Why is my senior dog having persistent diarrhea after diet change?

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.

There are many different causes for chronic diarrhea in older dogs, none of which are usually great news. The best and shortest list I can provide you is the following: lymphoma of the GI tract, inflammatory bowel disease, lymphangiectasia, liver disease, gastrointestinal parasites, and/or nutritional deficiencies like lack of vitamin B12. Since you have mostly ruled out GI parasites, I would recommend beginning to investigate the possibilities of some of the others I have listed. In order to do this, you will need to obtain some blood work with your vet (baseline plus the B12 test), then work out whether or not he/she can do ultrasound / endoscopy to rule in / out the other conditions I have listed. Hope this makes sense. Best of luck.

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.

These signs could be compatible with a colitis, which is an inflammation of the last part of the colon, usually related to dietary indiscretion. As a first approach, I would suggest to start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice vomiting, lethargy or inappetence. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

I would wonder if Shadow is developing some sort of food allergy or perhaps inflammatory bowel disease. I would recommend to talk to Shadow's doctor about a food trial for Shadow. This would be the best way to know if the diarrhea is related to food. I would also recommend to supplement him with probiotics more frequently as this helps to maintain a good GI flora. The doctor may also want to check blood values and maybe even an x-ray to rule out other causes of chronic diarrhea.

It is unlikely that the wet food is causing the diarrhea. Especially if the wet food has been fed for many years. With Samwise being so old I would recommend taking him to a vet to see what is going on. Chronic inflammation and even neoplasia can cause horrible diarrhea. A vet visit with some blood work and x-rays should be done. hope she feels better

Dogs will frequently develop diarrhea from a diet change which is why it is recommended to slowly transition your pet from one food to another. Since worms have been ruled out, it is likely that this is your pup's issue, although there may be many reasons for diarrhea including infection, allergies and other disorders. If the diarrhea does not resolve in another day or two, you should take her back to your veterinarian to determine the underlying cause of the diarrhea.