Dietary advice please!

[chloec]

A month ago our lovely 4 year old greyhound had a random bout of diarrhoea and a few days of bland diet fixed her up, but a week after that it happened again (both times in the evening) and she had absolutely no change in diet, no chewing of toys (she's still getting used to the idea of a chew toy and playing with things!), no treats she shouldn't have, wormed up to date, very much a creature of habit in activities and food etc. The second diarrhoea bout she actually ate it and naturally vomited it back up and since then she has had dodgy bowels and finally now we've had a week of solid stool, but with rice, boiled chicken and carrots. She's lost quite a bit of weight because of all this the last few weeks with the bland diet and the needing to starve for 24h post vomiting, but her coat is still beautifully sleek and she's bouncing around everywhere happy as larry.

Do you think its an intolerance to the eukanuba thats developed or something else? I'm hesitant to put her back on it with the last two times resulting in the diarrhoea. Any advice would be much appreciated and also some tips to help put some weight back on (she's gone down to 26kg from between 28-30kg). An additional point worth mentioning is that Millie our greyhound is a nervous wreck, she's got extreme anxiety and so I've linked her toilet habits to possible psychological effects (she's ok around dogs and close friends and family, but absolutely terrified of strangers when on walks and certain vehicles and objects).

Thanks so much, sorry for the big message, but just at a loss and want her to get the weight back on that we worked so hard to get on when we got her over a year ago - she was so skinny and I feel like we are going back!

[jodav]

Hi
Sorry to read that your hound Millie has been struggling with diarrhoea and weight loss. As this is not one isolated bout of diarrhoea and is associated with weight loss over a period of about a month, I’d be inclined to get her checked by your vet to be on the safe side. It’s best to rule out any possible underlying health problem before deciding what food to use to put weight back on. Once you have a clearer picture, change over the food slowly and obviously follow any advice you receive.

As regards Millie’s anxiety, is it possible for you to walk with another calm dog or perhaps contact a sighthound walking group of in your area so that she can meet and greet other hounds? This may help to build her confidence. Good luck.

[chloec]

Thanks so much for responding. I will get her to the vets and see what they say. Last week when I took her they were pleased with all her obs and suggested I leave it and see how the stools form and if no improvement then do a pooled faecal sample so might go for that to see if theres anything harbouring!

I am planning on walking her with other sight hounds in the near future. We were meant to start in January, but she got spayed and then has had a funny tummy so wanted to keep her nice and rested before subjecting her to any more potential stress.

[ragsysmum]

Do you know what she was fed when in kennels? If she was OK on that it may be worth reverting to whatever it was. I have found some kennel dogs just can't cope with 'good quality' food which often seems to be too rich for them.