Members, I need some help on two topics. 1. looking for a local vet in Parker CO. I have been using Pine Grove Animal Hospital and I have not been happy with them. 2. I have been dealing with a Chronic Diarrhea problem with my dog. I have tried bland diet, (Boiled chicken, Boiled Chop meat, rice, Yogurt etc) changing of dog foods(Exclusive chicken & Rice, Blue, etc) (Done over time not to shock the system) the only thing that helps is when he is on "Pills" from the vet. Don't know where to go from here.

How old is your dog? How long has he had diarrhea? What are the pills that work? How long after you stop the pills does it take for the diarrhea to return? Has your dog had a thorough workup for causes of diarrhea--stool sample, blood work?

Try Tom Geiselhart
http://www.homestead-animal-hospital.com/

His vet office is just west of I25 and just south of Arapahoe. Not too terribly far from parker. He's always the vet on duty for the Denver clubs specialty.

Sometimes a fecal comes back negative even though there is something there. Have you tried Alban?

Before you give up on your vet, you probably need to have a conversation with the vet and assess whether the problems you are having lie with the vet or with difficulty of the problem diarrhea. Does the vet have a working diagnosis for the problem based on a good workup of the symptoms or is the vet just trying one thing after another without a reasonable diagnosis?

It's OK, sometimes you just need a new vet. While hold on to one that can't come to a diagnosis if you have been having this on-going issue.

Could be giardia too. Sometimes you need more than 2 weeks of antibiotics to clear up the chronic cases. Flagyl, albon are the most common. Have they done any testing? You really need to know the source or the antibiotics will make it worse.

As someone who is in Colorado (as opposed to the East Coast), are you in an area in Parker that has an active coyote population? If so (and in all likelihood the answer is yes) and your dogs happen to have ingested, or merely stepped in, coyote poop they have been exposed to whipworm. That's some nasty stuff and produces liquid projectile diarrhea.

Thank you for you feedback. Both Dog have been tested for multiple things like that and have tested negative.

Thank you for your reply. He is about 9 years old and the Diarrhea comes and goes. Could be a week or month. The pills that had worked consistently are Metronidazole - 500MG 14 pill (twice a Day) Both dogs have been tested via stool samples and blood, which are all negative. Now I down to change food he is puppy and we have only have him a couple of months.

They have been tested for Both twice and both time negatitive

Thank you for your reply. There are sever vets in that office and the one i This is great only works part time so it very hard to see her on a regular basis. To me there doesn't seem to be a plan of action at the moment except feed him bland food and start test other foods. I have a call with the vet I like when she returns to the office.

Kevin - This is just a thought. Could it be he is sensitive to chicken/poultry? I say this because 3 years ago I took in a rescue Lab. I started feeding him chicken & rice and it wasn't a pretty picture. I switched to lamb & rice and within 48 hours everything was fine. When I buy biscuits for him I make sure the word "chicken", "poultry" and/or "turkey" is not listed in the ingredients. Even 1 tiny biscuit with either of the above 3 sets his stomach off.

Kevin, go to the Hemopet website http://hemopet.org/, and click on Nutriscan - it is a saliva test for various types of food sensitivities/allergies. The 2-part test is a bit pricey, but it may be worth it if your dog if you have tried everything else.

Whatever you choose to do, you need to find a practice than can offer more specialized services. I seem to recall a clinic, an ER clinic, in Parker, but cannot recall the name. VRCC in Englewood is also a good choice.

My brood picked up an awful stomach virus late last summer. It turned into pancreatitis with one of my bitches and we almost lost her. We do have rabbits, and wildlife in the urban neighborhoods - tapeworms can also be an issue if they eat the rabbit scat.

I wish you and yours good health.

Kevin, Metronidazole has many uses and is effective with multiple types of organisms in the gut. So it is difficult to know why your vet is choosing this medication and why it works.

Metronidazole has often been prescribed for Giardia, but it has become less effective than it once was in completely getting rid of giardia. You might just suppress the giardia with the metronidazole, and when you stop the medication, the giardia comes back.

To make matters worse, giardi is difficult to diagnose. Sometimes a dog can have giardi but have a negative stool sample (unless the stool sample is sent a major laboratory which can detect giardia better than local vets often can). At the same time, sometimes a major laboratory can detect giardia that has no clinical significance because the gut can harbor giardia that is not a problem.

These days I have seen vets more frequently trying fenbendazole for Giardi. Fenbendazole is a fairly sample medication. If the diarrhea goes away, then you
don't know for sure that the dog had Giardi, but at least you no longer have the diarrhea.

On the other hand, metronidazole can be effective in treating chronic inflammation in the gut (e.g., IBD) because metronidazole has an anti-inflammatory effect. Sometimes the gut is inflamed because of food intolerance, but sometime you never figure out why the gut is inflamed. Sometimes Tylan or Endosorb will also calm the gut down, and these medications
are safer and less expensive than metronidazole.

Ask your vet what his or her "working diagnosis" is. This may help you understand what the vet is doing or not doing right.