Why is my dog still vomiting and having bloody diarrhea after months?

Hello. This is just not normal. I can not imagine telling any client that waiting for something to take a month to pass is in any way normal. You really need a second opinion on this. Mac needs a fecal analysis, & not just one done in a vet's office. It needs to be sent to a laboratory for a diarrhea panel. If nothing is found, the abdomen should be ultrasounded for the presence of anything abnormal, & biopsies obtained if anything suspicious is seen. Chronic vomiting & diarrhea needs to be addressed, but only after a proper diagnosis is made. At the very least, I would have Mac on a bland diet of 75% whole grain white rice ( not instant or minute rice ) & 25% white meat chicken. I would also start him on Proviable KP, a combination of a dog friendly Kaolin & pectin plus a high level of probiotics. This alone, will not cure his problem, but that much blood in the diarrhea is very concerning. Please try to find an internal medicine specialist, although I see you are in Hawaii, so I am not sure what might be available in your area. But you do need to either follow up with your vet, or ask for a referral to a specialist. Good luck & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. As per the previous doctors you saw, these are all possibilities but need to be ruled out first. The hydrolyzed protein diet theory should be given at least 4 weeks of putting Aspen on a strict hydrolyzed protein diet ONLY such as Hills Z/D or Royal Canin Ultamino. I would also make sure to have her stool tested before the diet trial as well to make sure it is not something as simple as an intestinal parasite. Once intestinal parasites have been ruled out and the diet trial has finished but there is no improvement with the diarrhea, more testing should be done such as blood testing and abdominal ultrasound. Aspen could also be dealing with an intestinal inflammatory condition such as IBD or a systemic illness. Sometimes adding a probiotic to the current food helps such as Purina Fortiflora, which can be found online or at your local pet store. Before doing a hydrolyzed protein diet, you can initiate a bland diet as outlined below and add in a probiotic as mentioned above to see if this helps first. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further. GENERAL INFORMATION A bland diet is a diet that is soft and highly digestible. It is low in fiber, fat and protein and is high in carbohydrates. Bland diets are generally composed of a single carbohydrate source and a single lean protein source. The most common bland diet is boiled rice and boiled lean chicken breast, without skin and bones. Since bland diets are low in fiber, stool production slows and defecation is less frequent. Bland diets are fed to rest the gastric system and to help promote normal stool formation. Animals that are physically sick should not be fed bland diets as a method of treatment. PRIOR TO FEEDING A BLAND DIET Pets should be fasted for 12 to 24 hours. Young animals should not be fasted for more than 12 hours. Fasting will allow the intestinal system to relax and minimize acid secretions that may irritate and inflame the intestinal lining. During the fast small amounts of water or ice chips may be provided. Never fast a sick animal, it may cause disease progression and death. BASIC BOILED RICE AND CHICKEN BLAND DIET RECIPE CARBOHYDRATE SOURCE: Boiled white rice LEAN PROTEIN SOURCE: Chicken breast, no skin and bones BOILED RICE: 1 part white rice with 3 parts water boiled for 20 – 25 minutes or until the rice is easily crushed. BOILED CHICKEN: De-fat chicken breast and boil in water for 10 – 15 minutes or until the chicken meat is easily pulled apart and cooked all way through. MIXING INSTRUCTIONS: Finely chop the lean protein and mix 2 cups carbohydrate source and ½ cup lean protein source. STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: Bland diets can be premade and stored in the refrigerator for a maximum of 48 hours. The bland diet can be cooked in a batch and frozen in feeding sized portions to minimize preparation time. Thaw and warm the frozen diet prior to feeding. PERMITTED LEAN PROTEIN SUBSTITUTIONS Pork loin, egg whites, low fat cottage cheese. 7% low fat hamburger, plain low fat yogurt. PERMITTED CARBOHYDRATE SUBSTITUTIONS Boiled potatoes, boiled spaghetti, Minute rice. PERMITTED COMMERCIAL BLAND DIETS Science Prescription Diet I/D, Eukanuba Veterinary Diet Low Residue, Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Intestinal HE. FEEDING INSTRUCTIONS Estimate 25% of your animal’s diet and feed that amount of the bland diet every 6 – 8 hours. Smaller animals will require less and larger animals will require more adhering to the same carbohydrate to lean protein source ratio. The bland diet should be fed for 4 -5 days with no treats or other food sources until stools are firm. TRANSITION BACK TO A NORMAL DIET Never transition back to a regular diet rapidly. Transition back to the regular diet over a 1 week period. Start by adding 25% of the regular diet to 75% of the bland diet and feed that combination for 2 days.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I noticed in one of those pictures that his stool is really diarrhea and is black (which usually means a sign of bleeding). Vomiting and diarrhea can occur secondary to conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, dietary indiscretion, parasites, among other possibilities. In addition, black stools can be indicative of bleeding into the small intestine or stomach which can happen secondary to an ulcer for instance. Bloody urine can be the result of an infection, stones, tumors, among other possibilities. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. At the very least they can start him on medications to make him feel better and check his hydration status. In the meantime, keep water available at all times to try to prevent dehydration. Good luck and have a good day!

If Auggie hasn't had a stool sample checked it would probably be helpful to rule out intestinal parasites. His symptoms could also be caused by inflammatory bowel disease or a food sensitivity. If you've seen three different vets and feel that you're not making progress with Auggie you could have your vet refer you to an internal medicine specialist.

Recurrent diarrhea can be related to a number of different diseases. Some possibilities include intestinal parasites, a food sensitivity, a liver shunt, or inflammatory bowel disease. I would recommend discussing further testing with your veterinarian since Guga seems to respond to symptomatic treatment but the signs return with time. They may recommend some additional testing , or may recommend a food trial with a hypoallergenic food or a long deworming protocol. You may also want to ask about referral to an internal medicine specialist if available in your area - they are experts at managing these types of cases. Good luck!

Hi again! You are very welcome! I would consider seeking a specialist, specifically an internal medicine specialist. If you are unable to do that then I would try a prescription hydrolyzed food like Royal canin HP. Sadly the over the counter novel protein diets are not 100% pure and studies have shown that we can still find other proteins like chicken present in diets that are not supposed to contain chicken. He may need steroids if surgical biopsies are not something you would want to do. Also be sure he has had his B12, folate, TLI and PLI tested. I hope this helps some! Poor guy!

HI, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Rocky! The red color is from blood. Blood in the stool indicates inflammation in the colon. The stool in the picture is diarrhea. Possible causes of bloody diarrhea after being spayed are: Effects of anesthesia and stress, from pain medications she received or is still on (Rimadyl, deramax, meloxicam....). Other causes: virla infection, food sensitivity, ate something gross outside, and toxin ingestion. I would call your Vet and tell them she is having bloody diarrhea and they will likely prescribe some medications to help. They may also tell you to stop any pain medications they sent home with her after the spay. You can start feeding her a bland diet of boiled chicken or hamburger mixed with rice. Feed about 1 cup per 10lbs per day until 1-2 normal stools. If she starts vomiting or doesn't want to eat or is lethargic she may need to be seen by your Vet. Good luck!