Kara is a bit poopy...

roguegeek

roguegeek

New Member
Kara, who is 25 weeks old today, has been having a bit of diarrhea problem for the last month. Let me give you the run down. I started her on Blue Buffalo back when we first got her at 8 weeks and she immediately had diarrhea from it. From the recommendations I was given and the research I did, I switched to Nature's Variety Instinct chicken kibble and the diarrhea immediate cleared up. She's been on it all this time since then with the exception of one week where we had to bored her and they used a different grain-free kibble.

About a month ago, we had our first bout with the mud butt. It was an explosive diarrhea that was extremely watery. We waiting one day, hoping it would clear up, but ended up taking her to the vet the day after as it didn't get any better. They did fecal scans and checked for all of the normal stuff that you would check for and treated her with antibiotics while we waited for test results. It all came back negative and her poop butt went away after 4 days. The vet told us that she probably just ate something that upset her stomach and that it's pretty normal for some dogs to get diarrhea after a rain because they'll drink or eat more stuff from the ground and bushes (we had a bit of a rain right before she got sick that time).

The second time was a week later and it followed the exact same circumstances. Big rain, dog gets sick. Explosive diarrhea. Take her in. Antibiotics are given and tests are done. Tests come back negative. Doc and I figure it's just the rain again. This time I give her some canned pumpkin, chicken, and rice. The poopy butt goes away again.

This last time started about a week ago and we immediately went into the pumpkin, chicken, and rice since it worked so well last time. No vet visit this time. The diarrhea cleared up in a day and all was good, but we decided to have her finish the pumpkin, chicken, and rice that we had already cooked. When we started weening her back onto the kibble that's she's eaten forever, the diarrhea immediately came back yesterday morning.

Ok, story done. So what do you guys think? From the pattern, we are starting to think it's her normal kibble, but I'm hesitant to change it out because she did so well with it from week 9 to week 21. I'm sure it's possible, but is it normal for a food to work well for a while and then not work at all anymore? Do you think it's time to change her kibble? Is it time for another vet visit?

Oh, one thing to mention is that even though Kara has these three bouts with the mud butt, her demeanor has not changed at all. She has not lethargic in any way at all. She's been a very happy puppy through it all. Lots of playing and learning and socializing.

Thoughts? Feedback?
 
Well, as someone who has had my share of diarrhea buts in all three of my Dobermans lately, my bet would be that her gut is irritated and she keeps having flare ups of colitis, which would explain the repeat diarrhea. The treatment is Flagyl (Metranidizole is the generic) which is what you have been on and a Low residue or bland diet. There might be several more flare ups over the course of a few weeks as the colon settles down.....and that is normal.

How much time did you take in switching her back to her kibble? You will have to go really slow (like over two weeks time) if it is colitis because if you go too quickly it can throw you back into a pattern of diarrhea again. It is possible that it might be the food. Sometimes it takes them a while to start reacting to a food they are sensitive to. If you switch foods again, you run into the issue of the diarrhea starting back up so I would switch her after she has been on a bland diet for a few weeks and is diarrhea free. I would also add pre and probiotics to her food daily. Eagle Pack makes a great transitioning powder, which is just a high end pre-probiotic powder. It is called Holistic transition. I have used it for colitis with much success. I would use that if you switch foods, but then change over to another probio to use daily after that. I use First Choice Naturals 4 in 1 Probiotics which is highly recommended.

It is also possible that her gut is messed up from the prolonged antibiotic use. Probios would hep with that too. If the diarrhea continues, talk to your vet about treating her with Diawin tablets, or Kaopectate.

Good luck! Hope she feels better.
 
Lots of stuff to look into there. We old spent a day or so getting her back on her normal kibble, so that sounds like it was way too fast. Help me define "bland diet". Is the mixture of pumpkin, boiled chicken, and rice good for this?
 
roguegeek said:
Help me define "bland diet". Is the mixture of pumpkin, boiled chicken, and rice good for this?
Click to expand...
Yes, anything like that is perfect. Yogurt is another one that can help a lot after antibiotics since it balances their flora out again.

I've had quite a few experiences with diarrhea when our pups were under a year old with their sensitive tummies, but it does get much better as they mature.
 
roguegeek said:
Lots of stuff to look into there. We old spent a day or so getting her back on her normal kibble, so that sounds like it was way too fast. Help me define "bland diet". Is the mixture of pumpkin, boiled chicken, and rice good for this?
Click to expand...
I second Jan's response.

The rice and boiled chicken is good for a bland diet if you don't mind cooking for her. Adding the pumpkin is great too, but don't go overboard with it as too much can cause issues too. Also a limited ingredient single protein single carb kibble would work if you don't want to cook. Wellness simple chicken and potato is a good one and is comparative to Hill's Prescrpition diet i/d, but is a much better food. We feed the fish/potato to our Archer who requires an LD diet for allergies/IBS.

One day was way too fast to transition her, which explains the flare up. You want to start out the transition with 1/4 new food 3/4 old food and increase the ratio after a few days. I use this method with success....

Day 1-4: 1/4 new to 3/4 old
Day 4-8: 1/2 new to 1/2 old
Day 8-14: 3/4 new to 1/4 old
Day 14: 100% new food.
 
Nature's Variety is really good stuff so to me it sounds like upset gut from the antibiotics and flare ups. Dealt with that after Java had her surgery to remove her mast cell tumors when she was 3. Some probiotics and bland diet really helped with getting her stomach back to normal and bringing the good bacteria back in check. Hope your girl feels better soon!
 
Archer said:
I second Jan's response.

The rice and boiled chicken is good for a bland diet if you don't mind cooking for her. Adding the pumpkin is great too, but don't go overboard with it as too much can cause issues too. Also a limited ingredient single protein single carb kibble would work if you don't want to cook. Wellness simple chicken and potato is a good one and is comparative to Hill's Prescrpition diet i/d, but is a much better food. We feed the fish/potato to our Archer who requires an LD diet for allergies/IBS.

One day was way too fast to transition her, which explains the flare up. You want to start out the transition with 1/4 new food 3/4 old food and increase the ratio after a few days. I use this method with success....

Day 1-4: 1/4 new to 3/4 old
Day 4-8: 1/2 new to 1/2 old
Day 8-14: 3/4 new to 1/4 old
Day 14: 100% new food.
Click to expand...
This!^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
And keep adding the plain yogurt to get her gut back in order probiotics wise,just a tablespoon per feeding will help.
 
Alright, so chicken, rice, and a little bit of yogurt is what's happening now. She has had one poop today and it was fairly solid, so I'm going to keep with this diet for a couple of weeks before we start introducing her back to her old food.

Archer said:
I second Jan's response.
The rice and boiled chicken is good for a bland diet if you don't mind cooking for her. Adding the pumpkin is great too, but don't go overboard with it as too much can cause issues too. Also a limited ingredient single protein single carb kibble would work if you don't want to cook. Wellness simple chicken and potato is a good one and is comparative to Hill's Prescrpition diet i/d, but is a much better food.
Click to expand...

I can't seem to find this specific kibble you are talking about. Can you link me? Thanks!
 
Our local chain grocery store carries a lot of it in the organic section, and some in the dairy dept as well. I believe keiffer will do the same thing and that's also in the organic section, but it may be a bit pricier.
 
Was checking out the simple kibble you were recommending, but I don't seem to see it. I see others like salmon and turkey, but not the chicken and potatoes. Would the turkey/potatoes or salmon/potatoes be a good solution for her simple, bland diet for a while? I would still add in the yogurt, I assume.
 
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roguegeek said:
Was checking out the simple kibble you were recommending, but I don't seem to see it. I see others like salmon and turkey, but not the chicken and potatoes. Would the turkey/potatoes or salmon/potatoes be a good solution for her simple, bland diet for a while? I would still add in the yogurt, I assume.
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Sorry, I thought there was a chicken :)

The fish and potato is actually a better LID as the protein is easier to digest, which results in less work for the GI system :) The turkey would be fine too as long as she's not allergic.
It's a great food! The Wellness brand is fantastic and highly rated.

Yes, you can still add the youghurt.
 
So a quick update. We have solid poops! She's currently on a mixture of the Wellness Simple Salmon and Potatoes kibble, a tablespoon of yogurt, and some shredded boiled chicken. We originally made a lot of the chicken thinking she'd be on it for a while and are just trying to get through it for the next couple of days. Eventually it will just be the kibble and yogurt, then just the kibble.

Question: In thinking long term, should I be looking to get her back on the Nature's Variety Instinct kibble using the transition method you all listed above, or is the Wellness Simple kibble something healthy enough to be using long term and during all of these puppy years? The reason I'm asking is because when we originally did our research for a kibble, the Instinct was very highly rated and recommended on the forum and was also backed up by the rating from here. The rating on that same site for the Simple is slightly lower. Thoughts?
 
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The rating on the Wellness Simple is slightly lower because it is considered a LID and does not offer what a non LID diet can due to it's restrictions. It is a food you can feed throughout puppyhood, but I suggested it just as something to feed her while you were feeding a bland diet so you wouldn't have to keep cooking for her. I personally would switch her back to a puppy food or an all life stages food once her diarrhea subsides. You could go back to what you were feeding before. That depends on what you want to feed.
 
Update. Kara has been having very solid, healthy poops. She's currently just having the Wellness Simple Salmon/Potatoes kibble and that's it. Thanks to everyone for helping us get back to this point.

So the question becomes when do I start the two week transition from the Wellness Simple back to her Instinct. I would like to start it right away, but I want to get your opinions on that before I do. Should I wait a little longer or should I start the slow transition?
 
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