Going to see a specialist today

[Sadies Mom]

After more then 6 months of off and on diarrhea, I am taking Sadie to a specialist today. Hope he can tell me something.....

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

Good luck and fingers crossed for you! I wonder if its a food allergy?? But I guess you have been down that road and back again!

 

[Sadies Mom]

I do believe it is lots of food allergies. I just don't want to experiment anymore. So far I have found she can not have chicken, grains, dairy, peanutbutter and some fruits. I am starting to suspect if the protein source have legs=diarrhea, but I would like to confirm that. I have tried giving her bland diets of rice and hamburger, but she will not eat that at all. I can not wait for the day that I can clean up after her after she goes to the bathroom......

 

[ruthcatrin]

I'm wondering if there's a different connection between all the foods you've tried. I recently ran across a lady who's dog is allergic to corn and soy. Now I know we generally try to avoid those here, but maybe there's something else?

I know you're headed for the specialist, but can you list everything (brand/formula) that you've tried? Again, cause I'm pretty sure you've done it before.

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

Oh dear Good luck I hope it works out for you very soon. I had problems with my Akita (you looked at him wrong and he got sick and the runs) and eventually I put him on a fish and potato kibble and fingers crossed he has been fine! Bear was allergic to EVERYTHING, even his yearly jabs...he almost died in the vets office with that one!! That poor dog spent the first year of his life in the vets and he still loves going!!

 

[musicdeb]

Poor Sadie... Let us know what the specialist says about her allergies. They'll probably do testing. Titan was tested in Germany with a long list of allergens. Raw has helped a lot with his allergies. I know you're not able to do raw. Hopefully, specialist can give you some tips.

 

[Jadotha]

Good luck with the specialist! Hope you get some answers

 

[Duetsche_Doggen]

Wow six months of the brown water.....Hope Sadie is ok and you can find out what's going on.

 

[bellareea320]

Good luck! Hope you find something that will help!!!!

 

[raechiemay]

Wow! Please let us know what happens!

 

[dpenning]

How did it go? Hope you find answers, I know how excited I was when Daisy started having solid poops. It's the little things in life, or in the case os a mastiff, not so little.

 

[Sadies Mom]

Well......I think I need to find someone else. I was told it could be food allergies. DUH They wanted to draw blood and check her pancreatic activity. It could be her body is not breaking down proteins properly. I told them I will hold of on the blood test. I need to think about it to see if I should find a different specialist. I thought I was going to see the dermatologist for a skin scraping, but this was a internal specialist. She sent me home with some de-wormer (could never hurt) and was told not to give her anything other then her kibble for a few weeks. No treats.

---------- Post added at 08:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:45 PM ----------

Wow six months of the brown water.....Hope Sadie is ok and you can find out what's going on.

It has not been brown water the whole time. More pudding like at best

 

[Sadies Mom]

Wow six months of the brown water.....Hope Sadie is ok and you can find out what's going on.

It has not been brown water the whole time. More pudding like at best

 

[ruthcatrin]

Usually if the pancreaus isn't breaking down things right for that period of time your dog is malnurished. Look up EPI to see what I mean. Unless theres a less major version I'm unaware of (possible!).

You can do your own food trial, its just going to be a pain where you've already tried so many things. I vaugly recall you saying that raw's not an option for you but could you do home-made cooked if a nutritionist put together a recipe for you?

Seriously though, can you list everything you've tried? Including treats and edible chews?

 

[raechiemay]

Which specialist did you take her to? I know there's some specialists in grapevine off 114. Don't know if they have an internist there or not

 

[Sadies Mom]

Usually if the pancreaus isn't breaking down things right for that period of time your dog is malnurished. Look up EPI to see what I mean. Unless theres a less major version I'm unaware of (possible!).

You can do your own food trial, its just going to be a pain where you've already tried so many things. I vaugly recall you saying that raw's not an option for you but could you do home-made cooked if a nutritionist put together a recipe for you?


Seriously though, can you list everything you've tried? Including treats and edible chews?

Diamond Large breed puppy (from breeder)
Royal Canine (vets recommendation)
Innova Large Breed Puppy (Did not like it)
Natural Balance Bison & Sweet Potato (did good on it until she got sick in June/July and did not want to eat it after that)
Castor & Pollux Poultry free and grain free (did good on it, but not friendly on the wallet)
Earthborn Great Plains Feast (current food and loose stool at best, almost done with the second bag)
As far as treats she gets for training has consisted of her kibble, hot dogs, frozen carrots, pet botanics lamb and rice or beef and rice (the food that comes in a "sausage tube") and the one we currently using that she seems to do well on is Blue Buffalo Stix Lamb and apple. Other misc treats have been dehydrated sweet potato chips and yams, frozen broccoli, frozen green beans and peanut butter in her Kong. She gets pro-biotics with her breakfast.

She is not malnourished. I think she looks good. You can see some ribs when she is moving and you can easily feel them. She is not acting sick. She has her energy and she is eating and drinking well.

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

Can I make a suggestion? Try fish and potato based kibble if you can and try to stick with it for as long as you can to get her system used to it. I wonder if all the switching around of different brands and ingredients isnt adding to your difficulty. My Akita was terrible with runny poo for the first year and we went from food to food trying to see if one helped better than another. It wasnt until we tried Wafcol Large Breed Salmon and Potato kibble (no meat, gluton, dairy, soy, rice etc) that we finally hit the jack pot! But you do have to be patient and stick with it for a while to see the benefit that it has on their digestive system. His coat also looks amazing, his energy levels are good, no hyper activity, he is smiling and bouncy and his poo's are firm and not smelly (well all poo smells but you know what I mean). You may not be able to get Wafcol in the US but I am sure there will be something that is very close to it. Obviously introduce it slowly over 7-10 days. Good luck, I hope you get to the end of it real soon.

 

[musicdeb]

I'm so sorry about the specialist visit. I know that you are frustrated at most with all the food changes and Miss Sadie's poop issues.

Funny how we watch out dog's poop... I wonder if other breed owners do the same thing.

The adjectives we use to describe the poop is hilarious, pudding... Makes me look at pudding in a new light.

 

[Sadies Mom]

Can I make a suggestion? Try fish and potato based kibble if you can and try to stick with it for as long as you can to get her system used to it. I wonder if all the switching around of different brands and ingredients isnt adding to your difficulty. My Akita was terrible with runny poo for the first year and we went from food to food trying to see if one helped better than another. It wasnt until we tried Wafcol Large Breed Salmon and Potato kibble (no meat, gluton, dairy, soy, rice etc) that we finally hit the jack pot! But you do have to be patient and stick with it for a while to see the benefit that it has on their digestive system. His coat also looks amazing, his energy levels are good, no hyper activity, he is smiling and bouncy and his poo's are firm and not smelly (well all poo smells but you know what I mean). You may not be able to get Wafcol in the US but I am sure there will be something that is very close to it. Obviously introduce it slowly over 7-10 days. Good luck, I hope you get to the end of it real soon.

The food she is on now, I did a slow transition. She did great until we got to a 50/50 mix and that is when the loose stool started and it has been like that ever since. I did the transition over 10 days. I do think she does better on a fish based kibble, and I am thinking about it. I know the food list is extensive. The first two foods she was not on for very long (I don't think I have to say why). When I switched over to Innova, she did not eat any of her meals. She nibbled a little on it and that was it. I switched to Natural Balance cold turkey and her stool was firm after 2 days. After about half of the second bag, she got really sick and had to get IV fluids for 5 days and she did not eat at all. We still don't know if there was something in the food she reacted to or heat exhaustion or what, but that is when I started her on Castor and Pollux, just to see if she would eat something and she loved it. But at $50.00 for a 15 lb bag, and not to mention, it started to get harder to find the food, I switched to Earthborn and that is where we are at today.

 

[Mooshi's Mummy]

Poor you and poor Sadie!! I can see how you must be pulling your hair out, we worry so much about our fur kids that it sends us in a spin sometimes. I dont know what more to say. I think all the swapping back and forth is not helping give her tummy time settle and see how she eventually does with one brand of food. If it were me I would try a very good quality fish and potato based food, the best you can afford, for 3 months. Dont give any treats or additives at all, let her system settle and only have the one food to concentrate on and see how you go from there. If she starts to get fussy after a couple of weeks but her poo is better dont give in to her. Keep strong, she wont starve herself. After 3 months if all is well and you want to give her a bed time biscuit then choose one kind and give at one time per day and see what happens. If she gets a runny bum again then hey presto you know not to give that again etc. Well thats my 2 cents worth....good luck!!