Hello, My fifteen week puppy has had constant diarrhoea since coming home. She has been under a vet from the day after she came home, initially as an inpatient for fluid and intravenous antibiotic treatment but since as a regular out patient visitor. She has had numerous tests, blood and faeces but a cause hasn’t so far been found. The vets won’t vaccine her as they say her system isn’t strong enough so I have one very frustrated puppy as she can’t go out for walks. She weighs a little under 16 lbs and is obviously not getting the nutrition her body needs. The as vet says she should eat nothing but chicken and rice so is hungry most of the time ( more than a puppy lab already is ) Is there anyone out there that has had this problem and seen it resolve itself or has found a way to resolve it themselves? Any advice gratefully received
Hi Frances I'm so sorry to hear about your poor puppy. You've probably had her tested but just in case you hadn't my first lab was like that and she had compylabacter which took months to find out and then cure. This left her with a weak tum i suspected. After this she continued to have"ice cream poos" as we called it and was later found to have food intolerance to pork,beef and dairy. I really hope she gets better soon
Thank you for your response. I am waiting on results for Compylabacter atm which are due any day as the sample went in last Friday.
I can't offer experience @Frances but just wanted to offer my sympathy and hope you find a solution soon.
Hi Frances, So sorry that your puppy is unwell. I'm sure you feel awful. Years back we adopted an 18 mo Great Dane Lab mix who had diarrhea for the first several months. It was frustrating and scary because he was terribly underweight. The vet went through various dog foods, then chicken and rice, then prescription dog food, and finally we ended up feeding him boiled ground lamb and rice with a vitamin and mineral supplement mixed in. You don't want to switch diets without vet supervision. You didn't mention when your girl came home, and what is her name It sounds like she was not in great shape when she came home? Is it your impression that she was ok before she was weaned? Did you see the litter mates? Did you communicate with the breeder? While weird things happen and turn out fine, I'd be concerned if I collected a puppy who straight away needed inpatient vet care. If you haven't already done so I would phone the breeder and politely ask if any of siblings have been ill and what the outcome was, to assist your vet. Going forward I would ask your vet for a referral to a specialist or I would find the nearest clinic associated with a veterinary school, preferably with a specialist gastroenterologist. It's possible your vet may reassure you that she's not in immediate danger and testing takes time. On the other hand there comes a time when unsuccessful treatment has gone on long enough and it's time for fresh eyes and specialists. It's hard to say when this point is but do trust your gut because you know your dog. It would be helpful to understand the vet's thinking on diet, assuming other illness is ruled out. If the vet is trying to work out what to avoid, it's useful to know how long this takes so you don't reject something that might otherwise have been successful had you continued for X weeks or days. You can save time, money, and sanity by keeping notes. Nothing fancy but just jot down the number of movements each day and the time, especially in relation to eating, a simple description of same (watery, semi-formed, whatever), diet (chicken and rice etc.), and appetite, activity level, and mood (playful, sleepy etc.). It might be just me but when Johnny was 4 months old days ran together and I would not have noticed even the most obvious things. It's likely good news that she's hungry and keen to go out. There are prescription foods that may help, including a hydrolyzed protein food for dogs who can't tolerate other protein sources, but you need an experienced vet to guide you. I hope you get answers soon.
Thank you so much for your response. The vet rang today and said they have found that she has complylabacterosis. He is putting her on a strong course of tailored antibiotics. She needs to take them for one week and follow up with X-rays and hypoallergenic food. He isn’t 100 per sent certain that this will cure her issues but it is a good start. Clara has been with me for about five weeks and seemed fine when I picked up her from the breeder but became ill over night. I have spoken to the breeder who was initially supportive and paid the first vets bill but she has withdrawn support since then as she believes her kennel was not at fault although the vet is certain that this is the source of the bacterial infection. TBH I have spent my time and energy trying to get Clara better so have not chased the breeder since. She is my girl now and I will do my very best for her
Hi Frances so you've had the diagnosis of compylabacter after all,I'm so sorry to hear that. I know how worrying it is as my girl had this also. Do make sure your vet does a repeat test after the antibiotics as it took several courses for our girl to be cured. our Saffy also went on to hypoallergenic food as well that we could only get from our vet and we had to be careful she didn't eat any titbits from anyone,it's strange how many complete strangers at the park think it's ok to give your dog treats! Anyway once sorted out she gained weight and lived a happy healthy life, all be it with occasional tummy problems. Good luck with your girl
