Rescue dog with diarrhoea?

Question

My brother recenlty adopted a rescue dog. All they knew about her was that she'd recently had a litter of puppies but then had been tied up and left outside the shelter.

Since he's had her she's constantly had diarrhoea. He's taken her to the vet who ruled out gastroentoritis and put her on a bland diet of chicken and rice for a week. Now she's back on her normal food again (it's a complete dried food that you mix with water) but she's still no better. She's back at the vets again today. Does anyone have any ideas what might be causing it? Thanks.

Answer 1

I'd make sure the dog was worm free also, then change dog foods to something a bit easier on the stomach. Get a dog food that is chicken and rice based. Let that be the normal dog food, lots of dogs do much better on a lamb and rice or chicken and rice dog food.

If the bland chicken and rice was actually home cooked, put her back on that till the stools are normal. Then mix a table spoon or 2 of chicken and rice hard dog food in with the cooked stuff and see how she does for 2 days. If things stay normal add another 1 or 2 table spoons of hard food the next few days, very slowly working your way toward less cooked food and more dry food.

Sudden changes in what the dog is eatting can really mess up some animals stomachs, other dogs may not get upset tummys if you switch foods all the time, depends on the dog.

Answer 2

Some dogs get persistant runs when they are stressed. So it may take a while for her to settle into her new home and then she get more solid.
I have a Golden Retriever who often gets really bad runs because he eats lots of rubbish and I find the following works:
Starve the dog for 24 hours. Nil by mouth but leave water available.
Let the poo come out until the dog is empty!
Introduce bland rice for one meal. The dog should have something to poo within a few hours because the meal will stimulate her system. If its really explosive and runny - skip the next meal again. Then feed bland rice again.
Only introduce some boiled chicken breast to the rice meal when you notice an improvement. This may be slight but after seeing so many runny poos you will know that you are making progress.
Make sure that she doesn't eat anything else.
Gradually reintroduce her normal food over the course of a week.

The starving bit at the beginning is really important because it gives her gut a break. She'll be really hungry but won't come to any harm. Hope it works!

Answer 3

I think the person who said that regular dog food is probably too rich for her might be right. This dog was possibly neglected and may have survived off of who-knows-what.

Or, depending on how recently your brother got her, she may have a nervous tummy because of the stress of such a drastic change in her life and because she's still getting used to her new family and environment.

Some things you could dry:

* Go back to the bland diet, but little by little start to mix some of her regular food into the chicken and rice. Slowly get her belly used to the richness by "phasing" in the dog food.

* When you get her back to just the dog food, don't add the water for awhile, even if you're supposed to. (But give her access to fresh drinking water at all times).

* Maybe ask your vet to recommend an entirely different brand of dog food, maybe one specially designed for dogs with sensitive stomachs.

Good luck!

Answer 4

Unfortunately theres a number of different things that can cause this.
She may be lacking in the bacteria which we all need to digest our food. That will fix itself over time and she'll just need a bland diet while she recovers. Changing her food won't help because it takes time for the right bacteria to build up. This is even more of a problem if she's been without food for a long time. It can take months for the digestive system to recover.
If she wasn't wormed properly as a pup, her digestive system could be delicate for the rest of her life. She may always need an easy to digest diet.
Stress can cause it as well! She's had a stressful time; even being rehomed is stressful for them, so she may need time to settle in.
She may have a stomach upset.

Finally, theres an outside chance it could be something more serious like pancreatitis, but its quite rare. The usual symprtoms are upset stomach and stomach ache, the vet will check when she goes back. You can usually control it with diet, the first few sites on this list give more info.

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=dogs+%2B+pancreatitis&spell=1

Answer 5

I had a dog like that. I fed him Intestinal Eukanuba dry food for a couple of months, until he was stable, no diarrhea. Then I gradually started mixing normal food. The important part is gradually, a little bit the first week, half normal food half intestinal the next ten days, etc. Now he's fine. A friend of mine rescued a dog who had diarrhea problems for the first 6 months, because you never know what their stomach has gone through for a long time, and then the change disturbs them even more.

Answer 6

Maybe why the dog was given up originally rather than a passing condition.

A friend had the same scenario and it was discovered the dog had celiac disease and couldn't tolerate gluten. That could be why the dog was OK on rice but isn't now she's back on wheat based food.

Apparently celiac disease is very common in Setters.

Answer 7

have you tried fasting the dog for 24 hours,that is usually enuff to clear it,mayb its the dog biscuits you never no! i have two retired greys and when my 1st one came home she had terrible diarrhoea and i starved her for 24 hours she was ok on herself apart from the fact she could s hit thru the eye of a needle at 20 paces,mayb try a sensitive buscuit diet like james well beloved ..if at all concerned and you still are not happy take back to the vet thats wot they are there 4 even if you have to go every week, i no how u must feel when you see your dog poorly best of luck xx

Answer 8

Look at James Wellbelove or similar without additives ,colouring etc etc.
Also foods for sensitive tummy's.
Add a little of the new diet to her bland diet so her tum can adjust to her new diet.
Best of luck

Answer 9

perhaps try a different brand of food maybe one thats wheat and gluten free. I am guessing the vet would have checked for worms already

Answer 10

James wellbeloved is good food for dogs, my shepherds used to have that so give it a try, good luck
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