5 Month Old Puppy with low TLI - questions!

[jilbert57]

Hi I am sorry your pup had a setback. We usually do not recommend feeding snacks until the dog is stable for at least a month. Then any treats either need to have enzymes or be given right after a enzymed meal.
Did you wean off of the Tylan?

Jill

[Eddiespaghetti]

I would go the other way first. I would do 1/4th teaspoon once a day. Possibly, 1/8th teaspoon once a day. It's a fiber and too much can cause yucky poopy. You want to give just enough to slow down and coat the digestive tract. I hate when each company uses a "scoop" as a measurement. Please use real measurements companies. Ranting aside, I would try cutting it back first than if no improvement maybe increase it. There is also a chance they may need to be on Tylosin for life, due to not really being able to get SIDs in control. Eddie is on a low dose for life at this point. Another possibility is; it might be time to try different food.

[Patsy]

My lab regarded socks and stale underwear as treats.
I’ve never heard of vets having a look at the pancreas., even when being under another procedure. Very interesting for the vet but means a bigger incision in the muscle layer for Bonnie. She will be trying to bounce around enough with a small incision.
We’ve all been there at the beginning of epi, confused, tearful, and embarrassed at clearing diarrhoea off pavements in a crowd. It will get easier.
You’ve got good advice, so it helps to keep a log of all food and medications given daily and the corresponding poop. If your vet knows that you understand epi, they should should be open to discuss any suggestions we make . Politely mention this website with its credentials!

[patty_on]

Thank you all for your replies and encouragement! I will admit I was feeling very discouraged yesterday but you helped me remember this is all part of the process.

- I didn't wean Bonnie off the tylosin, as it was prescribed before she had the TLI bloodwork done. She first did a course of 14 days (400mg 2xdaily), then diarrhea returned after a few days, so another 7 days at the same dosage. A couple of days into the 7 day course we found out about the TLI.

- I have reduced slippery elm to 1/8 tsp, will give her 3 smaller meals today, and try my very best to avoid any treats. I thought the freeze dried green tripe would be okay as it has enzymes but maybe it was too much too quickly.

- I too am nervous about the size of the incision. She's having her TLI retested before the spay so that will help us determine if we should go ahead and let him explore.

This morning she had a large poop that started normal then turned into diarrhea, then two hours later a second blast of liquid diarrhea that contained a large amount of plant matter (she is SO quick about picking things up in the garden and on walks and although I am very vigilant, some stuff gets swallowed). Very much hoping she was just reacting to having to push that stuff out.

Her current dog food is almost finished (Royal Canin Large Breed Puppy) so I will talk to the vet about switching. It seems to be very difficult to find pea-free foods here in Ontario. Purina Pro Plan sensitive stomach with salmon for puppies only has 3.5% fibre and pea protein is low on the list so I might try her on that.

Thank you all again!

[patty_on]

Here's a picture of the little troublemaker.

bonnie_new.png (705.88 KiB) Viewed 637 times

[Olesia711]

Ahhhhh.... what a sweetie!!!!!!!!!!! must tuck at your heart strings when she is not feeling well.... those eyes just get you, eh?!

Since she had a partial sort of good poo, today that then turned to mush, and that you noticed a lot of plant materials in the poo.... it sounds like she may have been naughty and gotten into something she shouldn't have.

But... i do want to respond to some of the things that you are doing that could have triggered this.
1. she has not been on Tylan long enough to truly address out of control SID/SIBO/Dysbiosis.... as it should be twice a day for 45 days..... and then the better option is to slowly withdraw over the next couple of weeks after the 45 days..... SOOOOOOOOOOOO t is possible that her poo issues are not enough Tylan related.

2. regarding the Slippery ELm.... i agree with Jeremey... sometimes less is better so try the 1/8 tsp twice a day. see if that makes things better or worse........

3. AHHHhhhhhh Green tripe... such a very healthy additive .........BUT...... it is very rich and can very easily trigger loose stools. so for now, stop the freeze dried green tripe and wait until things are back to normal.... when poos are okay again... then try giving her some green tripe for a few days (just like you did this time) and watch the poos closely.... and ascertain if maybe this was the cause for the loose stools. If her stools go loose again, this was the problem... if not.... then she can have the tripe treats going forward.

4. regarding the extra food. yes, more food can trigger loose stools if you give too much in a meal. if/when you need to give more food.... make sure to give small portions BUT squeak an extra meal in daily....but still adhering to a small portions.

5. trying a different food sounds like a good idea.... BUT remember with all these suggestions... try one thing at a time (usually 3 days at a minimum 5 days max) to see if you can identify the culprit of what triggered this soft serve blow out.............

[patty_on]

Hi Olesia,

Thank you, as always, for the very wise suggestions! If she doesn't improve in the next day or so I'll call the vet and ask for more tylosin. Looking at the chart you have available, it looks like 1/8tsp (aka 50mg) twice daily is the recommended dose? She was getting much much more than that before (400mg twice daily). Also not sure if the tubs of powder are available here in Ontario—the vet gave us capsules which seem to be very expensive compared to the powder ($90 for seven days' worth). We'll see!

Thank you again!

[Olesia711]

The 1/8 tsp of Tylan is equivalent to 375mg... so the 400mg tablets your vet prescribed was perfect. WIth Tylan you can give a little extra and it is just fine. there is lots of leeway with Tylan.

I can image thought that the Tylan pills were indeed expensive. If i am not mistaken, they need to be compounded and that always costs a lot extra.... but good thing for some dog as Tylan is very nasty tasting to some and then they don't want to take the Tylan.

SOOOooooo with regards to the Tylan powder.... here in the USA you can order it from Chewy online but your vet will need to submit a prescription for it Do you get Chewy in Canada? if so, look into getting it that way.

Or.... last i checked you can get Tylan Powder in Canada via these 2 entities (with a vet prescription i think):
https://thepetpharmacist.ca/product-sea ... ch=tylosin

https://www.petsdrugmart.ca/Product/Tyl ... 20900/3550

Or.... check out these suppliers and if they offer their products in Canada.... if so, your vet should be able to get them for you:
https://www.medi-vet.com/Tylosin-Solubl ... /19172.htm

Hope this helps!

[patty_on]

Thanks so much, Olesia. I totally misunderstood the chart and thought I needed to do math! Whoops.

We do have Chewy here now but they don't seem to carry prescription drugs yet. Thank for you the other links though—they look promising!

Bonnie is now on a bit of a "poop strike" and since liquid diarrhea yesterday at 10am, nothing until the middle of the night at 1:30am which was half normal, half diarrhea. Nothing today since then. I have become a crazy person begging my dog to poop so I can see what's going on!

[jilbert57]

It might be she has nothing left to poop out after diarrhea!
Hopefully she will have a good poop next!

Jill