At a loss as to how to clear up ongoing diarrhoea in our 11yr old GSD.

Chicken & rice seem to help a little but I've yet to find a practical way of getting this cooked and organised to feed twice daily.

Vet seemed to think it could be age-related and I've given him a stool sample to test.:rolleyes:

No dramatic weight loss - only what one could reasonably expect from a dog which everytime she eats it comes out the other end very soon.

Seems ok in herself.

Anyone got any advice?

Perhaps stating the obvious here Debs but it could well be stress related :(

If you want to bulk produce chicken and rice, you can cook a large amount up at the weekend, cool it and portion it with the rice, then freeze. You can defrost each portion as needed and reheat once if necessary :)

I always find that mashed potatoe is better than the rice for the squirts

What about a probiotic suplement? I don't think it would do any harm and may help.

We got a probiotic from the vet when our old dog had similar problems. Just sprinkled some pellets on his food and it really helped to settle his stomach and bowel. Can't remember the name of it but I'm sure any kind would help.

Have you tried not feeding anything for 24 hours and then feeding easily digested food little and often for a few days?  I also think mashed potato (without butter) or pasta is better than rice.  I believe porridge is supposed to be good too.  Hope she improves soon. 

Thanks for the advice.

I'm going to try her on mashed potato later - she's had spaghetti this morning

Joan, I think you might have a point re the stress....the house move and other stuff won't have helped. :(

Ominously, we've also noticed that her back left leg also appears to be numb and she positions it very strangely when she's ambling around the garden.  I suspect the onset of CDRM which her father sadly lost the battle with when he was 10 years old. :( :(

I'm beginning to wonder if the bowel issue might be related.  She already has some faecal incontinence.

If I gave my dog spaghetti, he'd get the squits from the gluten!  He has a gluten free diet.

Mashed potato with no butter or a hard boiled egg seems to work for Jasper too. 

Good point - best to buy gluten free pasta if in any doubt. :)

Don't overdo the pasta - I usually mix a little of it with chicken or steamed fish.  :)  Have you fasted her for 24 hours first?  As she is quite elderly, having diarrhoea long term could also be affecting her mobility.  Try to encourage her to drink plenty of water to stop her getting dehydrated.

Still struggling with this despite being very careful and making sure she only gets her own rice, hard-boiled eggs and chicken. :rolleyes:

Yet to try the mashed potato.....lets hope this works. 

I'm getting scared now and haven't taken much comfort from our new vet (we've just moved house) who didn't seem to think it necessary to take blood tests   No news back yet on the stool sample either but I doubt an infection could go on this long?

:( :( :(

Debs what is her usual diet?

Sorry to hear this Debs. :(  How long is it since you saw the vet last?  If it has been longer than a few days, perhaps you should contact them again, explaining how worried you are and asking them to chase up the test results on the stool sample and maybe consider doing other tests.

Hi Debs

How long has she had the squits? Did the vet give her an injection? When Sox has this it stops the runs immediately and allows some time for inflammation of his organs to calm down. It also allows some time to rehydrate. Also give some pro kaolin to help redress digestive balance.

I would definately be starving her for 24 hours if its been more than a few days and if you havent already :) Then feed her a table spoon of rice every hour or so gradually building it up.

If there is no improvement I think you should insist that the vets take bloods especially if you suspect a hereditary condition.

I hope she perks up soon x

Thanks for your concern everyone.  I can always find comfort asking other dog people and feel that experience is so much better than text book stuff :)  I have been starving her and then feeding her small amounts but I am worried now as her weight is dropping :(

The vets rang this morning to say there was no evidence of infection or parasites in her stool sample - I can't work out if this is good news or bad news as at least if it was an infection we'd treat it and then move on.

He has suggested a 14 day course of SALAZOPYRIN 500mg and I have researched this drug and found it is used in lower bowel inflammatory disease or Crohn's Disease.  He suggested there may be some improvement although I note the side-effect of long-term use is dry eye condition :(

(Sadly I don't get dry eyes when I read their bills - £19.01 for consultation (he stroked her!) but didn't take her temperature or even check her heart???  A further £33 for lab fees, £15 for P&P and "interpretation" and a reasonable £7.25p for the drugs.  I know its not about money but it still makes me )

So I have started her on the pills tonight and we will see how she goes....

The vet suggested if she doesn't improve then maybe they should test for pancreatic insufficiency - although if this is not treatable I would question what use it will be?

They also hinted that I may have to make a "decision" if there is no improvement... :( :( :(

>£19.01 for consultation (he stroked her!)

You don't think he might have been using his brain at the same time as his hand? :)
I actually think that is incredibly cheap for a professional's time and consideration, I doubt you would get away as lightly with a barrister, an achitect or even a doctor when working privately.
I hope she shows an improvement very soon for you :)

£19.01's a reasonable price for a consultation - it's £23.50 at my vets'.

Hi Debs,

Glad you got the results of the stool test anyway.  I really hope the drugs will be beneficial - if this is a 14 day course I don't think I would worry about possible long term effects at this stage.

You don't sound like you have much confidence in the vet though and if so, maybe he/she isn't the right vet for you or you may wish to seek a second opinion?

    

You don't sound like you have much confidence in the vet though and if so, maybe he/she isn't the right vet for you or you may wish to seek a second opinion?

Hmmm I always find it difficult to place immediate trust in a new vet Annie.  I just love her so much that I can't bear to think he'll screw up :(  I always feel helpless and ignorant - add into that a recent house move, other dog behaviour problems and a sleepless night with the onset of a cold and maybe thats why I sound so negative?

I'm praying these pills will do the job.

Poor you, you have a lot on your plate at the moment.  Do hope things will improve soon.

How is your girl doing Debs, have the tablets helped so far?

They appear to be doing the trick Annie - thanks for asking :)

I'm going to talk with the vet tomorrow about whether she needs to continue taking them when the week's course comes to an end - maybe a lower / maintenance dose?  She's presently on 4 a day and whilst I'm happy about her bowels I don't want them to instigate other health problems.

Can't believe I got so excited about picking up solid poo!!!!

:D :D

That's good news :).  Didn't you say that it was a 14 day course?  If so, the vet might not want you to consider reducing them until the 14 days are up, but it won't hurt to ask.  I can understand the excitement about the solid poo! :D  Hope the improvement continues - must be so miserable for her, poor thing.

I'd only glanced at the bottle Annie and had assumed it was 2 pills daily but when I checked its actually 2 pills 2 x daily - so its only a 7 day course   Hopefully life is getting back on an even keel more now we're settling into our new home and I'll get back on top of everything again! :rolleyes:

Will chat with the vet about the pills tomorrow as I have a well-deserved day off work! :)

Moving house is always a bit of a nightmare, think it takes ages to get over it and when you have a sick dog as well, even worse. :(  Hopefully things will start improving now.  Enjoy your day off! :)

How long has she had diarrhoea? I lost an old deerhound to inflammatory bowel disease. When the trouble first started the vet checked his stool and full blood panel and found them normal. He also checked for pancreatic insufficiency but the dog didn't have it. The vet and I discussed taking a bowel biopsy at this early stage but decided together that as he was an old lad we would hold off. I still wonder if not taking that biopsy was a mistake. The poor boy got worse and worse, and lost vast amounts of weight which he could ill afford as he was already a skinny old deerhound. For a while we managed him on high dose steroids but every time the steroids were tapered off it was back to bloody watery diarrhoea. A the same time the poor dog was ravenous but each time he was fed he immediately squirted everything out his rear. He was totally incontinent and was very upset by that. Eventually his weight dropped so far that he became weak and we took the sad decision to PTS.

I hope your girl doesn't have anything as serious or relentless but I would say in retrospect that if I had a similar case again I'd throw every possible investigation, up to and including biopsy, at it while the dog was still well enough. Best of luck for your girl.

A probiotic called TreeBarks powder is very good if you wished to go down that route. You can obtain it from Dorwest Herbs.