Intermittent diarrhea in 10 yr old

[SDelVecchio88]

Hi everyone, I haven’t been on here in years, but you were all so helpful when our Brodie was a puppy. That was a decade ago, as he is now 10!

Brodie seems to be having intermittent bouts of small bowel diarrhea, from what we’ve gathered and been told. His behavior, appetite, weight are all fine. Every so often (maybe 1-2 months apart for the past 6-8 months) he will start having diarrhea where it starts out solid and then turns into very runny poop. I’ve learned that this is small bowel diarrhea.

He has been on the same food forever and always done well. He also RARELY ever had diarrhea before, maybe 2-3 times in his life. He has had it more in the past 6 months or so than his entire previous life combined.

His stool sample came black clean during a previous bout of this, but the vet gave us a probiotic and antibiotic during one bout roughly 2 months ago. We were optimistic that had worked, but now it’s back again.

Could this be diet related even with him never having had an issue with this food before and the diarrhea being so sporadic? The fact that it comes and goes is what makes no sense to me, especially with him otherwise seeming like himself. He will be perfectly fine for weeks and then, seemingly out of nowhere, the same type of diarrhea I described comes back. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Berna]

Did you do a full blood panel? Is he on any medication? Is he eating anything apart from his dog food (or things that he shouldn't)? What about treats? How is his general demeanor, does he appear sick or is he his normal self?

[SDelVecchio88]

Thank you for responding. He has a vet appointment tomorrow. They recently did blood work, but I'm not sure if it was a full blood panel. I will have to ask. Everything that they did check was normal, though. He is on no medication. The first couple of times this happened we wondered if he might be getting into something in the yard. We then began watching him closely every time he goes out to make sure. We're 99.9999% sure he is not getting into anything.

Each time he gets a bout of diarrhea his demeanor is overall normal in terms of eating, drinking, playing etc. That is why we are so confused by the sporadic nature of it all. It seems like he goes several weeks or longer with normal bowel movements and then has another bout of diarrhea for a few days, despite no dietary changes in between. He has probably had more bouts of diarrhea in the past 6 months or so than his previous 10 years of life combined!

If he needed new food (he has been on Earthborn Hollistic Primitive Natural his whole life), wouldn't his stomach be upset more often? These are the questions we will ask the vet, of course, but any input is appreciated!

[Snowshoe]

I made a post yesterday but it wouldn't go. Ditto Berna on the blood work. Low albumin in particular can indicate some gut issues, which my boy had.

I suggest you keep a diary of these episodes so you can be exact in showing the Vet the timing. Google up the Nestle fecal score chart too, to tell you Vet the numbers.

Manufacturers can change food ingredients. Sometimes they don't put changes on the label. And, it can take time for an intolerance to build up, even if ingredients did not change. And an aging body may not handle food a younger pup did.

Good luck.

[SDelVecchio88]

I made a post yesterday but it wouldn't go. Ditto Berna on the blood work. Low albumin in particular can indicate some gut issues, which my boy had.

I suggest you keep a diary of these episodes so you can be exact in showing the Vet the timing. Google up the Nestle fecal score chart too, to tell you Vet the numbers.

Manufacturers can change food ingredients. Sometimes they don't put changes on the label. And, it can take time for an intolerance to build up, even if ingredients did not change. And an aging body may not handle food a younger pup did.

Good luck.

Thank you for the advice. I was also having trouble posting yesterday!

We have a vet appointment this afternoon, so we will make sure they do all necessary blood work. I have heard that older dogs can stop tolerating food they have been on forever. We’re not opposed to a food switch and will certainly try it. Again, the reason this is all so strange is because he goes several weeks or more being perfectly fine with no diarrhea. If food is the issue, is it possible for it to only be a problem once in a while?

Thanks again

[Berna]

Since he is on probiotics and antibiotics after these episodes I guess it may take some time till the next episode happens, so I don't really find it strange.
If the blood work comes back normal, I'd try a medical gastrointestinal food first before trying another regular kibble, and see how he does.