Canine medical research question

Hello SDMB, I’ve been a lurker for years and would like to tap your collective knowledge now. Is there an equivalent of something like webmd.com for canine questions? We’ve got a 4 month old British retriever that has had chronic diarrhea for most of the time we’ve had her. She went in to be spayed today and they planned to do some biopsies for further tests on why this hasn’t cleared.
We won’t get results back for about a week and I wanted to try and research what could possibly be the problem(s). When I googled terms about dogs and diarrhea there were just so many hits that I didn’t know how to filter through them.
So, is there a site that I could search for info?? Thanks in advance for all comments.

Initial results from the operation were this:
Spaying went fine, no problems with bleeding or anything.
Lower lymph nodes,(near rear) wear very inflamed. About twice normal size. These were biopsied also.
Seccum (spelling? Comparable to appendix in humans) was also very enlarged. Vet said that if he didn’t know any better that it looked like cancer. But would be very rare in a dog this age.
Biopsy of small intestine was done.

Worms are not the problem, she has been through a couple of rounds to clear those out. They were present weeks ago and the vets thought that was the problem. They have been gone for three weeks now. (that’s what the vet said based on fecal exams) And energy levels and activity have not been low at all, she goes gonzo at the least encouragement. Gaining weight and eating fine also.

The anti-diarrea medicine metronidazole is what she has been on to control loose stools. It has worked well when she’s on it. Two days after going off, the runs are back.

I know not to solicit medical advice, canine or human and don’t mean to do that. I’m just hoping for…I don’t know, sites to do research, anyone with similar troubles and what they did.

There’s this one:

and this:

http://www.vetinfo.com/

Good luck with your pooch - I know it’s terrible when they’re sick.

For a start, if the biopsies don’t show anything, I’d be looking at her diet. If you’re feeding kibble you might try a different brand, preferably a premium brand (I’ve heard good things about Eagle Pack’s holistic food, but there are any number out there). Some dogs have allergies or intolerances to the fillers (grains) in kibble, or to particular ingredients in commercial dog food.

If you’re feeding canned food, you might want to think about cutting that out for a while, the supermarket brands particularly, can wreak havoc with baby digestion.

I have a now six month old Neapolitan Mastiff puppy, who for the first few weeks I had her, had terrible, huge, very soft and stinky stools which had some blood in them, not quite diarrhea, but not far off. She was otherwise well, but obviously something wasn’t working.

I think her digestion wasn’t coping with changes in diet, nor with the kibble I was feeding, so I’ve moved her onto a mostly raw diet, which has fixed the problem.

I’m not suggesting that you put your puppy onto a raw diet unless it’s something you do already (I feed my other dogs mostly raw so it wasn’t a stretch for me), but ask your vet and do some research about diet.

Have you had a chat to the breeder about what your puppy was being fed?

There’s lots of stuff out there about diet, some of it pretty out there, so do your research with a critical eye, but diet is an easy thing to change, and at least is somewhere to begin.

Good luck with your puppy, I hope you discover her problem.

Thanks for the links Dr. I found one story that linked a possible chicken allergy to the kind of behavior she’s had. It’s a theory I’ve had all along. But we’ve been feeding what the vet recommended. Including just chicken and rice for a couple of weeks. They want us to feed her a certain food for the next month with no treats, chewies, or anything else. I don’t know the name of the food yet, will pick it up tomorow with the pup.

Blackhoybah, when we first asked the breeder about what could be going on, she just told us to see our vet. When talking about this with my wife, she said that they didn’t return her last phone calls to her. (didn’t know about this) I do know that at least three of the puppies from her litter died of problems from worms. (Info from the breeder before we picked her up.) The warranty(?) from the breeder covered congental defects and such. Not sure if the problems we’re having could be covered.
One of the foods we’ve had her on was the brand the breeder fed her. We’ve been back and forth between the two. Thanks for the links Dr. I found one story that linked a possible chicken allergy to the kind of behavior she’s had. It’s a theory I’ve had all along. But we’ve been feeding what the vet recommended. Including just chicken and rice for a couple of weeks. They want us to feed her a certain food for the next month with no treats, chewies, or anything else. I don’t know the name of the food yet, will pick it up tomorrow with the pup.

Blackhoybah, when we first asked the breeder about what could be going on, she just told us to see our vet. When talking about this with my wife, she said that they didn’t return her last phone calls to her. (didn’t know about this) I do know that at least three of the puppies from her litter died of problems from worms. (Info from the breeder before we picked her up.) The warranty(?) from the breeder covered congenital defects and such. Not sure if the problems we’re having could be covered.
One of the foods we’ve had her on was the brand the breeder fed her. We’ve been back and forth between the two.

The talk about a raw diet is interesting but would never happen in our house due to the feelings of the women in the house. Not that I’m real kean about it either. :frowning:
The talk about a raw diet is interesting but would never happen in our house due to the feelings of the women in the house. Not that I’m real kean about it either. :frowning:

I appoligize for not previewing and seeing the effects of a sensitive paste keyboard.

This’d be a really, REALLY, big red flag for me. If the breeder has lost babies from worms of all things, which are cheap and easy to treat for, even at a very young age, it’s possible that your puppy has intestinal damage from chronic worm infestation.

Perhaps talk to your vet about probiotics as well as the limited diet.

I understand your concerns about raw feeding … I’m a vegetarian myself, and I’m often a bit squicked out by it, but since I think my dogs are healthier on it, I hold my nose and get on with it. :slight_smile:

How would you approach a talk to to the breeder about this being, hmm a defective pup?
In talks with the family about her being a lemon (car reference), there is not a chance of her being returned for a replacement. (if that was even an option, Bonding and such that has gone on with the wife and daughter.) We paid quite a large sum of money for the little gal, (my comment that I feel I have to put in sometime).
And how could I prove that she was defective or ill when we got her?
Hopefully any damage is treatable or not permanent.
Thanks again for your comments.

Aside- I’m posting often because my guest membership expires tomorrow. I signed up a month ago thinking I could search on this problem, but alas, You must pay to do so. I’d pay up soon, but I think the vet fees are gonna be bad this month. :frowning:

It depends a lot on the way American law treats dogs. In Australia a recent case demonstrates that in the court they will be treated as “goods” and therefore come under consumer protection law.

I’d have a good look at your contract and talk to your vet. If the puppy had worms when you got her, and the vet believes that the illness is directly related to chronic infestation, then you might have some sort of a case. However, if you’re not willing to return the puppy, then you may not have much of a recourse. I don’t know, it will depend on where you are and what your contract says.

I have to say that your breeder doesn’t sound very careful, and possibly not very ethical, in which case you might just have to treat your puppy, live with the vet bills and choose a better breeder next time.

You could report them to the American Kennel Club, if they are a registered breeder, or to the relevant breed club, if you believe they have behaved unethically.

Good luck treating your puppy, I hope she recovers well.

Thanks for your comments. We hope so too!

I hope your puppy recovers, and this is just some gastritis related to parasite infestation and not something else.

Some parasites, like Trichuris (eeh…whipworms) may still not be seen in fecal examples in pups that young, or in very low concentrations. Still other parasites cannot be found using simple fecal flotations, and may require slightly more specialized techniques.

Metronidazole is used to treat protozoa, perhaps she has that type of parasites?