Dog diarrhea problems.

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh, sorry to hear that Max is still having issues with diarrhea!

I am pleased, however to hear that he is gaining weight at a good rate. This is probably a sign that there is nothing terribly serious going on.

I think your vet's plan is a reasonable one. He responded to metronidazole before, but perhaps he was not on a long enough course. Are they going longer this time? It is possible that he has a bacteria such as clostridium or salmonella that needs a longer course of antibiotics in order to clear up.

In my opinion Iams is a great food...but I do think it is a good idea to put him on i/d for a while. I/d is really easy on a dog's digestive tract and it will help cut down on any inflammation that's there.

Have you talked to your vet about doing a diarrhea panel at the lab? I think we talked about that last time - They can send a stool sample to do some DNA tests to look for unusual parasites or bacteria. In my practice it costs about $150. It's a little pricey but in the long run if it gives us an answer then it's worthwhile to do it!

It sounds like you are on the right track. I have had a number of cases like this in puppies and they almost always get back to normal but it can take some time.

Let me know if you have more concerns regarding your question. I'm heading out of the office shortly, so if I don't answer right away I'll check in on you later.

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

It definitely doesn't sound normal to me. This is a case where I would be running a diarrhea panel. There are some parasites that are hard to pick up on a fecal exam and need special medications to get rid of...for example coccidia or whipworms.

It's kind of frustrating that he's been on metronidazole for 10 days now and still has soft stools. Did you change his food to the i/d? If not, this is definitely a good idea.

Another thing I have done with some dogs with problems like this is a short course of a medication called tylosin which is another type of antibiotic that often helps when we don't know what is going on.

I hope he is feeling better soon!

Dr. Marie.

Dr. Marie replied:

Well I'm glad to hear that he is having some normal stools! There are different types of diarrhea panels, but I do believe most of them are best to run on diarrhea. You will have to have your vet check with the lab that they use to determine what is best.

I am wondering why he has so many stools. It will be interesting to see if this changes once he is on the i/d.

Let me know how things work out!

Dr. Marie.

Dr. Marie replied:

It definitely won't hurt him to be on i/d for even a couple of months if need be (but hopefully he won't have to be.)

If Max has a short nose and legs it's likely just the way he is and not related to his food at all.