Dog constantly has diarrahea - vet has no answer?

[Bearshield]

I have a Sharpei thats about 2 years old, and he constantly has diarrahea/gas. This has been going on noticeably for about 2-2.5 months now. We've taken him to the vet at least twice and mentioned it and they haven't had a concrete answer for it yet. We've changed his food (We only feed him fairly high quality dog food) and we don't give him table scraps.

Does anyone have an idea of what the issue might be or what I can do about it?

As someone who unfortunately has a lot of experience with this sort of thing I'm going to give you a list of possibilities/things to try.

1. Get a fecal test done ASAP! Parasites and/or Giardia can cause diarreha and gas and often these are the only symptoms. If he tests positive for one of these, you will need to treat with appropriate medications.

2. If the fecal test comes back negative, then you may want to consider the possibility of a food allergy. This means you look at the protein source(s) of whatever food you are currently feeding and switch him to a different QUALITY food (check dog food advisor for help with this, I personally feed my dogs Fromms but I live in the USA so I have no idea where you are and what is best there) with a different protein source. While you are testing this food the dog gets NOTHING but that food for 6-8 weeks. If the diarreaha goes away, you now know it was a food allergy. If not, you can try another protein source. Do not just randomly give the dog table scraps to test for allergies. If you want to feed human food, you need to look up one of the many developed RAW or COOKED diets formulated to meet their needs and you will need to supplement with vitamins.

3. If 1 and 2 are not your problem, have a full blood panel run on the dog to test his vitals (you should prob do this if the diarreha has been going on for a while anyhow). You may find the problem here.

4. If the dog is becoming dehydrated, you will need to have your vet put him on iv fluids for a day and possibly give a B12 injection as well.

5. If none of these things resolve your issue, there are prescription dog foods your vet can prescribe that are made for various stomach issues. They may either be temporary or for the life of the dog depending on the circumstances and effectiveness.

If your vet is not willing to try these things, one you need a new vet, two you need to find an internal medicine specialist. Not sure why your vet wouldn't have suggested this stuff in the first place but good luck to you. Feel free to ask if you have any questions about anything I've said

Edit, just remembered a couple other things. Consider adding a probiotic powder to the dog's food (you get it from your vet) to help add good bacteria to the intestines to combat the problem. You can also give canned pumpking (pure pumpkin, not pie filling) to help bulk up the stool and the dog will probably love it

[Deleted]

Vets that say feeding a raw diet as nature intended is bad for a dog and trying to sell you processed crap off of their shelves is "helping" is it. There are plenty of them around.

I'm yet to meet a veterinarian that doesn't suggest a "natural" diet for animals. Perhaps it's a problem in your country - it isn't in here.

[oldephartte]

care2.com/greenliving/homemade-raw-food-for-dogs.html

[Deleted]

I'm yet to meet a veterinarian that doesn't suggest a "natural" diet for animals. Perhaps it's a problem in your country - it isn't in here.

Aye, we usually just mix up leftovers with regular dogfood. It keeps up a balanced diet insted of just feeding them the same fucking thing every day.

[OzoAndIndi]

Honestly, might try a more natural diet on him, like some actual cooked chicken and vegges that don't come from a bag or can. Even the "high quality" dog food might simply still contain an ingredient that isn't necessarily bad but he has a reaction for one reason or another.

[Speaker]

Ground beef and rice is a pretty good thing to feed a dog if you are forced to feed them human food. It is also pretty cheap and easy to make.

[Celista]

Probably something to do with your "high quality" food, which is mostly grains and shit that dogs barely utilise and 9/10 times have allergies to. Of course your vet wouldn't tell you about this because it means more $£$£$.
Consider a raw diet.

Most high quality dog food is grain-free or has a grain-free option.

Raw is not for everyone, partially due to cost and partially due to the fact that the diet is too rich for some dogs to handle...OP it does sound like an allergy or an intolerance, the first thing I'd do is look up known allergens in dogs to see if your dog might be reacting to something (besides dog food) that you're feeding him that is not good for him (ex: some dogs are lactose intolerant; grapes are poisonous to dogs, etc). Check your yard to see if he is eating any plants that may be poisonous to him (mushrooms, etc). Also make sure he's not trying to eat his toys or random things he's not supposed to around the house. Then try switching dog foods...it's almost certainly something he's eating if he has diarrhea (assuming the vet ruled out all other causes besides diet).

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com is a good place to start when looking to switch dog foods, as for a raw food diet you can do the research yourself on that. Heads up though, dogs can get salmonella from improperly handled raw meat, so if you're buying your meat commercially it's something to keep in mind. I know at least one case where a dog on a raw food diet got very sick due to poorly handled commercial meat, but I've also known owners whose dogs have thrived on the same diet. Homemade diets with real food are also good, but you often have to get supplements so all of their dietary needs are met.

[TZucchini]

Those expensive dog foods aren't any better because they cost more.

Actually, for the most part, they are better. Much better.

The first five ingredients of any dog food are the most important, because they're listed in order of weight percentage.

Purina Beneful has: Ground yellow corn, chicken by-product meal, corn gluten meal, whole wheat flour, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols...

Corn is one of the worst things dogs can eat, and by products are a close second.

You should spend an extra $6 for a very basic, quality dog food. Try starting with this

[Celista]

You should spend an extra $6 for a very basic, quality dog food. Try starting with this

If we're just comparing commercial dog foods to one another, then yes higher quality dog food is in fact much better than the supermarket stuff.

In regards to a quality grain free food, I recommend this one...costs me $20-25/month to feed my 53-lb golden retriever, bag lasts two to two and a half months if I fed her solely the dog food every day. I supplement her diet with real chicken, lean beef, veggies + vitamins wherever I can though, typically her diet is half dog food/half "real" food.

Orijen, Evo, Solid Gold, etc also good brands.

The cheapest "quality" dog food I've seen you can buy from Costco--Kirkland Super Premium Dog food, $35 for a 40-lb bag. Ingredient list: Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and vitamin E), egg product, dried beet pulp, potatoes, fish meal, flaxseed, natural flavor, brewers dried yeast, millet, dried chicory root, potassium chloride, salt, choline chloride, carrots, peas, kelp, apples, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flake, taurine, Yucca schidigera extract, vitamin E supplement, iron proteinate, zinc proteinate, copper proteinate, ferrous sulfate, zinc sulfate, copper sulfate, potassium iodide, thiamine mononitrate, manganese proteinate, manganous oxide, ascorbic acid, vitamin A supplement, l-carnitine, biotin, niacin, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, sodium selenite, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, riboflavin, vitamin D supplement, folic acid.

Just something to keep in mind if you happen to live near a Costco and have a membership. Note that it is not grain-free, though.

[Cerus]

I am utterly amazed at all the misinformation in this thread. Diarrhea is typically caused by too much protein in their diet if it's not parasite related. Without knowing what "high quality" food you are feeding (didn't see where you said) I can't make an assessment there. All dog foods are not created equally. Some are full of fillers and meat byproducts which some dogs can do OK on but they are by no means the quality that you get with brands like Fromms, Blue etc. All the protein sources should be real meat and grains are hit or miss. Some dogs and cats are sensitive to them and some aren't but they rarely cause digestive problems. It's typically an allergy that manifests itself in their skin and coat.

I would like to point out that vets are NOT nutritionists by default as any nutritional education is NOT a requirement for becoming a DVM. It is up to the vet to educate themselves and many fall prey to the "prescription diet" companies who give them incentives to sell their crappy pet food. They make a boat load of money off of the prescription crap.

I'm sure any competent vet would have already done a fecal smear and if not - get a new vet pronto. If that all checks out look into a true high quality pet food from a reputable company. You would not be able to find these at Wal-Mart or the big box pet stores. Check your local shelters, kennels etc as they typically sell the good stuff. Fromms is my recommended brand and they have multiple choices in both grain and grain free. They aren't that much more expensive than the crappy food either and is well worth the investment. What some pet owners fail to realize is that the more filler your pet food contains the more food your pet is going to have to consume in order to get the nutrition you need. You will feed them less per day with a high quality food so in the end you actually end up saving money. Fromms uses only the highest quality ingredients, is made in the states and is family owned and I've never had a pet that turned their nose up at any of their formulas.

Your pets gas also is a big indicator of too much protein so check the levels on each "flavor" and try the one with the lowest amount. Dogs that aren't very active don't need much protein to begin with. Follow the recommended feeding guidelines on the bag (even though it seems like a small amount) and give it a week or so. I also highly recommend NOT leaving food down 24/7 - that is unhealthy for any pet. Feed half their recommended volume twice a day and you'll have a happy pet.

Dog food these days may contain all sorts of filler like hairs and bones.
So... Yeah; give table-scraps a try. Just some potatoes/rice/carrots with veg and meat. The plantsy stuff should be well done, and the meaty stuff should be rare (but done enough to not form a health hazard in case of chicken/pork). No added salt necessary.
If that doesn't work, then that doesn't work... But it may be worth a try.

Even the crappy brands do NOT contain hair but FYI - some of the high quality brands contain bones and marrow which is perfectly healthy.

Probably something to do with your "high quality" food, which is mostly grains and shit that dogs barely utilise and 9/10 times have allergies to. Of course your vet wouldn't tell you about this because it means more $£$£$.
Consider a raw diet.

Dogs can utilize grains just fine. It's just that some dogs (and cats) are allergic but that causes skin and coat problems not GI problems. Vets can't tell you what they don't know. Nutrition isn't part of their education.

I think you should loosen the tin foil around your head.

Despite what you might think, most healthcare professionals, vets especially, aren't here to pump money out of you. We are here to help and try to cure people and in this particular case animals.

I beg to differ. Walk into 99% of vets and what do you see on the shelves? That prescription diet crap that I wouldn't feed to my worst enemy even if it meant I got a bunch of kickbacks from the company making it. My dalmatian had to be put down 12 years ago because his vet at the time kept pushing that crap for his constant bladder stones instead of the $12 a month pill that people have been taking for years for the very same problem that PREVENTS them from ever forming. I only found out about it later when I took him to another vet in an attempt to save him. So don't give me that crap buddy.



PS. OP: There's a product sold for pets that you can add to their foods. It's essentially pro-biotics but formulated for them. You can also give that a try if the lower protein food doesn't do the trick.

[Deleted]

We just feed our dogs dry dog food and leftovers which they seem to enjoy, the only thing I've seen them not eat is a whole tomato.

The only time we have used the wet stuff thats more like cat food was when one of them was pregnant and that produced some pretty horrible poops

[Celista]

I am utterly amazed at all the misinformation in this thread. Diarrhea is typically caused by too much protein in their diet if it's not parasite related.

Mhm, a very high-protein diet can be too rich for some dogs. But it's only one cause...if the vet ruled out parvo, parasites, bacteria then it is most likely something the dog is digesting. Stress can also be a cause.