# Puppy has Persistent Diarrhea..



## Lola45 (Jul 22, 2011)

Hi all just wondering if anyone would have some insight on what might be going on with my Lola... I got my pup at age 7 weeks, at the end of July. She is 14 weeks old now. 

The day after picking her up, the diarrhea started, pudding like, not runny. I chalked it up to the stress of leaving her litter. She had no other symptoms and was full of energy and doing well otherwise. I watched it for a few days then went to the vet. 

The vet tested and diagnosed it as Clostridium and said it's easily treated. He prescribed antibiotics and probiotics. We put her on a diet of rice, chicken and pumpkin. She recovered very quickly and was transitioned back to her regular food. Her meds were finished in a week and within days, the diarrhea returned. 

Back to the vet again and Lola was again prescribed antiobiotics, this time Tylosin for two weeks. I immediately noticed an improvement in her stool and she tolerated the medicine well. Two weeks past, I stopped the antibiotics, and within days the diarrhea is back, same pudding type. She is not seeming sick in any other way but it is perplexing why this isn't getting resolved.

I am reluctant to put her back on antibiotics and wondered if anyone had other suggestions on how to handle Clostridium? The vet said the last time that if this didn't do it, it may be a malabsorption issue (not sure what treatment for that would require). I am new to this, and of course am a little wary of all the meds, tests, etc.. any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated.


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## chelle (Feb 1, 2009)

?? How stressful, I'm sure... What about a food change?


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## WVGSD (Nov 28, 2006)

The Tylosin powder (Tylan) is a treatment for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth or SIBO. It is a form of inflammatory bowel disease. My rescued adult GSD was found to have this and now takes Tylan daily in an empty gelatin capsule that I fill myself. The Tylan powder is horribly bitter and some dogs won't eat food with it voluntarily. I have tapered Max, my GSD, from a 1/4 teaspoon dose twice daily to 1/8 teaspoon once daily and he is stable. 

After his rescue/adoption, the diarrhea started when he was off of antibiotics for the kennel cough that he had. The diarrhea started and I assumed that he had food intolerances. The diarrhea continued and I kept changing foods (kibble varieties). I finally decided to give Tylan powder a try, discussed this with my vet and, once Max got it, no more diarrhea. He has not had diarrhea since the Memorial Day weekend and he has finished gaining the weight that he needed to as well. 

Some dogs need to stay on a low dose of Tylan for many months or even years. When it works, the stuff is wonderful. As an aside, I will also suggest a kibble such as Purina Pro Plan's Sensitive Skin and Stomach which is fish/salmon-based and uses rice and oatmeal as the carbohydrates. There are several GSDs on this forum, including mine, that have SIBO issues and do well on this particular kibble. I am sure that other individuals may suggest others and that may be a process that you need to go through in order to stabilize your dog. There are also some very good limited ingredient diets (kibble) available on the market now such as those made by Natural Balance and these are very good too. A limited ingredient diet is often a good choice when you may have food intolerances as these kibbles limit their use to one protein and one carbohydrate rather than having several in the mix of the kibble formula. 

If I can help, please let me know.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

What is your pup's regular food?

Have you tried probiotics?


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

I agree...try a probiotic as well.

I have to ask as well...what are you feeding your puppy? 

I'll tell you my story about my GSD puppy. I got my puppy at 8 weeks old. She also had diarrhea issues...took her to the vet several times but they couldn't find anything. They did give her some antibiotics, but after I stopped them the diarrhea returned. I fed pumpkin, boiled chicken and rice and nothing helped or it was a temporary fix. One day I was talking to the lady who ran the doggie day care I was taking my dog too (she was about 11 months old at this time) and I was telling her that my dog had issues with diarrhea. She asked me what I was feeding and I told her I was feeding Blue Buffalo Chicken and Rice. She suggested to me that I start feeding a fish based food instead of chicken. She told me about her GSD that had a sensitive stomach and he couldn't tolerate chicken products. So I figured what the heck...I switched her to Blue Buffalo Basics Salmon and Potato dry food. Within a couple of days the diarrhea stopped and she hasn't had problems since. So it might be a food sensitivity as well. 

Good luck and keep us posted.


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## Lola45 (Jul 22, 2011)

Wow, thanks so much for the valuable information. The breeder was feeding her Purina Pro Plan for pups. Then when we saw the vet he suggested Medi Cal Gastro for Pups. That worked really well for her but we transitioned her back to her regular food. 
She was fine on this food while taking the Tylosin but I was wondering if it's just not the best food for her. I am putting her back on the Tylosin tonight as it seemed to work so well for her and had also read that she could be on it for a long time if necessary. 
I was wondering about probiotics and will give that a try as well. The fish based food sounds like a must to try too. Hopefully that will do the trick. She is a little on the skinny side so I will try this asap. 
Should I transition the food slowly or right away given her upset tummy? 
Thanks again for your suggestions


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

I wouldn't go to the Tylan long term right away with a puppy. I would try a different food first. Transition very slowly and keep adding the pumpkin. 

Get a probiotic from the refrigerated section of the health food store. Those are usually the best. 

I have some other suggestions but I would try the food change first. That may just be the wrong food for her. 

Also, has the vet been checking for giardia? That can be really hard to get rid of.


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## Lola45 (Jul 22, 2011)

Ok I will try the food transition and will hold off on the tylosin to see how she responds to the food change first. I didn't know I could use people probiotics, and here I had a full bottle in my fridge! Will give that a try as well. She was clear on the giardia. thanks so much...


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

Definitely try the food transition slowly. No reason to totally upset her system. Also, if in the future she does have a bout of diarrhea again, use cooked ground beef (with all the fat drained off) and rice instead of the boiled chicken. I know I used that and it worked much better than the chicken did.


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## s14roller (Nov 18, 2010)

For what it's worth, I dealt with diarrhea on and off for quite some time as well. She's almost 8 months now and I "think" we have a handle on it now. 

I agree that it might be the food. Get her stool tested for any parasites if not already done so. Giadia seems to be one everyone talks about. A blood panel would help determine if it's anything further. 

For mine, it appears it was the food. After 2 bags of Wellness LBP, and then trying Innova, nothing seemed to work. My vet kept wanting to try IAMs low residue (vet formula) and while I was hesitant due to the ingredients, I would try anything at that point. Well, she's had about 3 weeks of solid stool so far (she would only have about 1 week solid before), so I think this has done the trick. 

I will be transitioning her off this food in the next week and while ppl say to do it over 7 days, I will aim more for 10-14 days just in case. I'll probably try Purina Proplan Sensitive Skin and Stomach first (Salmon based). It sounds like a lot of ppl on this forum had used it with great results. After that, I'll see if she can tolerate something a bit higher grade.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

For the people whose dogs have food sensitivities: 

Consider trying raw food. Rafi cannot handle ANY kibble but does great on raw.


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## Lola45 (Jul 22, 2011)

Just an update on Lola and the ongoing diarrhea...I have now fully transitioned her to a limited ingredient, fish and sweet potato food. Her diarrhea has completely stopped and stools are normal. She is gaining weight and doing really well. No Tylosin!! We had tried a number of different foods but I guess it must be the limited ingredients or no grain...anyways, thanks so much for all your help. My puppy is happy and healthy now!


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