Long ongoing gastro issues

[wilsonbentley]

Hi,

We have had a french bulldog for 3 months and since we have had him we have had nothing but issues which are still on going.

We have 2 dogs but the one in question is 21 weeks old now.

Since having him we have had him in and out of the vet's no stop.

He was bought KC registered and had the Vet checks and appeared to be fine and healthy when we visited and eventually bought him.

Then we took him home...

Firstly, he start pooping Worms this was despite him being dewormed prior to him coming home.

We took him to the vets and he was given a course of de-wormer and this killed off the worms.

We noticed he wasn't putting on much weight and was always ravenously hungry.

His feces smelt disgusting and he had terrible diarrhea.

We again took him back to the vet who took a stool sample/blood sample and he was treated with antibiotics for coccidia.

The diarrhea cleared up a little, but his feces where still sloppy, very smelly and was he going to the toilet all the time perhaps 10-15 times a day.

It really was a nightmare for us to housebreak him at this time as he literally had no control over his motions.

However we did manage to get him to go outside whilst we were with him, however if I popped out of the room for even 5 minutes there would be a mess left when I got back. There could be up 3 to 4 feces and pools of urine on each occasion.

At the moment the Vet is giving him a vitamin B injection every couple of weeks and a month ago we put him on a grain free diet but his stool quality and frequency have not improved much. He is putting on weight which is good but he doesn't have the French bulldog frame for his age.

On the occasions he messes in the house he will also eat his own poop but I don't really know what to do on training him on this matter as I am never around to witness it.

Apart from the above issues (which have been a nightmare) he is a lovely friendly and lively little dog who gets on well with our other dog.

It's really been a hard 3 months for us.

If anybody has similar experiences with their dogs who have had similar gastro issues or the coprophagia then I would grateful on any tips/advice/training ideas as I just want the best for the little guy.

Tx

 

[gypsysmum2]

I feel for you!

Has he been checked for Giardia? It is a parasite and can cause diarrhoea. It does sound as if your breeder either did not worm your puppy or used an ineffective wormer. You might like to ask which one was used and how frequently etc. If you suspect that a proper worming regime was not implemented (the bitch should also be wormed) then you might have a case against the breeder.

If Giardia has been tested/treated for then you might like to ask your vet for a referral to a specialist.

We have a member who is very good on diet and she may be along to help with that area soon. Dogs can be allergic to lots of things.

I have had a great deal of success in dealing with coprophagia by using probiotics. In mild cases Natural Yoghurt is very effective but you might need a veterinary strength one followed by an on going maintenance dose of natural yoghurt. The theory is that the dog is searching for bacteria to re colonise its gut and so eats any bacteria laden things it can find. Probiotics will, eventually, help to re colonise the gut with healthy bacteria and, if it hasn't become a habit the dog should not seek out its own source of bacteria.

Coprophagia can also be a behavioural issue. The cause can be the dog picking up on our displeasure over finding yet another pile of poop to clear up. They try to avoid our displeasure by disposing of the evidence. Frustrating though it is to be dealing with all this mess it is best to keep a neutral demeanour when dealing with the poop.

 

[wilsonbentley]

Thank you so much for the helpful advice.

He was tested negative for Giardia so that was ruled out.

We administered Canikur Pro Paste which was recommended by the Vet for a several weeks but it didn't seem to help perhaps we need to keep on it or try an alternative product I'll speak with the Vet on Monday.

Thanks for the advice on the coprophagia as well.

 

[gypsysmum2]

Have just remembered the name of the pro biotic I have used. It is called Forti Flora. I got mine from my vet but I think it is available off prescription. I now just use Natural Yoghurt as a maintenance dose.

 

[bombolone]

Hi there did you get anywhere with this? Our 5 month puppy has similar issues and I just found this thread... He has had diarrhoea since we got him (except first thing in the morning), clear on vet stool test, skinny, ravenously hungry and coprophagia. I was wondering if you had any breakthroughs! We are about to go to a new vet to investigate further...