"Pro raw" isn't even a full-blown necessity, IMO. Just someone who doesn't blame everything from broken legs to flea bites on raw food .....

Good thing I posted this! I wasn't going to because I didn't think anyone would know about the procedures, but then thought it couldn't hurt to ask. Certainly was much more helpful than anticipated!

And here I was all excited that we'd finally found a good vet

For further updates, he does not think the cough and diarrhea are related. On the message he mentioned the diet and an abdominal ultrasound for the diarrhea, and the wash/bronchoscopy for the coughing. I know the wash/bronch can't diagnose anything, but I know they can rule other things out. It might be an odd way to go about it, but things like that (to rule out rather than diagnose) are done sometimes in the medical field.

Garrett is on the phone with him now, so we'll see what he says.

 Quote: katie finlay

... And here I was all excited that we'd finally found a good vet

Maybe you have. As Melissa points out, we have no idea what tentative diagnosis is in his mind.

I do know a lot about canine food allergies (and other canine allergies), and you have posted nothing that would lead anyone to think "food allergy."

But the diarrhea could be a food sensitivity symptom ....

And maybe he considered CHF but had ruled out (at least tentatively) the usual causes (congenital heart defects, degeneration of heart valves, inflammation of the pericardium, cardiomyopathy, and heartworm). (Any age and any breed can have CHF, of course.)



And again, we are hearing everything second- and third-hand, and we aren't vets ....

Okay, so I feel a little better having talked to the vet. He wants us to use Panacur for five days, which is a dewormer. He said the parasites he's looking for (that don't show up through tests) move through the lungs into the rest of the body (ie. the bowels) and that could be one reason that the cough and diarrhea are connected. Which makes sense to me. It might not be likely but it's worth checking out I think.

He said he had also ruled out CHF and that's why he didn't mention it. He also wants us to make meatballs using the EN Gastroenteric food and the Panacur. He said Panacur tastes really bad and dogs generally don't eat it (you'd think they'd make a better product). So if we mix it as a treat we can try to trick him (though I have my doubts). I looked up the ingredients and the only grain is rice, so at least it's not the worst of them (and often given to dogs with digestive problems anyway). You can see them here:

http://www.petfooddirect.com/store/product_detail.asp?pf_id=20253403KT&cm_mmc_o=2mHlCjCVdKCjCVdK2tzEEwklCjCWR2RJVRW&zmam=90031077&zmas=13&zmac=74&zmap=20253403KT

So we are going to continue feeding him Orijen with a teaspoon of raw pumpkin (his usual meal) and give a Panacur/EN meatball as a treat once a day.

If on Monday he doesn't seem improved, the "hypoallergenic" (for lack of a better term) diet is the next step. Also, if there is no parasite contributing to the cough, we will go forward with our other options then too (since we will know they are unrelated, I'm assuming). The dry food he says is hypoallergenic is the IVD Potato and Venison. It's grain free, but does use the potatoes as an unnecessary filler (at least I think, there is a comment about it too at the bottom). Those ingredients are here:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php/product/1055

So hopefully this sounds okay. Thank you so much for all your help everyone!