Sounds awful, scary and very upsetting.

Could she be drinking so much water because she's dehydrated from the diarrhea? Humans often get diarrhea from taking antibiotics because the antibiotics kill off the friendly bacteria in the intestinal tract. But you say she loses the diarrhea as soon as she's on the antibiotics?

Parasites? Giardia?

Have you tried giving her a spoonful of natural nonfat plain yogurt with live cultures along with her meals, to replace the friendly bacteria in her gut? The rice and cottage cheese diet, with a little plain boiled chicken breast? You can mix a couple of tablespoons of natural psyllium husks (like Metamucil only without the flavoring etc., available at natural foods stores) and water in with her food. Though it's used as a laxative, it also "bulks up" the stools so they become gel-like instead of liquid.

Good luck!

nlady, I got to ask - is there any chance she ate any recalled food? Symptoms can include: vomiting, increased thirst, increase or lack of urination, lethargy, bad breath, diarrhea or lack of appetite

I actually was under the impression certain anti-biotics CAUSE diarrhea. I know they can certainly with humans.

Any chance she is just maybe a little stressed since you just got her? Maybe her food should be switched as well...and no wet food until it stops (if she is getting any to begin with)

Maybe the prior home of the dog has some information?

Did you cook fresh chicken and rice or offered soup from a can?

Cook the chicken and rice, or pasta, and offer her that. My dogs won't touch canned soup.......and most brands are too salty.
If it continues with chicken, try lamb.

Carafate always helped my gal when she had a GI upset, but if I were you and didn't see a change with home-cooked food, I'd take her to the university .

Also ask your vet if there's a local 'internal medicine vet' that he can refer you to..........but maybe that's why he sending you to the univ.

We have two 10 month mini labradoodles, brother and sister. Amos, the larger of the two tends to have softer stools than Andi. I started them on Nutro brand foods since that is what we had our previous dog on and she did so well on it. I mix 2-3 types of it, dry kibble for variety but I have to watch the Ultra, which has salmon in it as well as other stuff - it tends to make Amos have softer stools.

We really haven't had diarrhea until this week. Amos kinda walks while he poops so you can easily see when he is having trouble with his bottom not being clean. (Walks spread leg across the yard, so funny to see!). I took a stool sample in yesterday and it was negative for worms, parasites but they said they had been seeing alot of intenistal distress lately and attributed it to stuff that is found in the soil this time of year and the fact that we have been so dry. Amos is constantly eating sticks, digging for rocks, and eating grass. Andi doesn't do it nearly as much and her stools are always firm, so that leads me to believe that maybe the vet is right.

Since this is an ongoing problem, have you considered that maybe your little girl is getting into some plants or something that maybe is slightly harmful. The vet gave me a pamphlet yesterday that lists plants, houehold products, etc that are harmful. I know Amos was helping me clean up a flower bed the other day and was chewing on roots that I had pulled up - I thought they were oak but could have been azaela and that was on the list. Just a thought.
He gave him metronidazole, 1 every 12 hours for 5 days.
After two tablets and giving him chicken and rice for dinner last night (guess what we had for dinner, too!), his tools this morning were "formed" but still soft.

Nutro has a kibble that is for sensitive stomachs so I am gong to keep him on that for the next week or so. Nutro pouch food was recalled but not the kibble, as of yet, at least. It is also good for less stool and less smell.

Hope you find an answer. I love my babies, they are so loving and sweet. Raising two has been a challenge. I am at home so they have trained me more than me them but they are so attentive to each other and us. They are complete opposites in some ways but just so much fun. I hope once you get this problem in check that you can enjoy your baby as much. One day of it and I was really worried, I can't imagine how you have dealt with it.

If you want to share some "doodle experiences, email me through Garden web."

Mary

Was the puppy purchased from a pet store?

A friend went through something similar with her Rottie;
every test in the universe, every pill & drug & pharmaceutical potion, still had the problem.

She gave him 1 tablespoon of plain canned pumpkin (not pie filling, just pumpkin) twice a day...& it worked.

I've since used it with an elderly cat, & it worked for him, too.

Sounds like recurrent giardia. Sometimes an extended course of treatment is necessary to kill the resistant ones, and a close inspection of the home and grounds is called for to be able to stop any reinfection. For instance, do you clean up the poo from the yard regularly and hose it down regularly? Does your yard have runoff to standing water than your dog could drink? Have you fully cleaned the interior where the accidents occured with bleach or quaternary ammonia disinfectants?

If you can get a head of this problem with an extended course of antibiotics and really clean the environment around her, I'd plan on taking her out only on a leash to a certain spot for her "business" for a good long while until her immune system is stronger and more able to deal with this issue. Don't let her stop and eat grass or chew on anything that's been in the yard and clean and dry her feet before coming indoors. Recurrent giardia can be a bear to get rid of, or even diagnose. I've had experience with it in a shelter environment where it's very difficult to eradicate, and I would think that a lot of none too careful breeders might also have experience with it as well. Puppies or dogs with compromised immune systems (like those stressed by being in a shelter) are especially prone to it, and it's becoming more and more treatment resistant.

It sounds to me like your vet doesnt know what he/she is doing. This is a serious problem that I have been dealing with for the past month. My poor dog exploded instantly when I got her outside numerous times, fortunately I only had one accident inside. My vet thinks she may have a food allergy, but it's also possible that she snarfed up something. Medication probably will not clear up the problem in a day if a food allergy is present.

First, start searching for another vet. When you do find one that you like, when medication is prescribed, ask vet for a time table on when they should work. If improvement doesnt happen when he/she says it should, after the second time if there is failure, look for another vet.

Second. If you can't find one soon, tell the one you have that you need to know about "Metronidazole" and why it wasn't prescribed. This is what my dog was on. You really need to take the upper hand with this, lest you spend tons of money, time and frustration trying to fix this.

Third. Consider that your dog may have a food allergy. Look at the food ingredients and see if there is any type of grain, specifically, corn, wheat, barley or any other type of grain fillers. Dogs are not built to digest grains, many (I have two) who are allergic to them and severe diarrhea can occur when they do.

Fourth. Has a blood test been done? Stool test? These two things should be able to help narrow things down, unless there is a food allergy.

Fifth. Feed the dog cottage cheese, along with cooked pasta or rice, mixed in with just a little regular food. This should help calm the stomach.

Good luck! Keep us posted.

SG

Personaly I would fast the dog for 24 hours (no food but plenty of water) and let that digestive track rest and try to heal itself, then I would feed only very bland and easy digesting foods and then slowly work up to the normal diet. It is very important that you dont keep changing the diet, that just worsens the situation.
Beverly

The low protein may indicate a serious problem, perhaps protein-losing enteropathy (PLE). There are many causes for this, but diet is NOT one of them. This is not something to play around with; your dog will stop gaining weight properly and can start wasting away. With the high lymphocytes, it sounds like lymphocytic-plasmacytic PLE, which can only be diagnosed with intestinal biopsies. I'm not sure if the biopsies can be done by endoscopy or if your dog would need abdominal exploratory surgery. Unfortunately $1000 is most likely on the low side, if I am right about her problem. Dietary therapy has been helpful in many cases, even though diet is not a cause. If there is an underlying cause, then proper treatment of it will cure her.

I attached an article below. Good luck with your dog.

Here is a link that might be useful: PLE

Wow! So many responses! In answer to some of the questions, yes I've tried chicken/rice (she won't eat rice) but I could try potato. She has not had any dog foods on the recall list and gets no wet food...only dry. Bloodwork has been done twice. She was tested for parasites and giardia and the tests were negative. I tried cottage cheese last night and she wouldn't eat that either. I did switch to prescription diet venison/potato to see if it helps. Won't know until after she comes off the antibiotic in 10 days. Usually diarrhea comes back after 2-3 days. Hoping for a change this time!
I have contacted the lady who bred the parents...she did not come from a pet store. She claims that the other puppies are fine and that she's checked with their owners. We met both parents when we went to get her and they both seemed happy/healthy. The vet asked if she's stressed and I don't see any signs of that. She is playful, rests well, doesn't bark excessively, etc. You would never know anything was wrong by looking at her as long as she's on the antibiotic.
I've tried pumpkin in the past and she wouldn't touch it, but I can try it again. It's worth a shot.
What is metrodinazole? What's it for? Someone suggested mentioning it to my vet.
Thanks for the low-protein article. It was very informative. If this new dogfood doesn't work for her I will look into those possibilities.
Thanks, everyone, for your responses!

Metridinazole is the medicine that my vet gave our labradoodle and is the one mentioned by SG as well. It must be a common med to use but I don't know if it is an antiboitic or not. It sure worked for my puppy but then his problem had only started.

Meaghan is in vet school. I have read her posts before and would take her advice. She certainly knows more than I do about our pets.

Metronidazole is an antibiotic but is rarely thought of as one. Your dog may have already been on metronidazole (flagyl); most vets reach for it first when treating diarrhea. Another one is sulfasalazine which my Aleksander was on quite a bit as a puppy for food allergies (chronic diarrhea, no hypoproteinemia). He improved on the sulfasalazine but got diarrhea almost immediately when taken off it. Tylosin is another commonly used antibiotic for diarrhea. Many causes of diarrhea are antibiotic-responsive, but not cured by them. I don't think that anyone really understands why that happens.

The venison-potato diet will take at least 2 weeks to show any improvement if your dog has food allergies. And you must be absolutely certain that she does not get anything to eat at all besides the food- no yogurt, pumpkin, fiber, or anything besides the food. Also come medications are flavored and she could be allergic to them, so you have to watch for that. If she's on Heartgard, you'll have to switch to unflavored Heartgard or Interceptor, because Heartgard has beef in it. Just one dose can really screw up a food trial for the next 2-4 weeks; basically have to start over.

Depending on how low the protein levels were, and if they continue to decrease, your dog may be at risk for ascites, or accumulation of fluid in the abdomen. That can cause all sorts of problems. It sounds like your vet has exhausted everything he can do. I'd definately consider the referral to the vet school. Or you may find a specialty practice closer to home that can do endoscopy. The price sounds a bit high to me; Aleks had endoscopy last year at the vet school and it was not nearly $1000, but he didn't need a colonoscopy also and your dog may.

Again, good luck.

I tried to read that article that meaghan posted, it was way too much for me.. I dont even know what half those word were! I would also get some "Nutra-Cal" and give that to the dog, I have saved many an animal with that. It is a paste so even if the dog wont eat you can wipe it on their tounge or gums and they have no choice but to ingest it.. at least you will know that the dog is getting some nutrition.

I have a huge problem with vet students that come to a forum and try to diagnose a pet without seeing the animal or any actual bloodwork results. I am not trying to be mean or condesending, I just dont like it. Too much room for error.
Beverly

I sort of agree with Beverly, sort of not.....

The vet students who give their advice are doing so out of the goodness of their hearts. If they are going to school, they must have other issues do deal with. From what I hear, vet school is very competitive.

In any case, when it comes to the health of my dogs, I want all of the advice I can get. Doing this helps me stay on top of things in the vet world.

I have come across numerous posts concerning all kinds issues and been helped tremendously. I really think it's a huge mistake for people not to educate themselves as far as pet health goes. Many people just take the vet's word for what the problem might be and how to fix it.

SG

The year is 1980, I have a yorkie with a leg injury, the vet (new) tells me it is "leg perthius" It is very rare. I believe him and we do treatment.. it does not help.. turns out that the dogs leg was actually broken in 2 places ( and he did x rays)
I understand the vet student that wants to help.. but as a new vet they tend to be "gung ho" they want to be able to fix everything (gotta applaude the dedication) but nothing will replace experience.
I do agree that you should research everything. This is just my opinion but the "new vet" mentioned above is now my only vet... experience.

Well, I know that I am do not have any 'formal' training in the care of animals so when I post it is just from experiences with my own animals. I think it is fair to say that is what most of us do, we offer advice but it is not intended to be a diagnoses and I don't believe that Meghane meant it as such either. However, I am sure she has had more experiences than most of us that post and offer our suggestons and like SG said she must certainly care to take time to try to help.

I have to take issue with the comments re: Meghane. I have never seen her try to diagnose someone's pet. She is willing to take the time to gshare with us the latest treatments that are now being taught, the pro and cons of certain drugs, info on diseases, and always urges people to seek out another vet if someone isn't happy with the treatment their dog is receiving.

I'm still trying to understand why her posting here is being questioned.
I'd much rather hear from a vet student who is up on the latest technology and medicine than put all my faith in an 'experienced' vet who makes no effort to refer their patients to specialists, never admit they don't know what's wrong with a pet, nor make the extra effort to keep up with the latest veterinary treatment.

I think Meghane has been a great help to a lot of us on this forum, in one way or another. If she's providing us with information we don't otherwise have, I'd say that's a good thing. I don't think she gave a diagnosis.... it's really more like trouble-shooting, taking into consideration the facts that she's got on hand since she can't see the animal.

Anywho, nlady - sorry for filling up your inbox with that junk. I sure hope that the cause comes to light soon. I wish you the best of luck, and do fill us in on how she's making out!

I believe that experiences are shaped by experiences themselves. Especially in the medical field, weather it be human or veterinarian.

I have just had so many problems misdiagnosed by vets that I've lost count. I have a memorable one.

My Shepherd/Lab, Tara, about 10 years old had an off smell. Not a dirty smell, just an off smell. I couldn't figure out what it was, my regular vet wasn't concerned, and my dermatology vet said not to worry. Weeks past, and the smell got worse, plus Tara's coat was appearing very oily.

Then one day she started to bite herself severely trying to relieve itching. She was literally damaging herself trying to get relief. My regular vet consulted with dermatology vet, and they both agreed that the dog had "fox mites" even though there was no evidence of them.

Treatments that lasted about three weeks took place. In the meantime, the situation was getting worse. By this time, Tara had chewed off at least half of her fur and had severe infections. I was sleeping with her on the floor to comfort her.

Because I was so concerned, I took her into dermatology vet and left her for a day for observation. Again, vet said that medication was working (even though I could see that it wasn't) and that we should continue with the medication prescribed.

The next day the situation took a drastic turn for the worse, and I decided I couldn't take it any more, and the dog was suffering. I was so desperate that I called the Pennsylvania Veterinary School and was ready to take her there from Maryland. They told me that the best dermatology vet to be treating her was the one I had.

The day I decided that things just had to end, I located another dermatology vet. I took in Tara, and the vet came up with a completely different infection for a diagnosis. In short, the treatment was taking place for the wrong problem for at least three weeks, new vet fixed things, and Tara lived for another 4 years.

This experience and others prior and after, have made me extremely cautious when it comes to what is being done to my pets. I have also learned that if there are multiple vets in a practice, things can take place to increase revenue that simply should not be allowed. But again, when we who do not have formal training, we take our pets to someone who we think we can trust to fix things.

I have come to rely heavily on all advice, weather it could be wrong or right when health issues come up with my dogs. When I get all of the information I can find in front of me, I weigh my decision, consult with at least 2-3 other vets, and I alone have the final say, as to what is going to happen to my pets.

Just a thought.

SG

Hello, I recently came across this forum. I am having the same diarrhea problem with my Labradoodle. I was wondering if nlady ever found out what was causing this problem, and if she was able to resolve her dogs cronic diarrhea. We have been fighting the same battle with our dog Ella. No medication or diet change has seemed to help at this point. Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thank you.

I am a longtime lurker here, I only post occasionally but I wanted to comment on the vet student comments. I worked in the vet field as an assistant a few years back and I have to tell you Meghane has impressed me with her knowledge and compassion many times. If there is anyone on this board whose advice I listen to, it is definately hers. She has never attempted to "diagnose" a dog over the internet, but by simply helping the owner by providing them with her thoughts and arming them with some intelligent questions to ask their vet.

I have always had tremendous respect for vets and vet students as it's not an easy field. In my opinion, it is more difficult to be a vet than a regular MD as you have many different anatomies to be knowledgeable about and your patients don't have the luxury of telling you what they are feeling. The day a member of the vet field is not welcome to post their thoughts here is the day I will stop reading the posts.

I mean that with all respect...just my thoughts though.

I completely agree with your thoughts on Meghane. I see her as being in the same sterling catagory as my present vet.

Unfortunately, as many here know, my experiences over the past 18 years with vets has mostly been very negative, and after those life altering experiences, my opinion of the profession in general is one of extreme caution and question.

Getting to the "poo" problem, I know a Labradoodle who has experienced the very same thing. She eats everything, and is always looking for something to eat. Diet is not the problem, and numerous medical issues have been rulled out.

The dog is just a vacuum on four legs, and sometims sucks things up that will make her sick.

SG

Spiritual_Gardener,

I completely understand...it's so hard to find a vet that not only you connect with, but that you can trust. I am glad to hear that you have found one! :o)

I think that digestive issues are a common problem with labradoodles. Mine is just 4 months and she also had loose stools. Potty time was just as some of you have described...walking across the yard eliminating in 3 or 4 spots. She didn't have worms and everything else about her was normal.

I found a labradoodle forum and there are many discussions there about food. Since I've changed we've had no more trouble. It's a very friendly group. Maybe you could try your question there and others, who have way more experience than me, could be of help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Labradoodle forums