Infection Problem

[DTrain]

My best dog is suspected of having a protozoal infection but we cannot determine what. This has been going on for some time and I am concerned. I understand these sorts of infections can be hard to find but they can also be dangerous over the long term. It is thought that he may have an infection in the giardia family. We have taken stool samples with negative results. He has been blindly treated with tramadol and metronidazole and because the symptoms come and go we are guessing at the success we are having. Periodically he will have a very runny stool with even some discharge but no blood to date. This will last for several days and stop. He often has difficulty going and this too will last for several days and stop. This situation occurs about bi-monthly. It is sometimes the case that he needs to go out in the middle of the night and or he will go in the house I suspect because he cannot hold it. At times he can seem quite depressed and not very responsive. He can also run a very high temp to the danger point. Because this happens in so many situations we cannot determine a trigger however it will happen after periods of very hard work, very high temps or sometimes travel. It does happen frequently enough that we cannot land on something. He over the past couple of weeks has gone the full cycle of runny stool and is now having trouble going. He has been around stock most of his life and has had plenty of opportunity to consume contaminated water before we got him. He was three when we got him and he came with this problem. He was a full blown ranch working dog so has been in a hard work environment. He is intact but I am considering changing that. Shortly after we got him we almost lost him to a high temp situation. That was over a year ago and we and our vets have yet to figure out what is going on. We have some concern that whatever he has he could pass along to our other dogs although we have not seen signs of this problem with the others. Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing or suggestions. Thanks.

[kelpiegirl]

Are the high temp and diarrhea occurring at the same time? You need to get this figured out. What are you feeding? What exactly is the diarrhea like? Does he have free access to water?

[1sheepdoggal]

A friend of mine recently had simalar issues with a dog. It was an enlarged prostate. One of the things that first brought this to his attention was that the dog, not only was having difficulty pooping at times, but that he also lacked the energy he had once had. That, if you say he has had this problem since you got him would be hard to determine since you really are not sure what his real energy levels would be. Needless to say, after meds and rest, the issue didnt go away and sadly the dog had to be neutered to ensure that he remained healthy. Have you had his prostate checked?

[urge to herd]

Ask your vet about Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Disorder. My general vet diagnosed B with that years ago, we put him on a prophylactic dose of metronidazole (every other day for a week, then worked down to two doses a week a few days apart.) That worked great.

 

B's would flare up if he was stressed, and that would include being kenneled, too much social activity, not enough exercise, me being out of town for extended periods, etc.

 

The interesting thing is we've got B on a home made diet right now, because of his osteosarcoma. I'm getting recommendations from a very knowledgeable woman, and she's worked out his diet to include cooked grains and vegetables and raw meats, plus some supplements. If anything would stress my Buzzard out, the last few weeks would, but he hasn't had any problems. We're talking spending 4 seperate days at a vet's office, the amputation, and a round of chemo, and he's been fine. She's also got him on a specific probiotic, which I'm giving to my other dogs as well.

 

Buzz did run a temp when he had the flare ups, and acted very ill.

 

If you want more info about the nutrition lady, pm me and I'll send it along. She was recommended by Rebecca on this board, who has also had great help from her.

 

Good luck, hope you figure this out.

 

Ruth n the BC3

[skd]

I lost a female Border Collie to lymphangiectasia. The diagnosis was made by intestinal biopsy, after intermittent episodes of diarrhea/ temp/lethargy over a period of 3-4 months. She was treated for giardia, coccidia, IB, etc, etc,etc. No cause was ever identified. She was too far along to save by the time the diagnosis was made.

 

Sheryl

[DTrain]

Thanks guys, this is exactly what I need.

Kalpie, the high temps do not usually happen at the same time as the stool problem. In fact they can happen quickly and are quite a surprise. The stool sometimes contains something like a slime and can range from being very soft to almost water. We feed him a preventative formula from Medi-cal. He does have free access to water and he is a big drinker. Does this help.

Gal, it would never have thought to check his prostate, I will look into that. Before we got him he would have been expected to maintain a very high energy level. He worked on a ranch that also had a feedlot. This would have been extremely long and hard work. I do not know what his performance was like but it is curious that since he comes from a fabulous line that the owner would be so willing to give him up. I have often thought of this. He is not required to work that hard anymore but he is more than willing to put out. He did not go this morning and recently this has been common, it concerns me. He will likely go this evening and I would bet he will have difficulty.

Urge, I will bring this up with my vet and I have questioned his food recently. For the past few weeks while we are not working geese his activity has been light and it has been extremely hot. At these times I tend to cut back on his food intake a little.

Thanks again, please keep the information and questions coming. This is very valuable and I have a real concern for this dog, I am very worried.

[DTrain]

In the past two days Pete has spent a total of two hours and fifteen minutes at the vet. He has had complete bloodwork, prostate and a stool sample done and an extensive check-up. We will do two more stool samples over the next few days. He has been under observation and I am told by the vet that he has done everything he can. However, we have found nothing, we have not been able to detect a protozoal infection or any other problem, Pete appears to be perfectly healthy. The vet has no explaination for what is going on with him and it is still going on as I have outlined. Yesterday he had trouble going and today he has not had trouble. If his track record continues I would expect that within three or four days he will again have diarrhea and may have a high temp with it. This is very strange. He does not appear well. The vet has suggested that I look for a food with a minimum of grains, does anyone have any suggestions on his condition and foods. I have have cut Pete's food back and have added beans as has been suggested, he loves the beans. I have also increased his work and exercise. Within the next couple of weeks we will be back to goose work and I would like to get this solved. Any help you can give will be great

[kelpiegirl]

I might consider cooking some food for him. When my Boxer had serious gastro illness (not unlike what you describe), I cooked for him, and he was completely normal (stool/felt good). My other feeling is that you should look to other vets if your vet can't figure this out. The temp thing is worrisome.

[urge to herd]

One more test - for clostridium perfingens. That's the evil little devil that started B's whole IBD/S. If, from a diarrhea sample, he doesn't culture out c perfingens, then I'd really suspect IBD. The see sawing back and forth between constipation and diarrhea is a major symptom in humans for IBD.

 

If you go w/another vet, I'd suggest a gastroenterologist. It initially seems like a lot of money, but they will have more in depth, up to date information, and they can diagnose quicker and have more precise treatments.

 

Good luck, DTrain,

 

Ruth n the BC3