Doggie Diarrhea

Give her a dose of Flagyl and stop feeding her for at least 12 hours. Reintroduce boiled hamburger and rice, in very small amounts. Do not use chicken as it can be part of the issue and does not have the binding qualities that red meat does. Stay on this course until stools firm up. 24 hours after firm stool, slowly reintroduce regular food. If the problem recurs, it's probably the food but also have her re-checked for worms & bacterial infections.

I would get her off the Purina but do it very slowly. Introduce a few pieces of the new food and increase the amount every two days and reduce the old food by same amount. Here is a link to a review of all dog food along with the reasons as to why they received the rating. You can see all the five star dry and canned. Over to the right is a list of reviews of all dog food by brand. The site also list any recalls and you can sign up to receive emails of recalls as soon as they come out.
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/dry/

Without knowing treatments that have been done over the course of the month this has been going on, recommendations here are basically shot gun - hit or miss.

What kind of diagnostics have been done? If she is a toy poodle and on 10 units twice a day (what's her weight?) how good is her glucose control? I'd also be wondering about Cushings disease.

Things you can start to do at home are the probiotics (raindove recommended the yogurt).

With a diabetic, I'd be wondering if the pancreatic exocrine function has stopped as well as insulin production. Perhaps the solution would be to try supplementing digestive enzymes (viokase, pancreazyme), suggest this to your vet if it hasn't been done.

Switching diets repeatedly may create more problems and hinder diagnosis.

PM me if you need to discuss details of a diagnostic or therapeutic plan.

Doug, DVM

Captain_Happy wrote:
The wife and I have been dealing with this problen now for well over a month now. Been to the Vet many times, and have yet to come up with a treatment will stop this problem. Our little girt (toy poodle) is now 12 years old.

I figured this the place to find some answers to our problem.

Have you considered getting a second opinion at another vet? I'm assuming all kinds of tests were done including running fecals to see if she has some kind of internal parasites.

I would assume the vet has checked for parasites as that can cause the problem. The food may be an issue, maybe with age she can not tolerate that food anymore. Try changing to something else - but-- I would give her boiled rice and unseasoned chicken chunks for awhile. That is easy to digest and recommended by many vets when a dog has this problem. Another option given is boiled burger and rice (drop small pieces of burger in boiling water to cook). I would NOT do pumpkin as that is many times used for constipation to loosen the stools. I would also switch from dry kibble to a moist canned food after things ease up. Mix small amounts with the kibble she is used to and gradually increase the amount of wet food until you have switched over. There are many nutritious brands available at the pet stores. You could try the different flavors to see what she likes best. Good luck with this. Hoping it's not the diabetes causing the digestive problems. In people high sugar can cause this exact problem.

Captain_Happy wrote:
The wife and I have been dealing with this problen now for well over a month now. Been to the Vet many times, and have yet to come up with a treatment will stop this problem. Our little girt (toy poodle) is now 12 years old.

I figured this the place to find some answers to our problem.

PEPTO BISMO (TABLETS) - problem solved on mine

YC 1 wrote:
Ditto the white rice and chicken or rice and cottage cheese. Works every time for our dogs.

X2 (or is it 3 now?)

Folks, the suggestions for rice, chicken, cottage cheese, pumpkin, no kibble, no grain yada, yada, yada ... (fill in the blank) may be good for a simple diarrhea. This problem has been going on for over a month while under the care of a veterinarian and is obviously NOT a simple problem easily treated with diet change.

We're doing a disservice to this dog suggesting things without knowing complete history including previous labs and treatments.

What worked for you with your dog with a simple diarrhea isn't necessarily applicable.

I think WandaLust2's suggestion about a second opinion is a valid one. Chronic problems are really frustrating for you (and your vet too). Keep the communications open and going, this is the fastest way to reach a solution.

Doug, DVM

Definitely need more info on what has been checked and what changes, medications or other things have been tried. Food can certainly be a part of the problem or the solution, but you need a complete picture to even discuss that.