# Digestive Issues - Help!



## evybear15 (Mar 28, 2011)

Looking for some advice/tips/help in general. My 6 month old GSD has had digestive issues off and on for a while. We've tried switching him over to a grain-free food, taking him off his current vitamin in case he's sensitive to the cheese base that it has, supplementing with raw chicken, taking him off raw chicken, etc. Everything has been done gradually so as to not make matters worse, but he just never seems to stay healthy for terribly long.

He has to go in for his mandatory rabies shot in a week or so here, so I'm going to have his vet check a stool sample to make sure he hasn't picked up worms again. I'm just not sure what to do at this point. We've ordered probiotics for him to see if that helps out, and we try to feed him bits of his dog food during his training sessions in case the treats are just too much for him to handle. Nothing really seems to be making a huge impact, and I just feel awful for him since he seems to be sick every couple of days. No vomiting - just diarrhea, but usually there are solid movements sporadically as well... Unfortunately, stores do not seem to be carrying pumpkin any more (aside from the pie mix), so I haven't been able to give that to him.

Thoughts? I just want the pup to be happy and healthy. He hasn't been sleeping well with all of this and has been exceedingly crabby - not that I blame him!


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

In addition to checking for parasites like giardia and coccida/worms, you might want to have GI bloodwork done through Texas A/M to check for Antibiotic Responsive Diarrhea, aka SIBO. 12 hour fast prior to bloodwork. 

EPI in Dogs

Sample Requirements - Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences

Good luck!


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## unloader (Feb 16, 2010)

echoing what Jean said, a giardia antigen test would be good in addition to the standard fecal test.

If I had to do this all over again, I would do the Cobalamin/Folate and TLI test at the same time I did a fecal. It would have saved me nearly a year worth of stress and worry.

Serum Trypsin-Like Immunoreactivity (TLI) - Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences
Serum Cobalamin (Vitamin B12) and Folate - Texas A&M Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences


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## evybear15 (Mar 28, 2011)

Thanks for all of the info! I will talk it over with the vet and see what we can do to get my little guy back on track so he doesn't go through another bout of weight loss. It took him a few weeks to get back on track after the last bad episode, but he's finally back to gaining weight at a slow, steady rate. Thankfully, I have a vet who both tries to be as thorough as he can without shoving unnecessary tests at us to avoid stress for Baxter, and knows the GSD breed very well. He currently is scheduled to go in on Tuesday, but I will move the appointment earlier if he starts getting worse diarrhea.


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## unloader (Feb 16, 2010)

please keep us updated.

good luck with your puppy!


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

70 % of the immune health is seated in a properly functioning digestive system , which includes allergies.
Digestive enzymes , pre and probiotics are a must. This applies to man and beast.
Carmen
http://www.carmspack.


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## evybear15 (Mar 28, 2011)

Thanks, Carmen. I do have pro-biotics on the way, I will have to double check to see if pre-biotics are included in that, or if I will need to get those separately. Intestinal issues aside, he is a happy, healthy pup! I just want to get him there 100%, as opposed to 75%...


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

The tests unloader and I are referencing are almost something that should be a "right away" for the German Shepherd breed when the dog presents in that manner. It's a very simple blood draw.


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## unloader (Feb 16, 2010)

In the mean time, while you test for the above, the 'easiest' thing to do is put him on a boiled chicken or beef diet with overcooked rice for an extended period of time to allow his digestive tract to heal. 

When my pup had these issues, I boiled beef and rice for over one month (more like 3 months) while I slowly added various types of digestive support to the equation. I used the following with success:
Only Natural Pet Probiotic Blend Dog & Cat Supplement
Animals' Apawthecary Phytomucil Dog & Cat Herbal

I also have this product that I have yet to use, but will add it shortly:
Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes & Probiotics Dog & Cat Supplement

Also note that for my pup, out of the four probiotics I used, two caused bad diarrhea. It's important to get a baseline (if possible) before you start adding things.

I hope you choose to do the blood test. If it is SIBO, tylosin is known to be an effective drug, though I don't have first hand experience with it. And EPI is manageable.


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

I had the same problem with my GSD as a puppy until she was about 8 months old. I was feeding a chicken based diet and was giving her the boiled chicken and rice when the diarrhea would get worse. Turns out that my dog didn't tolerate chicken and once I started her on a salmon/potato kibble, the diarrhea went away and has not come back. I also give her about 2 tablespoons of plain, greek yogurt. On the rare occasions that she does have diarrhea its maybe one or two times and its usually because he ate something that she shouldn't have...like chewing on sticks.  On those days, if I feel she needs a "rest" I will give her browned ground beef with the fat drained off and rice. Works perfect.

I do agree with getting your dog tested to make sure its nothing else. I did all that too and nothing turned up that would explain why my puppy had diarrhea all the time. 

Good luck and definitely keep us posted!


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## evybear15 (Mar 28, 2011)

I did have him on rice/browned ground beef (with fat drained off) for quite some time, and once he was solid again, started to sloooowly add in the Earthborn kibble. Then I had him just on the kibble for a while, and he was doing well for a few weeks, and then started getting sick again.

There are a few things that I KNOW will make him sick - for example, if he sneaks into the kitchen and grabs a bite of cat food, I already know he's going to be sick, and that's just a given...

But he seems to do fine for extended periods on his kibble/chicken, but after a few weeks, it's like something changes and he goes back to a day or two (or sometimes more) of off and on diarrhea. Thankfully, this go round, I have not come home to any crate accidents, but that has happened in the past.

Since he does okay in the kibble, I'm cutting out everything else that may be causing problems, and will start with the probiotic when it arrives, and see how he handles that...then I'll try to add in the chicken, see how he does, etc... If he doesn't do well just on the kibble, then I'll be switching back to the rice/chicken or beef route. He just seems to go back and forth on what he can handle, and what he can't. He'll be fine with something one day...and then a few weeks later, it seems to bother him.

Regardless, I will speak to the vet about getting the tests run to rule out anything beyond a food sensitivity! Thank you all again for your suggestions and advice.


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## JeanKBBMMMAAN (May 11, 2005)

Good - and be sure to fast him for 12 hours prior to your appointment so you can get the bloodwork done all at once! 

Overview - EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency has a lot of good general info.


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## evybear15 (Mar 28, 2011)

Well, definitely going to call the vet in the morning and see if I can either bring him in tomorrow, or at least drop off a stool sample for them to check. Poor guy has been SO sick since I've been home, but he didn't have any accidents in his crate... Even threw up once, which he has only done maybe one other time in his life. His energy levels are still just fine, and he's acting like there's nothing wrong... Regardless, I'm hoping to get some answers soon! He's in the middle of growing, so he truly doesn't have much spare weight to lose as he in his "stretching" phase. Here's hoping he's able to sleep tonight...


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## Enzyme Diane (May 6, 2008)

The TLI test will be a blood test and I agree I would do the folate the cobalamin test at the same time. Since the stools do stay good for a while then bouce to being bad and weight loss is intermittent it may be the start of EPI and you are catching it early or it may be IBD or many other things. 
I would also contact the breeder, if it is a reputable breeder they may be willing to give you ideas of other illnesses they have found in their lines. This can save you a lot of money.
If it is EPI there are many resources available online, We have been dealing with EPI for 5 years and while some dogs are easier to treat than others it can be managed.

Enzyme Diane
www.EnzymeDiane.com 
Digestive Enzymes for dogs with EPI


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## evybear15 (Mar 28, 2011)

I have spoken with the breeder on a regular basis to figure this all out, and she has not had experience with any of her dogs going through this, or with other owners experiencing this problem. She has always been very upfront and honest with me in the past, so I believe she's being honest. 

They did not find anything in his stool sample that I brought in this morning, and I will be talking with his regular vet on Tuesday. He seems to be better for the time being - he was running a bit of a temp, but it was very low grade.

Turns out the poor pup also has some conjunctivitis in one of his eyes, so we had to get some eye drops for that. It explains the watery/itchy eye though...


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## evybear15 (Mar 28, 2011)

Just a quick update. Baxter is back to normal for the time being, which is wonderful! He slept through the night and has continued to stay solid all day today. I still plan to talk to his regular vet on Tuesday about the tests mentioned, but for the time being, I have my happy and healthy boy back! Speaking of...he is trying to treat the furniture as his own personal jungle gym, so I suppose I should go take care of that. Thank you all again for your suggestions, I am keeping them all in mind, but am starting to believe that it is a sensitivity to chicken. We'll see, though!


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