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Question

We have a 2 year old American Bull Dog who seems healthy in every way, but has had bloody, loose stool for months. He eats well, drinks well, plays well and doesn't seem affected at all. Should we worry?

Submitted: 50 days and 19 hours ago.
Category: Dog
Value: $9
Status: CLOSED
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Optional Information

Pet's Sex: Male
Pet's Age: 2

Already Tried:
We tried feeding him a lamb and rice dry dog food with no effect and then tried putting Pet Pectillin Diarrhea Medication on his food with no noticeable effect. He was seen by a vet who said basically same response that I read here about the 3 year old American Bull with the same problem.

Posted by NancyH 50 days and 18 hours ago.

Info Request

What food is he on now?

Which brand of lamb and rice did you try?

Does he get any treats?

DId the vet try any meds with him or wormers?

50 days and 18 hours ago.

Reply

I have 2 other healthy dogs and I have been feeding them all the same. We stopped giving him the Purina Lamb and Rice (I think) which didn't seem to make a difference. I haven't been very careful about it, I have to admit. I feed them all either Costco Dog Chow, Purina Dog Chow or Shep Dog Chow with a little Shep Chopped Beef canned food mixed in. He gets a Costco dog biscuit after his walk in the morning. He was a rescue dog, and he had a full workup before my son took him home. He took him back to have this issue looked at and as far as I know, the food was the only suggestion.

Posted by NancyH 50 days and 18 hours ago.

Answer

It does sounds like a food issue. If you change foods you have to change everything including treats and the Purina Lamb and Rice has corn, chicken and mixed animal fats as a part of the ingredients so its not really a lamb and rice only food.

You can read here about inflammatory bowel which can be triggered by food allergies

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_inflammatory_bowel_disease.html

And foods you might try would be more likely found in a pet supply store (and not always the big box stores) such as diets of Fish and Potato, venison, or rabbit etc. where the protein source is new and there are no grains in the food can work for many dogs for example. Another option is the hypoallergenic diet from your vet Hills ZD. Changing food does no good if you feed the same ingredients. Remember food changes have to include all treats and can take 8-12 weeks or more before you see results.

A lamb food that woudl be only lamb and rice would be California Natural Lamb for example.

Hope this helps you!

 

50 days and 18 hours ago.

Reply

I am really worried about the expense, but I do want to do what I can to help him. I read through the information on inflammatory bowel disease and it was very helpful. Thank you for sending the link. A prudent course of action seems to be to change his diet and to have him checked for parisites. I will ask my son if he has any records of what tests he had and then see what else should be done. Can you give me any information about recipes I might find for home cooking a good diet for him? I know how much prepared special diets can cost and he's a big dog!

Posted by NancyH 50 days and 17 hours ago.

Answer

There are home cooked recipes but the problem is you want one with no allergens in it which can be hard. You can shop around for a food which may work at a reasonable price.

Wellness Simple Food Dry Dog Food and Natural Balance Dry Dog Food may have recipes that will work as might the California Natural Lamb.

They make dog biscuits too.

Worming using a wormer such as Panacur (fenbendazole) might help too.

But here is a home cooked meal

http://www.globalpaw.com/forum/dog-nutrition-dog-food-forum/48244-homemade-hypoallergenic-diet.html

and there is one on this site as you scroll down to DOG ALLERGY DIET

http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/HEALTH/diet2.htm

and the supplement here can be served as a whole diet just pick a 'new' protein

http://tedeboy.tripod.com/drmichaelwfox/id19.html

 

50 days and 17 hours ago.

Reply

Thank you very much for all the helpful information. I really appreciate it. Can you tell me if this is a common issue in bulldog breeds?

Accepted Answer

My experience with bull breeds and mastiff family breeds indicates corn is often an issue with them. This goes from pugs and pit bulls all the way up to boxers, great danes and english mastiffs. As the American Bulldog is a mix between boxers, pit bulls etc its no real surprise that they have allergies the same as their relatives do. Unless breeders are carefully selecting for healthy dogs (which many breeders do not do) the risks of a dog having an inherited problem are higher and this includes in mixes as well as purebreds.

While I wouldn't say its common, as in every dog has it, there are a good number that have sensitivities to one substance or another.

This could be the reason the dog ended up available for adoption.

If you found an answer helpful you can accept it and thanks!

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Expert: NancyH
Pos. Feedback: 99.5 %
Accepts: 
Answered: 10/1/2009

Dog Expert:Rescue, Train,Breed,Care

30+ yrs dog home vet care & nursing, rescue, behavior&training, responsible show breeding, genetics

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