Still worried about Zippy's Diarhea

[Kmh1]

I'm getting so frustrated with not being able to get Zippy's poops to firm up. Since he had his intestinal surgery last month, about 95% of the time he has diarhea. I have tried the pumpkin--that actually seemd to help. However, after the second day, he refuses to eat it. The vet suggested giving him Pepcid AC--that has also not helped. He was eating Innova kibble before the accident--he would greedily scarf down anything offered to him--always. He was still like this the first few days home from the hospital, then suddenly went of his food about 10 days ago. Now he is a lot pickier and will barely touch Innova kibble.
Sometimes he will eat food dry now, but I've been feeding him more wet food to get him to eat since he is still recovering and has lost weight. No matter what I feed him he still gets this very very soft smelly poop He had follow up appointment at the hospital last week--of course that day was one of the few days he had normal looking poop . I still explained to the vet what was happening. She suggested weaning him off the pain medicine and trying a different kind when needed. He is now off medicine all together except for once in a while if he seems uncomfortable--the medicine does not seem to make a difference.
I have to call the vet today with an update so I'm hoping she will have some suggestions. Overall, he is bright and energetic and it is a miracle that he is even still here after all he went through--this is just the one thing that worries me. Any other ideas?

 

[cindr]

I'm getting so frustrated with not being able to get Zippy's poops to firm up. Since he had his intestinal surgery last month, about 95% of the time he has diarhea. I have tried the pumpkin--that actually seemd to help. However, after the second day, he refuses to eat it. The vet suggested giving him Pepcid AC--that has also not helped. He was eating Innova kibble before the accident--he would greedily scarf down anything offered to him--always. He was still like this the first few days home from the hospital, then suddenly went of his food about 10 days ago. Now he is a lot pickier and will barely touch Innova kibble.
Sometimes he will eat food dry now, but I've been feeding him more wet food to get him to eat since he is still recovering and has lost weight. No matter what I feed him he still gets this very very soft smelly poop He had follow up appointment at the hospital last week--of course that day was one of the few days he had normal looking poop . I still explained to the vet what was happening. She suggested weaning him off the pain medicine and trying a different kind when needed. He is now off medicine all together except for once in a while if he seems uncomfortable--the medicine does not seem to make a difference.
I have to call the vet today with an update so I'm hoping she will have some suggestions. Overall, he is bright and energetic and it is a miracle that he is even still here after all he went through--this is just the one thing that worries me. Any other ideas?

Hi: A few questions?

Has the dog been checked for worms? All types? Hooks, tapes, round, and whip worms?

Have you changed the dogs diet? If so all you have to do is feed puppy cooked rice and chicken pieces on top of the food. Rice is great when any dog has a loose pooping problem. If that does not work get a small dose of imodiam.

We do not practise veterinarian care here, but have done these areas under the adivisment of our vets. So when you go to your vet discuss this area with him

 

[Kmh1]

Thank you cindr. I took a fecal sample in yesterday and this morning the vet told me everything checked out fine. However, the diarhea is still persistent--kind of a dark brown sludge like consistency several times a day. I am awaiting a call back from the veterinary hospital that treated Zippy after his accident. He was just there 2 weeks ago for a follow up check up--I mentioned the diarhea then and the surgeon though it might be the pain meds and we took him off the Rimadyl--as far as I can tell it made no difference. I also gave him a lot of rice this weekend --still the same--no change at all---his appetite is ok and he is reasonably "bright", but I'm still so worried because of all he has been through
I'll give an update when here back from the veterinary hospital--hopefully within the next couple of hours.

 

[Herschel]

Have you tried pepto bismol? I've used 1/2 of a chewable tablet for my 15lb puppy and it works wonders.

 

[Roxy's CD]

Intestinal surgery? Hmmm... Has your vet said that this should be expected after this type of surgery?

Yes, a dog with the runs is a pain. But if your vet says this is expected, I probably wouldn't start worrying for a few weeks until I was sure the dog was fully healed from the surgery.

 

[bubbatd]

I agree ... the injuries were severe , and I feel it will take a while to get over the trauma . Do keep us posted .

 

[Kmh1]

Well, here's the update. The fecal analysis came back clear. The vet from the hospital called me back and said if he seems to be doing ok in all other respects, she is not overly worried, but to take him to my regular vet if it continues. She said he might need an antibiotic just for intestinal issues (metrindozole???-or something like that???).
Well yesterday was weird. He went in the morning and it was an improvement--still kind of dark, but only slightly soft--by far the most firm he has gone in about 10 days. Then in the afternoon, last evening, and this morning--pretty much the same sludge again
Well I guess we will be doing a vet visit soon. I didn't want to give him pepto or immodium with out knowing what was causing it since it has been kind of long term--I guess I'll see what my regular vet says--I think I can get in on saturday if things have not improved by then. Thank you all so much for the replies and as always any other advice or comments are appreciated!

 

[Jynx]

I wouldn't give him pepto or immodium, as you say, stopping him up could make things worse..(actually I have an aussie who carries the sensitivity gene and normal doses of pepto or immodium could literally kill her)..I normally let my dogs run the course or seek other methods before giving them that stuff..

It very well could be an afterthing from the intestinal surgery. I'd ask your vet about Tylan to..Tylan is usually a powder form, that they say tastes really nasty ) but it's good for long term use with no side effects (altho I'm sure with everything there could be a side effect)

Personally I'd try the Tylan before I used metronadizole. just my opinion..
Hope it clears up soon
Diane

 

[Kmh1]

Thank you Jynx--I'll ask the vet about the Tylan

 

[suenez]

Not to sound nosey, but what was the intestinal surgery for? My dog had intestinal surgery about a month ago for a blockage. He too has diarrhea, but had it for months before the blockage (already wrote previous forum message). Anyway, yesterday we finally were able to diagnose the cause of the diarrhea as Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Eosinophilic and Lymphoplasmacytic (he has food allergies, Mordi you were right). So he is now on a special diet, prednisone, pepcid (to counteract ulcer effect of Prednisone), and Hydroxyzine (for allergies). Have they suggested food allergies to you? Sometimes after trauma the animal can develop the allergy even to food that may have never bothered them before.

 

[wilford]

I'm getting so frustrated with not being able to get Zippy's poops to firm up. Since he had his intestinal surgery last month, about 95% of the time he has diarhea. I have tried the pumpkin--that actually seemd to help. However, after the second day, he refuses to eat it. The vet suggested giving him Pepcid AC--that has also not helped. He was eating Innova kibble before the accident--he would greedily scarf down anything offered to him--always. He was still like this the first few days home from the hospital, then suddenly went of his food about 10 days ago. Now he is a lot pickier and will barely touch Innova kibble.
Sometimes he will eat food dry now, but I've been feeding him more wet food to get him to eat since he is still recovering and has lost weight. No matter what I feed him he still gets this very very soft smelly poop He had follow up appointment at the hospital last week--of course that day was one of the few days he had normal looking poop . I still explained to the vet what was happening. She suggested weaning him off the pain medicine and trying a different kind when needed. He is now off medicine all together except for once in a while if he seems uncomfortable--the medicine does not seem to make a difference.
I have to call the vet today with an update so I'm hoping she will have some suggestions. Overall, he is bright and energetic and it is a miracle that he is even still here after all he went through--this is just the one thing that worries me. Any other ideas?

That sounds strange..Your Zippy might have eaten rotten food or something that is hard to digest, that's why..

I would suggest that you would be keen enough with regards to your dog's diet..

 

[Kmh1]

The intestinal surgery was from injuries from being hit by a car. I have other threads that have a lot more details about that. I suppose allergies are always a possibility.
The vet last Saturday put him on metrinadozole, carafate and pecid AC. She thinks he is out of whack from all the meds after his accident. He is also on a special wet food provided by the vet. He has shown improvement after several days on this regimen. Still not 100% back to normal, but defintely an improvement. the meds are almost finished--I'm curious to see if he will continue to improve. I have to call the vet tomorrow with an update and see what she wants me to do from here. Thank you all again for the insights and advice!

 

[wilford]

That sounds strange..Your Zippy might have eaten rotten food or something that is hard to digest, that's why..

I would suggest that you would be keen enough with regards to your dog's diet..



I hope that Zippy is ok right now..By that, you are already aware on how to take good care of your pet dog's health..Be aware and vigillant of its proper diet..

 

[Kmh1]

Hi Wilford, yes, I am very careful with my dogs' diet. I try and research and do whats best for them---I feed a high quality food (usually Innova) and try to be very aware of what they have. Zippy as just been a bit of a challenge these past few weeks because of his recovery. The past 2 days I eased from the veterinary canned diet back to his kibble. He has been doing fairly well with that--still not perfect but much better. He is through with his medication, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed all stays well.....It would be nice if he gains back the 2 1/2 lbs he has lost since the accident

 

[for_dogs_sake]

Have you tried raw feeding?
Google the terms 'raw feeding' 'barf' and 'prey model diet'

Ralphie has had a problem with diarrhea since we got him, we tried all different things but nothing helped. We started feeding a biologically appropriate diet and now he NEVER gets it! His poops are still softer than Hannibals but no diarrhea! Never found out what the cause was but now we don't need to know, perhaps with your pooch it may have something to do with the surgery.
Have you asked about that yet? Let us know what he says anyway
We have been feeding ours raw for a good few weeks now and the benefits are amazing!:hail:

 

[Kmh1]

Hi Everybody

Just wanted to give a quick update for anyone following Zippy's story. He is doing GREAT! About a week ago I transitioned him from Innova kibble and wet food (he was refusing kibble for quite awhile) to just Canidae kibble. He is done all his medications and took to the Canidae wonderfully has had all firm stools for almost a solid week!!! i also started giving him a bit of missing link powdered supplement--he will eat it right out of my hand He is eating better than he has in a month and is gaining back most of what he lost during his ordeal. As far his pelvis and recovery from intestinal surgery-- a little over 8 week after the accident he is running again! He even jumped up on the couch last night. I couldn't be happier. I tell him everyday how happy I am that he is here!!!! Thanks again for all the replies and support.