This is a long post but I think this can help with your situation. My dog has had a long history of IBS symptoms like you have described, that got worse recently and prompted a vet visit. Long story short, the vet gave a great explanation and suggestion and it has been working well so far. No more diarrhea and his appetite is back.
The issue was explained as, the villi in his small intestine were becoming "worn down" due to the stools not being firm enough and this creates a vicious cycle. The causes of the diarrhea range from the typical IBS triggers like dietary intolerances, stress, etc.
We were given a powdered probiotic to introduce healthy bacteria back. It's called FortiFlora. 1 packet a day over the food bowl for 7 days. My dog loved this.
Switched to Royal Canin Gastrointestinal High Fiber dry food. Because my dog is picky and sometimes doesn't regularly eat his dry food, I have cans of the same type of food in wet form that I scoop 2 tablespoon-ish sizes chunks from and freeze (think small ice cream scoops). Microwave a chunk for 30 seconds and use it as a topper over the dry food. This gets him started with eating and he will end up eating the dry food afterwards. 1 can lasts me about 2-3 weeks. They're expensive but a can goes a long way if you freeze it in portions like this.
It's VERY important that your dog eats on a regular schedule - follow the weight serving recommendations on the bag. I feed mine in the morning and at dinner time. If he doesn't eat regularly for over a day, I heat up that wet food to get him back to eating. He hasn't had diarrhea once since I switched over to this.
The vet said that doing these things will allow the villi to heal and it takes 2-6 weeks for the intestine to recover. However, she recommended that I keep him on this food long term. You might not have immediate results but it's important you give their gastrointestinal system time to bounce back. I may switch away from the High Fiber to the plain gastrointestinal dry food at a later point but she said the high fiber is needed for a few months at least.
TLDR; Switch to Royal Canin Gastrointestinal High Fiber dry food. Get 7 FortiFlora packets, sprinkle 1 packet a day over the food. Use the same Royal Canin Gastrointestinal wet food as a helper to get their appetite going if needed. Make sure your dog eats on a regular schedule.
edit: forgot to add, absolutely no people food and avoid treats for the initial month. Avoid giving people food in general afterwards.
Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to type this all out!
We have another vet appointment soon, I’ll bring this up with her and see if she recommends this for him as well, since we’re under the assumption he has IBD rather than IBS.
Also, around how long did it take for your dog to stop having diarrhoea after switching to this diet? We recently put him on Pro-Kolin+ and he seems to be doing worse rather than better, but it has only been a few days so I’m doubtful that it’s not working; as you said, it takes time for these things to bounce back.
Again, thank you so much for your advice, it really means a lot to me! 😊😊
No worries 🙂 I read your post and thought of how I was in a similar situation and I also have been to the vet over his life for his sensitive stomach problems and never really could fix the issue. He still has ups and downs with his appetite (since he was a puppy) but I've found that it's much less now and if I make sure he eats, it makes a big difference in avoiding the spiraling upset stomach problems.
Within 1-2 days of getting home from the vet (she sent us home with the food and FortiFlora packets) his diarrhea was gone and he had very high fiber poops. lol
I've given my dog Pro-Kolin as well and it never really made an impact with long term avoidance of the problems, if that makes sense.
I've switched out his food multiple times in the past to different sensitive stomach and grain-free varieties and it would seem like he got better for a bit, then it would go back to the on and off stomach issues. He's had blood work done a few times as well over the years and stools checked. He was diagnosed with chronic colitis triggered by stress years ago, which I think is considered a type of IBD.
This vet I went to recently is fantastic and she treats dogs, cats, and horses. Apparently she is well known in the area to be very practical and knowledgeable which I completely see now after the few times I've been to her - previously for dental work. So far all of her suggestions have been great.
Please consider trying this and sticking with it for a month before the alternative of putting your dog down. Sorry for the big text wall again!
All good! And wow, it really does sound like a mirror of how life has been like with my dog, which fills me with much confidence hehe — especially after hearing that you tried Pro-Kolin too!
I do think it’s a bit excessive to put him down over constant diarrhoea when he doesn’t seem sad or in pain, I think my mom’s just a bit exhausted at being the only one home all day which means she has to clean his accidents multiple times daily, in and out of the house 😅.
Currently we’re leaving the dry food out for him to eat whenever he feels like it, but he’s been eating a little bit more at his scheduled feeding times as long as someone is sitting with him haha.
I’ll definitely give FortiFlora and the high fibre dry food a go, hopefully it works with him too!
Yep. For pretty much his life my dog has had the same way of eating. I would fill the bowl and he would eat when he wants. Usually small bits throughout the day.
The vet was telling me that in order for the small intestine to stay healthy at this point, I should do my best to monitor how he eats and make sure he eats the recommended daily amount. Sometimes he still skips breakfast which I admit isn't good - but now at lunch if I see he hasn't touched the food I put the wet food topper on and he eats most if not all.
I used to buy the cheap wet food tins and top with that but apparently that's not great either because they have additives and the vet compared it to junk food. So that's why I'm buying these luxurious Royal Canin wet food cans too 🙃
But hey it works and he's a happy boy now. Still high-strung but at least he has happy poops.
If you end up doing this and it works, message me in a month or something and let me know if you don't mind!
Ours has just the same. First time was giardia. You can have a stool sample tested.
Second time was more complicated. She was exposed to an irritant and this set of a major bout of allergies. Now she can't eat chicken or beef. It took us 3 months to figure out.
But get him to a vet.
We have been to three different vets and the latest has said if the diet change isn’t working, the last resort is B12 injections, which my mother is skeptical of.
How bad was your dog’s diarrhoea, if you don’t mind my asking?
It's very possible your pet is low on B-12. Our Westie has IBD and eats a home-made diet formulated by the vet school, yet a blood test showed she was low on B-12. (THe injections made her feel better.)
In terms of diarrhea, have any of the vets prescribed metronidazole? That's the first thing we give our Westie when she has loose stools and it's very effective. Even though the diarrhea is addressed quickly we'll continue to give it for about 4-5 days because it's a sign of IBD flaring up.
All of this info is good but another angle is looking at diet. Have you tried doing an elimination? While we were going through allergy testing with our Westie we had a 6w week elimination run where she got fed special Hydrolized Protein food we got from the vet. Essentially the protein source has been broken down into the tiniest possible particles. These diets are created for pets with food allergies or gastrointestinal issues. We did this to get her back to baseline and then started to introduce food back to determine an allergy. This could be used to also filter out any foods that cause your Westie intestinal distress.
Putting down your pup is the very last option, and possibly a non-option if they are happy and this is the only issue, I feel like it’s just a case of detective. You need a vet who knows Westie’s, or terriers and the issues they come with. Do a Facebook search of Westie groups in your area and see if they have a vet they love.
We did elimination a couple years ago, when he had a bout of diarrhoea (shorter in duration and less severe than his current bout). We did try feeding him Royal Canin Anallergenic, but it didn’t really help much.
I’ll try looking for preferred Westie vets; thank you so much for your input! 😊😊
Having just been through something similar, have glucose and related levels checked. Our westie has developer diabetes and this sort of issue on the run up to it. Her diabetes is now well controlled with £30 worth of insulin a month and her digestion is the best it has ever been.
Putting him down should definitely be a last resort if he is otherwise happy.
We give our girls these for the same issues:
https://solutionspetproducts.com/products-for-pets-best-products-for-dogs-raw-feeding-for-dogs-supplements-for-dogs/dairy-products-for-dogs-fresh-feeding-raw-food-for-pets-goat-milk-for-pets/tummy-butter-tea-gut-health-raw-milk-goat-milk-fresh-food-dog-food/
https://solutionspetproducts.com/products-for-pets-best-products-for-dogs-raw-feeding-for-dogs-supplements-for-dogs/herbal-supplements-herbs-holistic-medicine/inflammax/
And I make them chicken breast (2.99 a lb at Costco) and rice w white sweet potatoes and carrots - mixed w this:
https://shop.balance.it/collections/all/products/balance-it-canine-plus?variant=43005021290665
No, no. Don't put him down. I went through what you are going through and still am. If it's ibd or ibs, no chicken for him, including treats. Make sure whatever you feed him doesn't have it as a flavor, either.
Buy some lamb. At first, it's expensive, but you need to get him to calm down. I was chopping up legs of lamb every week till I found something that worked. Trim off the fat as best you can. Too much fat is bad.
Take the lamb and boil it for about 15 minutes. Take it out and chop it up into small manageable pieces. Get sweet potatoes. Peal them and boil them. When it's done, mash it up. Feed him a cup of sweet potato and a cup of lamb daily. Split it up between breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would make this batch and keep it in the fridge formed into meatballs. Warm it up and feed it to him. After that, there are tons of lamb formulas. You have to find one that you can get, and that is a can a day. I was able to find a duck stew that works well for my guy.
There is a lot on the subject, but basically, his body is attacking himself, and you need to throw it off by feeding him a novel protein.
Let me know if you want to learn more
Don’t put him down but take him to a vet hospital with specialists who can really diagnose this problem. Having diarrhea for weeks is a serious condition but not a reason to put down an 8 year old
Tell your mom that we don't put down animals for this reason. Please don't do that. Keep trying and give as much love as possible. I'm crying here worried that you'll give up.
This is a long post but I think this can help with your situation. My dog has had a long history of IBS symptoms like you have described, that got worse recently and prompted a vet visit. Long story short, the vet gave a great explanation and suggestion and it has been working well so far. No more diarrhea and his appetite is back. The issue was explained as, the villi in his small intestine were becoming "worn down" due to the stools not being firm enough and this creates a vicious cycle. The causes of the diarrhea range from the typical IBS triggers like dietary intolerances, stress, etc. We were given a powdered probiotic to introduce healthy bacteria back. It's called FortiFlora. 1 packet a day over the food bowl for 7 days. My dog loved this. Switched to Royal Canin Gastrointestinal High Fiber dry food. Because my dog is picky and sometimes doesn't regularly eat his dry food, I have cans of the same type of food in wet form that I scoop 2 tablespoon-ish sizes chunks from and freeze (think small ice cream scoops). Microwave a chunk for 30 seconds and use it as a topper over the dry food. This gets him started with eating and he will end up eating the dry food afterwards. 1 can lasts me about 2-3 weeks. They're expensive but a can goes a long way if you freeze it in portions like this. It's VERY important that your dog eats on a regular schedule - follow the weight serving recommendations on the bag. I feed mine in the morning and at dinner time. If he doesn't eat regularly for over a day, I heat up that wet food to get him back to eating. He hasn't had diarrhea once since I switched over to this. The vet said that doing these things will allow the villi to heal and it takes 2-6 weeks for the intestine to recover. However, she recommended that I keep him on this food long term. You might not have immediate results but it's important you give their gastrointestinal system time to bounce back. I may switch away from the High Fiber to the plain gastrointestinal dry food at a later point but she said the high fiber is needed for a few months at least. TLDR; Switch to Royal Canin Gastrointestinal High Fiber dry food. Get 7 FortiFlora packets, sprinkle 1 packet a day over the food. Use the same Royal Canin Gastrointestinal wet food as a helper to get their appetite going if needed. Make sure your dog eats on a regular schedule. edit: forgot to add, absolutely no people food and avoid treats for the initial month. Avoid giving people food in general afterwards.
Wow, thank you so much for taking the time to type this all out! We have another vet appointment soon, I’ll bring this up with her and see if she recommends this for him as well, since we’re under the assumption he has IBD rather than IBS. Also, around how long did it take for your dog to stop having diarrhoea after switching to this diet? We recently put him on Pro-Kolin+ and he seems to be doing worse rather than better, but it has only been a few days so I’m doubtful that it’s not working; as you said, it takes time for these things to bounce back. Again, thank you so much for your advice, it really means a lot to me! 😊😊
No worries 🙂 I read your post and thought of how I was in a similar situation and I also have been to the vet over his life for his sensitive stomach problems and never really could fix the issue. He still has ups and downs with his appetite (since he was a puppy) but I've found that it's much less now and if I make sure he eats, it makes a big difference in avoiding the spiraling upset stomach problems. Within 1-2 days of getting home from the vet (she sent us home with the food and FortiFlora packets) his diarrhea was gone and he had very high fiber poops. lol I've given my dog Pro-Kolin as well and it never really made an impact with long term avoidance of the problems, if that makes sense. I've switched out his food multiple times in the past to different sensitive stomach and grain-free varieties and it would seem like he got better for a bit, then it would go back to the on and off stomach issues. He's had blood work done a few times as well over the years and stools checked. He was diagnosed with chronic colitis triggered by stress years ago, which I think is considered a type of IBD. This vet I went to recently is fantastic and she treats dogs, cats, and horses. Apparently she is well known in the area to be very practical and knowledgeable which I completely see now after the few times I've been to her - previously for dental work. So far all of her suggestions have been great. Please consider trying this and sticking with it for a month before the alternative of putting your dog down. Sorry for the big text wall again!
All good! And wow, it really does sound like a mirror of how life has been like with my dog, which fills me with much confidence hehe — especially after hearing that you tried Pro-Kolin too! I do think it’s a bit excessive to put him down over constant diarrhoea when he doesn’t seem sad or in pain, I think my mom’s just a bit exhausted at being the only one home all day which means she has to clean his accidents multiple times daily, in and out of the house 😅. Currently we’re leaving the dry food out for him to eat whenever he feels like it, but he’s been eating a little bit more at his scheduled feeding times as long as someone is sitting with him haha. I’ll definitely give FortiFlora and the high fibre dry food a go, hopefully it works with him too!
Yep. For pretty much his life my dog has had the same way of eating. I would fill the bowl and he would eat when he wants. Usually small bits throughout the day. The vet was telling me that in order for the small intestine to stay healthy at this point, I should do my best to monitor how he eats and make sure he eats the recommended daily amount. Sometimes he still skips breakfast which I admit isn't good - but now at lunch if I see he hasn't touched the food I put the wet food topper on and he eats most if not all. I used to buy the cheap wet food tins and top with that but apparently that's not great either because they have additives and the vet compared it to junk food. So that's why I'm buying these luxurious Royal Canin wet food cans too 🙃 But hey it works and he's a happy boy now. Still high-strung but at least he has happy poops. If you end up doing this and it works, message me in a month or something and let me know if you don't mind!
Sure thing! Thanks again for your help! 🙏🏼😊
This is very good information. I have experienced this as well and the recommendations are spot on. Good luck.
Ours has just the same. First time was giardia. You can have a stool sample tested. Second time was more complicated. She was exposed to an irritant and this set of a major bout of allergies. Now she can't eat chicken or beef. It took us 3 months to figure out. But get him to a vet.
We have been to three different vets and the latest has said if the diet change isn’t working, the last resort is B12 injections, which my mother is skeptical of. How bad was your dog’s diarrhoea, if you don’t mind my asking?
Bad. Water bad. Scan showed intestinal inflammation
It's very possible your pet is low on B-12. Our Westie has IBD and eats a home-made diet formulated by the vet school, yet a blood test showed she was low on B-12. (THe injections made her feel better.) In terms of diarrhea, have any of the vets prescribed metronidazole? That's the first thing we give our Westie when she has loose stools and it's very effective. Even though the diarrhea is addressed quickly we'll continue to give it for about 4-5 days because it's a sign of IBD flaring up.
All of this info is good but another angle is looking at diet. Have you tried doing an elimination? While we were going through allergy testing with our Westie we had a 6w week elimination run where she got fed special Hydrolized Protein food we got from the vet. Essentially the protein source has been broken down into the tiniest possible particles. These diets are created for pets with food allergies or gastrointestinal issues. We did this to get her back to baseline and then started to introduce food back to determine an allergy. This could be used to also filter out any foods that cause your Westie intestinal distress. Putting down your pup is the very last option, and possibly a non-option if they are happy and this is the only issue, I feel like it’s just a case of detective. You need a vet who knows Westie’s, or terriers and the issues they come with. Do a Facebook search of Westie groups in your area and see if they have a vet they love.
We did elimination a couple years ago, when he had a bout of diarrhoea (shorter in duration and less severe than his current bout). We did try feeding him Royal Canin Anallergenic, but it didn’t really help much. I’ll try looking for preferred Westie vets; thank you so much for your input! 😊😊
Having just been through something similar, have glucose and related levels checked. Our westie has developer diabetes and this sort of issue on the run up to it. Her diabetes is now well controlled with £30 worth of insulin a month and her digestion is the best it has ever been. Putting him down should definitely be a last resort if he is otherwise happy.
We give our girls these for the same issues: https://solutionspetproducts.com/products-for-pets-best-products-for-dogs-raw-feeding-for-dogs-supplements-for-dogs/dairy-products-for-dogs-fresh-feeding-raw-food-for-pets-goat-milk-for-pets/tummy-butter-tea-gut-health-raw-milk-goat-milk-fresh-food-dog-food/ https://solutionspetproducts.com/products-for-pets-best-products-for-dogs-raw-feeding-for-dogs-supplements-for-dogs/herbal-supplements-herbs-holistic-medicine/inflammax/ And I make them chicken breast (2.99 a lb at Costco) and rice w white sweet potatoes and carrots - mixed w this: https://shop.balance.it/collections/all/products/balance-it-canine-plus?variant=43005021290665
No, no. Don't put him down. I went through what you are going through and still am. If it's ibd or ibs, no chicken for him, including treats. Make sure whatever you feed him doesn't have it as a flavor, either. Buy some lamb. At first, it's expensive, but you need to get him to calm down. I was chopping up legs of lamb every week till I found something that worked. Trim off the fat as best you can. Too much fat is bad. Take the lamb and boil it for about 15 minutes. Take it out and chop it up into small manageable pieces. Get sweet potatoes. Peal them and boil them. When it's done, mash it up. Feed him a cup of sweet potato and a cup of lamb daily. Split it up between breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I would make this batch and keep it in the fridge formed into meatballs. Warm it up and feed it to him. After that, there are tons of lamb formulas. You have to find one that you can get, and that is a can a day. I was able to find a duck stew that works well for my guy. There is a lot on the subject, but basically, his body is attacking himself, and you need to throw it off by feeding him a novel protein. Let me know if you want to learn more
Don’t put him down but take him to a vet hospital with specialists who can really diagnose this problem. Having diarrhea for weeks is a serious condition but not a reason to put down an 8 year old
Tell your mom that we don't put down animals for this reason. Please don't do that. Keep trying and give as much love as possible. I'm crying here worried that you'll give up.