Ok. I haven't posted in a while (everyone's been happy and healthy!). However, my 1 year old shih tzu, Charlie, will occasionally have really bad diarea. Every time this happens I take him to the vet. They give him an anti-biotic and special food (Hill's Science Diet). The vet thinks that it is caused by Charlie eating things off of the ground that he shouldn't eat (I live in an apartment, people throw all kinds of things on the ground). However, I'm very vigilant about not letting him eat things off of the ground. Currently I am feeding him Iams dry food for small dogs. I weaned him off of the puppy food about 2 months ago (over a 1 month time span). Does anyone know of a better food for him? The vet said that it is important that he has a very lean low fat diet and that Iams is a good food choice for him. I'm still concerned because he will still develop diarea about once every month and a half. Other than the random spouts of diarea, he is fine. He drinks plenty of water and eats all of his food (about 1 cup in the morning and 1 cup at night). He has actually gained 1 pound since his last vet visit.
Also, on his last vet visit they did blood work, fecal tests, x-rays, and an ultra-sound. They could not find anything wrong with him at all! Please help! Thank you!
Healthy diet
Re: Healthy diet
I would guess at a food allergy...why don;'t you start for a whil on just cooked hamburger and rice and see if that makes a change..if it does then you experiment with other food...if not I would have another fecal run for parasites...they can be ellusive
Re: Healthy diet
I'd also suggest a new fecal to look for bacteria and parasitic infection, they can't always be detected on one sample.
Agree with Davet, try a bland diet if the diarrhea is severe, but in the immediate sense, talk to your vet about a hypoallergenic diet, at least temporarily to see if there is any noticeable improvement (expect up to 4-6 weeks for improvement)
Lean and low-fat are two different things, your vet may not be addressing this correctly, talk to him about the diet in further detail, and about protein requirements based on your dog's specific needs. If he's allergic to a certain protein, the hypoallergenic diet may be more appropriate at this time. Also try limiting or ceasing treats for alittle while, in the event he may be reacting to their ingredients.
Agree with Davet, try a bland diet if the diarrhea is severe, but in the immediate sense, talk to your vet about a hypoallergenic diet, at least temporarily to see if there is any noticeable improvement (expect up to 4-6 weeks for improvement)
Lean and low-fat are two different things, your vet may not be addressing this correctly, talk to him about the diet in further detail, and about protein requirements based on your dog's specific needs. If he's allergic to a certain protein, the hypoallergenic diet may be more appropriate at this time. Also try limiting or ceasing treats for alittle while, in the event he may be reacting to their ingredients.
..........Traci
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dancinbelle2001
- Posts: 39
- Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 3:52 pm
Re: Healthy diet
Thank you! I'm taking him to the vet on Friday for his shots and to be boarded for the weekend. I'll ask them more about the diet and hypo-allergenic food.
Re: Healthy diet
A couple of thoughts:
Do do you give him rawhide chewies? Maybe once a month? Or some other treat that coincides with the diarrhea? Rawhide is VERY fatty and often causes problems in dogs who can't handle fats well.
What about monthly treatments - heartworm preventive, flea 'spot' medicine? Heartguard sometimes gives one or all three of mine the 'runs'. I will only give it to them on Friday night when I know I'm going to be home all weekend. This past month, only Angel was affected, but it could be any or all of them. See if the timing of the diarrhea coincides with when you've given the heartworm preventive. Allie has a similar problem with FrontLine.
If it isn't anything involving the dog, what about house cleaning? Any products you only use about once a month that the dog could be exposed to? (floor or carpet cleaner, disinfectant product, something like that?)
Any other intermittent happening in his life that could induce stress (an ex shows up to pick up the kids, MIL comes to visit? Anything like that?
See if you can find a pattern of what is done that coincides with the bouts of diarrhea.
Do do you give him rawhide chewies? Maybe once a month? Or some other treat that coincides with the diarrhea? Rawhide is VERY fatty and often causes problems in dogs who can't handle fats well.
What about monthly treatments - heartworm preventive, flea 'spot' medicine? Heartguard sometimes gives one or all three of mine the 'runs'. I will only give it to them on Friday night when I know I'm going to be home all weekend. This past month, only Angel was affected, but it could be any or all of them. See if the timing of the diarrhea coincides with when you've given the heartworm preventive. Allie has a similar problem with FrontLine.
If it isn't anything involving the dog, what about house cleaning? Any products you only use about once a month that the dog could be exposed to? (floor or carpet cleaner, disinfectant product, something like that?)
Any other intermittent happening in his life that could induce stress (an ex shows up to pick up the kids, MIL comes to visit? Anything like that?
See if you can find a pattern of what is done that coincides with the bouts of diarrhea.
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.
Re: Healthy diet
Talk to your vet about these things before considering the vaccinations, you want to ensure bacterials etc are ruled out before giving vaccinations.
..........Traci
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dancinbelle2001
- Posts: 39
- Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 3:52 pm
Re: Healthy diet
Thank you! I stopped giving him any kinds of treats after the first time. I haven't noticed any connection to cleaning products. I'll keep a closer eye on that though. I usually go out of town about once a month and have to board my dog. Usually about a week after he gets back he'll have the diarea. I'm going out of town this weekend and I'm boarding him at my vet's office instead of the usual kennel (I have a feeling that the old kennel was not very vigilant about what he ate when he was outside). We'll see if he ends up with diarea this time!
About the ground beef and rice diet. Is that safe? I'm not sure I have the time to actually prepare food for him but I am curious. I think I'd rather stick to some kind of dog food (that way I know he's getting all of the nutrients that he needs). I'll double check with my vet this weekend and make sure that he's OK to get his shots. He's been over the diarea for about 2 weeks now. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it!
About the ground beef and rice diet. Is that safe? I'm not sure I have the time to actually prepare food for him but I am curious. I think I'd rather stick to some kind of dog food (that way I know he's getting all of the nutrients that he needs). I'll double check with my vet this weekend and make sure that he's OK to get his shots. He's been over the diarea for about 2 weeks now. Thank you for your help, I really appreciate it!
Re: Healthy diet
Davet means thoroughly cooked ground beef and white rice (nothing additional added, and fat removed from the ground beef). Nothing wrong with this for a day or two to aid in getting the digestive tract back in order, but of course, refer to your vet's advice.
Your vet also has digestive diets he could have suggested you try, those that are easy on the digestive system, and easy to digest.
I'm wondering about what you just posted. You said your dog has diarrhea about once every month or every month and a half, and you're boarding him once a month. There's a connection right there, the boarding, and the stress, combined. Chances are, the staff isn't paying attention to his diet, or there is quite possibly a bout of clostridium or campylobacter going around the kennels. Talk to your vet about that, and ensure that your wishes for your dog's diet are met specifically before and during boarding.
Your vet also has digestive diets he could have suggested you try, those that are easy on the digestive system, and easy to digest.
I'm wondering about what you just posted. You said your dog has diarrhea about once every month or every month and a half, and you're boarding him once a month. There's a connection right there, the boarding, and the stress, combined. Chances are, the staff isn't paying attention to his diet, or there is quite possibly a bout of clostridium or campylobacter going around the kennels. Talk to your vet about that, and ensure that your wishes for your dog's diet are met specifically before and during boarding.
..........Traci
Re: Healthy diet
Just the change in environment could be involved in the diarrhea.
Bacteria and other microbes are everywhere in the environment, and even a slight change in his environment can expose your dog to a totally new set of organisms. These organisms might not be pathogens, just new to the dog, so they cause problems. It's the same type of thing that happens to people when they go somewhere and drink different water or eat different food. It's not an infection, it's just the body's reaction to new organisms it's never seen before.
Let us know if this seems to fit the pattern of when he's kenneled.
If it does, is there any way you could arrange for a dog sitter?
Bacteria and other microbes are everywhere in the environment, and even a slight change in his environment can expose your dog to a totally new set of organisms. These organisms might not be pathogens, just new to the dog, so they cause problems. It's the same type of thing that happens to people when they go somewhere and drink different water or eat different food. It's not an infection, it's just the body's reaction to new organisms it's never seen before.
Let us know if this seems to fit the pattern of when he's kenneled.
If it does, is there any way you could arrange for a dog sitter?
"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself." ~ Josh Billings.
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dancinbelle2001
- Posts: 39
- Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 3:52 pm
Re: Healthy diet
Thank you guys for your help! I'm going to board him at my vet's office this time. I think they will be more vigilant about what he eats. Thank you! I'll let you know how he does this time!