Really confused with the test results

[Anwesha2312]

Hi everyone,

I would like to start this message with sincere apologies as I couldn't reply to anyone in the previous message. I was facing some technical issues, whenever I was about to type it brought me to the main page. I am actually using a different laptop now.

I also apologise for this long message. Really need your help to understand clearly what is the root cause. Blood reports show
B12-147
Folate-3.74
T4-3.94(borderline)
Ft3-1.67(h)
Ft4-2.16
TSH-0.79
T3- 1.13
Vit D3-m35.6
Pancreatic Lipase- 17.2
Elastase report- Normal commensals of the gastrointestinal tract isolated

Vet's diagnosis before the elastase and culture report
1. primarily IBD of small intestine- may be genetic
2. Probably SIBO
3. Might have progressed to EPI.
4. Gave Saaz 500
5. Cobalaplex and some folate syrup
5. Enzyme Miracle
6. Some probiotic
7. Have not suggested B12 or D3 shots.

I am still very confused with Luffy's condition. I will put the symptoms here for all the experienced members to understand better
1. Black soft poop since we brought her home at 35 days old
2. Black tarry poop when we shifted her to home cooked beef food at 3.5 months
3. Never had bloody diarrhea or diarrhea of watery poop
4. Bile vomiting started when she was 8 months old when we shifted her to Raw and that was the time after her first heat that she started rejecting food. But she didn't vomit bile for a long period of time. May be 7-8 days and then again recently.
5. Her weight never increased after 8 months old. She was 24kgs then and now she is 23.6kg.
6. Her weight never went down from 23.6kgs. her pancreatic lipase was 14 then.
7. She responds very badly to white rice and more organ meats, or raw chicken leg. Poop is soft and watery but not diarrhea.
8. Extreme itching around neck, groin, belly and chest since she was 2-3 months old. No hotspots. Only found dry flaky skin.
9. Recently her fur growth reduced a lot.

Poop
1. Never had diarrhea
2. Mostly had greenish poop when she used to vomit bile
3. No mucus
4. Fist part is formed then the rest is soft.
5. Poops once or twice in a day.
6. Comes back running after popping may times
7. Colour- sometimes greyish, sometimes greenish brown and sometimes yellow. All had fowl smell.
8. Poop is formed but looses form when picked up
7. Every stool test since she was 3 months has undigested fat, starch, occult blood.

Elastase 1.jpeg (94.43 KiB) Viewed 13853 times

Elastase 1.jpeg (94.43 KiB) Viewed 13853 times

Elastase 1.jpeg (94.43 KiB) Viewed 13853 times

Total T3 and T4.jpeg (52.17 KiB) Viewed 13853 times

Vit d 3.jpeg (40.26 KiB) Viewed 13853 times

pancreatic lipase.jpeg (38.01 KiB) Viewed 13853 times

Elastase 2.jpeg (74.1 KiB) Viewed 13853 times

Elastase 2.jpeg (74.1 KiB) Viewed 13853 times

Behavior
1. Extremely fearful
2. Hesitant to go near other dogs
3. Too much barking out of no where
4. restlessness when she is outside
5. Never let us touch her when she was a puppy
6. Doesn't sleep
7. Went through pseudo pregnancy symptoms at the age of 8 months and just stopped eating and then started vomiting bile.
8. After her Rabies shot in January 2025, she has an episode of extreme shivering with no fever.

Recent behavior change due to ill health and steroid eye drops(for Pannus)
1. Extreme hunger
2. Extreme lethagy
3. Stops in between walks and comes in middle of the leg
4. Drops the ball suddenly and seems confused
5. Became abnormally calm
6. Bites legs, licks paws, floor, bites chest, belly, upper arm.
7. Suddenly comes near and gives paw and tries to sit on my lap

Diet from April 2024-Jan 2025
1. Rotational mono feeding- On most days I used to feed millet, veggies and cottage cheese
2. Meat days used to be raw chicken legs and mostly chicken/goat meat(rarely) and some organs
3. Zero supplements
4. I used to fast her also occasionally for 2-3 days when she used to be extremely hungry, I feel so guilty about that now.
5. Used to feed 700-800gms of food.

[Chance]

Sorry to hear you are going through all of this! It's sooo upsetting when they are unwell, and nothing seems to help :/

B12 levels are uncomfortably low. That should be supplemented really. I'd ask about B12 injections, as really not good to be low indefinitely. And certainly enough to cause a lot of the symptoms you are experiencing. It can cause extreme lethargy, poor digestion, and in some dogs will cause looser poops.

Folate levels should also be supplemented, as these levels are very low.

Schebo test suggests that EPI is less likely. But it would be better to see where the TLI levels are. They've run the folate and B12 levels. They must have run the TLI at that time??

If EPI is suspected, then Enzyme Miracle isn't going to offer much benefit. It's plant based and cannot help with digesting meat or fats. It is sometimes useful in helping IBD, at least to some extent. You'd need animal based (ie pork) based enzymes if EPI is possible.

Standing between my legs is something my dog does when she's in extreme pain. Your dog may have some discomfort related to IBD; or maybe discomfort related to B12 and folate being do low.

It's great that hypothyroidism has been ruled out. Increases likelihood of the skin and itching is related to some form of allergy. Sometimes dogs can be sensitive to chicken. With that, and IBD, I'd consider doing a food trial with a protein you have not fed much. Fish might be good, also to help skin issues. Or duck....or almost anything you have not fed much of in the past.

[Patsy]

My heart goes out to you.
I’m not a scientist or medic so I will only comment on what leaps out to me.
B12 needs an injection course to get quick results.
Saaz 500 ( sulphazosaline) for IBD, Crohns or ulcerative colitis, may not be helping if the original condition hasn’t improved over weeks, and can cause similar problems . Try a suitable steroid instead?
My adult daughter lives with crohns and has been through everything . Biologicals work to but dogs aren’t on the NHSto pay for it.
Food…. Grain free and low fibre veg. What about eggs? Fish is great.
Antibiotics. For SID/Sibo .we recommend Tylan if you can get it. Otherwise oxytetracycline. Not metro.
Enzymes……is it possible to source raw beef or pork pancreas in India ? Otherwise as per advice others have given you..

[Olesia711]

Anawesha,

I am so sorry.... BUT... i strongly agree with Patsy and Andrea, the first thing you need to do is beg the vet to immediately start giving weekly B12 injections. (Not the muliti-vitamin.. just pure B12. With her weight.....Start with 1000 µg weekly unless the vet suggest a different dose..

ALthough this most likely is not all that is going on, she has super low B12 and that can account for more than half the symptoms you are describing:
1. Extremely fearful
2. Hesitant to go near other dogs
3. Too much barking out of no where
4. restlessness when she is outside
5. Never let us touch her when she was a puppy
Extreme lethagy
(i know low B12 can also cause poor sleep, but i am not 100% sure this can also affect dogs)

SOme of the other things you mentioned almost sound like pain/ looking for comfort, so something is going on, but i just don't know what...

All these symptoms do sounds like bad gut flora caused by something since the transit time is so short: (could be Dysbiosis caused by IBD like your vet suggested):
Fist part is formed then the rest is soft.
5. Poops once or twice in a day.
6. Comes back running after popping may times
7. Colour- sometimes greyish, sometimes greenish brown and sometimes yellow. All had fowl smell.
8. Poop is formed but looses form when picked up
7. Every stool test since she was 3 months has undigested fat, starch, occult blood.

The Schebo Test you gave her does "rule-out" EPI.....my main #1 suspect would be possible IBD (even the black tarry stools can be an indication of IBD, along with the itching) However.... talk to your vet about ruling out possible liver disease, IBD and even Cushings or A-Typical Cushings... just in case it is a remote possibility.

[Eddiespaghetti]

How is their gait? Do they show any signs of weakness or an asymmetrical walk?
Has their been a CBC/mineral blood test done? You might be dealing with malnutrition. It could be caused by the B12. B12 helps other minerals get absorbed.
May I ask why you used to fast your dog for 2-3 days?

[Olesia711]

Hi Jeremy.... thanks for asking Anawesha that question... about the "gait"....... because that reminded me about tick disease that can also display with the symptoms you are describing. Anawesha....if they have not already.... check for tick disease (Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD)) , especially if there is any limping going on................

[jilbert57]

Gabapentin can cause an abnormal gait also.

Jill

[scoozle]

Hi Anwesha, so sorry that you're dealing with this, it's so frustrating when tests are confusing and there are so many symptoms flying around!

I will just weigh in as others have to say that a lot of the behavioural symptoms could easily be from malnutrition/low B12 etc. My dog Oscar is not good with other dogs and is a bit anxious in general, but he is so much worse when he's unwell! It's understandable really, I get really grumpy and antisocial when I'm sick, so why wouldn't our dogs?
and it could be the same for the skin/scratching/biting/fur growth etc. Oscar's ears get really blocked up easily and he got recurring infections, but they have been better now that he's on the right meds and is obviously absorbing his food much better. His coat also stopped growing before we got a diagnosis and is now healthier too.

Oscar also has not really had long bouts of diarrhea, but his poop was definitely not healthy. It sounds like Luffy is the same, so I would say don't be too black and white about whether or not she technically has diarrhea, her poops are obviously not good and clearly show she's not digesting her food properly.

I'm sure you'll see improvement quite quickly once you start trying what others have suggested here, especially the B12 injections.
Good luck and keep us posted on Luffy's progress, I really hope your vet can help you can pin down what the problem is soon!