Miko's Tummy Trouble -Part 485

ClantyreSheltie said:
In this case the diarrhea is totally your fault. Adding in all that filler to his dinner just inflamed his digestive tract and gave him cannon butt. Knock it off, they don't need it. :smile2:

So back to chicken and rice. Or drop the rice and simply feed him raw chicken, with the bone. The bone has the fiber needed to solidify the stools. The thigh meat is fattier than the white meat, so you can feed that. But he really needs the bone with it. You can also feed small bits of chicken liver, that should ease your malnutrition concern. Liver contains just about everything they need, raw feeders call it "mother natures vitamin". My guys can eat big chunks o' liver with no problem, but start small. Like the end of of your pinky sized piece every other day.
Click to expand...

Yup... I know it's my fault. The vet got me nervous yesterday about malnutrition and suggested that I cook for Miko. My motherly instincts took over and I made stew when the dog really just needed soup. Ok, bad analogy, but you get the idea. :wink2:

Going to give raw a try for the next few days and see how it goes. Is there much difference btw chicken & turkey? I kept the neck, heart & liver from our Christmas turkey (it's all in the freezer)... but I won't use it if it's considerably different than chicken.
 
Get some Nutri-Cal for him. It's recommended for dogs that are "off.". It'll give you the assurance that he is getting his nutrition. You might also add a little plain yogurt (tsp for now) to his food.. for those good digestive enzymes. He may need another round of Flagyl to help dry things back up.
 
Mikos_Mom said:
Yup... I know it's my fault. The vet got me nervous yesterday about malnutrition and suggested that I cook for Miko. My motherly instincts took over and I made stew when the dog really just needed soup. Ok, bad analogy, but you get the idea. :wink2:

Going to give raw a try for the next few days and see how it goes. Is there much difference btw chicken & turkey? I kept the neck, heart & liver from our Christmas turkey (it's all in the freezer)... but I won't use it if it's considerably different than chicken.
Click to expand...

I'd be careful about making an instant switch from kibble to raw, especially with Miko's issues. I don't feed raw (although I did for a while) so I'm not an expert in this area -- perhaps the raw people can weigh in here -- but I do know that making radical food switches should not be done all at once.

I'd keep him on the vet food if that's what was recommended. His system might not be able to handle rich foods at the moment, no matter how good they are...you need to stabalize his system before making changes.
 
SheltieLuver said:
Get some Nutri-Cal for him. It's recommended for dogs that are "off.". It'll give you the assurance that he is getting his nutrition. You might also add a little plain yogurt (tsp for now) to his food.. for those good digestive enzymes. He may need another round of Flagyl to help dry things back up.
Click to expand...

You took the words right out of my mouth. I keep it on hand here always.I used to order from Foster & Smith,but now many pet stores carry it,as well as the tractor stores.

Always a good thing to have on hand.
 
Mikos_Mom said:
2 weeks of chicken & rice got us a "mixed bag". Sometimes the poops were solid-ish, sometimes they weren't.

He did a 7 day treatment of Flagyl after the lab found coccidia in his stool. During and immediately after the Flagyl was the only time his stools were really really normal. About 10 days after the Flagyl he got into the cat's food and ate A LOT of it.. we've been battling tummy issues since then. (at least a month now)

I just dropped off another stool sample today. The one from 2 weeks ago was clean, but I think it was a false negative. (eggs aren't necessarily shed with every poop)

It's crossed my mind that he might be allergic to chicken, but it seems far more likely to me that his tummy issues are being caused by something else.
Click to expand...
ok, now we getting to the problem I think. Cat food is very rich in fat. Most likely we are looking at case of pancreatitis which developed on top of already sore tummy...Did you run his blood work specifically enzymes after Miko got into cat food ?
Stools could be false neg for parasites but not in a case of chronic diarrhea. Sure, when pups is just a carrier, i.e. no symptoms noted. In case when pup is very symptomatic like Miko is, negative means negative.
 
Last edited:
SheltieChe said:
ok, now we getting to the problem I think. Cat food is very rich in fat. Most likely we are looking at case of pancreatitis which developed on top of already sore tummy...Did you run his blood work specifically enzymes after Miko got into cat food ?
Stools could be false neg for parasites but not in a case of chronic diarrhea. Sure, when pups is just a carrier, i.e. no symptoms noted. In case when pup is very symptomatic like Miko is, negative means negative.
Click to expand...

No blood work has been done yet... if problems persist and this latest stool sample comes back negative, I guess it will be out next move.

I gave him a raw meal tonight (bone-in chicken thigh).... based on Clantyre Sheltie's recommendation. I'm thinking that he already tolerates chicken, so a diet of only chicken (and bones, which we already know stiffen up his stools) might actually work for him. Of course it's completely possible that it won't ... How long should I try something before I determine that it isn't working?

If the very limited ingredient diet of raw chicken & probiotics doesn't improve things... I will make the switch to the IAMS Low-Residue. I just want to give this suggestion a try as it's the closest to how I'd like to feed him long-term.
 
I agree with SheltieChe and Dawn that its worth looking at pancreatitis. Deska was often getting diarrhea and vomiting and it looks now like its pancreatitis. It is more common in small breeds.

Deska seems to get pancreatitis when he has stolen food, picked up junk on a walk or eaten skanky bones. When he has a bout I have been told to stick with rice only to give his pancreas a rest and slowly add meat or low fat dog food to the rice until there is more dog food than rice. Chicken can be high in fat so make sure you remove any skin and make sure any bones you give are really lean.
 
I agree with Ann and Ashley (Corbinam).

Like Ashley and Lexi, I have been through this with Bailey when she was a puppy. Not only did she have digestive issues as a young pup, but she also had a UTI. It was a very stressful and confusing few months. The good news is her immune system finally kicked in and she got over both. She is now a year and a half old and is doing great.

When she was 4 months old, I gave in and finally put her on the vet's canned prescription food. Ours was prescription diet I/D. It did have a whole lot of garbage in it, but it was the only thing that actually helped her. Bailey couldn't even handle boiled chicken and rice. I think she may have been allergic chicken since everything I tried had chicken in it. The only food that didn't have chicken was the canned I/D.
I hated the I/D and worried that it would effect her growth, but it was either that or constant diarrhea. After a month or so on the canned food, I successfully transitioned her to california natural lamb and rice. She had a little loose stool in the beginning, but I stuck with the lamb and rice and it worked out. She did really well on Cali Natural. Now she eats TOTW lamb and has been doing great on that. She had some little bouts if loose stool here and there, but panacur (safeguard @ petco) cleared that all up. She also gets vibrant pets vitamins in her kibble.
When she was a puppy, the vet ran every test in the book and kept telling me she had a sensitive stomach and would just have to eat I/D. That's something I didn't want to do for the rest of her life. Well, I can tell you that she definitely doesn't have a sensitive stomach now. It's not cast iron, but she can eat a random treat or try a little bit of new food without any digestive issues.

So, if I was you, I would stop switching and adding new food. Jut stick with the prescription canned food for a little bit and maybe even deworm him one last time. Let his stomach settle and let his immune system strengthen. Hopefully, in a few months Miko will be just like Bailey and Lexi and he'll grown out of it.

Whew, sorry this was long. :lol:
 
Update

Just spoke with the vet... no parasites in the stool sample. That's the 2nd clean sample in 3 weeks... so I guess I have to believe that it's true.

I asked about the possibility of pancreatitis and he said that he would be much sicker (ie. painful tummy, not eating, fever, etc.... he has none of those symptoms).

I guess it's truly a case of colitis (hopefully not chronic). He actually tolerated the raw chicken ok, but I think, for the sake of my sanity and following the vets directions, I'm going to keep him on the chicken & rice and low-residue food (with added probios) until instructed to do otherwise.

Thank you to everyone who weighed-in with their own experiences and advice. I appreciate it very much!!

Unfortunately, the vet only has 6 cans of the IAMS Low-Residue left and he says it's been discontinued. I've seen some for sale online... Does anyone know of a reputable website to order from?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top