.

You could find its the whole combo of long flight.limited food,change of water & diet change & its just all too much add Broome heat & it doenst take much to stress a young pup.

I would be buying pumpkin(cook it up better than rice) & chicken mince & feeding this for a week & gradually using the original kibble to see how things go.

Not sure whether you can get Bonnie up there but certainly the supercoat you could.

Although by choice i wouldnt use either on that breed but your main aim at present is to re established good gut bacteria & a settling of the tummy.

Not sure which yoghurt your using but not all work well for the job .

Always remember diet is very individual & the growing needs for a giant breed will be very different.

[MaKoda]

I cant feed one dog one type of meal & not the other, Mako will know & will become resentful.

She's been in Broome now for just over a month. She was in air con 24/7 with us the first couple of weeks but now the season/weather has changed, its not hot/humid (average 31-33 max & 16-18 min). She's from top end of QLD so she would have some experience with warmth/humidity.

I think Landmark sells Bonnie, I will have to double check. We can only get Supercoat in the 8kg bags at teh supermarket.. I would need much bigger than that if it does turn out to be better for her tummy.

Will the faecal sample be affected whilst she is on the scourban??

[poodlefan]

I cant feed one dog one type of meal & not the other, Mako will know & will become resentful.

Will the faecal sample be affected whilst she is on the scourban??

Mako doesn't think that way. Feed each dog what they need. Lots of dogs in the same household get fed differently - mine included.

Can't help with the faecal sample question - one for the vet I reckon but if the dog still has coccodia, I reckon it would still show up.

Has she been regularly wormed?

Edited May 12, 2009 by poodlefan

[persephone]

Mako will know & will become resentful.

No- he won't ..resentful is a human thing

if you do not have dogs under your feet when you prepare food- feed each dog separately and pick up bowls- there is no argument

[Eliteview Aussies]

I've got 4 dogs in my house and one dog gets different food to everyone else.

The dogs don't care as long as they are getting fed.

If it's better for your pup to be fed something different then I in my opinion that's what you should be doing.

If it makes you feel better feed them in different areas.

[Miranda]

I cant feed one dog one type of meal & not the other, Mako will know & will become resentful.

Not true, resentment is a human emotion not applicable to dogs. If it makes you feel better feed them in separate areas, then Mako won't know what he's missing.

[Ons]

mine get different too because of Tilly's tummy and they don't complain

Just feed in separate rooms if you are worried

[Meea]

mine get different too because of Tilly's tummy and they don't complain

Just feed in separate rooms if you are worried

Heavens - they all need what they need. The old one, the baby, the porky one and the model - different nutritional needs for all.

My last deerhound scoured for 12 months until I put found Nutrience puppy and then fine. 12 months of scooping toxic waste into a baggie - uurg.

He never came off the puppy food even as an oldie - even adult nutrience upset him. You have to exclude infection etc and then look about until you sort out what your little one needs.

dog exclusion diets are much the same as for people - minimal bland until the tummy is ok then limited adding of extra food.

[MaKoda]

Haha.. thank you, I hear you all

Good news.. I was able to get some Bonnie in town so I will make the change gradually & spoke to the vet & they said to bring in a faecal sample first thing tomorrow morning.

Dogs will eat in separate locations while I make these diet changes.. Thanks again.

[Kaz]

Unfortunate you only have two vets in town.

Check into the dane thread and introduce yourself there. Many knowledgeable people there including a dane owning vet nurse and several breeders.

Dane diets are a passion with us

[stormie]

Chiccy you really need to have this investigated more thoroughly by your vet. Hopefully the faecal analysis will give you some answers, but if it doesn't, you must insist on getting to the bottom of it.

Try the chicken and pumpkin/or rice, and maybe instead of natural yoghurt, add a powdered probiotic in case the yoghurt is upsetting her tummy.

At the end of the day though, you need to get to the bottom of it. As you would know, a growing dane has specific nutritional requirements so you can't really afford to be playing around with diet too much or having her unwell with diarrhoea.

As Kaz said - come into the dane thread!!

[Danois]

Haha.. thank you, I hear you all

Good news.. I was able to get some Bonnie in town so I will make the change gradually & spoke to the vet & they said to bring in a faecal sample first thing tomorrow morning.

Dogs will eat in separate locations while I make these diet changes.. Thanks again.

Another one of the dane-ites here.

With Bonnie - look forward to large stools!

Did you get the working dog one? This has the best protein/fat ratios out of the Bonnie range which is needed especially for such a large pup. Protein should be around 23/24% (no more than 26%) and fat around the 12%. Anything too outside of this (which fresh mince might be throwing out) can be problematic for growth.

[MaKoda]

Faecal sample retrieved at 3am this morning & dropped off at the vets at 8am.

I definiately want a result of some sort, however in the meantime I will transistion over to Bonnie Working Dog & rice. I would rather try to leave out the raw meat until I have answers. What ever the case she certainly hasnt lost her appetite, she is/has always been happy, playful & very boistorus... but we do want her better & asap.

Haha.. Danois arent they aways large stools !!