I have a 1 1/2yr old DS who seems healthy in every way. Beautiful coat, maintains weight well, (but he is lean... I think it's just age/body type though) bright eyes, plenty of energy!

He has chronic diarrhea.

I am currently feeding Merricks BeforeGrain, Buffalo formula.

http://www.beforegrain.com/pdfs/BG-Dog-Dry.pdf

When I first adopted Koenig (4-5 months ago) He was being fed Cal Nat chicken. I moved him over to grain free Cal Nat, and used that until they sold out to P&G in May. I switched him to Natures Variety Instinct line, hoping for a change in stool.... no luck. So off to the Merrick before grain line I went. (apx 1 month ago we switched over) Koenig gets 2 meals a day, 3 cups of food each meal. He gets LOTS of exercise, 2.5 miles of biking, lots of fetch, tug, marker training, and obedience work every day. Sometimes a jog is thrown into the mix.

I've tried homecooking his food, with the standard overcooked rice, boiled chicken, and probiotics- we still have the issue. Tried adding pumpkin, tried probias, tried yogurt, done the homemade thing, treated for giardia and coccidia. (Giardia 2x, till the stool's came out clear) When I tried homecooking, it was for a full week before I gradually started adding in kibble. Also, when I've switched foods I allow at least a week for a gradual change over, to avoid further upsetting his system.

Does anyone have any ideas? I know that Shepherds can be prone to a pancreatic insufficiency, but I thought probiotics should have helped. I believe there is also a liver problem that can plague shepherds, with persistent diarrhea, but I cannot for the life of me remember what it is!!! (Also can't find anything online)

His stools are soft-serve ice cream consistency for the most part. 2-4 times a week they will get a bit firmer, but still not 'normal'. Normal color, normal (gross) odor. Not greasy, or mucous. He poops up to (gasp!) 4x a day.

To recap- this dog appears healthy in EVERY WAY, until you see him poop.

And you have taken in a stool sample? What about blood work?

What happens if you feed less?

 Quote: Kelly Byrd

Koenig gets 2 meals a day, 3 cups of food each meal.

This is ALOT of food per meal. How about cutting the meals in half and seeing what happens? if you find that the stools firm up but the dog loses weight add a mid day meal.

Done 3 stool samples, the last one was a month and a half ago, and they are totally clear of any yucky things.

He had blood work done just before I got him, when he was neutered. Nothing was out of the normal range.

If I feed less, he poops less, but it's equally gross. He drops weight if he's not getting apx 6 cups a day. I don't consider this an abnormal amount for a young, crazy, idiotic 80lb DS. Do you? I've had numerous large breed dogs, and this was a normal amount for them when they were 'in work'. Does is seem like too much?

Hi Melissa,
I've tried splitting up his meals, going down to 1 cup at a feeding, 6x a day, but it didn't seem to change anything. I can always switch back to that method. It makes my English Pointer insanely jealous though!!

Maybe consider switching him to a raw diet.

Some dogs just don't always do well on high end grain free kibble. Some dogs NEED the gain to keep weight on. Sometimes people feed one kind of kibble in the am & a different one in the pm to have grains in one meal to keep on weight.

It is also possible that at this point the dogs gut is so inflaimed that no matter what you feed his is going to have a problem. Is is possible to fast him for a day or 2? I would be more worried about the constant loose stool, more than his dropping a couple of pounds in the process of finding a food that works. You can put the weight back on him in the future. Also too much food can cause loose stool.

I would maybe take a step back, fast a couple of days & go back to what you had him on (food & amount) before any of this 'cycle' started & see what happens.

Maybe I am way off base here, since I feew raw but.....

I've tried homecooking his food, with the standard overcooked rice, boiled chicken, and probiotics-

How long was he on small overcooked-rice meals? Was any improvement seen?


.... treated for giardia and coccidia. (Giardia 2x, till the stool's came out clear)

How long ago? Was Giardia positively diagnosed? Was Coccidia? (Were cysts seen in the fecal?)


.... His stools are soft-serve ice cream consistency for the most part. 2-4 times a week they will get a bit firmer, but still not 'normal'. Normal color, normal (gross) odor. Not greasy, or mucous. He poops up to (gasp!) 4x a day.

Never pale or greasy?


About the Giardia and/or Coccidiosis .... this is where I would probably focus, along with a soothing diet, since you mentioned that he has been treated for both.

Can you give us details of the diagnoses and treatment(s)?

Do you know about the very common recurrence of symptomatic infections?

About this: "Giardia 2x, till the stool's came out clear" .... I am particularly interested in the re-test.

Could it be that he might have an intolerance to the buffalo?
Perhaps try the chicken slowly incorporating the new flavor over and see how he does.

Have you at all experimented with trying yet another food brand, say Orijen?
I know a friend who had a dog with pudding stools and she switched over to Orijen and had no problems.
Just making suggestions.

Then of course if you are totally frustrated you might want to consider feeding raw if you feel that he has had issues with several kibble brands.
I also know of individuals whom switched from kibble to raw and their problems went away.

De-worming him with a medication that treats hookworm/whipworm would not hurt him in any way. I am recalling the shep in Beirut a few months ago that had chronic soft stools who finally cleared up after a course of anitibiotics (Flagyl?+ Sulfadimethoxine,perhaps?) and dewormer.
Some serious runners (humans) develop hypermotility issues/diarrhea while working out. Is his stool better when he is more relaxed?

When you went to the home-made diet you said that you waited a week before switching back to kibble - did you wait for firm poops or just switched after a week?

Same question to all of the diet switches that the dog has experienced, when you switched him over through the kibbles - did you add a little at a time each time waiting to see if his poops firmed up.

I agree that maybe his gut may just be extremely inflamed from all of the food switching and treatments - if I were in this situation I would resort back to the rice and boiled chicken gruel until i saw SOLID poops, even if it were more than a week. Once the solid poops have been achieved, THEN I would pick a new kibble, and slowly introduce over a 10 day period and split into a minimum of 3 meals a day. After each adjustment to the ratio of gruel to kibble, I would wait to see the solid poops before adjusting again. Once his gut has stabilized and he is on the kibble, then I would do the same thing to introduce Salmon Oil, yogurt, and some fresh veggie glop (one veggie at a time) Also, I would have the fecals done again to make sure there wasn't a recurrence of previous problems or even a new one.