Hello all! This post is about my 6 month old black lab puppy Moose. I am so glad I found this forum. When I got my puppy in March, he had loose stools right off the bat. I thought it was just stress, and I didn't think much of it. After 3 weeks, things got worse. I took him to the vet, we did a stool test, and found Giardia. He was on Panacur and Metronidazole for 3 weeks. He has since had 3 stool tests, all showing no parasites, however, his stools never got back to normal. He has had constant loose/watery/diarrhea and goes 6-10 times a day. Sadly, he's never gone a full day with all normal poop. Here are the things I have tried: -Expensive blood tests to check for malabsorption, maldigestion, pancreas issues - all came out perfectly normal. - Grain free food -Prescription food diet -Changes of protein in his food (chicken, beef, turkey) -Honest Kitchen food -Fiber supplements -Probiotic supplements -De-wormers All of which have been unsuccessful. Three days ago he started having another round of uncontrollable diarrhea (all over the house, his crate) and he was having bowel movements 10 times a day. We are on another round of Metronidazole and I have been giving him a little Imodium. This is helping. Has anyone ever had an experience like this? I am just lost and exhausted. It's so hard to maintain with the constant clean-up, ruining the yard and house with the bowel movements, and I feel like it's affecting his growth, health, and behavior. He also had a double ear infection last week. We love him so much, and it's hard to see him suffer. If anyone has any advice at all, or has dealt with something similar, I would really appreciate it any feedback. I often feel hopeless, and it's an awful feeling. Thank you so much. -Kelly
Hi Kelly We have experienced very similar to you with our yellow Lab, now 2 years old. Virtually same time as you, we had giardia, campylobacter, ear infections. One after the other. Giardia three times and campylobacter twice. Three or four ear infections. Very loose stools from day one, so grim to pick up. Even after treatment the loose stools would return. We’ve had lots of tests, all clear. Been on probiotics, have changed food, dropped all treats ( just giving him his meal food for treats). I think we have cracked it at just over two years old! He is now on Scrumbles. I saw this food on Dragons Den - especially for dogs with sensitive stomachs. Also the first dog food apparently to have probiotic in it. On Dragons Den they said it was only the dry KIBBLE that was for sensitive tums and that the treats were not. I’m not sure about the wet food either. Bailey only has the chicken kibble, fish has caused bad poops in past. I am going to try him with a small amount of wet soon. He has a tiny bit of apple as a treat sometimes. He can’t have carrot, it causes a lot of gas and runny poops! Good luck Kelly, I feel your frustration.
So sorry you are having such a rotten start with your pup. Mine had loose stools from day one but nothing like the problems you are having. Has also had Campylobacter and Giardia. The only foods he has been ok on are Royal Canin Anallergenic (not hypoallergenic) and raw. Since switching to raw complete meals we have never looked back. I hope you find a solution soon.
Greetings from me + Alfie, my 2 year old choc lab Poor Moose, I hope he will feel better soon! It must be very worrying and tiring for you all at home. Like Moose, Alfie had loose stools right at the start before we took him home. From the age of 8 months old he had recurrent diarrhea episodes. He had been treated presumptively for giardia with metronidazole which he responded well to, but the diarrhea episodes came back soon after. After a few rounds, we realized he responded wonderfully to metronidazole for each diarrhea episode. However the diarrhea episodes were recurring. We did stool cultures as well, that came back positive for overgrowth of clostridium diffIcile (This occurred when I fed him human grade raw ingredients, so we immediately stopped giving him raw diet due him having clostridium diff ++ positive culture stools - we figured it was likely caused by feeding him raw). Alfie could have at least 4-5 episodes of watery explosive diarrhea and straining to pass even after he has emptied his bowels, this happened even in the middle of the night, it was very heart breaking to see him pacing and panting, then dashing out of the room when I get up to let him out to do his poop business. In the end when he was 19 month old, Alfie underwent endoscopy + biopsy and was finally diagnosed to have IBD. He was placed on Hill’s I/D diet which he didn’t seem very interested in. Vet also did allergy blood IgE tests and he was found to be reactive to a lot of ingredients that were likely causing his diarrhea (He was apparently allergic to beef, eggs, corn, peas - found in a lot of kibble as a filler, oats, tomatoes, brewer’s yeast — a supplement which is found in a lot of kibble) so currently we are cooking lamb + fish for his meals (he is not allergic to these, based on the IgE blood tests) and he takes metronidazole + low dose prednisolone for the occasional IBD flares. Our vet concludeD that Alfie has antibiotic responsive diarrhea secondary to IBD. His daily diet of cooked lamb and fish has pre-biotics, pro-biopics, soluble fiber (psyllium husk) to help make the colonic environment less favorable for c.difficile to multiply/ form toxins, and some mashed oven baked pumpkin. So far he is holding up well. I would think if Moose gets more tummy upsets, you guys could also consider endoscopy investigations, food allergy investigations/ trial and error of a single ingredient food. Good luck and I hope Moose will feel better soon!
