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My Doberman had this issue a couple times when I first got him. He is now on Blue Buffalo Wilderness Duck and Potato recipe and hasn't had a problem since. Expensive but imo worth it.
I too have a female doberman, 5 months old who has had chronic diarrhea since she came from the breeder's kennel. The vet is in to me for many, many dollars of ID (a prescription diet), antibiotics, trifexis, stool testing for protozoans, additional de-worming, etc.. All tests have been negative. She has only diarrhea stools (typically more watery than soft serve ice cream, once she had a stool that almost was formed.NEVER HAS HAS HAD A NORMAL STOOL) since I got her Jan. 21, 2014. No other symptoms, looks like a million bucks and is gaining weight normally with plenty of energy and a healthy appetite. Anybody have any helpful hints?
I've owned Dobermans since 1979 along with several other breeds. I would'nt say their digestive system is any different than the labs, shorthair pointers, hounds and mutts that I've owned. As long as you are feeding a good quality kibble they should be fine. I'm not saying the OP's dog does not have a health issue but is not the breed.
For a temporary fix try Essential Pets anit diarrhea liquid. Heck you can even use Pepto tablets hidden in a small piece of hot dog. The Essential Pets liquid will give faster results though.
I too have a female doberman, 5 months old who has had chronic diarrhea since she came from the breeder's kennel. The vet is in to me for many, many dollars of ID (a prescription diet), antibiotics, trifexis, stool testing for protozoans, additional de-worming, etc.. All tests have been negative. She has only diarrhea stools (typically more watery than soft serve ice cream, once she had a stool that almost was formed.NEVER HAS HAS HAD A NORMAL STOOL) since I got her Jan. 21, 2014. No other symptoms, looks like a million bucks and is gaining weight normally with plenty of energy and a healthy appetite. Anybody have any helpful hints?
what brand of kibble are feeding her? Corn will cause diarrhea in dogs ( I only feed wheat, corn, soy and diary free kibble as well as raw)
You can boil some plain white rice and mix some in with her kibble...or you can add some canned pumpkin (real pumpkin, not the pie mix) in the kibble as well.
Take a good look at the food you're feeding...that's normally the culprit when it comes poop issues.
All of you are not alone. I also have a Dobe of 12 years and everything was fine up until 3 years ago. Now I deal with this very random and occasional diarrhea that nobody seems to be able to figure out why it happens. Started out happening about once a month for a day or two (I use to kid around saying he was on his period), then it would stop for a few months and then back again. Most recently he went 4.5 months without and episodes and out of the blue it happens and has been on going now for a week and a half. I like others have tried everything from different foods, to no table food, to mixing canned food with dry food, to bottled water, and so on and so on.
If anyone finds out a solution, PLEASE PLEASE post it here so we who suffer with this can get some relief for our beloved dogs!
All of you are not alone. I also have a Dobe of 12 years and everything was fine up until 3 years ago. Now I deal with this very random and occasional diarrhea that nobody seems to be able to figure out why it happens. Started out happening about once a month for a day or two (I use to kid around saying he was on his period), then it would stop for a few months and then back again. Most recently he went 4.5 months without and episodes and out of the blue it happens and has been on going now for a week and a half. I like others have tried everything from different foods, to no table food, to mixing canned food with dry food, to bottled water, and so on and so on.
If anyone finds out a solution, PLEASE PLEASE post it here so we who suffer with this can get some relief for our beloved dogs!
-Scott
Take him to the vet. If it's been going on for a week and a half he may have a parasite and need antibiotics or at his age, there could be something else going on. Since the other episodes have lasted a day or two, a week and a half is way too long for him to have this problem. He really needs to be seen by a vet ASAP. A long period of diarrhea can also cause other issues especially for an old dog.
Once you get this round cleared up, if there isn't a bacterial issue you might ask the vet if he thinks it could be a mild case of IBS. Ask the vet if giving him a daily antacid tablet would help. When my vet put my corgi on one (I think it was famotadine). it really helped with his issues. OTOH, Dobies are sensitive dogs, it could be stress related. Have you noticed stress in the household around the times he has problems?
Guess I should've clarified something... This week and a half bout has not be constant the whole time, he has gone a day or two in between without any issues but it keeps reoccurring and I have been through this in the past also with his vet running more tests and everything coming up negative. I am monitoring him closely and making sure he has plenty of fresh water. I also am going to try either kaopectate or immodium and see if this helps.
Thanks for clarifying. Really once it's under control, I'd ask the vet about famotadine (pepcid). At the vet's direction, I kept my corgi on it whether he was having issues or not and it made a huge difference - vastly reducing the number of episodes.
In the meantime you might try adding canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling) to his food. It has a lot of fiber in it and sometimes it will help.
It also could be that his GI tract is so irritated this time that he needs medication to completely get over this episode. That happened occasionally with my corgi. The doctor usually prescribed flagyl and it usually would do the trick. Can you call the vet, explain what's happening and then pick up what the vet prescribes? Since my dog had recurring problems, the vet would do this for me.
Your Doberman should not be having chronic diarrhea, period. If your vet is unable or unwilling to get to the source of the problem, you are going to have to try something to address it yourself sooner rather than later, or get another vet. Yes, it is possible that your dog has something like irritable bowel syndrome, but given the info provided in this thread, I doubt that's the case. It is my experience that talking to people about their dobie's dog food is like throwing a grenade in a room, so I rarely do it. People do not want to hear that they are feeding the wrong food FOR THE HEALTH of their own dog. I am not going to participate in that debate here. But what I will say is that if this were my Doberman, I would take a step back and try to look at the situation unemotionally utilizing facts only. Then I would take my dog off his Kirkland kibble and put him on a bland diet exclusively for at least a couple weeks and see if things improve. That's the only way to rule out for sure if his food is the problem. I know you don't want to believe the food is the problem, but you won't know for certain until you rule it out. I would suggest making a big pot of turkey and (white) rice, or maybe hamburger and white rice (pour the grease off) and storing it in the fridge/freezer. I would recommend against chicken and white rice for now, because chicken is very often the source of the problem. When their intestines are messed up, they need to be on a bland diet in order to allow their GI system to heal up and get back on track. I would not just switch him to another kibble without giving his innards a chance to heal. Can you do this? Are you willing to try?
Smitten,
I am not sure who you are replying to but in my dobes case it is so random that I also do not believe it is food related. This has been going on for years now. Sometimes it happens once a month, sometimes it doesn't happen for a month or two. Before this current episode he has not had any issues since early December (yep, 4 months ago) but now its been on and off for over two weeks. Last winter he had episodes most months so its also not seasonal and its nothing he gets into. SOmetimes he has to go every 2 hours (at least he thinks he has to go or he can't go), sometimes he's fine all night until daytime. I honestly have no damn clue what goes on with his internals, but I love him and I'll keep doing what I need to as long as he's here with me. Did I say he's going to be 12 next month. Oh and he does have tons of fatty tumors on his left side too if that matters. The vets don't seem to think they are a big deal but I find it interesting that they are mainly on his left side and nothing really on his right side.
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