Bad poops after post-surgery antibiotics

[Olesia711]

sometimes a probiotic doesn't work and you have to try a different brand.
Jeremy gave you some good options, and here are some more options:

Visbiome
Vetri-Science Mega Probiotics
Mercola Complete Probiotics

Unfortunately, there are no guarantees which one will work for which dog as every dog's gut flora is unique.........

[Eddiespaghetti]

Wait... I am an idiot.
Eddie had an infection in April of last year. He spent a couple nights in the hospital. They gave him metronidazole and proviable. He then started to have huge yellow poops. I guess I blamed proviable when it was probably the start of EPI.

[Olesia711]

no worries, proviable doesn't work for everyone.. so it is very good to list other options!

[Rockymountainmama]

Pupdate:

It seemed we were on the right track, with poops slowly firming up and looking pretty great, but today's poop was back to square one — the first one out of the hatch formed and the rest slimy with watery squirts at the end.

I'm going to add in that his appetite went down again, and this has been a frequent recurring issue in his 3 years. He is smart and fussy, and we have to be careful not to keep trying to add exotic things to his food to get him to eat! (Kangaroo, rabbit, goat cheese, etc.) Also allergic to poultry (chicken, and we think turkey and duck).

Still, he is maintaining 80 lbs. We have a doggy scale at home. Thank God the trainer taught him to stand on a box when he was little

For two weeks we've given him slippery elm, 1 tsp/day and Proviable, 1 cap per day. Plus home cooked potato and beef to replace half the kibble. Diane enzymes as usual.

The only thing that changed was stopping the pumpkin a couple days ago. He had been getting a nice dollop in each meal (heaping TB).

If just adding the pumpkin back in would fix this, that would be great, but I'm starting to suspect that even so, it could be "masking" an issue that may need medical intervention, i.e. Tylan. (I will ask about the fecal transplant, but unsure if they have that here).

Thoughts, anyone?

Thanks so much.
-RMM

[Eddiespaghetti]

Sometimes, everything is going great and then there is a setback. Eddie had this, a lot of the dogs here also had this happen.
One common thing it could be; the puppo is finally getting rid of the old bad bacteria. They are "healed" in a sense. In regards that the SIDs is under control, but the bad bacteria still needs to get out of there somehow. I know it's tough getting the setback but it might not be an issue and just needs time to clear out. Think of when you have a cold. The symptoms are usually the worse once you start to feel better. It's just the yuck is leaving your body. You can try to wait a couple days to see if it clears up. There are other things you can try, sometimes they need just a dash more or less enzymes or supplements. Or they might in fact need tylosin. As long as they are a relatively healthy weight and aren't losing it at a rapid amount, you have time to wait and see if it's an issue or just a one off.
The appetite. My partner and I discuss this a lot. Eddie will eventually stop eating as much. I think it's a good thing because they are basically moving from starvation mode to maintenance mode in terms of metabolism. We get used to them eating everything and anything, then are taking a back when they eat their normal amount. It could also be their B12 dropped. Weather changes can also play a part in appetite. Eddie eats less in summer time and eats more in winter time. In California we are moving to warmer weather which means he will be eating less.
Any route you take you are at the point where you can truly let the change breathe and see if more is needed.

[Rockymountainmama]

Thanks for the feedback, Eddie!

[Olesia711]

Jeremy summed it up perfectly.

Please keep us posted though!

[Rockymountainmama]

I'm so happy to report two good poops yesterday!!!

Now, we're back to refusing to eat half the time (insert eye-roll emoji).

It's good thing this dog puts 99% of his drive into cuddling and just overall being so lovable.

[Olesia711]

WAHOO!!!! glad for the good poo report... but sorry about the inappetence. Sounds like he has had not liking to eat as an on-going issue

i thought it was mentioned earlier, but i am not seeing it..... hmmmmmmmmmm....... so.......often times, when there is an issue of inappetence.... it means their B12 is slipping. I noticed in your signature tht CHekov's B12 was EXTREMELY low.... like 165??? Is he on 12 supplementation?

If so what and how much.? This might be the underlying problem. And low B12 can also (sometimes ) cause loose stools.
Not saying this is the problem, but it's on the list.

Please let us know what if any B12 Chekov is on.

[Rockymountainmama]

Thanks for your reply, Olessia.

We have been giving him a 1,000 mg cyanocobalamin shot once per week. I know methylcobalamin is better, but the only place I've been able to get that is a no-insurance-taking human doc ($$$++), when I used to inject my own body with these! We haven't had a blood test in awhile, but he is so good at taking the shots and I'm very comfortable doing them, and each vet visit is $200+ here (Santa Fe).

He is VERY interested in all food that doesn't have enzyme on it.

I think the enzyme makes his food taste bad, so we use "toppers," such as fish, meat, cheese, exotic canned foods like kangaroo, etc. Those usually work for awhile, then he gets bored and refuses again.

We have tried so many different things...also, mixing half the topper in, then putting half on top.

So in his case, we think it's a combination of the enzyme taste, and being smart and able to manipulate his worried parents.

I was just telling my husband this morning, that I think we need to find a few toppers and reliably rotate them, so he gets them for one-day-at-a-time, then switch. Maybe if he only gets, say, tuna once every 7 days, it will be more exciting...

-RMM