[Bonnie W]

My boy Elijah is 15 1/2 years old & is having loose watery & mucous filled stools. I have told not to give him any dry food due to kidney disease. What can I give him to firm up his stools? He won’t take any Imodium & I’ve tried pumpkin which turned his poop into complete liquid shooting like a hose. Can I give him psyllium husk fiber to firm up his stool or chia seeds? He’s had accidents all over the house for the last 3 days. Any info would be helpful. Thanks so very much.

[anonymous]

What does your vet advise? Give him a call if you haven’t does so already. Leave a message for him to call you back when he has a minute.
He may want you to bring the dog in, he may be dehydrated and need medical attention.

Do not give over the counter meds and supplements unless advised to do so by a veterinarian that has examined the dog.
Esecially if the medications are not intended for veterinary use.

[Maya S]

I would speak to your vet first. My 13 yo has recently been having loose watery and mucus filled stools more and more frequently but he also has recent diagnosis of canine cognitive disorder. As his loose stools have become more frequent and he started having accidents in the house we saw his vet and she prescribed metronidazole (flagyl) for five days and said to put him on human probiotics (capsules) with his food twice a day. This is day 2 and he seems to feel better but his stools are still loose. Good luck with Elijah. Btw pumpkin has a lot of natural sugar so I would go with boiled or microwaved sweet potato instead which is lower in natural sugar. Big thing for Elijah is to be wary of dehydration so I suggest a vet call or visit.

[Bonnie W]

I’ve been to the vet 3 times with him in the past 2 weeks & yesterday she sent me home with SMZ antibiotic as well as 10mg Prednisone & Digestive Enzymes but says he has irritable bowel disease from his age & kidney disease. His weight is about 43lbs but he never weighed more than 46lbs anyway and he’s drinking a lot & I’ve added some broth I made just a tablespoon or so to his water to get him to drink more but he doesn’t want to take the Metamucil unflavored with no sweeteners in it even with egg & beef added to it with a touch of pumpkin I cooked & about a tsp of overly ripe banana & 8oz of water so I may have to blend it up & give him the food in a syringe as he’s always been an extremely picky eater & always wants me to hand feed him his food but the fiber blend is a bit messy for that & he hates it’s smell so he just turns his nose up at it.

[Susan]

Hi Bonnie,
sounds like he does NOT need any high fiber foods, pumkin is high in soluble fiber, look for foods that have In-soluble fiber or not much fiber at all, as you can see the high fiber isnt working if after he ate pumkin he was shooting liquid poo like a hose….
Dogs do not need any fiber in their diet my vet told me, they have a short digestive tract & fiber isn’t really needed in their diet…
Ask vet can you try
Vet Diet “Royal Canin” Hypoallergenic HP wet can food the R/C HP wet can food is for dogs with food sensitivities, Colitis, when they have diarrhea, mucus jelly poo’s, the fiber is only 1% or there’s “Royal Canine” Gastrointestinal Low Fat wet can food the fiber is low at 1.7% helps firm up poo’s.
Hills I/D Digestive Care Chicken & Vegetables Stew wet can is low fiber or there’s Hills I/d Digestive Care low fat, Rice, Vegetable & Chicken stew wet, all these wet can foods are low fiber & smell really good, for dogs with poor appetite.
Have you tried the wet can Hills K/D Kidney Care, Chicken & Vegetable stews small can 156g??
the Hills K/d Chicken & Vegetable stew wet can food has been made specially for dogs with reduced appetite when they have Kidney Disease…
How does he do on boiled rice? as the Hills I/d & K/d wet can stews have pieces of boiled rice, my boy has IBD & he can not eat any boiled rice, it irritates his bowel more, he squirts out water diarrhea, so I have to pick out all the pieces of boiled rice, he really loves the Hills I/d Chicken & Vegetable stew…
Have you tried boil potato? boiled potato works really good to firm up dog poo when he has diarrhea, when you mash the boiled potato & add some blended meat that’s been in the food blender they don’t know there’s any potato in their meal they think they’re just having meat, or whatever meat your feeding them, Tin Salmon is a food dogs love aswell just check the salt isn’t too high, I buy the small tins of Salmon in Spring water & Tuna in spring water & add boiled sweet Potato but you’d need to add boil potato instead of sweet potato as sweet potato is higher in fiber….

Why he refuses the Metamucil & pumkin dogs are very smart & if something doesnt agree with them or makes them feel sick, pain or the smell might make him feel sick so they refuse it, we think they’re fussy dogs but I’ve found over the years when cats & dogs started feeling unwell after eating then they become fussy eaters over the years also when a certain food makes him feel sick or pain then next time he will probably refuse this food, my old cat was the same he had Kidney disease in the end & he also suffered with acid reflux aswell, is your vet treating him with a medication for acid reflux? this might be why he’s not wanting to eat cause after eating food he gets his acid reflux? my boy stops drinking water when he gets his acid reflux, have you tried a acid reducer like Pepcid (Famotidine) or Zantac (Rantidine) or an acid blocker like Omerprazole (Prilosec) ask vet next time you see him. He might feel sick & not want to eat or has no appetite, the digestive enzymes might make things worse or better, my vet always says, it’s best to only start & introduce 1 new medication & supplement at 1 time over 3-4 days so you’ll know what is working & what might make things worse??
Does your vet know much about IBD?? are you on facebook? there’s a group called
“Irritable Bowel Disease & G.I Related Diseases in Dogs, UK” you dont have to be from the UK to join, you’ll get alot of help from other people who have elderly dogs with a few health problems that are very fussy eaters aswell…..
Bone broth, Yogurt , Cottage cheese mix with a meat is suppose to be good, add 1 teaspoon to start with & see does he likes yogurt or cottage cheese…
I give my boy the Yakult its a probiotic drink excellent when human or dog has diarrhea, the Probiotic drink Yakult starts to firm poo’s, Patch gets about 3 spoons in a bowl he loveshis Yakult drink…
Prednisone gives my my diarrhea vet should of given him 14-21 day course of Metronidazole (Flagyl) for diarrhea….
I hope the Predisone firms up poo’s but has he always done watery poos? or has this just started?

[Bonnie W]

Unfortunately I do not use facebook due to harassment issues & getting hacked & told to kill myself every time I go one it so I’ve not gone on in over a year. No he’s not had watery stools until he was given the flea & tick poison & heart worm meds right after finishing the 14 days of SMZ antibiotic. The flagyl worked best but she said that she gave him this SMZ instead last time & this time for 14 days at a time plus the 10mg Prednisone which I’ve not given him yet as I don’t want to make things worse for the poor boy. He just poo’d all over the downstairs again & its almost 2am here & I haven’t slept in 2 night now 3…just ran him outside but it had already happened. The vet also gave me digestive enzymes which I didn’t give him yet either because it says on the bottle that they irritate the mucous membranes & I don’t want to stress him out further as his mouth waters & his nose runs but he’s been drinking a big bowl of water each day & ate most of his Metamucil & food combo w/lots of water in it tonight. Last night he threw up all of the potatoes I boiled & mashed inside his pen then had poo’d all over the rugs & his soft couch like dog bed covers as well so it was a busy day of cooking, cleaning & laundry as well as running out side for slight tiny mucous poo’s I just feel so bad for him. Plus to make things worse my Dad has severe Alzheimers & he called me tonight to ask if I was dead…which was very upsetting & telling me he’d been up to visit my long deceased uncle who was much older than he whose now 89 but telling me he was only 87. He’s supposed to be being taken care of by my sister who is an addict & just uses him & tries to get him drunk so she feels she can safely leave him home alone to go to the pubs etc. Because my older brother has power of atty I can’t do anything to help him & she is the person having people tell me to kill myself on facebook-the police said they would like to see a restraining order put against her to get her out of his house but I’d have to have power of atty to make it happen & my brother has disowned me over a religion he belongs to that I do not so he won’t answer my phone calls or respond to me at all. He says I’m no longer his sister & not to call his home because it upsets his wife to hear my voice. So this along with cancer is making me so stressed with Elijah so sick…he’s been my service dog for all these years & I just feel like I can’t help him. I know he’s very old for an Airedale but he’s been doing so good & his blood work 2wks ago came back perfect except his kidney numbers were up due to the kidney disease but he’s been wanting to go for walks & get outside. He’s very aware of all thats going on around him so I hate the thought of the unspeakable. I’ll just start crying again if I even go on about it. He’s all I have. My mom died several yrs ago & I took care of her to the end when I got cancer which has changed my life & it doesn’t feel like the springtime here it feels like the season of loss for me. I’m just a mess. Thank You for all of you kind words & helpful suggestions I just don’t want to loose him & am not in a position to get another nor do I wish to replace him. He’s been so special in my life & loves to be sung to & is just a kind loving heart full of wisdom of the knowledge bump on top of their heads? His is large so I think he’s quite knowledgeable. But again thank you & I’ll keep you all posted. I just wish is wasn’t the weekend as the vet isn’t in & I don’t want things to go down hill over the next two days. Take care. Thanks again!

[Bonnie W]

Dearest Susan, Thank You so very much for your support on this issue the things you talked about gave me new hope & I went on a mission on Saturday & found a pet probiotic treat made by vets in my state with no odd ingredients in it as well as a calming treat to stop his obsessive licking of his genital area, he’s had no gas since starting the new regime on Saturday evening, I got a holistic kibble without grains in it just lamb veggies & approved fruits & also added a bit of flax milk to his water & gave him the famotadine & he’s completely turned around. He doesn’t act like he can’t see or hear or is nervous due to indigestion issues. He actually played with me pushing on me yesterday when I was able to leave him home to take my friend to radiation. He was full of energy & clear eyed with no freezing or loose stools or accident’s I’m just so amazed & I never gave him any antibiotics or prednisone or the digestive enzymes as it said they cause mucous membrane irritation which I just didn’t want to put him thru. He also really wanted to go for a big walk yesterday so we went for one but I know how insidious IBS can be so I am being very careful & watching his intake of phosphorus & protein that they are not too high as those bother kidneys etc. according to the vet I spoke to online at JustAsk.com. So so far so good & this is day 4 & he’s so calm & happy & so am I…thank you so much again…it was 3am here when you wrote to me the other day & I’d been up all night watching him & that was when I saw your note & responded to you. I sure do appreciate your taking the time to let me know your situation & what your aware of for help. If I can help you out in anyway with the names of these products let me know at they have them at grocery stores & online as well & they are amazing. I’m glad your dog will drink the probiotic drink cause mine doesn’t like it & won’t touch it. He’s just doing amazingly well & seems like his old self again…my very best friend! Best to you all & you especially Susan for being there for me! Hugs! Bonnie

[Susan]

Hi Bonnie,
it’s excellent Elijah is feeling heaps better, it makes you feel really good when they’re feeling good, we don’t feel helpless…..
Just make sure you give him his Famotidine (Pepcid) ant acid medication twice a day before he eats main meals & give him his Probiotic to help strengthen his immune system & stomach…..
As we age we dont make as much stomach acid (Hydrochloric Acid) to digest our food & this can cause acid reflux also with Kidney disease you can get bad acid reflux as well…

Im glad he’s feeling better & he’s his happy go lucky self again…

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