My mum's dog

[Rebecca85]

Misty has had diarrhoea now for 8 months. Sometimes she has red blood in it, though this could be from anal fissures rather than anything sinister. Lomotil doesn't help. A hypoallergenic diet doesn't help. The only thing that does help for even a short time is antibiotics, but as soon as the course is finished the diarrhoea returns. All blood and stool tests have come back normal, except for the most recent one which showed high WBC- but that's hardly surprising really! The vets said she is the healthiest sick dog they've ever seen.

She is now recovering from exploratory surgery. They found inflammation in her intestines, which they have biopsied. But that could be an artefact from having diarrhoea so long.

Let's hope Misty finally gets some answers!

 

[partlycloudy]

Poor thing. I just found out cats can get IBS so don't see a reason why dogs couldn't too. I hope they can figure out what's wrong or at least how to control her symptoms.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I hope she gets an answer soon, poor thing. I've got a co-worker whose dog has IBD and it has to take pred every day (it's an older dog so fortunately the pred doesn't make it too energetic). Let us know if they find anything out from the biopsies.

 

[glum chump]

When we moved into our new place, our cat started having uncontrollable diarrhea and was not making it to his kitty litter box. Our first week in our new place involved sleeping in our living room while one of the bedrooms was converted to a tarp-lined room for the cat to be in. The vet ran some tests, and found that Joey had IBS and the anxiety of the move had triggered it. Joey was given Flagyl (and I really hated giving it to him, knowing how awful Flagyl is!) and it cleared things right up. He hasn't had any problems since then.

I hope they can find the right combination of anti-inflammatories or antibiotics for Misty. poor li'l thing.

 

[Rebecca85]

I think they tried some IBS meds on her already, with no improvement. In a way, we're hoping it is something like IBD, because at least we'll know what we're dealing with!

Oh, and wierdly, she doesn't have urgency or accidents with the diarrhoea! But when she goes out, her BMs range from porridge like to pure water, and she will go every 5-10 minutes or so. My mum hates it, because on walks she has to cart around a full roll of kitchen towels, plus at least 10 bags, because it is impossible to pick up her poop.

 

[Rebecca85]

Biopsies have come back inconclusive, but most likely some form of IBD (as there is definate inflammation). Good news is no evidence of cancer, which was a worry of my mum's. Misty is starting on generic Flagyl, and a prescription diet.

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

I hope she's feeling better soon - both for her sake and your mom's! I haven't been on Flagyl myself but I hope it works for her. Prescription diets can help a lot, my cat had crystals in her urine that were close to turning into bladder stones, and a prescription diet cleared them right up and she's fine now. I hope that works for Misty too!

 

[Rebecca85]

Quick update. She still has diarrhoea so they have started her on prednisolone. 50mg a day! (she only weighs 28kg now) That ought to do the trick!

 

[AndiGirl]

Poor doggy! I hate it when animals are hurting. A dog with IBD. I think my parents may have one on their hands. Oliver has the touchy stomach. I hope your mom's dog is back to being bright-eyed, and bushy tailed soon.

 

[partlycloudy]

I hope the prednisone fixes her right up.

Another thing to consider if the pred gets her all balanced out is amitriptyline or another type of antidepressant. I know for a fact dogs and cats take them.

The reason I bring it up is I've seen a connection in my own symptoms and antidepressants.

 

[Rebecca85]

Andi- Luckily, she's bright eyed and bushy tailed anyway! Went to see her last night, with my little guy Max, and she leapt on him, and chased him, and barked at him. But her stomach isn't 'touchy', she has diarrhoea every single day. Without fail. The closest to normal she has been for the last 8-9 months or so was 'cow-pat' consistency, and that was on Tramadol after the op. So have you checked for food intolerances?

Partlycloudy- thanks for the suggestion.

 

[AndiGirl]

I'm glad the sweet dog is still happy and lively. By the way, what is your dog? He looks sweet.

 

[Rebecca85]

Mine is a Jack Russell Terrier, but he's a big one (not like some you see with stumpy little legs). He's 2 years old now.

 

[AndiGirl]

That's funny! I thought he looked like a JRT, but he does look big. Buster, my beagle will be 3 on March 19. I actually had a birthday party for him when he turned a year old.

 

[Rebecca85]

For his first birthday he had a great present... The snip! He told me he didn't want anything for his second birthday.

 

[partlycloudy]

Awww! LOL.

When my male kitten was being horrible, prior to his snip, I'd look at him, smile, and say "Snip, snip. Snip, snip."

 

[Rebecca85]

Update on Misty: she's better!!! The pred has done its magic, she hasn't had diarrhoea since she took her second dose. Now they just have to wean her off...

 

[partlycloudy]

Prednisone, The Miracle Drug. That's great news.

 

[Keona]

My dog is a golden retriever and there are special diets for them as they have tummy troubles as well. I cant give my dog any people food or she will be out every 10 minutes like Rebeccas mom's dog. I have friends who tease me about "like owner..like dog". I also give my dog and cat puree pumpkin. My cat is a rescue and apparently was peeing all over the place when the owner took him in to be euthanized...so I took him - all he needed was antibiotics and a prescription diet.
Glad your moms dog is doing better..

 

[Dexky]

Hey W, what's the pumpkin for? How did you discover that they would eat it? I remember Cat posting a video of her cat eating pumpkin and I was amazed!!

 

[Cat-a-Tonic]

Yeah, Mark's right, my cat loves pumpkin! I discovered this one Halloween - I was emptying the yucky slimy pumpkin innards and putting them in a bowl, and my cat walked right up to the bowl, took a sniff, and started chowing down! It was so funny, I'd never seen a cat do that before! So the next year at Halloween I made sure to get video of her eating pumpkin (not even the yummy edible bits of pumpkin, but the nasty slimy stuff that gets thrown out!). I don't have the link handy and can't access youtube from work, but if you search youtube for "Lydia eats pumpkin guts" you'll probably find it.

Wendy, I'm assuming the pumpkin that you feed your dog is the "good" edible stuff (like what pumpkin pies are made from) and not the slimy stuff, right? I didn't realize pumpkin was good for tummy troubles, I'd never heard that one before. What specifically does pumpkin do?