Hill's z/d

Quick question----Have her stools been "off" the whole time she's been eating the z/d, or has it coincided with the introduction of Tylan?  The reason I ask, is that we had some pretty ugly stools for the first few days on tylosin (soft, dark and smelly--not loose) but they firmed up after I reduced the dosage by half.  I would say we had the soft stools for about three or four days.  I may be way off base, but just a thought.

No, actually you aren't off base at all.  Tylan can cause the same issues you are trying to use it to treat.  But, I haven't started her on it yet.  I was trying to see if just the diet would work without it first. 

But, honestly, I think if I add the Tylan it's going to get worse.  I really think it's the liver--she's never been able to handle organ meats.  I know it's not supposed to be a problem with this particular product but I think for her it is.  And, the fact that there is not enough fiber in the canned. 

Well, that's a bummer----I wonder if you would have any more luck with a low residue food----I know someone whose dog responded really well to the Eukanuba low residue food----I think it is now Iams low residue.  Or maybe, Pro Plan Sensitive SKin and Stomach formula--hmmmm......

  Lori, Jessie had soft stools on the z/d until I added pumpkin. My vet thought that was odd since it's supposed to be very digestible, but I thought it was because she's used to foods with rice and beet pulp. If Willow can tolerate pumpkin, it may be worth a try.

 I was going to start a new thread about IBS,but it seems everyone in the know about it is already on this thread.

Hope you dont mind me asking a quick question Lori that hopefully you can help with.

Here's the story,

One of my girls aged 3 did a normalish poop at the beginning of our walks but then 20 minutes or so  later did a soft one,sometimes water consistency with blood streaked through it.Then it was good for a couple of days,then went back to the above.I often found small "puddles" of dire rear on the patio. 

The vet said the symptoms sounded like IBS,but before doing expensive fecal tests,she put her on a course of ..i cant spell it, metrazoidanal(you know what i mean),well this cleared it right up,we finished the course 3 weeks ago and her poops have been perfect since.Does this sound like IBS? She gets a variety of different foods and nothing seems to upset her.

Her poops were always perfect and rock solid until i made a batch of satin balls and overdid the oil and fats,she had dire rear for a week,and since then her poops were all over the place. But since the antibiotics everything is great,could there have been an infection or bug instead of ibs?

Thank you guys.  I really don't know what to do.  I gave her all homecooked today--bland of course.  It's not that she's sick and needs it bland, it's just that's what she tolerates the best if that makes sense.  My husband is saying I'm not giving it enough of a chance.  She won't eat pumpkin but maybe I'll just add some to the homecooked and see how she does with the extra potato.  Ugh, so frustating. . .I just want to be off the food roller coaster. 

Edie-My guess would be it was the food that set off the problem.  Willow's been on the Metro antibiotic you mentioned many times.  And, not only is it an antibiotic but also works well as an anti inflammatory--so it's still helpful even if there is not infection to soothe the digestive (colon, especially). 

At this point you'll probably have to wait and see if there is another flare up to figure out if it was food related or if this is something that's happening now for another reason. 

It sounds like the high fat of the satin balls just got her all irritated. Once they're irritated, stuff that normally wouldn't bother them does. Emma does great on Metronidazole. It's a tried and true, around here, and I keep it on hand.

Lori, I was SO hoping this would work for Willow!  I hope you can figure out what will work for her, soon. Poor little girl has been through so much, with food.

 Sounds like Dusty and Willow are exactly alike.  I've been contemplating about going back on prescription z/d or i/d but can't bring myself to do it after all the research on these dog food companies.  I just started Dusty on a pancreatitis diet by B-Naturals.  There are 4 recipes to choose from.    The other night he threw up 2 huge mounds of mucus so I know his stomach is irritated.  We have a vet appointment this week.  Tylan did work for a bit, but, his body begins to reject it. I found digestive enzymes to help.  I had Mordonna formulate a diet for him, didn't work, consulted Ask Ariel, didn't work so I'm just battling like you too. The ravenous appetite is awful and he eats dirt and now rabbits have entered the yard so their droppings are of course, appealing to him.

Are the Hill's Prescription foods really that awful?  Seems like there is so much against them that the food is just junk, I'm worried about trying it again.  I'd much rather cook for him, but he's so hungry still. 

Dustydo--

Have you looked into the Royal Canin Limited Ingredient Diets (IVD)?  They have a few formulas to choose from: Potato/,Rabbit, Potato/whitefish, and Potato Venison.  Very good quality prescription diets.  The Hill's z/d is not a bad food, but I would probably try the IVD first--leave the z/d as a back-up plan. 

dustydo

The ravenous appetite is awful and he eats dirt and now rabbits have entered the yard so their droppings are of course, appealing to him.

Yeah, I understand the ravenous appetite thing---my IBD tzu was the same way---we were feeding him twice the amount of food for his weight for a good long while.  He is now eating relatively normal amounts for an active dog.  The thing is, you need to keep him full, because if he continues to eat dirt and rabbit droppings, you might never get a handle on this----also, if he is poop eating, you may want to treat for parasites, as well.

dustydo

   The other night he threw up 2 huge mounds of mucus so I know his stomach is irritated. 

I have found slippery elm to be very helpful in calming the irritation in the G-I tract---I always have it on hand for any flare-ups. (Luckily I haven't had to use it in a while)

I don't know if you have had a chance to check out this site, but there is much helpful information here: http://www.dogaware.com/specific.html#ibd

Good luck.

Edie, it can take two months for the lining of the gi to get re-established and  every time you have a blowout you almost have to count from the beginning again.  I know, it's frustrating.  I've got a pup here who is recovering from a severe stomach virus and I have to do this dance, balancing her puppy needs for fat and protein, with her tender tummy.  I found colostrum to be a great help in this respect to get her "over the hump".  Knock on wood, she hasn't had an episode in over a week.  I'm using the New Life colostrum.  Be sure your dog can tolerate dairy, of course.

Look up foods that are high in inulin and other prebiotics like soluble fibers.  This is one of the reasons I like Canidae Platinum.  For a dog that tolerates grains and chicken fine, it's a good fix for many gi troubles. I wish so much it had been around when I was struggling with Trim and her IBS!

I'm glad you mentioned colostrum ( I always forget about this)---I used this early on with Oscar's troubles--I think it helped a great deal.  For me, I think the supplements that provided the most help for us were the colostrum, l-glutamine an a good probiotic with FOS.  I used a digestive enzyme early on, but it never seemed to help quite as much and gradually lessened his dosage over a period of about 6 months.  I don't use the colostrum any more, but it's one of those things I'd like to keep on hand (must order more), so thanks for the reminder.

I also found that adding tripe to the diet helped settle his tummy a great deal--- not quite sure why, but it did----I like to use the freeze-dried raw---not quite as smelly and a great meal topper.  I feed tripe a few times a week.

Sorry for the hi-jack----just random thoughts for these G-I troubles.

willowchow

She won't eat pumpkin

  Jessie wouldn't either unless I doctored it; I added a little cooked beef.
 

Thanks for all the notes and concern.  She's fine though.  Today it's better but not to where it should be yet.  I didn't give her any canned z/d yesterday and I won't again today.  I'm pretty sure it's that.  I did give her some dry mixed with the homecooked.  But, not sure I can go back to kibble even this one.  It causes it's own whole set of other issues. 

The problem with most of the Hill's formulas are they use Ethoxyquin as a preservite.....

which is classified as a pesticide, Its main use is to preserve rubber by the Tire Industry!!!!!!

Do you really want to feed that to your pet???????

What's a perservite?