Senisitive stomach?

marciamarcia
edited May 2012 in Food, Nutrition, & Health
My dog, Trooper, has been a handful during the long four months I've had him. His latest thing is a queasy stomach, diareha, and grass eating. He went to the vest last week and has antibiotics (Flagyl), then was better a few days. Now, he was fine a few days, then last nite suprises me with stomach aches and more diareaha in the early morning. He is eating Nutri-Source- a high quality food. (No more Taste of the Wild after the recall). My question is do a lot of Akitas have sensitive tummys? He eats grass frequently, and the vet says give Pepsid for it. Is this common? He is scared to death of thunder, and now has started being destructive. It is thunder season in Florida coming up...and I need my house to not be torn apart.

(Since I have had him, he has almost killed my cat, had flea allergies, staph infection, lost most of his fur- did not have Subaceous adenitis as originally thought- thank goodness- but had all the expensive tests and was cared for for it just in case, and has severe anxiety when left alone. He has chewed rugs, broken windows, eaten screens, and the list goes on. Did I mention he was a "rescue"? )

He is only 2 but at this rate I am so frustrated. I'd like one month with no vet visit!? (I finally got pet insurance a few days ago.) It must be love, as most of my friends are encouraging me to give him up but I am not at that point and hope never to be. Any body who can enlighten me to "normal" Akita behavior will be welcome! Do they grow out of it?? No crate...he hates it.

Comments

  • JessicaRabbitJessicaRabbit
    I also have a nervous fraidy cat akita. He came from a very loving home, and came to me at about three years old. He is also afraid of thunder, and construction vehicles, and children, and loud talkers, and he also has a delicate stomach.
    Our other dogs help keep him calm. He is much more at ease with them around. He also is better with a daily dose of melatonin.
    We feed him Natural Balance LID Bison and Sweet Potato. He loves it and has the healthiest stools to date.
    As far as his anxiety, I would encourage you to bring in a behaviorist to help you formulate a quality course of action. Puzzle toys are a great help as is copious amounts of exercise.

    Best of luck
  • jellyfishjellyfish
    All I can comment on is the poop. My Akita puppy did not do well on Innova, but did well on taste of the wild and now blue buffalo. He had a month or two of runny poop as a puppy, so i can relate a little bit. I think my pup has a semi sensitive stomach with new foods in large amounts, but I think that is also a normal dog issue. I know a few other Akitas eat blue buffalo and so you might want to give that a go? Just transition really, really slowly. Like, maybe even over the course of two weeks. Plain greek yogurt and pumpkin purée work really good for diarrhea and I always give it Toki when transitioning new foods. A ginger snap cookie or two can help calm an upset tummy as well.

    Good luck! Kudos to hanging in there! :)))
    Keep us updated on the progress!!
  • sachismomsachismom
    My girls tummy is really sensitive. If she eats anything out of the ordinary or if her food changes at all, even treats, she gets the runs. It has been the same from 2-10 months. Now, as long as she sticks to the same food, she's good.
  • PaulPerryPaulPerry
    If you have a lot of vet visits, I know that insurance won't always help you .. they'll probably start finding ways to wriggle out of paying.. you might want to look into a vet discount plan; I know that two popular ones are Pet Assure and United Pet Care - they usually won't give a crap about preexisting conditions, it's like once you have a policy, you have a policy. They don't care how sick your dog is (hate to say it that way but it's true, works out well financially lol)
  • marciamarcia
    Wow.thank you all for your comments. He is on yet another round of Flagyl, and seems to be doing better. I am using lavendar spray, and trying to not be excited when I come home...just acting very calming even if he is out of his ma=ind with excitement...tseems ot be helping.
    I won't give up on him! He is usually a lover, and I know I can be a bit much too:), so I do not expect perfection, as he is really great most of the time. I did get insurance....so let's see! I am no quitter!
  • marciamarcia
    Update on Trooper: I took him to an upscale pet food boutique and the very knowledgeable owner suggesgted probiotics for him....I just put a little power on his food and am having AMAZING results!! Not one day of sickness since...knock on wood. It is the longest he has been well.... He is eating Nutro-Source and has the weight he needs and is back to the happy dog I know and love!
  • marciamarcia
    that would be powder, not power!!
  • LosechLosech
    Haha, might as well have been power. Probiotics (and prebiotics like chicory root) work great for Conker when he gets digestive upset. Only thing it doesn't work on is when a food completely disagrees with him. That's when I just need to let his body clean itself out and ban that item from ever entering Conker's mouth again.
  • sjp051993sjp051993
    Glad to hear he is doing better. Often with digestive issues it is a process of elimination to find what works best for your dog.
  • puig510puig510
    Hi, our Akita is also having the same problem. Is there a brand name for the probiotics? I have been giving probiotic tablets. Doesn't seem to do the magic. We are also thinking of transition to blue buffalo
  • Hinata23Hinata23
    @puig510 We used Bene-Bac and it worked nicely. We also switch which our dog's food from chicken to fish based kibble and it helped a ton.
  • obukobuk
    edited July 2012
    @marcia. @puig510 There is a liquid form of probiotics at Whole Foods that my mom said we could give our dog. She's a vet and swears by probiotic acidophilus. You can also get the regular capsules at CVS. CVS brand is fine. Just open the capsule, sprinkle some on the food, mix it well and give it to the dog. We always did that with our dog that also has a sensitive stomach and it works wonders.
  • obukobuk
    Our dog is also allergic to chicken so we stopped giving that. Helped his upset stomach a ton!
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