Hi there! My name is Debbie and I live in central Florida

[DebD]

I have 2 Cavaliers. First time for me, have always had large breed dogs. They are just over a year old. One with belly issues that I have been trying to research. Hoping this group can help me figure out what to do. Thanks for allowing me to join you.

 

[Karlin]

Hi and welcome! We've a mix of large breed and cavaliers here over many years (including GSDs, Newfies and Pyrenean mountain dogs) -- cavaliers are a lot easier to take on holiday . Can you explain the belly issue? You can post a question into the main forms if you'd like rather than attaching it to your intro but either is fine.

 

[DebD]

Thanks for reaching out Karlin!

Our Ruby (a Ruby ) had gnawed his fur off his Bach leg areas when he was younger. We tried switching foods but we didn't find anything that helped. He also did a lot of "zooming". So we figured he was a nervous or hyper puppy. Our vet said that we could try Apoquel and hydrolyzed food. So we did. He no longer bites on himself and his fur has returned. Yay! but it has been killing me to feed him that food.

Anyway, he has never had consistent poops. That is why I think he has belly problems. I forget that the hydrolyzed food was for the itching and not necessarily for the belly issue. The vet said he needed to be on it for 16 weeks so what ever food allergies he may be suffering from would be totally gone. I am wanting to and thinking that a fresh food diet will cure the poop thing. His poops can be runny, sometimes with mucous, most of the time very soft. So much so that I can't pick it all up off the ground. He poops formed maybe about 10% of the time. The other thing is that he can poop every 2 hours. Where the heck does it all come from? It is not often that sleeps through the night without having to go out. Sometimes I think he has gas and feels like he needs to poop. It's too dark some night to see if he really is doing anything. When I go back in the morning to pick it up sometimes I can't find anything.

I know - this is getting long. I'm sorry. Anyway, we go back to the vet tomorrow for vaccines. Gosh, I hope it doesn't;t make him sick like the heart worm medicine does. I'm going to ask if we can stop the Apoquel and start a probiotic too. He had previously been on one but he couldn't be on it while we were doing the food trial. There is a food allergy test I want to do for him (NutriScan) but he can't be on the Apoquel.

There is so much more to the story but that is where we are today. This has been a stressful year. I want him to be as healthy as I can make him. At least he is very happy.

My other puppy, Rusty, is belly healthy 90% of the time. I'm thankful for that. They are best friends and share everything. I feel bad for him because they both eat the same food and he doesn't really need to eat that stuff. I did a NutriScan for him and he shows negative on everything they tested. So that made me happy. I'm hoping Ruby's test will show negative on some protein source so they can continue to share their food bowls.

Do you have a veterinary background? It sounds like you are really knowledgeable.

Thanks again for checking in with me. I will be perusing other conversations to see if I can glean anything helpful. I belong to another group run by Dr. Becker. Are you familiar with her?

Debbie

 

[joseph]

Thanks for reaching out Karlin!

Our Ruby (a Ruby ) had gnawed his fur off his Bach leg areas when he was younger. We tried switching foods but we didn't find anything that helped. He also did a lot of "zooming". So we figured he was a nervous or hyper puppy. Our vet said that we could try Apoquel and hydrolyzed food. So we did. He no longer bites on himself and his fur has returned. Yay! but it has been killing me to feed him that food.

Anyway, he has never had consistent poops. That is why I think he has belly problems. I forget that the hydrolyzed food was for the itching and not necessarily for the belly issue. The vet said he needed to be on it for 16 weeks so what ever food allergies he may be suffering from would be totally gone. I am wanting to and thinking that a fresh food diet will cure the poop thing. His poops can be runny, sometimes with mucous, most of the time very soft. So much so that I can't pick it all up off the ground. He poops formed maybe about 10% of the time. The other thing is that he can poop every 2 hours. Where the heck does it all come from? It is not often that sleeps through the night without having to go out. Sometimes I think he has gas and feels like he needs to poop. It's too dark some night to see if he really is doing anything. When I go back in the morning to pick it up sometimes I can't find anything.

I know - this is getting long. I'm sorry. Anyway, we go back to the vet tomorrow for vaccines. Gosh, I hope it doesn't;t make him sick like the heart worm medicine does. I'm going to ask if we can stop the Apoquel and start a probiotic too. He had previously been on one but he couldn't be on it while we were doing the food trial. There is a food allergy test I want to do for him (NutriScan) but he can't be on the Apoquel.

There is so much more to the story but that is where we are today. This has been a stressful year. I want him to be as healthy as I can make him. At least he is very happy.

My other puppy, Rusty, is belly healthy 90% of the time. I'm thankful for that. They are best friends and share everything. I feel bad for him because they both eat the same food and he doesn't really need to eat that stuff. I did a NutriScan for him and he shows negative on everything they tested. So that made me happy. I'm hoping Ruby's test will show negative on some protein source so they can continue to share their food bowls.

Do you have a veterinary background? It sounds like you are really knowledgeable.

Thanks again for checking in with me. I will be perusing other conversations to see if I can glean anything helpful. I belong to another group run by Dr. Bec

tmake stool sample to vet. Our cavalier pup tested positive for coccidia. Was put on diet of wet food for about 2-3 weeks and issues cleared up. (Took another stool testing after the 2-3 weeks, came back clear.) Vet said usually gotten from mother dog. Hope this helps.

 

[Karlin]

I had a busy week and just catching up now -- coccidia will definitely cause that kind of issue. We have had the exact same issues (albeit not with the frequency to poop!) with our Pyr ever since he was a puppy. It took me far too long to stop thinking it was diet and get a stool test. He had Giardia, really common, and with him, has been very challenging to get rid of. I've had to do the full treatment on him twice but all seems better now. The first dose clearly didn't get it all. I was really kicking myself for not doing the stool test much earlier. He seems to have a sensitive tummy anyway. Any changes to diet often cause issues. Hope things are much easier for you now . Not a vet myself but have had dogs for decades, ran a rescue and have lots of experience with cavaliers, and talking endlessly to vets and specialists