Okay, as I am sure alot of you have read, my dog had worms when I got him about 4 months ago. Those have been taken care of.
I was told its gonna take some time to back to being healthy agian because the worms really got to him. (whip worm and coccidia)

Well his coat is shinier and he has gained a LITTLE weight, but not enough.

I have been really paying attention to his stools latley. It seems like more food is coming OUT than going in...or about the same.

He is on Artemis Power Formula with missing link plus. He eats anywhere from 3-6 cups a day depending on his apetite I guess.

His stools are very 'grainy' which I would gess if form the food not degesting well? It was like this at the beginning also, but I was told it would get better as he gets better.

I have been giving him vitamin E the last few days and a raw egg every three days.

I noticed he has gas alot lately and for instance last night, he took a dump when we got home...about 6pm. I fed him...between then and this morning when I got up at 3:45am...he had taken 3 MORE....and then before we left I said 'bathroom' again..and he went AGAIN!! Its about 7:30am now, and he took another BIG one!! So he went to the bathroom (number 2 <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> ) SIX times in about 14 hours!

They arent runny....some solid and some not as solid as others, but I wouldnt say it was diahrea.
Again...grainy...a few eggshells, etc. Also, I have noticed when he eats an egg...when he goes to the bathroom...the yellow part is still in tact....stool has the yoke in it still....which I guess would mean he is not digesting it?

Anyone have any ideas. His coat has not gotten that much better since he had the worms. I was told its becuase all of the nutrients he needs form the food, the worms eat up. Okay, makes sense...but not he isnt getting any of the nutrients either and he doestn have worms anymore! And he is on the skinny side also.

Please help!

Take him to see a vet.

I am not qualified to give any health advice, but it may be time to find a new vet.

You may also want to keep a journal of what you feed your dog.

Man...thats what I was afraid of. I've been to two different vets so far. The first one...didnt know anything...well I shouldnt say that....she didnt prescibe the right amount of panacure and the other medicine for treatment.
So I didnt got back.

The second vet seemed real good...but I was skeptical because the 'exam' didnt seem to thorough..but its a 'hospital' and seemed real professional.

So, how do I go about finding a good vet? I dont have $$ to waste...I mean I will, but it sucks when you go pay for these exams by the 'professionals' and you end up having to eat the $$ and go find another one and start over.

I am in Southern California, near Ventura/Santa Barbara area.

I'd like to go to one that deals with 'big dogs'. so they have an idea of how he should be and shouldnt.
THe first vet told me 'you should be able to see those ribs'...he isnt skinny He was SKINNY!! Not a 'hint' of ribs...YOU COULD SEE RIBS!!

I want to make sure he is okay, which he doesnt appear to be, but how do I know if I can 'trust' the vets diagnosis?

Mike,
My own dog had similar problems with his stools when he was younger because of the coccidia. He had to be tested multiple times and had to go through a few courses of antibiotics to clear it up. I ended up using a 10% bleach/water solution where I cleaned up his stool so he would not become reinfected but it did clear up by the time he was 6 months. I would probably try and find a specialist vet if I were you if they have tested him for everything including pancreatic insufficiency and IB as well as food related allergies. The type of specialist you need to seek out would be a gastroenterologist which specializes in intestinal problems. You need to know first though what "tests" have been done so any new vets would not have to repeat the same ones or bring his records with you. I personally would make sure hee has two negative stools before you rule out that the coccidia is gone. Good luck!!
Karen

Thank you for the reply Karen.
Well, I have been worried since he had the coccidia and whip worm. I was told to bring him back in 6 months. I took it upon myself to take two more samples in at about a month and a half and then about a month ago again...just for piece of mind and both showed up negative for anything.

Thats what kind of has me puzzled....the test keep showing up negative, but he isnt getting better. I am no expert and am a first time dog owner, so its hard to tell when someone is full of it, or if the vet actually know what they are doing.
I dont have anything to go by except for what they tell me.

Oh and both tests (aftet the diagnosis) were done at the 'hospital' where he was diagnosed and treated.

Ask the vet for a copy of all your records. Some might complain, but I like to have all test results on hand anyway in case of emergency. Makes it easier when switching vets or getting a second opinion as well, but make sure to give the vet a copy of your copies so that you can still keep everything on file.

I PMed you my phone # in case you want to talk about what I have been through with Auster.

I have pm'd you back...
thanks!

Hi Mike,
The Veterinary Medical/Surgical Group is in Ventura. They are a group of specialists that my vet refers me to when there is a problem that requires highly specialized tests. In my own experience I have found them to be the tops in their field of specialization. Their web site is:
http://www.vmsg.com.

PM me if you need more help.

Good luck, Naida Simpson

My (not a vet) 2 cents is that it sounds like digestive tract damage from the worms. The good part is that the digestive tract is constantly regenerating itself anyway so it is much more likely to heal than other internal organs. This is what I did for Auster:

Acidophillus and bfidus supplement (probiotic)

digestive enzymes. My favorite is Super Digestaway. Has ox bile, pancreatin, and pepsin (Auster's vet stressed the importance of a NON-vegetarian enzyme supplement) as well as other beneficial supplements like aloe. I gave Auster 1 1/2 a day but your guy might need 2 since he is bigger.

1g FOS

1g L-glutamine a day

You can buy FOS, glutamine, and acidophillus as powder, and open the digestaway capsules to make it an easy to give powder. I ordered from http://www.vitaglo.com as they had the cheapest prices I could find.

If you are going to have lots of bloodwork done it might be worth it to send it to Dr. Dodds. http://www.itsfortheanimals.com has a submission form, but most vets charge a collection fee so it might not be worth it if you just want a few things done.

If you are considering giving a glucosamine/chondroitin supplement and want it in powder form you can buy it from http://www.gp-equine.com This way I only had to give Auster 1 scoop of powder on her food. I mixed everything up once a month and kept it in the fridge. I figured it out and my cost was about $15 to $20 a month for the supplements when ordering from Vitaglo.

Artemis has beet pulp fairly high on the ingredient list. That may be bothering him, but I can't say either way. After digestive damage foods that used to be okay can become irritating. Gas is definitely a sign that things aren't being digested properly. Since it sounds like he isn't diesting the eggs anyway you might want to hold off on them for a little while. Not sure if the eggs or the food are the problem. Auster had good results with California Natural and Avoderm, but I never had a chance to try Artemis with her. IMO Cal. Nat. and Avoderm are just as good as ID (what your vet might try to sell you), only they cost about 1/2 as much. I also made extremely overcooked rice, added hamburger and bonemeal for Auster. She seemed to do better with more meat and less rice.