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Dog sick with diarrhea for weeks now :(
We went on a family vacation in early July and left our 4 year old Vizsla with a sitter at our house for a week. She didn't realize our dog was sneaking into the cat box (ugh!) and we came home to a very sick dog with a new bad habit. My husband has since remedied that bad habit by enclosing and elevating the cat box away from our dog, but we have had an impossible time getting our dog healthy after that. He had bad diarrhea when we returned. We tried a bland diet, had a stool sample run at the vet (it's not giardia), and then took him in last week. I'm so angry - our vet gave him antibiotics (and probiotics...to take at the same time, which I know is just stupid). He's been on the antibiotics and a bland diet for about a week and he is getting worse and worse every day. We stopped the antibiotics today and are planning to give him his own food with a little pumpkin, and some probiotics for a little while. I was wondering if anyone could offer any other thoughts, ideas, or suggestions? He has been drinking and eating (his bland food) well, and is really just acting like himself but like himself with an upset tummy. He's not changed at all in his temperament, is still so patient and kind with us and the kids. I just know he's got to not feel good with what is coming out of him and quite frankly it is absolutely disgusting. Our yard is becoming unlivable (and I have two kids under 3, so unlivable yard is a major kink in our lifestyle). Any ideas? I really appreciate it.
Re: Dog sick with diarrhea for weeks now :(
How long has it been since you got back from vacation (i.e. since the last time your dog ate cat poo/litter)? If I'm reading correctly, it's been about 3 weeks? If that's right, I might consider getting a second opinion from another vet, as that seems like a long time to have diarrhea (and it sounds like you weren't happy with your vet's course of treatment). Assuming he has an otherwise clean bill of health (and you're certain he isn't getting into the cat box or any other no-no), I've had good luck with pure pumpkin to firm up loose stool. For my 18 lb. dog, I add 1 teaspoon to each meal for a day or two (it's never taken longer than that) - a little goes a long way.
What type of bland diet are you feeding? And what food does your dog normally eat?
And there are benefits to using probiotic and antibiotic at the same time. I know it seems counter intuitive but they can still work together and be individually helpful for your pip.
Okay, thank you for your comments. My husband called the vet and expressed our concerns and he reiterated that he believed antibiotics were the right course of treatment for now, and he insisted rice with cottage cheese is the right thing to be feeding him right now. It definitely seems odd to me to be giving my dog cows milk dairy and rice...but again, vet has insisted (very welcome to your commentary on that though too). I feel like an a-hole that I don't know the name of the food we feed him, but my husband always buys it, it is a quality food and has not changed any time recently. The vet has asked us to continue antibiotics, monitor him more closely outside to make sure he's not possibly eating cat poop (or something else he shouldn't be) in our yard (I don't think that's likely, but he is out back by himself a bit and we do have a lot of cats, raccoons, skunks, etc in the neighborhood so possibly he's still able to encounter feces...yuck!), continue with rice and cottage cheese (I was going to do boiled chicken, but the vet said while okay, that is rougher on his tummy than the rice and cottage cheese). If he's not better within a week or so, he will go back to the vet.
Also, if I sound weary of our vet...our vet we've had for years (and loved and trusted completely) just left the practice and only my husband has met our new vet that took over for our animals. He likes him a lot...I just haven't met him and don't have a history with him so trust isn't there on my end. My husband is definitely more trusting of him.
My antibiotic/probiotic, etc knowledge is all surrounding what I know to be true with my human kiddos. So I probably shouldn't apply that entirely to my furbaby, I realize
Just worried about him.
About a year and a half ago, he randomly started throwing up and couldn't keep any food down. He spent a week in the vet hospital hooked up to an IV and we did every recommended test. Nearly $10k and a full week of IV fluids and monitoring later, he had recovered and could eat and drink again and we brought him home and they never had any explanation. No test every showed an issue. And then he was just fine. So I definitely worry about something more serious overall...just because there was never any cause or explanation for why it all happened.
Anyway, thank you both again.
Kitty litter has all kinds of ingredients added to it --- that's bound to make a dog sick if he ingests it.
Is there any way you can get a GI series performed on your dog?
Good for upset stomachs in dogs:
Chicken soup! Get a few split breasts, tie 'em up in cheesectoth, cover the breasts in water and cook for a few hours. Add carrots to the broth; let those cook too. Your dog will love the chicken meat, too.
Cottage cheese is good, blueberries are good, plain yogurt is good and so is canned pumpkin.