# Explosive Poo....AGAIN



## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

I've been on here many times over the last several months with the same problem. My daughter's lab (10 months old) has been raw fed since we brought him home at 11 weeks. He seems to have an bout with explosive diarrhea at least once each month. Our normal vet diagnosed him with Clostridium when he was about 12 weeks old and of course...blamed it on the raw. We treated him with antibiotics. He started out slow....just like all of you recommended....one protein at a time. We can't really seem to put our finger on what is causing it. He had it about 4-5 weeks ago and we dropped off a stool sample and had them do a fecal and also run a slide to test for things like giardia. It came back negative. Of course they wanted to see him then but when I asked this vet if they supported RAW they said no so I didn't bother bring him in because the broth and pedialyte recommended here cleared things up for him. Well it's back again.....watery diarrhea and blood. He acts pretty normal but his stomach is making loud growling noises. I have some Metronidazole and was wondering if I should try that again. I do have an appointment with a holistic vet next week but I am getting so frustrated with the whole problem. Are there some dogs that just aren't cut out to eat RAW? We are currently using a digestive enzyme on him to see if that helps. He has also been on probiotics since he was a young pup.


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## lovemydogsalways (Mar 4, 2012)

I just read a thread yesterday about some dogs not being able to handle raw so yes that is possible. What protein are you feeding when he gets the diarrhea?


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## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

Sometimes chicken, sometimes pork, sometimes beef. There really doesn't seem to be any consistency with what causes it. He's a thin dog anyway so he looks terrible when he gets diarrhea.


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## dooneygirl09 (Mar 9, 2012)

Europe had ED the other night, luckily it was all over my hardwood floor. It was mostly like water, but the color of that dull, gray mud. With 4 clumps, but mostly runny. Thats the last time I noticed something like that, and it was a few days ago. Maybe you fed something out of the ordinary?


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I would say yes, there is a small % of dogs that don't do well on raw but that said, are you sure when this happens that the dog hasn't been given ANYTHING that would compromise his diet?


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Personally, I would look for other culprits before the raw food. Some dogs have sensitive stomachs. The water, treats, if he's been given or eaten anything he shouldn't. 

It seems if it was the raw food that was the problem, he would have diarrhea all the time. Since it's sporadic, that may be pointing to another issue.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Honestly...the dogs that aren't "cut out" for raw usually don't do well on any diet. Stess can easily bring on diarrhea episodes and some dogs don't handle stress well at all. It's called stress colitis....which seems to fit your description. 

Can you think of anything stressful that happened right around the time this all started? It could be a bad stress or a good one...


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## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

I really can't think of anything stressful. This is about as "LOW STRESS" a dog as you could find. He is extremely mellow for a lab.....especially one that age. We have picked our brains.....we found earlier it would happen after training class and that cheese was the culprit so we quit with that. He didn't have training after Tuesday and this happened starting on Friday night. I truly can't think of anything that is different. My daughter thinks it's got to do with certain types of chicken....like the leg quarters or thighs. He does eat necks and ground though as well. He had had elk that day also but he has had that before. We have eliminated the yogurt too so all he gets is meat and bone. I just feel so bad for him because he is really skinny anyway and when he goes through one of these episodes he looks terrible.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Can you just get one supplier of chicken that works for him, not enhanced I'm sure..Have you gotten any tripe to try? A little handful every day...


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i would keep a food diary...so that when this happens again, you'll know what the culprit is.

because it's not happening every week...it's happening every four to six weeks....

something is happening once a month be it food or something else....

for now, it's slippery elm, broth and pedialyte, and bony meals.

what organs are being fed, how much at one sitting and how often?


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

The four to six week thing keep nagging at me. Is he getting any topicals around this time for fleas or heartworm. Anything within about a week?


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## BearMurphy (Feb 29, 2012)

does your daughter's dog play in the ocean at all? i know a puppy that was having this problem and they identified salt water as the cause. she would drink the ocean water when she played at the beach

also, are the probiotics dairy free? what ingredients are in the digestive enzyme? it's possible some of these things aren't agreeing with him and you could try a different brand/type


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## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

Not much in organ as he keeps having these poo issues and we are afraid to do much with organ. He does get some very rarely that is mixed in with some ground that comes from our supplier....a beef and organ mix. He doesn't swim in the ocean....we are in MN...unfortunately. The topical he gets is Frontline and it doesn't coincide with that at all. I buy most of our food from Swanson's Raws for Paws in MN but occasionally I get some at the grocery store but I am careful to watch the salt content. I will start keeping a diary of the food he eats. I'm so tempted to give him the metronidazole just to get him over this bout. He has been on slippery elm since Friday night but that doesn't seem to be doing much this time. I will stop and get some more broth and pedialyte tonight and make sure he only gets that. He looks pathetic because he is so skinny but he's acting fine.


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## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

The supplements he is on are from B-Naturals.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

stop the supps. 

i don't know why, but immune blend and green blend gave my dogs the runs...it's the chicken liver flavouring i think...not sure.

but i stopped it and they didn't get diarrhea anymore.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i would feed him.....you can stop the slippery elm...feed him bony meals tonight and tomorrow and see what happens.

i'm going to place a five dollar bet with myself and say it's berte's. did the same thing to my dogs.

if you're interested, check out bioprep from optimumchoices.com.....personally, i think it's better than any supplementation i could give.

but wait until he is more stable.


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## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

I will try that. Should I even stop the probiotics? They are also that same brand. My two dogs do fine with all of those supplements but maybe Bode just can't handle them.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

let's do an elimination thing...if you're agreeable.

just feed him whatever proteins he eats with some bone and no organs....for four weeks....

we can intro organs any time...he'll be fine. the liver stores organs.

i love berte's products. they don't love my dogs....and now i wonder if your dog is going through what my dogs went through when i used berte's...

so let's just feed protein/bone/fat...just for the next month...

and if you don't mind, come back once a week and update?

would that be okay?


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## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

Sure...I'll try anything. Is there anything I should do to stop the diarrhea that he is currently experiencing? It's major water with blood in it....and he's getting up at least twice during the night to go.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

You an put about 5 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extra to a gallon of drinking water for him to help keep parasites or bad bacteria from his gut. He may just be sensitive and have a touch of something that won't show up on a fecal.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Liz said:


> You an put about 5 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extra to a gallon of drinking water for him to help keep parasites or bad bacteria from his gut. He may just be sensitive and have a touch of something that won't show up on a fecal.


liz, what else would you do...especially since he's been on slippery elm since friday?

maybe just broth and some pedialyte to settle him down, with perhaps a touch of honey?


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

Personally I would do just what you said the sodium free or home made broth, pedialtye, and RAW honey. I have also used a liver broth on puppies who are having issues. You just take about a quart of water and get it to a boil, drop in a slice of liver and lower the temp a bit so it is just not quite boiling and cook the liver until it stops releasing blood. Remove the liver and use the broth. It helps with nutrients and energy and does wonders with puppies and exhausted moms. I dehydrate the liver and use later for treats. Just a thought.


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## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

Thanks...I will try the broth mixture. One last question....when can I start with the meat and bone again? I thought you said to continue feeding him....or did I misunderstand? Thanks again for all of your help.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

I would do broth throughout the day today and give something very bony and half of his usual morning portion and see how he does. If he is more solid the some more broth and again a super light dinner. If he does well on that increase back to normal slowly throughout the week. Something is festering in his gut. If he is not emotionally stresses he is being physically stressed, many parasites have a three to six week life cycle and he may be trying to fight them off. I would do the Grapefruit seed extract for at least two months to cover a few life cycles and see if you can clear his gut up. Is he neutered?


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Liz said:


> I would do broth throughout the day today and give something very bony and half of his usual morning portion and see how he does. If he is more solid the some more broth and again a super light dinner. If he does well on that increase back to normal slowly throughout the week. Something is festering in his gut. If he is not emotionally stresses he is being physically stressed, many parasites have a three to six week life cycle and he may be trying to fight them off. I would do the Grapefruit seed extract for at least two months to cover a few life cycles and see if you can clear his gut up. Is he neutered?


what she said.


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## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

Yes...he is neutered.


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## erinwagner (Aug 30, 2010)

Fed the broth/pedialyte/honey mixture last night. He loved it. He made it through the night last night without needing to go out and his poo was like soft pudding this morning....so better than the liquid that he had all weekend. We have stopped all supplements and we did get an earlier appointment to see the Holistic Vet....we go in tomorrow at noon. I will keep you updated with her suggestions for us.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

erinwagner said:


> Fed the broth/pedialyte/honey mixture last night. He loved it. He made it through the night last night without needing to go out and his poo was like soft pudding this morning....so better than the liquid that he had all weekend. We have stopped all supplements and we did get an earlier appointment to see the Holistic Vet....we go in tomorrow at noon. I will keep you updated with her suggestions for us.


ok. that sounds like progress....please let us know what the vet says.....and i hope he feels better soon.


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