Menu

Stay in Touch
Sign up for ENews
Subscribe Now

Unlimited access >

Menu

1 year old dog with chronic diarrhea, help?

The Menagerie
#1

I have a dog who’s about 14 months olf old, and since we welcomed him in August, he’s been dealing with loose stools. Occasionally, it’s almost normal, but most of the time it’s quite watery. I’ve tried about 3 or 4 different types of food, giving each one a good month or two, but I haven’t seen much improvement. I’ve even added pure pumpkin to his meals, but that hasn’t really made a difference either. Do you have any suggestions on what I might try to help him out?

Of course I am attaching a picture so you can see him.

DSC_8086
DSC_80865269×3517 1.11 MB

7 Likes
#2

Cutie! If he’s come back clean on tests for giardia and other parasites I’d get his gut microbiome tested. You can usually find a coupon online and get $25 or more off the test.

My vet is a big proponent of microbiome testing and has had really good success using it with dogs and cats who had chronic GI issues.

1 Like
#3

Have you tried adding something like Forti-Flora?

#4

Add a pro/pre biotic to his food.

Whole fat yogurt also helps.

Have you tested for food allergies?

2 Likes
#5

To answer people’s questions, I live in a small town with more like an old school farm vet. Therefore I haven’t done any testing. My other dog does have allergies (bully mix) so do keep an eye out for allergies and have tried various proteins to see if that helps his tummy that she can eat too. Other than the loose stool, there are no other symptom that would make me think allergies.

He was on Purina Pro Plan Puppy first. I have tried a white fish food and now I am on Lamb and rice with Science Hill. I try to stay away from chicken because my other dog had a bad reaction to it.

I haven’t gone down the pro/pre biotic route yet. That was my next thought, but didn’t know where to start.

I do have his medical recorders from his previous owner (he was turned into the humane society with them) and he has always been wormed a such.

A picture of the 2 of them.

20250305_072101
20250305_0721011848×4000 1.84 MB

3 Likes
#6

I might treat for giardia anyway. The test for that often comes back false negative.

2 Likes
#7

It sounds like giardia is very transferable to other dogs and my other dog is good. I would assume that if he had it, she would have it by now.

#8

It doesn’t take a big town big name vet to culture feces :slight_smile: I’d start there.

I do agree that if other dog is ok, the odds of it being giardia are pretty small, it’s just so contagious (assuming you haven’t taken giardia-appropriate biosecurity measures).

FortiFlora is an option.

Diarrhea might be the only symptom of an allergy/sensitivity, but FF is a decent thing to try before dropping $$$ on a novel protein bag of food.

#9

Firstly, That pupper is super cute!

Testing for giardia is a good idea, just in case.

It this were my dog, I would switch to a beef based, grain free food. No grains, chicken, lamb, vension, salmon.
Yes to: beef, pork, buffalo, white fish and shellfish should be good. I would also continue with the pumpkin. About a teaspoon or 2 so up to a tablespoon depending on weight.

Are you doing a flea or heart worm preventive? Is it around the same time the stool gets loose? Maybe that is causing the occasional loose stool?
Does he go to the barn and get hoof scraps from the farrier? Or pick up road apples??

#10

I already have to get the different proteins for my other dog, so to me it is normal. At one point I had her on the I/D food from the vets which was very expensive.

2 Likes
#11

Did it help the problem?

I/D is my go to if my dog suddenly has an upset digestive system.

#12

He does get wormed and flea every month. He doesn’t get to the barn, he doesn’t do well with strange people. He only get out on walks and occasionally to the dog park or boarded. The stool is consistently bad doesn’t seem to really change much.

I have also discussed with at the vet’s office and they didn’t seem to concerned about parasites but can ask again. That is also where I board him.

#13

I was just thinking of different triggers. So we can check those off the list. :slight_smile:

#14

Thanks for your thoughts! I should have included that info in my original post. I forget that people don’t always take care of their pets and assumed it didn’t need to be posted.

2 Likes
#15

I don’t think he has ever been on it at home, that was for my other dog. It didn’t seem to make a difference for her, so I switched to the less expensive (relatively) food. He does get that when he is at the vet’s for boarding, so I might ask them if he had loose stool while he was there. A couple of months ago he was there for a few weeks. He has a tumor removed from his foot and it wasn’t healing well at home, so I boarded him so it would heal.

#16

Does no testing mean that no fecal has been done at all? This is just so likely to be some sort of intestinal parasite.

My last puppy came from a very good breeder with giardia. She really had no symptoms of giardia, but it popped on the fecal at our first vet appt here. It’s entirely within the realm of possibility that this guy has symptomatic giardia even if the other isn’t symptomatic.

There are also weirder intestinal things like coccidia:

A comprehensive fecal is really the starting point here. If you just have zero vet support, I’d toss a round of panacur at this. It won’t hurt, and may help. Treat both dogs at the same time, and be sure to really be on top of picking up poop, so they don’t just immediately reinfect. Dose is 50 mg/kg for five days.

You want these panacur c packets, which are otc:

(Amazon & others carry)

#17

I don’t really understand about pumpkin…because people give it to their dogs for constipation OR diarrhea. I wonder how often it’s making things worse?

If switching foods again, I personally would eliminate the pumpkin just so you don’t have one more thing to consider as a cause or a cure.

1 Like
#18

It’s the magic of fiber. It loosens what’s tight, and tighens what’s loose! :slight_smile:

I have used it on my food/outdoor-allergy-runny poop dogs for over a decade and only have positive results. but I do feel that the OP needs to find the cause of the loose stool. Pumpkin is just a nice addition to help.

2 Likes
#19

It’s the duct tape AND wd-40 of the GI tract :laughing:

3 Likes
#20

Beef is one of the most common dietary allergens in the dog.

4 Likes

Get your Digital Subscription here - only $21.95 / year

Subscribe here
See gift options

Sign up to our monthly newsletter!

By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.

Copyright © 2023 The Chronicle of the Horse