In the past, I've used pepto bismol instead of immodium after a vet check. I've only used immodium if the pepto didn't work.
My old vet, in addition to withholding food for 24 hours, also reccommended a bland diet of scrambled eggs with a dollop of cottage on it. I was skeptical, but it worked like a charm! Also, ice cubes in the water to prevent over-doing it on the water all at once. The ice makes them take their time while drinking (plus my dog's dig the cubes! 
).
If it's not cleared up in a day or so, definitely schedule a vet appointment.
Hope Ziggy's feeling better soon!
If you use cottage cheese, I would recommend the fat free or at least very low fat as it is the fat in the food that makes the gut work harder
I've actually been told to use low fat cottage cheese rather than the non fat (or regular)–because the non fat has more milk in it or something that can cause digestive problems and the regular has too much fat in it.
Pat and Max - I hadn't even given the kind of cottage cheese a thought, though I always use low-fat, anyway. I keep it on hand for an occasional kibble topper for the pups. Thanks for the "food for thought".
Thanks everyone for all the great advice! I'm giving Ziggy oatmeal and plain rice (and lots of water) today … I think he's on the mend.
And a question: when the stools are already runny, why switch the diet to bland, soft food? Won't that make the problem worse? Wouldn't it make sense to "bulk" up the dog's diet with fiber-rich foods, to increase the volume of the stool rather than making it softer?
~ Lori ~
Actually, it is not so much that you want to give them soft foods as trying to choose the most easily digested food. Things that the digestive tract will not have to work very hard at processing.
Zengrrrl , You would think so right ? lol When any of my dogs B's or not have gotten the "runs" I have always held food away for 24 hrs then after given them rice with boiled hanburger, chicken, or turkey for a few days after and then started to put there regular food in it slowly mixing it in i also put in pediylite in there water just to make sure they don't get dehydrated they always seem to like the fruit flavor type . I've also put alittle in there when it's REALLY hot out and they go for long runs . The most that's gonna happen is there going to pee it out if there body doesn't need it. I hope ur little one is feeling better !!
You can also use one of those little plastic syringes to get additional water into them (hold up one side of the upper lip and insert in the side of the mouth between the teeth and skin always worked best for me).
For those of you who have heard me say this before - its from the old Dr. Whitney vet book (orig published in 1898) Cheap hamburger, brown rice and tomatoes, in water - boil it until the rice is mushy. You can use stewed tomatoes as it's the pectin around the little seeds that is the binding agent. Feed in small amounts.
re: pepto vs Immodium Pepto does have an antibacterial that Immodium does not have so it really depends on what might be going on in the gut.
You might also - in extreme circumstances need to add some pedilyte for electrolites (find it in the baby food aisles)
Make sure it's not camphylobacter - as that needs a course of antibiotics AND can transmit to humans and is contagious long after symptoms are gone.
A bit more Web research helped me to differentiate between acute diarrhea and chronic – this is definitely acute. I've given him oatmeal, white rice, some sweet potato baby food, and lots of water. I figured I'd wait another 12 hours to see how he was doing, and this morning saw a stool that was virtually normal (firm, not liquidy). He's eating, drinking, and behaving completely normally, so I'm thinking that whatever he ate has now passed through his system. ~ Lori ~
glad to hear that Ziggy is getting back to normal!
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.
