Loose stools and congestion :(

dunky · Sep 10, 2014

My boy Augie just turned 5 years old last August, and it seems for the last year or so we have really been battling soft/loose stool and now we are dealing with sinus issues and congestion. I'm getting to my wit's end because I feel so bad for him. The tummy issues all started when I noticed he wasn't keeping weight on TOTW lamb, so I switched him to the prairie formula that was higher protein/fat. I've tried switching brands and proteins but it's still an issue. I've asked my vet about it, but he hasn't really done anything about it other than sending him home with some purina fortiflora. On top of all that he had a bad reaction to his kennel cough vaccine and has been fighting nasal/sinus issues since the end of May, meaning he's been on and off antibiotics. He's really getting to the point he doesn't want to eat and the antibiotics seem to be doing nothing to help his congestion.

He's been on Acana, Fromms, Merrick, Instinct, Blue, and Wellness Core so far. We've been through many cans of pumpkin and yogurt with no signs of improvement. The only thing I'm wondering is if maybe he's got a chicken allergy and he has developed an allergy to Lamb. He seems to like the Acana Duck but his stools still seem to not be firming up. For the last month or so I've been giving him commercial raw food for breakfast because he'd refuse to eat kibble in the morning. I'm wondering if maybe I should try switching him to a full raw diet?

Right now he get's 4-5oz of raw in the morning with 1 tsp ACV, 1/2 tsp sodium ascorbate, and 1/4 tsp msm added. At night he gets 3/4 c Acana with the same supplements as the AM plus 1 pump of grizzly salmon oil and 1 tsp Animal Essentials Plant Enzymes and Probiotics. He also gets 1/2 of a claritin at night to try to help some with his congestion.

Sorry it is kind of a book, I'm just really sad that my little boy isn't feeling so good.

KimB3384 · Sep 11, 2014

Is there potato in any of the foods you've fed, including the commercial raw? My Frenchie can't deal with potato and it'll give her soft stools.

Raw honey can help with congestion. 1/2 t. twice a day.

MaplesMommy · Sep 11, 2014

Hi there.
Im sorry your baby isnt feeling well.
I would defintely get away from the kibble and feed a raw diet only. Even though Acana is a good kibble its still processed food.
Where is your raw meat from? Is it Primal or Stella & Chewy's etc?

I would take it easy on all the supplements. They are all great but sometimes it can be too much to handle especially if your dog has a sensitivity.

I would suggest you feed a full raw diet and add 1 1/2 teaspoons (start slowly) of Kefir as probiotic and you can use 1/2 teaspoon of organic Turmeric powder which is a great detoxifier and also has some binding agents meaning it will help with the loose stool.
And /or Calendula stimulates the immune system and aids the digestive tract.

2bullymama · Sep 11, 2014

Could all this be environmental allergies? Full raw diet will definitely help boost the immune system.

In the meantime.. have you tried to give any Benedryl (1 mg per pound up to 3x a day) or Claretin (half tablet per day)? Not children's formula, but regular adult tablets?

dunky · Sep 11, 2014

The vet thinks it's allergies, but I'm not sure. I've been giving him half of a claritin every night because it seems to help more than benedryl and zyrtec did. Right now I've got Primal (raw and freeze dried), Stella and Chewy's (freeze dried), Orijen Red (freeze dried), and Instinct (raw) all in the house. I don't have any local access to any sort of raw food, so I stocked up on some when I went to a town that had a few stores that sold it a while back.

I'm thinking that I'll switch him to full raw and then try introducing any more supplements (although I'm not sure if I can source kefir locally). I do actually have some local honey that I can try feeding him too.

KimB3384 · Sep 12, 2014

Do you get soft stools on all of those foods? I'm asking because I've used all of them and the only brand I've had any issues with is the Primal. The first four formulas (beef, chicken, duck, and lamb) in their line have yams in them, and those caused us a ton of grief. The rest (rabbit, pheasant, turkey and sardine, and venison) were fine. I think your plan to go all raw will definitely help. Like [MENTION=377]MaplesMommy[/MENTION] says, add some tumeric to the food and give it a week or two to see if you notice a difference.

There's an all natural supplement I've been using for allergies called Vet's Best Seasonal Allergy Support. It has stinging nettle in it, which is great for congestion. It's pretty inexpensive and lasts a long time. You give 1/2 tablet twice a day. Maybe look into something like that as opposed to the OTC allergy medicine. I know that for me, even if it says non-drowsy, it all makes me drowsy.

Good luck, and keep us posted!

davidh · Sep 12, 2014

I would also try stopping one of the supplements you give him for a few days at a time to see if that will help with the soft stool. start with the salmon oil and work your way through them. Also on the honey, I would only give a teaspoon a few times a week. Don't want to have his sugar level get too high. Also on the Bordetella vaccination, there is a new one out that they just rub some in their mouth. no chance of nasal irritation or pneumonia, there is also a shot, but we use the oral version.

dunky · Sep 12, 2014

Right now he's getting 1 1/3c of primal duck pronto bits for breakfast, and then 5 nuggets of dehydrated primal for dinner (duck and lamb). He still is a bit too lean for my liking, but I'm hoping once I get his gut issues figured out that I will be able to get him to a healthier weight. I've stopped all supplements, but I'm still giving him the claritin. He's still pretty congested sounding, but I feel like it is getting better. I'll look into the Vet's Best supplement.

I had no idea that they did a mouth vaccination for Bordatella. I'll ask my vet about it when they are due, because there is no way in heck any of my dogs are going to get intranasals next year.

FrenchieDante · Sep 13, 2014

As far as the congestion goes... Take him into the shower with you for a few minutes to let the steam help clear out the sinuses. Has the vet commented on his soft pallete and nares?

I hope it's a seasonal allergy thing... And the coming months will help it clear up & give you time to boost the immune system before spring hits!

dunky · Sep 13, 2014

I'll try the shower thing, and hopefully he won't hop in will me! lol

He does have mildly stenotic nares but as far as I know his palate is fine. His stool this morning was still soft, despite being on all raw for the last 3 days. I'm thinking that I'll give him another few days on the same foods I've been feeding, then try going potato free to see if there is a difference.

dunky · Sep 13, 2014

Well maybe I spoke too soon. Tonight he refused dinner and had diarrhea with some blood in it when I took him out afterwards.

eeturk · Sep 14, 2014

My dog never had firm stool until we switched him to the frozen Stella and Chewy's. Even on the freeze dried he had loose stools. The frozen raw did the trick and he's doing so much better.

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dunky · Sep 14, 2014

He threw up mucus twice this morning and refused to eat breakfast. I'm thinking it is time to call the vet again.

FrenchieDante · Sep 14, 2014

Maybe there is an underlying problem and food has nothing to do with it -- get that sweet boy to the vet! It could be a blockage of some sort.

dunky · Sep 15, 2014

He's got an appointment first thing on Wednesday (the soonest they could get me in with my work schedule). I would have called them on an emergency basis yesterday except for the fact he was still acting okay. I've got him on a bland hamburger/rice diet now and he seems to be doing a bit better.

mhuinker · Sep 16, 2014

Poor boy. Hope it's nothing too serious. Keep us posted on the issue with his stool.... that's scary (blood).

dunky · Sep 17, 2014

Vet said he was fine, other than noting he was still having clear discharge from his nose.

I chatted with the rest of the staff on my way out and they told me about their allergy testing. I'm debating on going ahead and doing it. I could do a full panel with inside/outside allergens and food, or just a food panel. I'm not sure which to do.

Cbrugs · Sep 17, 2014

If you can, I would do both. I've heard testing for food allergies is not 100% accurate but it could give you a base. I had an allergy test done on Jax back in April for environmental stuff and found out he is allergic to basically everything outside (grass, trees, shrubs, weeds, etc). Where I live, I couldn't even find a vet that tested for food allergies so I have to go based on trial and error.

dunky · Sep 17, 2014

The more I think about it, I'm really leaning towards at least doing the food panel. It's only $120 and I'm sure I've already wasted more than that with trying other brands. The full panel is $265, and I need to find out if that includes the allergy shots or not. Right now I'm not wanting to do the shots, but I think it might be helpful to know everything he is allergic to so I know when I need to be giving him antihistamines.

I'm pretty sure this recent issue was because of potatoes. I was giving him primal raw duck for both meals and he got worse, whereas before I was giving him primal for breakfast and kibble for dinner. His kibble doesn't have a very high potato content, and luckily I just bought a bag of its reformulation with no potatoes at all. I'm still considering doing full raw with him and in the meantime I'm sure my other dogs will enjoy eating the primal that he can't eat lol.