What is causing diarrhea?

[BMJ]

My puppy has random days of diarrhea. She is almost 10 months old and we feed her the same food everyday. There were many times in which I would have to wake up multiple times during the night to take her out. I do not know what is causing it, and honestly I was hoping to find answers through here, rather than taking her to the vet again. Today for example, she woke me up at 3:48 am, then 5:18 am, then 6:40 am. This is not her first time doing this.
We take her to the vet almost every other week with one issue after the other...and have spent more money at the vet that I have spent on myself, which is a lot of money. I am starting to think that there is something wrong with her, considering we have been having issues since we got her.
I hope things get better.

Any suggestions?

[greenbunny]

It could be worms.

She could be eating something you aren't giving her. Do you leave dirty dishes in the sink? She might be jumping up and licking them at night. Do you leave any foods on the counters, like fruits or snacks?

It could be an allergic reaction. My cat's random diarrhea turned out to be a grain allergy. She is now on grain-free food and her stools are normal.

[roberta]

greenbunny made some good suggestions. My pug had random bouts of diarrhea. We ended up switching foods to a sensitive skin and stomach formula (he has some skin allergies too). Since we switched food, he has had no digestive issues.

Could it be the treats or chewies she is eating? That might explain the randomness, if she isn't eating the same type of treat every day.

[lorbo]

treats, biscuits, rawhide, pig's ears, etc...should really only be given to older dogs. i would take a stool sample to the vet-when i was in general practice...we'd do a smear to look for camplyobacter or clostridia-two big causers of diarrhea...it could also be worms-if you had a fecal done when your puppy was first seen and that fecal was negative, with worms, they may not have been shedding eggs at that point in time...so definately another stool sample check...and stick to the same puppy food-no sudden changes...though you could probably add some rice in to the diet to see if that will firm up the stool(of course, after your dog has been cleared of a physical problem).

[BMJ]

I don't think she has worms, because we went to the vet recently and she was tested for everything. we have been pretty much the same food for her, somedays we will shop at a different store and have to buy a different brand for her. I don't think it is the food. The vet is the one who suggested the rawhide for her, which is why we have been buying it for her. We give her treats here and there, which is the puperoni's ( i think i spelled that wrong).
The only thing really different is that she completed her antibiotics a couple weeks ago. But this has been an issue for many months now. The vet has checked both stool and urine sample just 2 weeks ago.
I can't really think of anything else that may be causing it. She is too small to reach our counters so she doesn't eat anything from dirty dishes. etc.

[coquelicot]

We just got done with a bout of diarrhea with my 6-year-old mixed breed. She had it not that long ago, too, but that was due to her snatching a piece of angel-food cake that had fallen on the floor at my neighbor's house. This time, I don't know. We had some leftover antibiotic, so we gave that to her masked in some Iams Lamb and Rice. I think the lamb and rice (probably more the rice part) helps to regulate her, plus she loves it. The combo of the two took care of it in a couple of days.

Yeah, see if your puppy's eating anything unusual. Or have her checked for worms.

[paiger]

We have been pretty much the same food for her, somedays we will shop at a different store and have to buy a different brand for her. I don't think it is the food. The vet is the one who suggested the rawhide for her, which is why we have been buying it for her. We give her treats here and there, which is the puperoni's ( i think i spelled that wrong).

The worst time my dog ever had diarrhea was b/c I switched his food suddenly. I don't think you are supposed to switch brands of food like that especially if you don't know if your dog has a sensitive stomach. You should ease him into new food by giving him 1/4-3/4 new to old, then up it until 100% new food.

Also, most soft treats are very high in fat. W/ leo's sensitive stomach, we usually only give him soft treats on occasion. I'd also say to stop giving the rawhides until you can figure out what's causing the diarrhea.

[Chile]

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[BMJ]

Thanks for the advice :)
We are right now not giving her the rawhide bone, and I'm going to stop giving her the treats, until things clear up. I noticed that her diarrhea is during the nights, and seems to clear up by the day. It is weird, and happens so often. At one point we were giving her pig ears...and since she is a small dog, she doesn't go through the pig ears that quickly...We split one pig ear in quarters and give her a piece of it...well it seems as though the pig ear got old and each time we gave it to her (after having them for about a month) she started to have diarrhea. Now we dont even give that to her. So maybe it is either her treats or rawhide bone.

We'll see!

[jajacobsen]

Poor puupy! It must be miserable for her to have diarrhea and for you as well!

From reading your post it seemsl it could be several things. Our 80+ lb "puppis" (yes really) got diarrhea from pig ears. They weren't bad but their stomachs could not take all the preservatives. So, becuase they love them, they get a much reduced quantity as a special treat and the problem was solved. The rawhide may have preservatives as well which affect her this way. If she loves the rawhide, just reduce the quantity she gets.

They also got diarrhea from hookworms. Even though they were treated. Hookworms are endemic in our area and common in puppies. The treatment for hookworms is completely different from tapeworms, and so if your pup was checked or treated for one kind of worms, it might have a another. On teh positive side, a fecal flotation test can be done at a low cost to you and without an actual exam. You wil have to collect a fecal sample (invert a ziploc bag and collect a tablespoon size, flip closed and seal.) Of course, you should make arrangements to do this with your vet, but than should run less than $30 for the test and then the treatment if needed would be separate.

Don't change foods. You can change flavours within the same kind of food but don'tchange brand. For example, our two pups get the same kind of kibble always. Then, for a treat, they get a spoonful of canned puppy food. We change flavors of the canned food but it is always the same maker.

I know you have a cat. Is the dog eating the cats's food? Cat food is too rich in protien and can make dogs quite sick, one of the first symptoms is diarrhea. I made this mistake. Especially dry cat food is very bad for dogs. Since cats often free feed, you will have to try to put teh cats food on a counter in the laundry room or somewhere, so only it can get the food. If your dog has access to the cat food I strongly suspect this may be your problem.

Hope thes ideas help. I hear you on the no more vet bills, but I swear they are just like babies, an dit will slow down.

God luck!

[BMJ]

Sorry for the late reply.
Ginger seems to be getting better with the diarreha...at the moment...cross my fingers!
We haven't been giving her the rawhides as much nor the treats. I am just letting her eat her food and thats it...slowly now, I am starting to give her treats (but that is because we just moved and are staying at my parents house...trying to get her use to them.) but she seems to be better.
Thanks for all your concerns and advice :)

[jajacobsen]

Glad she is doing better. Good luck and thanks for checking back!