# Rough Morning - Diarrhea With Blood



## jaber6 (Feb 21, 2013)

It's been a rough morning so far. Our boy (4 Months Old) started to have Diarrhea two nights ago and yesterday morning, there was fresh spots of blood. This week he was due for a followup fecal exam, since he had Giardia and Coccidia 6 weeks ago. Three weeks ago, he came back negative for Coccidia. And negative for Giardia in float test, but position for the antigen. Since the vet said he's acting fine and not vomiting, to keep an eye on him, till we get results today, from his stool sample. So since yesterday morning, his stool has only been firm, once. Rest was watery/diarrhea with little blood. He's been a bit fussy, since I'm sure he isn't feeling 100%. He acted fine early this morning, before I left for work and had very soft stool. My wife got home from work and let him out, he immediately did his poo dance and more blood, with diarrhea. He went multiple times in 30mins. So my wife started to freak out and waited till the vet office opened and called them. They suggested to bring him in, to be on the safe side. He's never vomited or acted lethargic. Only thing that I don't like, is during his treatment of Coccidia/Giardia, they told us to feed him Iams Vet Low Residue formula. He didn't improve on it originally, when mixed with his food. So we gave up on it and after looking at ingredients, I'm not too fond of it. I have a feeling that'll recommend feeding him that again, to improve his stool. 

We're currently feeding him Acana Regionals Wild Prairie. He's been on it for 3 weeks now and before this week, his stool would be firm and randomly soft, but still had some formation to it. 

Sucks I'm stuck at work, waiting to hear from my wife on what the vet says  My wife just got out of her 12hr shift and has to work another tonight. So this is going to be a rough day and night for her.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Ugh, I hate days like that. Hope he's ok


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

I know how scary it looks when your dog is having really bloody diarrhea. Our 5 yr. old lab had a bad bout with colitis about a year ago. I actually took pictures (sounds icky, I know) of the output just so the vet could see how bad it was. Of course, the vet wasn't as unnerved as I was. At the time my dog was eating Acana Chicken & Burbank Potato. We really have no defined reason why she had the problem.

My vet knows I'm not big on "prescription" foods and I have the time to home-cook; so that is what I did for 5 days. I over-boiled white rice (leaving some white water in the final product) and added a couple spoonfuls of pureed sweet potato the first day. Then I progressed to adding 25% ground meat to 75% rice and fed small portions 3 times a day for a couple days. then went to a 50/50 balance. She was on Metronidazole for 5 days with a probiotic pill (I used Jarrow Petdophilus) given several hours apart.

I decided to play it really safe and tried feeding a very simple formula dog food for the next couple of months: California Natural Lamb Meal & Rice Puppy. A dog food doesn't get much simpler than that. It was very helpful and quickly produced firm stools. I hope you can find what will work for your little guy. Fortunately, dogs are usually less upset than we are about these things.

Natural Dog Food, Cat Food and Puppy Food for Pets With Food Sensitivity ? California Natural


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## jaber6 (Feb 21, 2013)

PDXdogmom said:


> I know how scary it looks when your dog is having really bloody diarrhea. Our 5 yr. old lab had a bad bout with colitis about a year ago. I actually took pictures (sounds icky, I know) of the output just so the vet could see how bad it was. Of course, the vet wasn't as unnerved as I was. At the time my dog was eating Acana Chicken & Burbank Potato. We really have no defined reason why she had the problem.
> 
> My vet knows I'm not big on "prescription" foods and I have the time to home-cook; so that is what I did for 5 days. I over-boiled white rice (leaving some white water in the final product) and added a couple spoonfuls of pureed sweet potato the first day. Then I progressed to adding 25% ground meat to 75% rice and fed small portions 3 times a day for a couple days. then went to a 50/50 balance. She was on Metronidazole for 5 days with a probiotic pill (I used Jarrow Petdophilus) given several hours apart.
> 
> ...


Thanks for sharing your story. My wife just got back from the vet and pretty much calmed her nerves. His exam went well, he's gained weight since his last visit 2 weeks ago. He's now 8lbs and gaining proper weight. His gums look healthy, his stool test came back negative for live parasites. She stuck her finger up his butt to check for something and all is normal down there. They think his stomach is just upset, maybe picked up something outside. Since we've been taking him outside a lot for the past few days. And being a puppy, he likes to explore and pickup crap like a ninja. They recommended some homecooked meals, like you mentioned and some probiotic. Would plain greek yogurt with active culture be ok for this? (Got some in the fridge) Going to be difficult to go out and get something today for him, seeing as when I get home, my wife will be sleeping till she has to go to work. And I need to watch him, to prevent accidents in the house. Luckily we have the meats and rice, we can cook.


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## DaViking (Sep 27, 2011)

There is always so much going on with puppies so figuring out what's going on can be a nightmare sometimes. Digestive issues is kind'a part of growing up. More often than not they will be just fine though. At this point don't do anything, wait to hear what the vet says. Then you can see if it make sense to make diet changes. Unless it's something serious you shouldn't have to. You can decide to feed something less complicated and more digestible down the road if your boy never settles on the current food.


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

You ask about using plain greek yogurt with active culture. I use that myself for the dogs as a routine maintenance type of addition to their evening meal. However, it's not generally considered potent enough for when a dog's gut flora is significantly compromised. If it were me, I'd use it for today (don't go overboard with the amount) but pick up something else tomorrow. Hope things turn around quickly for him.


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## Rvent (Apr 15, 2012)

Giardia is a tough parasite to get rid of, sometimes it takes a few doses of panacur powder or what ever meds the vet gave. My 
Babs has had it and it seemed like it took forever to get cleared up.

Try some kefir (I found some at shoprite) it seems to have more active cultures than yogurt. I would say a digestive enzyme but being so young I would check with your vet first.

hydration is the most important, if the he is not drinking enough you can give some broth mixed into some water to make him drink more


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## jaber6 (Feb 21, 2013)

Thanks for the advice everyone. He's been acting like his normal self and was so excited when I got home lol. I did notice he drank more water than usual, so I made sure to keep refilling his bowl and taking him out for potty breaks. Luckily the fridge water filter arrived yesterday! He loves fresh water, he'll refuse water that has been sitting for an hour. Even if it's clean. 

We'll see how today goes 

EDIT:

I made an intro thread, but it seems it never got approved  

Other than my avatar, here's a recent pic of our boy.

http://i.imgur.com/2zRqOC6.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/aKyhScq.jpg


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

Oh my gosh he is too cute!! What a sweet little puppy face but then I am partial to terriers. Anyway I am glad he is feeling better.


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## jaber6 (Feb 21, 2013)

Just a quick update. The yogurt did the trick and after 2 days, firm stool ever since. And he absolutely loves the yogurt. I mixed it with his kibble in the morning and dinner meals. I did buy some probiotic for him. Should I still give some yogurt with his meals? Or just stick with the probiotic? My wife and I are thrilled to finally see good stools coming out of him and not seeing mud pie. Also noticed it's a lot less poo coming out of him.

He gets his first rabies shot today, hoping that goes well!


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## PDXdogmom (Jun 30, 2010)

Glad to hear that things have improved. The yogurt probably isn't necessary since you are giving the probiotic pill; but since he enjoys it so much, why not try giving it just at one meal a day instead of two.


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