My 4-year-old dog has a sensitive stomach and frequent diarrhea.

It depends on the cause of the diarrhea. He could have intestinal worms, a food intolerance, in issue called Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency (EPI) in which the pancreas doesn't make digestive enzymes. You'll need to start with a vet visit to rule out parasites and try to get his gut settled down. You could also run bloodwork to check for EPI, however we generally wait to see if other methods get the diarrhea under control first. Good luck! I know this is a frustrating issue

I'm sorry to hear of your concerns with Snowball. Inflammatory bowel disease can be a frustrating problem to deal with. The only way to definitively diagnose it is via intestinal biopsies. Food trials with hypoallergenic diets can be helpful in cases of inflammatory bowel disease, but do not always solve the overall problem. Sometimes a course of steroids, supplementation a certain vitamins and even antibiotics are needed to get things back on track. Given that it sounds like Snowball has a sensitive stomach, I would not recommend feeding lettuce as it is difficult to digest. Oftentimes feeding a low-fat, easily digested diet can be helpful. If the diarrhea continues I would recommend having Snowball seen by your veterinarian. There are certain blood tests that can be beneficial to determine if any additional vitamins are needed and they can help you to develop a plan for further diagnostics or management of symptoms in a long term.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Giacomo. I'm sorry to hear you are having all of these problems with him. About 75% of the time ongoing diarrhea in puppies is related to intestinal parasites or diet. So have your veterinarian ensure he does not have any parasites including giardia. If he is negative and has been properly dewormed, I should start him on a prescription low fat diet that is highly digestible. I use Purina ProPlan Veterinary Diets EN as it is safe for use in growing puppies. If this diet does not resolve the diarrhea, he may require a diet for a food allergy such as a hydrolyzed formula. I hope this information helps!

I'm sorry to hear that Hatty is having so much diarrhea. I would first make sure that she's had a fecal exam to look for parasites and that she is being dewormed regularly. You may also consider a blood panel to look for any underlying medical reasons that may be causing diarrhea, such as pancreatic disease. If the pancreas is not producing digestive enzymes like it should, then the food can't be properly broken down and nutrients can't be absorbed and this often results in diarrhea. Once medical causes are ruled out, then you can address the diet. Any time there is a diet change, you have to make sure to feed only that food for 6 to 8 weeks to see if she improves. During this time, she cannot have anything else by mouth, including treats, people food and even oral medications like Heartgard since it has real beef in it. Ideally, you would start with a prescription diet that it hydrolyzed or limited ingredient since there is no cross-contamination in these foods. Over the counter limited ingredient diets may still have trace amounts of other ingredients if they are processing other foods in the same facility. If it's a true food allergy, even trace amounts can cause problems. If you see improvement on a certain diet, then I recommend continuing with that diet and not changing anything as long as she's doing well.

It sounds like it may inflammatory bowel disease but he would need biopsies of his GI tract to diagnose. You could try a hypoallergenic diet like science diet z/d ultra and talk to your vet about low dose steroids (budesonide is a good choice for GI issues) if you haven't tried this already. Also I would have him dewormed with a broad spectrum dewormer if you haven't already. I have had good success with this regimen in some of my IBD patients. It sounds like y'all have ruled out everything else. I hope this helps! if this doesn't work then I think intestinal biopsies are the next step.

Poor Emmi! Some dogs can exhibit vomiting and diarrhea as a result of a sensitivity to the different protein or carbohydrate sources in their foods. There is a chance that her current Iams diet may contain the same protein source as the previous diet, and if she is sensitive, it could be causing issues. Consider starting a diet trial with a novel protein diet (Dick van Patton's Natural Balance Limited Ingredient Diet is one OTC example). To perform this diet trial, you will find a new food with one protein source/one carbohydrate source that is different from the one that she is currently receiving. Gradually transition to the new diet by mixing old and new foods together for 5-7 days. Exclusively feed the new diet for at least 2-3 months to determine if the changes has been effective. It could take 6-8 weeks to notice any change. During this time, take care not to offer any table scraps or treats. If the diet trial is unsuccessful and Emmi continues having episodes of vomiting and diarrhea, consider taking her to her vet for an exam and further testing. Some diseases, such as Addison's disease or inflammatory bowel disease, can have intermittent signs of GI upset. Good luck!

I hate to hear this is happening. Any dogs with chronic diarrhea that does not respond to OTC diets needs to be examined by the veterinarian. She may have a parasite, a bacterial issue or she may need a prescription diet meant for dogs with dietary intolerance or food allergy. Blonca will need some diagnostics. And the doctor will need a good idea of what diets you have tried in the past. I hope this helps.