The only problem with cheap hamberger (unless you make sure to drain off the fat) is the fat content… I prefer ground turkey.....
When I was given a recipe for Max from my vet when Max's kidneys were failing, it called for hamburger–but a grade with a low fat content which was the most expensive at the store (but still relatively cheap....) I've never tried ground turkey but will keep that in mind now.
I was always told that turkey is too rich. That it can actually cause diarrhea. I don't know may be that does't apply to ground turkey?
My poor little guy is still dealing, on and off, with diarrhea. I switched him to a raw food diet (Nature's Variety) about a week ago, which brought on diarrhea (I thought it would help to stop it). In just a week on raw food only, he's lost a bit of weight and he doesn't have any weight to lose! So I'm now giving him the raw food plus some dry kibble, with dollops of pumpkin. No change … he still has very runny stools. He left large piles, about the consistency of cooked oatmeal, on the kitchen floor twice during the night last night.
I've had him tested for parasites twice, and the tests were negative, so I really think this has to do with a sensitive GI system.
Any suggestions?
Lori
The Z-Pack: Zen, Zoe, and Ziggy
First of all if he is having an upset stomach, diarreah etc, you should switch to a bland diet for a while to give him some gut rest. There are many different recipes for a bland diet rice and boiled hamburger, rice and low fat cottage cheese are probably the most common.
Next, dogs do not always test positive for Giardia and yet can have it. I was told by my vet that they get a lot of false negatives with that test and will often treat if the dog is symptomatic since many respond to treatment. Also, Giardia has a high recurrence rate where you will treat see improvement and then the dog will relapse in 2-4 weeks.
Finally, it is possible that your dog has IBD or IPSID. If so then it will need to be diagnosed and treated before you will see any improvement.
My poor little guy is still dealing, on and off, with diarrhea. I switched him to a raw food diet (Nature's Variety) about a week ago, which brought on diarrhea (I thought it would help to stop it). In just a week on raw food only, he's lost a bit of weight and he doesn't have any weight to lose! So I'm now giving him the raw food plus some dry kibble, with dollops of pumpkin. No change … he still has very runny stools. He left large piles, about the consistency of cooked oatmeal, on the kitchen floor twice during the night last night.
I've had him tested for parasites twice, and the tests were negative, so I really think this has to do with a sensitive GI system.
Any suggestions?
Lori
The Z-Pack: Zen, Zoe, and Ziggy
Sounds to me like you need a specialist for your boy… and some further tests to see if you can find out what is going on. However the fact that you changed his diet again and especially to totally raw, could be the change...
How old is Ziggy?... and was he ever put on medication for Giraida?
But if he were mine, I would get a referral to a specialist.
Years and years ago when my OJ was a pup… he would have diarrhea off and on all the time.. and when he did it was "explosive".... we got him on a course of Flagyl for giardia (and it was not showing in the fecal sample as many times it doesn't).. after two weeks he was "right as rain". After that whenever he would get like that a course of Flagyl fixed him right up.... Giardia is pretty common and they can get it most anyplace....
However if you go that route and there is no change, certainly you need to go for further tests for IBD and/or IPSID
I don't remember, but had you had blood work done on him?
Did you switch to raw food overnight? Any fast switch in food can bring on stomach upset and diarrhea. Has he been put on any meds when he gets diarrhea (antibiotics, antidiarrheal, etc?) I had this same kind of problem with Max, took him to a specialist, and he was diagnosed with mild inflammatory bowel disease. I found a dog food that he did really well on and was very, very careful to keep him on the same food/treats for years. We were able to keep it well under control. Ziggy may need to see a specialist if his regular vet can't improve the situation.
Phoenix gets Diarrhea every once and while before when this happened i got him checked for everything under the sun. It turns out he just has a sensitive stomach to diffent cookies, bones ect. When he gets like that i switch him to the "bland" diet boiled hamburger or chicken with rice for 3 days then switch him back to his regular food slowly mixing it in for the rest of the week. i also give him pedalyte mixed in his water for a few days till his stool hardens up and pepto for the first day. it seems to work fine for him gives his tummy alittle time to relax before i switch him back so quickly. I hope your little one feels better soon !!!
pepto for the first day.
Yes–pepto can work wonders. I always had some on hand for Max. But--one thing to keep in mind with Pepto is that it has a little bit of aspirin in it--so if you need to be careful with aspirin with your dog for any reason, you need to be aware of that. I couldn't use Pepto when Max was going through chemo and on certain drugs.
Rice and chicken broth works really good, or oatmeal and chicken broth.
I think I'll try to boiled hamburger and plain white rice. How do you boil the hamburger? Just buy a pound of ground hamburger, cube it, and put it in a pot of boiling water?
Lori
That's about it, I am not sure, but I think that brown rice is better for the dog and if he/she doesn't like hamburger, try turkey.
As for an earlier post, I wanted to make sure I was reading it right. Do you actually give you dog a little bit of pepto bismol???
Yep alittle bit of pepto is what i have always given just to help coat the tummy and firm them up abit It's been awhile since i have had to give it but i think it's 1/2 a teaspoon is what i give them i have to buy liquid cuz given them pills is like a cartoon where i hide it they spit it out i hide it again in something they lick it then find the pill and spit again then i try and give it to them and hold there mouth shut they wait then have it on the side of there mouth and yet again spit it out So i just go with the liquid a quick sqirt and it's all done lol and for the hanburger / chicken i just take it throw it in a pot and let it boil drain it and then take what i am going to use that day and put it with the rice with the chicken i usally {after it's cooked} put it in my little chopper and chop it up so it's ground then mix it with the rice.
I think I'll try to boiled hamburger and plain white rice. How do you boil the hamburger? Just buy a pound of ground hamburger, cube it, and put it in a pot of boiling water?
Lori
I think that is good at least for the weekend, but this has been going on a long time, too long I think… you really need to get him back to the Vet and think about a specialist
As for the hamberger, as I said I use ground turkey or chicken... you put it in a pot, cover with water and boil. I use a potato masher to smash up the ground meat... then drain off all the water which will take the fat off. And I use chicken or turkey because it has less fat and is easier to digest. Also brown rice is better...
As far as anything else you give, remember you are only masking the problem.. OK for the short term or once in a while tummy upset.. but ones that continue to have these problems.. there is something else going on. Remember ISPID is a genetic Basenji problem and IBD is also a frequent Basenji problem especially coming from a less then responsible breeder.
Rice and chicken broth works really good, or oatmeal and chicken broth.
Watch using too much broth if it is canned due to the salt in it…. OK if you make your own broth.
If it was Ipsid i would think u would have other issues lack of eating , low energy, bloating stomach I lost a Basenji to Ipsid a few yrs back He had diarrhea yes but also a lot of other symptoms. He went threw lots and lots of tests ect.But unfortanly they didn't find it in time Also they won't catch it in a xray u have to have an ultrascan them picking it up in that is ALOT better. To me it doesn't seem like Ipsid it seems like he just has a sensitive stomach to me but i'm not an expert but i had to do an enormous amount of research and such on Ipsid to bring that Vet to court.
There are different degrees of ISPID as I understand it.. and yes usually there are other things going on.. but there are links to one of the premier Vets on ISPID on the BCOA health pages, sort of like the Dr. Gonto of Fanconi… and there is still IBD too.....
I've said this before - if you have a Farm Store kind of place where they sell stuff for cows etc. You can find something called Tylan - it is a powder - they use it for pig scours - you can use a tiny pinch in some water. This is an OLD thing that folks used years ago with dogs - it's a sulfa based powder.
The bland diet that I use from the Whitney Vet book circa 1898 is 1 lb of cheap hamburg boiled with brown rice and whole or stewed tomatoes. The pectin around the seeds is a binding agent. Make sure that you turn it to mush cause if you can see the rice pellets - it will just pass through. Good luck.
PS - get some Pedialyte at the baby section of the grocery store and syringe if you have too to keep electrolytes up.
I've said this before - if you have a Farm Store kind of place where they sell stuff for cows etc. You can find something called Tylan - it is a powder - they use it for pig scours - you can use a tiny pinch in some water. This is an OLD thing that folks used years ago with dogs - it's a sulfa based powder.
You can also get this through a regular vet–Max's oncologist prescribed it at times when he was going through chemo.
For pepto, I just use half a tablet--with all my dogs, as long as something has a tiny bit of canned food on it--they will scarf it up--no questions asked. Also--it does actually help some for digestive problems--as well as firm the stool and calm the tummy--but you really shouldn't use it long term and should get to the "bottom" so to speak of the problem. Pls note--it does change the color of the stool also--makes it darker--this scared the heck out of me the first time I used it on Max not realizing that was normal....
