Both my dogs have been having intermittent diarrhea for nearly two months now.



My veterinarian tested a stool sample for worms and giardia, and it came back negative on both.



He didn't think it was necessary to test for things along the lines of liver or kidney failure, since both dogs came down with the exact same symptoms on the same day.



He said if it's on infection of some sort, that that might show up on a blood test, but I declined to have one done for the time being. If it was an infection, I would have been reluctant to put them on antibiotics for something that wasn't making them very sick, and it might just run it's course.



But now it has been going on so long, that I'm thinking of taking them back to the vet for more tests.



The symptoms are, they have diarrhea with a lot of mucus in it for a day or too, then will be fine for anywhere from four to ten days, then suddenly one of them has diarrhea again. It is not real watery, but more pudding like, with a lot of mucus. They seem to be feeling fine otherwise, eating and drinking normally, going for long walks, et cetera. This did all start about two weeks after a camping trip during which they drank out of a creek a few times, which could be connected.



My main question is, how concerned do you think I should be about this? I'm trying to decide whether to take them to the vet again, or continue to give it more time.



Please let me know if you can think of anything specific I should ask my vet to check for, that might cause mucusy diarrhea on and off for such a long time.



Also, I would appreciate any dietary advice that might help this problem. They are eating mostly venison with oatmeal or rice, carrots, and some eggs. I feed kibble occasionally, but not often enough to have much effect on nutrition. I've considered cutting certain things out entirely since this started, in case it is an allergy, but then I just keep thinking that since it's affecting both of them, it must be something they picked up.



Sorry this has been such a long post. Any advice you can offer is appreciated.

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Show Entire Thread ]