Dog has soft stool or diarrhea

[Kita]

Hello all, My dog has had diarrhea/soft stool for about 3 months sometimes real runny other times formed but soft. Took her to my Veterinarian he took blood and stool sample. Now can he tell by these samples if she has IBD/S or
digestive issue. He thinks it is IBD he is not sure and wants me to
see a specialist. So do I go to another Veterinarian for a second
opinion or go straight to the specialist. My Veterinarian gave her
stool hardener, put her on a high fiber diet neither worked so I got
him to give her a dewormer and I put her back on a taste of the wild
bison food but I soak it in water so it is easier on her stomach.
Since the dewormer and food change her stool is usually formed still
soft and has the odd runny one. Guess I am asking for direction...a
second opinion? or specialist.

[Barkingdog]

Did you check out the ingredients in the dog food some dogs can't eat grains , my dog can't . I have to feed him a grain free dog food b/c he was getting soft stools . It's hard to say if you should get a second opinion b/c that vet may tell you to see a specialist too and I don't know if you can afford to do both. If you trust the vet you're using now then go see the specialist but I would try to ask some friends if they know of a one . And if you see a second vet do some research on them first . But do make sure your dog is drinking enough water if she getting diarrhea a lot. Good luck , I hope you'll find out what wrong with your dog.

[Winston]

Try putting some pure pumpkin on the food for a couple of days. It works both ways for constipation and loose stools. It cant be the pie filling only pure pumpkin. I buy it in a can and the leftover I put in an ice cube tray instead of wasting it.

P.S Maybe the bison food is too rich for her. Maybe try a different protein.

[Kita]

Thank you for your reply...she is on grain free food.. Pumpkin ... tried that no go. Trying different foods a little at time...OMG the farts!! The specialist is 2-3 thousand$ second opinion 2-5 hundred although he/she may say the same thing...looking for direction.

[hazelrunpack]

Sounds like our Evan. He also had a very picky stomach and months-long bouts of diarrhea. Given that it's been so long for your girl, I think I'd go for the specialist.

When Evan was having his problems back in the late 1990s, the only way to get a definitive diagnosis of IBD was an intestinal biopsy--basically a punch biopsy. Not sure if that's still necessary or if they have other tests now, but an internist would know. Specialists can be pricey, but in our experience, they're well worth the money. Their knowledge base is above and beyond what a general vet has on these tough cases, mostly because they see so many more of them.

Evan had his biopsy done on an emergency basis when his stools got tarry and he took a very sudden and definite turn for the worse. The diagnosis came just in time--a few more days and he would have been beyond treatment. Probably best not to wait that long.... I wish we'd gotten the referral to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the U of MN earlier than we did! That was just cutting it too close!

[hazelrunpack]

Holy catz! Just saw your estimate for the specialist! Is the specialist associated with a vet school?

[Barkingdog]

Originally Posted by hazelrunpack

Holy catz! Just saw your estimate for the specialist! Is the specialist associated with a vet school?

I know that is insane ! What is he/her specialty highway robbery ??
Wouldn't a specialist associated with a vet school be less than 2-3 thousands dollars ?



I had a hard time finding a brand of dog food that agreed with my dog he is Earthborn Holistic dried dog food and was eating Bison but got tired of it and now is eating lamb. I found out he like their fish dog food too after I brought a bag of lamb . It's grain free and I been having good luck with Earthborn for few years now.

[Kita]

This cost would be for the scope (if anything is found) and the specialists opinion and whatever else he/she would do

Thanks again for the help, have decided to get a second opinion from another vet.

[hazelrunpack]

Okay, I can see that much if the scope is included. I think the bill for Evan when it was all said and done, ran about $4,000 including the initial consult (a few hundred $$), the scope and biopsy, the meds, and a whole slew of tests to confirm the diagnosis and rule out one other thing it could have been.

Let us know what the second vet says. Hope you get some definitive good news!

[MaxaLisa]

Peronally I would go to the specialit, or to a holitic vet. Mot regular vet really are jut playing wack-a-mole with this stuff. There are ome diagnositcs that can be done first, and a good specialist will have some thing to try before getting to the scope. I put oFf coping for about a year, while we tried things. Turns out my girl had clostridium (two different types on two different occassions), and of course that test itself cots about $250 US.

A lot of it will depend on the actual specialist, but, as an example, I can say with my last dog we were dinking around with his health issues for about 7 months, and the specialist knew what it was on the first visit.

Obvious things to try - probiotics, a food change to a novel protein, and novel carb /veggie ource. I would try homecooked if you can.

[Lynne&Co.]

I have experienced similar symptoms with one of my dogs on the past and switched to feeding RAW. Your vet will probably discourage this form of food as my vet did.
I fed prescription vet food, Fortiflora (probiotic) and even tried a calming medication in case the problem was due to nerves. In the end my vet suggested a referral to a specialist for a biopsy
As a last resort before seeing a specialist, I tried RAW with great success.
Good luck!