Chronic diarrhea in Rottweiler

 

by aimee pochron
(Il, USA)

Hello.

My intact female has been having diarrhea for about 5 weeks now. She is about 7 years of age. We have had abdominal x-rays, CBC, multiple fecal tests, physical exams all to be normal. She has been on flagyl throughout most of these past 5 wks, amoxicillin for 2 wks, panacur, pepcid, food trials and nothing makes any difference.

She has had only one small vomit during these weeks. Appetite is excellent, mood and energy excellent. No weight loss. I would say she seems to act like she is always hungry and drinks somewhat more than previously.

The stools are watery except when on the flagyl, then they could be called unformed. No blood or mucous. Usually lighter brown in color.

Any thoughts? Thanks much Aimee

Hi Aimee
I wish I could help with this, but as I’m not a veterinarian and you’ve had multiple different tests and evaluations done on your dog, I doubt that there’s anything different that I can come up with.

The only thing that comes to mind is perhaps a food intolerance or allergy. This can occur even with a food that a dog has been eating happily for years. Often canine allergies will also cause skin symptoms such as hot spots, itching, rashes or ear infections. So if your dog has any of these symptoms also, then an allergy could be responsible.

Some parasitic intestinal conditions are difficult to diagnose as an individual fecal sample may not contain any trace of the parasites, so I’d recommend having more fecal tests done if things don’t get better.

I really wish that I could help more as I can imagine how frustrating and difficult this must be for everyone. The good news is that your dog doesn’t seem to be unwell in any other way, or being made uncomfortable by this problem, so hopefully it’s an isolated condition and your vet will be able to get to the root of the problem.

I wish you all the very best of luck.

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Dec 28, 2010

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thank you
by: Anonymous Hello, I’m so sorry to hear of the troubles with Onyx. We have gotten no further ahead of the diarrhea since my last post. For awhile I thought things were moving toward better and then back to water. Did your holistic vet do any testing for celiac?

I have also tried a gluten free kibble, home cooking might have to be next step for her. Luckily she is not yet showing any signs of dehydration, weight loss, mood apathy, etc. I have been giving her vit b12 injections for past 5 weeks though.

Thank you!!!!!! Aimee & Roxie


Dec 27, 2010

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Rotti Stomach Issues…
by: JPM Hi there. I hear everything that your saying, and the previous comments. I’m not sure how things have gone in the last month or so with the new suggestions, but I just came across this site and read your problem and it struck close to home.

Onyx, my now almost 8 year old Rotti, about three years ago developed the same thing, loose stools and then her bowl movements eventually turned into pure water, constantly. I spent thousands upon thousands of dollars to find out what was wrong, tests, biopsies, pills, shots…everything short of major surgery. Turns out, after I took her to a holistic lady as a last shot before surgery, it was a stomach issue. My Onyx was down to 59 lbs, I could see her ribs, she couldn’t go more then 2-4 hours without a terrible accident, and I could see how sad she was, and it was killing me that I had no solution as I slowly watched my dog die.

Onyx was diagnosed with a disorder called Celiac Disease. Its essentially a stomach problem in all animals (including humans) where gluten causes upset stomach. Even the gluten free foods for dogs caused Onyx major issues, so I began to make her food myself.

I use equal parts boiled brown rice (only brown rice, no other kinds can be supplemented) and boiled ground beef and for extra vitamins, I add carrots, apples and various other supplements to the mix. With in 48 hours, Onyx had a normal bowl movement and in less then 2 months, she was back to normal weight and she was herself again after nearly a year of problems. The only downside, I need to prepare her food which is a little time consuming, but its become a Sunday evening activity for me and my wife.

If nothing else is helping, I hope this does. Best of luck, I know how hard it is to watch helplessly as your dog suffers.


Nov 24, 2010

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thnx
by: Anonymous Julie, thank you very much for your thoughts and suggestions. Slippery Elm is excellent and have also had success with it previously. Unfort. not this time though, I do appreciate your taking the time to help us :)!
Aimee

Nov 24, 2010

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thx
by: Anonymous Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. We sent a blood test off to Texas A/M and nothing to remarkable resulted from that either. Their thoughts were sensitivity to a food(s) and to do another food trial with a different novel protein and supplemental Vit B injections for 6 wks.

Thankfully she isn’t affected other than a low B level, so we’ll keep trying. I feel better getting as much input as possible to make sure nothing is overlooked. Thank you again!


Nov 24, 2010

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SLIPPY ELM
by: JULIE Hi there, try using (after checking with your vet) a natural product called Slippy Elm. When my first Rottie got parvo (after having all her innoculations) I found that she was allergic to the anit vomit injection, so went to the health food shop and got Slippy elm powder and gave it to her and with hours she had stop vomiting and actually recovered from parvo. Now whenever any of my dogs get an upset stomach I use Slippy elm and it seems to work.

Hope this help.


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About The Rotty lover 2159 Articles
My name is Dr. Winnie. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Duke University, a Masters of Science in Biology from St Georges University, and graduated from the University of Pretoria Veterinary School in South Africa. I have been an animal lover and owners all my life having owned a Rottweiler named Duke, a Pekingese named Athena and now a Bull Mastiff named George, also known as big G! I'm also an amateur equestrian and love working with horses. I'm a full-time Veterinarian in South Africa specializing in internal medicine for large breed dogs. I enjoy spending time with my husband, 2 kids and Big G in my free time. Author and Contribturor at SeniorTailWaggers, A Love of Rottweilers, DogsCatsPets and TheDogsBone