Has anyone ever had a dog with continual diarrhea that there doesn't seem to be any reason for?
Dance is a seemingly perfectly healthy dog in every way, except for the fact that minimally at least 3 times a year, she'll end up with diarrhea. It usually happens every 3 to 6 months or so, but often it happens more often. This past year we dealt with it in January 2011, May, July, twice in August, December, and now again as of last night. And it's been like this since I can remember. The night we brought her home she threw up this horrible sludgy looking vomit on the way in the car, and had diarrhea that night. I kind of chalked it up to stress, since it was her first night with us, but it was a weird consistency. And it's continued to happen ever since then multiple times a year, every year since I've had her. It usually starts with vomiting a stool looking sludge, and the next night she'll get diarrhea. It usually lasts a day or two, and then she's good again... until the next time. It doesn't matter what she eats, and there is no rhyme nor reason to it.
Yesterday I'd given her a raw bone to chew, and she's been getting fish oil again since we've been back from holidays (so almost 2 weeks). Neither is out of the ordinary for her. She's been on fish oil before with no problems, and I give my dogs bones regularly. Neither of those things should've caused any digestive upset so I think it's just coincidence. Other times this has happened she hasn't had anything aside from her regular meals.
Last time I was at the vet with Ripley (for his skin issue), I mentioned Dance to him again. He kept on treating her for Giardia, but it is impossible that a dog can have Giardia for 5 years straight with treatment. I know that's not it and he's thinking the same now. He mentioned it might be a liver issue, and said he would refer me to a specialist. It's just so weird because she shows no signs of being otherwise unhealthy. When this isn't happening to her, her stools are perfectly normal and she's a normal, active, healthy looking young dog. Has anybody experienced something like this before? Any insight as to what it might be? As you can imagine, it is very frustrating to deal with. I know it makes her unhappy, and it's certainly not a happy time for me when I'm up through a whole night letting her outside or when we come home from work and there is a huge mess everywhere to clean up. I just wish I knew what was up with her... it's a total mystery. She's been to the vet for it so many times, and nothing's fixed it yet. :-(
Dance is a seemingly perfectly healthy dog in every way, except for the fact that minimally at least 3 times a year, she'll end up with diarrhea. It usually happens every 3 to 6 months or so, but often it happens more often. This past year we dealt with it in January 2011, May, July, twice in August, December, and now again as of last night. And it's been like this since I can remember. The night we brought her home she threw up this horrible sludgy looking vomit on the way in the car, and had diarrhea that night. I kind of chalked it up to stress, since it was her first night with us, but it was a weird consistency. And it's continued to happen ever since then multiple times a year, every year since I've had her. It usually starts with vomiting a stool looking sludge, and the next night she'll get diarrhea. It usually lasts a day or two, and then she's good again... until the next time. It doesn't matter what she eats, and there is no rhyme nor reason to it.
Yesterday I'd given her a raw bone to chew, and she's been getting fish oil again since we've been back from holidays (so almost 2 weeks). Neither is out of the ordinary for her. She's been on fish oil before with no problems, and I give my dogs bones regularly. Neither of those things should've caused any digestive upset so I think it's just coincidence. Other times this has happened she hasn't had anything aside from her regular meals.
Last time I was at the vet with Ripley (for his skin issue), I mentioned Dance to him again. He kept on treating her for Giardia, but it is impossible that a dog can have Giardia for 5 years straight with treatment. I know that's not it and he's thinking the same now. He mentioned it might be a liver issue, and said he would refer me to a specialist. It's just so weird because she shows no signs of being otherwise unhealthy. When this isn't happening to her, her stools are perfectly normal and she's a normal, active, healthy looking young dog. Has anybody experienced something like this before? Any insight as to what it might be? As you can imagine, it is very frustrating to deal with. I know it makes her unhappy, and it's certainly not a happy time for me when I'm up through a whole night letting her outside or when we come home from work and there is a huge mess everywhere to clean up. I just wish I knew what was up with her... it's a total mystery. She's been to the vet for it so many times, and nothing's fixed it yet. :-(