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Constant Diarrhea!

Sweet Winnie has had recurring diarrhea pretty much every month we've had her (since December). She's been on Metronidazle three times now to stop it, but then it always comes back. I've taken in a stool sample (nothing found), and most recently we did a blood test (nothing found). I guess the next step is to change her diet before we move on with more testing. She seems to be fine other than that. She eats everything in the yard (including her own stool) so I thought maybe it was something she was eating outside, but wouldn't they have found that in the stool sample or blood test? We got her at 10 months from the breeder who was feeding her Royal Canin Mini Puppy, so we continued that and then switched over to Royal Canin Mini Adult. Does anyone have any advice on a good dry food for sensitive tummies?

Any other thoughts?
 
Royal Canin has a dry food for sensitive stomachs. You can also try giving her a teaspoon of pure pumpkin. That should help firm up her stools. She may be allergic to an ingredient in her food......there are lots of grain free foods out there too.
 
Is Winnie on any heartworm preventative? Since you mentioned it reoccurs every month I am assuming it comes and then goes. I know that some dogs can be sensitive to certain heartworm medicines. Hope you find the source, poor Winnie.
 
Sounds like a food allergy or at least intolerence. I have had a lot of success with plain canned pumpkin added to Fletcher's food when he has had bouts of runny poop. I feed Wellness brand, they do have a line of limited ingretient foods it might help you identify the source of Winnie's issue. Remember to switch foods slowly.
 
She is on Trifexis for Heartworm prevention. If I don't give it with food, she will throw it up, but seems to be fine if I give with food. I haven't paid attention to see when it starts each month in relation to the heart worm medication, but I will now. I'm going to get her the sensitive tummy food today and see if that makes a difference, too. Thanks all!
 
If I were you, I would also consider giving a probiotic supplement with their food. It works great for mine. I'm in the States and some brands I love are Nature's Farmacy Digestive Enhancer, Wholistic Pet Digest All Plus.
 
Hi
I have baby with sensitive tum on Royal Canon but she has multiple allergies. I have found Pro Kolin sometimes settles it and firms her up.
 
This can be a really frustrating problem. Some cavaliers seem to be prone to digestive problems and they certainly can be more likely in dogs (or cats) under a year old; often it improves or goes away entirely as they mature.

Have you ever tried an alternative dry to RC? I have cats that get the runs on some RC cat foods.

I'm not a big fan of feeding only dry food and feel there's pretty good evidence that a dry-only diet limits the development of a good range of stomach bacteria, which helps manage digestion.

I'd consider trying her on a premade, commercial raw diet just to see if it makes a difference after a few days or weeks. I know of a lot of dogs where it has, and completely turned around one of my elderly cats who had suffered most of her life with poor stools and had over time become quite listless and thin. I switched her to raw and within 24 hours she had the first truly solid, normal stool she had had in years. My vets had thought she was probably beyond help.

At the very least I'd get her off the Royal Canin and look for a diet that has ingredients that do not tend to cause problems (for sensitive stomachs) -- an unusual protein source like duck, fish, or turkey or venison, not chicken or beef. No grains, no soy, no colouring, no artificial additives. RC is an OK food but all their foods have so-so protein sources and some ingredients that can cause reactions (eg corn). Or try half a new dry, and half raw.

If this doesn't help you may be looking at trying food elimination diets under vet guidance to see if she has an intolerance or allergy. An intolerance is more likely with diarrhoea, I would think.
 
Did your vet check for giardia? Bosco had it as a pup, and it took months to go away. The diarrhea was almost constant -- would get better, then worse. Took a couple of rounds of antibiotics to clear up as well. I remember the vet telling me not to let him poop in our yard and to be careful about eating poop during this time. Something about it being cyclical.
 
She eats everything in the yard (including her own stool) so I thought maybe it was something she was eating outside, but wouldn't they have found that in the stool sample or blood test?
Not necessarily. Whatever she is eating could be irritating the lining of her intestines or stomach. Our Sophie had Giardia that took forever to clear up. As a puppy, bully sticks were too rich for her. After she chewed down three inches, I would have to distract her with a toy and take it away for the day.

Her Nylabone chew toy also caused some horrendous diarrhea. She was such a strong chewer that she must have ingested small bits of that nylon. Once I tossed that, we had no more diarrhea again.

We don't have a fenced in yard, but she managed to eat all sorts of mulch (her favorite!) along the curb, and other wonderful goodies, when we walked around the neighborhood with Sophie on a leash. She is a ground hoover, although she does ~much~ better now that she is an adult. (but not perfect :yuk:)
 
I'm sure everyone is aware and are careful, but please remember that some mulches can be poisonous to dogs. Just an fyi....:)
 
Wow - I just looked up my post again and see all of the fantastic suggestions! Thank you everyone. UPDATE: I switched her over to Nutro Naturals Ultra which is lamb, peas and potatoes only. No grains and gluten free. That was like magic. Her stools were the best I've ever seen them. So we went about three months with normal stools before it started again. The Metronidazle didn't seem to help much this time. A little, but didn't totally clear it up and I don't want to keep her on it every single month. I'm going to try getting rid of our Nylabones and see if that makes a difference. She gets Blue Bones as treats, but those have no chicken or anything in them so I thought they were ok. Maybe they are too rich for her. I'm also going to try a probiotic - great idea. Thank you all - love having this community as a resource!
 
One of my dogs had this trouble and multiple allergies now feed Royal Cabin Sensitivity control (no grains) and freeze it in single portions. Protein pro kolin is quite good as is their pro fibre to bulk up.No quick fix just trial and error but persevere.
 
I would remove the Blue Bones * and* the NylaBones from her diet, before making any other changes.
 
I'd agree to remove any edible treats -- the problem may well be something in the treats. Dogs don't actually need treats of course :) -- though they love them -- and in any kind of elimination diet treats should go.

Many people find switching to a raw diet resolves the problem.
 
Thanks everyone. I've had her on a probiotic for about 5-6 days now and her stool was as runny as it's ever been this morning. Every once in a while (last night) it was pretty solid, so I get my hopes up. Does anyone know about how long those take to start working? I'll give it a bit more and then try the raw diet as Karlin suggested. Thanks again everyone. I'll keep you posted.
 
Is Winnie allowed to roam the yard by herself, or is she taken outdoors only on a leash? If she's not on a leash, she still might be eating something on the ground that is irritating her intestines.

Has her stool been cultured by the veterinarian?
 
Is Winnie allowed to roam the yard by herself, or is she taken outdoors only on a leash? If she's not on a leash, she still might be eating something on the ground that is irritating her intestines.

That's a great question. I would only walk Winnie on a leash, until you get to the bottom of this. Bosco has a super sensitive tummy, and we went through some strange bouts of diarrhea in his first year. Since then, we do not feed him dog treats period. His food is consistent (Blue Buffalo Small Breed dry with a little wet mixed in), with some flax seeds thrown in from time to time. If he is not watched he will eat the poop of Sadie and Boop (my chins), and that is guaranteed to cause loose stools.

I hope you figure out what is going on.
 
My little guy started having loose stool at about 4 months. We tried everything and the only thing that seemed to help was pumpkin, but as soon as I stopped the pumpkin the loose stool came back.

After treatment for giardia (which the test was always negative, but treated him anyway) and a bland diet, he still was having loose stool. Finally after 9 months and four types of food, we figured out it was chicken and possibly over feeding. Switched to Merrick Grain Free Beef and lowered his daily amount. After about 2 weeks, magic! Solid stool.

We only have issues now if we give anything with chicken, so we have to be diligent about reading the ingredients.

It took roughly a year of trying everything under the sun, but we finally had success. Good luck!
 
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