Rescue dog - persistent diarrhoea and so can’t be re-homed - need advice.

[Snooks1971]

So we are in the process of adopting a gorgeous rescue girl, 5yr old Bulldog cross. She’s been at the rescue centre approx 4 weeks and we reserved her almost 3 weeks ago.

When she arrived at the centre she was underweight and so put on a good diet to help her gain. Shortly after this the loose stools started so she went onto a food that was less likely to cause allergies, this didn’t help. Next she was wormed thoroughly. Still no better. All blood tests are clear btw. Then put on a veterinary ID diet and still is.

2 weeks ago, following more poo sample tests taken over the course of 3 days, she tested positive for Clostridium Perfringens. She is on the 12th day of a 3 week antibiotic course for this; things seemed to be getting a little better and then got worse again. The diarrhoea doesn’t seem to bother her, she’s seems happy, has tons of energy galloping around off the lead with us and so doesn’t seem to suffer from pain/cramps. Now she’s on pro-biotics too.

We visit the centre every weekend and spend time with her, walking, running, playing, cuddling. Until the slops stop she can’t be spayed and have a non-malignant lump removed - so she can’t come home with us!

Btw she knows when she needs to poo, she isn’t incontinent, she stops playing/walking and does a semi squat and this jet comes out then she carries on as if nothing has happened. No dribble bum or semi leaks. Sorry to be graphic. Any thoughts?

I wonder if they are simply overfeeding her. I adopted a very very skinny dog some years ago, fed him what the rescue recommended and had just this trouble. My own vet advised much smaller feeds, Sure enough, on half the feed his insides settled down and he began to put on weight.

That’s interesting BrownOwl.... never thought of that... the rescue centre are very experienced, quite small and they say they are going on the vet’s advice. They also say they’ve never had this with a rescue dog before, only stressed ones, and she is so chilled out bless her.

It could be a combination of new environment, several new foods and the general stress of the rescue centre.

Have they tried just feeding Chappie, usually more effective and cheaper than any sort of vet prescribed food. We have a cat who exactly as you described has persistent diarrhoea but not incontinent and isnt ill in anyway. The vet still neutered him but may e that was because it's less invasive then spaying a girl.

She may benefit from a raw diet. I was about to head down the route of elimination diets, specialist kibble etc. Went to raw instead- so much easier.

We had a dog with the same and she went onto digestive support food (expensive) and then on to Chappie and she cleared up no problem. She’s stayed on chappie since and had no problems since then

@Bunnybigears Chappie really? The ex owners who left her at the rescue only gave her cheap stuff but she was also underweight and neglected. No walks, left for hours etc.

@picklemepopcorn raw as in raw meat? My work colleague mentioned this. We’ve even considered saying to the rescue that we will pay for a different vet’s opinion, but we don’t ‘own’ her yet and they are more experienced than us and don’t want to steam in and appear rude.

@Sammy867 good news - did she clear up after she went on to Chappie?

Chappie is really good for upset stomachs!

Honestly Chappie is often a lot more effective than specialist food.

Yes, you are likely to avoid allergens because the food is simpler. You start on chicken for several days. If all goes well, add in one meat at a time. There are forums, Facebook pages etc to support and advise.

The benefit is that you quickly see if a particular meat is causing a problem.

Thanks @adaline and @bunnybigears never knew this!
We’ve had 2 rescue dogs but clueless otherwise.

How do we approach this - remember she’s not technically ours and we only currently see her at weekends, also don’t want to tell the experienced rescue place what to do, arghh.

Yes she cleared up within a week and has had no problems since. We tried all the expensive and cheaper hypoallergenic foods. It never found out what is causing the issue. To be honest chappie is generally recommended by vets for this exact scenario and is quite cheap- no extra faff to them other than feeding her chappie rather than whatever else they have her on. Take a few tins down and ask them to try - the worst they will say is no (it’s around £4 for 6 tins)

Could you not try and persuade them you are happy to adopt the dog even with the stomach problems and you will sign a contract agreeing to get her spayed etc. Or ask of you can foster her. I cant see why they would rather keep this dog in kennels than let her come home with you?

Try a natural dietno pre-prepared foodjust human quality meat, fish, eggs and a few veggies. Some ppl do raw, others cooked, but the common thread is that you avoid grains and the nasty fillers that are in commercial dog foods. And I agree with the poster who said smaller feeds.

Please please do not take anecdotal diet advice there are millions of reasons for upset stomachs. Vets find it hard enough to diagnose so there is no hope for people who can not see the dog.

You need to be guided by medical professionals , ask for tests etc and move on from there.

Or ask of you can foster her. I cant see why they would rather keep this dog in kennels than let her come home with you? could be infectious and risk to others including the owners.

Honestly Chappie is often a lot more effective than specialist food this is absolutely not true.

@Jouska thank you, I mean it, but now I’m in a quandary.
I am so grateful for everyone’s advice. DH just read this thread and we both thought fostering would be a great way to go!
She has had so many tests: on faeces and blood. Only the Clostridium Perfringens has showed up.
So much of us thinks that she would be so much better in a home environment and things would settle down with veterinary advice. It’s so frustrating.

Jouska it clearly is true, I belong to a dog group with thousands of members nationwide and not only is chappie widely used to sort out diarrhoea, it is also recommended by plenty of vets.

I’m not sure to be honest but my young dog has had persistent diarrrhea for a week and I have finally got on top of it with dog probiotics!

Does anyone have any experience of the Clostridium Perfringens bacteria I’ve mentioned? I googled (I know) and read that it’s naturally present in something like 60-80% of dogs’ digestive systems, but certain things make it rear it’s head = diarrhoea. I’m paraphrasing with the above but wondering if it’s a red herring?

I had a dog with collitis bless her it would scoot out of her anyway we moved her onthe vets recommendation to chappie and it really helped her we used the prescription stuff mixed with some pasta when she had a flair up . I dunno if the rescue would change her food it is maybe too much for her but fingers crossed you get her home soon.

Talk to a vet obviously. But sounds to me like the clostridium infection caused the initial diarrhoea in her and now she has antibiotic induced diarrhoea. You say she got better and then has gotten worse stools wise but her energy is up & she isn’t in pain or seeming sick. Which matches that pattern of antibiotics squashing infection, but then causing diarrhoea. You say she is on day 12 of a 21 day course...so the diarrhoea will continue until she finishes he course. To speed up normal stools after the antibiotics there are dog probiotic supplements she can be fed.

“Unfortunately, along with their curative effect, antibiotics can also have some negative side effects, with the most common ones being:
-Rashes, hives, or other allergic reactions that manifest in skin irritations.
-A disinterest in food or lethargy.
Diarrhea, vomiting, or other signs of stomach irritation.
-Yeast infections, and other secondary infections, can occur as the result of use of antibiotics.”
From www.petcarerx.com/article/antibiotics-for-dogs/740

*it clearly is true, I belong to a dog group with thousands of members nationwide and not only is chappie widely used to sort out diarrhoea, it is also recommended by plenty of vets.

It is a low fat fish and rice based diet that would have killed my dog and any dog with some allergies causing upset stomachs. It is ok for some dogs but certainly not better for others than specialist diets. Are you aware of how prescription diets work?