Doggie Diarrhea

I've read all the replys and they all make sense. There is no one answer to this problem without knowing all the facts and test resultes.

Thanks to everyone for the information you've given us.

FWIW....I see a lot of folks suggesting chicken. A few weeks ago I posted a problem with our 10-11 year old Pit Bull losing weight, had diarrhea and rumbling gas. The Vet thought maybe a chicken allergy. It seemed too simple of a remedy for the problem but I made the change. I was feeding Blue Buffalo,(chicken) with a little boiled chicken mixed in. The Vet gave him a ten day medication for the diarrhea and I switched to Basic Balanced Diet, sweet potato & bison and stopped all chicken. So far he's gaining back the weight and no more diarrhea. I hope it continues. The stomach rumblings in the Rottweiler had also stopped. Will take him back next week for a check up.........
.......For what it's worth.... Good luck..

The only thing worse than a dog with an on-going diarrhea issue is multiple dogs with diarrhea. It gets old real fast.

I too, would seek a second opinion to try to pinpoint the cause.

Dr. Doug gave excellent advice on things to check related to the diabetes issue.

As far as diet, I think you have to find what works for your dog and stick with it. I was never a fan of changing foods. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

As far as the hamburger versus chicken -- I was doing the hamburger for my old boy and he wasn't tolerating it. Chicken worked for him. Every dog is different - just like people.

OP: How is your girly doing? Since the original post was July 4, I'm assuming you havent' had her back to the vet yet. I would be interested to hear what the solution is when the vet figures out what is going on.

If regular meds have not helped your dog, and the diarrhea has been going on for a while, you might seek the help of a specialist. They might do specialized tests to rule out more serious issues like IBD (inflammatory bowel disease). They might do a colonoscopy and specialized imaging to look for other issues. Then they can prescribe a special diet and medications specifically for the problem. We did this with one of our dogs once that had constant loose stools. That way you know exactly what is causing the constant diarrhea. Hope this helps you.

I had a diabetic dog for five years, I would not hesitate to ever get a second opinion.
There is always very good advice on this site but much of it may not be helpful for your pup.
I had on occasion done the chicken/rice or burger/rice boiled but I never gave my diabetic dog white rice, way to high in carbs for him, I always used brown rice as it's a complex carb. He tolerated it very well and it did help with his diarrhea but that does not mean it will help you dog.
Twelve is not necessarily an end of life time either but how long has your pup been diabetic?
I wish I could offer more but you need to work more with a vet than with online sources no matter how much we all would love to be able to help you.
Good luck and please keep us updated.

Sher

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is good advice when it ain't broke, but if the dog is having ongoing diarhhea, something clearly IS broken here. Food can be a real irritant and the dog having eaten a given food "for years" is not evidence that the food isn't the problem. Many food allergies develop after years of exposure. Also, we know that manufacturers change recipes or ingredient sources and don't say a word to anyone. So the same brand and variety is not necessarily the same food that it was two months ago. It only takes ONE ingredient that disagrees to cause complete GI chaos.

If other issues (giardia and other parasites, organ issues and so on) do not explain the situation, then if a food change hasn't been tried, it is certainly appropriate to try that. Moving to a protein the dog hasn't had before and a carb source that's also different (such as sweet potato) is not only practical these days, it's easy to do. Dog foods.... really really tasty dog foods... made with novel/limited (fewer ingredients means fewer opportunities for allergic reactions)ingredients abound in every pet store. I'm not saying make fifteen food changes, but the OP's reply seems to indicate that hasn't been tried and if it hasn't, it's time to look at that.

Code2High wrote:
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is good advice when it ain't broke, but if the dog is having ongoing diarhhea, something clearly IS broken here. Food can be a real irritant and the dog having eaten a given food "for years" is not evidence that the food isn't the problem. Many food allergies develop after years of exposure. Also, we know that manufacturers change recipes or ingredient sources and don't say a word to anyone. So the same brand and variety is not necessarily the same food that it was two months ago. It only takes ONE ingredient that disagrees to cause complete GI chaos.

If other issues (giardia and other parasites, organ issues and so on) do not explain the situation, then if a food change hasn't been tried, it is certainly appropriate to try that. Moving to a protein the dog hasn't had before and a carb source that's also different (such as sweet potato) is not only practical these days, it's easy to do. Dog foods.... really really tasty dog foods... made with novel/limited (fewer ingredients means fewer opportunities for allergic reactions)ingredients abound in every pet store. I'm not saying make fifteen food changes, but the OP's reply seems to indicate that hasn't been tried and if it hasn't, it's time to look at that.

Agreed!

Any update on how the dog is doing?