My dog's chronic diarrhea returned after vaccines. What to ask vet?

With a normal stool sample and blood panel, the next steps are experimenting with diet - specifically a hypoallergenic prescription diet (such as Royal Canin Ultamino, which is definitely the most expensive option, but also the one that seems to work best in diagnosing food allergies. It takes eating ONLY the prescription food for about a month to see if it helps, and then if it does help you can certainly experiment with less expensive foods. If you she would having signs of food allergy you'd need to do a full 3 months, but for intestinal issues, you should see a response in just a couple weeks) OR a high fiber/easily digestible diet (such as Hills Fiber Response EN). Some dogs need continual probiotics to keep normal stool. Treating any underlying anxiety (if present) can also help. Finally, a gut biopsy, which is much more invasive and costly can be done. Since she isn't yet spayed, I would consider doing a gut biopsy when/if she is spayed because that would be minimal additional expense or trauma for her while she's already have an abdominal surgery. I hope that helps! Wishing you the best with this difficult issue - It can take a long long time to get to the bottom of things

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Remi. In the bloodwork that was run, did it include GI specific testing such as cobalamin, folate, PLI and TLI levels. These are values that will give information such as the location of GI disease (small intestine vs pancreas) and treatment options. I typically do this planel in conjunction with an abdominal ultrasound. This information with the ultrasound can give insight into conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatitis, exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, food sensitivities or as you mentioned cancer. The anti-inflammatory properties of the antibiotic she was on could help even with a tumor in GI tract, but there are so many other causes of diarrhea that would respond as well. I think it is worth pursuing further bloodwork and the ultrasound. If you can get a diagnosis, then a treatment plan can be developed. I hope this information helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Bear! Diarrhea can be a sign of a vaccine reaction but since he was having abnormal stools prior to the Vet visit I think it is likely a continuation of his previous issues. I would still ask for deworming medications as adult worms do not always shed eggs that will show up in the stool sample. I would also change his food and get him on a puppy food that doesn't contain chicken. It is possible the weight loss and chronic abnormal stools are due to a food allergy. If that doesn't improve his weight and stools then I would do blood work and B12/folate/TLI/PLI testing for intestinal and pancreatic disease. Causes of poor weight gain/weight loss and diarrhea in a puppy are: intestinal parasites, food allergy/intolerance, inflammatory bowel disease, pancreatic insufficiency. Good luck!

There are several things I try for diarrhea that is not responding to typical treatments - sometimes I give the medications for a longer duration, sometimes I'll try a different antibiotic, and sometimes I'll try a different diet (which it sounds like your vet is attempting with the EN). Your vet might also want to retest a stool sample - sometimes with diarrhea there just isn't enough actual feces to get a positive results. Chronic diarrhea can also be caused by inflammatory bowel disease which is a more severe form of IBS and ultrasound and special blood testing can help diagnose this. Corticosteroid medications and B12 injections are often the recommended treatments for IBD.

I'm sorry that Jorkey is having diarrhea. It is unlikely that the diarrhea is related to getting the vaccines. It is possible it is due to intestinal parasites or even the de-worming medication, if he received that on Saturday. Stress can also cause diarrhea, so if he was anxious or stressed about the visit, that could have contributed. I would recommend you take him back to your vet to have his diarrhea evaluated. He may need a temporary diet change, probiotics, and potentially an anti-inflammatory medication for his colon. He also may need to be checked for intestinal parasites and be de-wormed with a different medication. I hope he is feeling better very soon!

Hi, Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I would recommend following up with Copper's veterinarian before his medication runs completely out. They may want to extend his prescription or recheck him. Be sure to feed whatever diet his vet has recommended with no other food or treats. Sometimes a probiotic, such as FortiFlora, can help. I would speak to his vet and follow their suggestions. Diarrhea can be caused by anything from stress to dietery indescretion to food intolerance or infection. I hope Copper is back to normal soon.

Poor Dave! Chronic GI issues like this can be very frustrating. In many cases, some diagnostic testing may be needed to help determine what the problem is so that he can be treated effectively. I'm not sure what kind of work-up may have already been done in Dave's case, but some tests that may be helpful to diagnose the cause of his intermittent diarrhea issues would include a GI blood panel to check for problems like chronic pancreatitis, EPI (exocrine pancreatic insufficiency), or inflammatory bowel disease. A fecal diarrhea panel could also help, as this screens for a number of different parasites and are difficult to diagnose on a regular fecal exam at your vet's office. General blood work, x-rays +/- ultrasound, and even exploratory surgery for biopsies of the intestinal tract could also be considered. I would suggest talking with your veterinarian about what he/she recommends as the next step for Dave at this point, since he doesn't seem to be responding well to his current treatment plan. If your vet doesn't have any suggestions, you could also request referral to an internal medicine specialist for further work-up.