Help with Chronic Diarrhea

My dog Trooper was recently diagnosed with liver cancer and had a liver lobectomy and spleenectomy. His cancer seems until control; however, he has become increasingly intolerant of any type of food. He used to tolerate up to 10 different supplements and eat any type of food including eggs, green beans, carrots, sweet potatoes, N/D, chicken, and sardines. He now can ONLY eat white rice and eggs. If he eats anything else, he develops explosive diarrhea usually after 24 to 36 hours. I am struggling to diagnose what exactly is causing this extreme sensitivity. He has had an ultrasound and chest x-ray which seem to indicate that cancer has not spread to other areas and his bloodwork is very good. We are waiting on tests regarding his adrenal and pancreatic functions since deficiencies in these areas can result in chronic diarrhea. Also, we are waiting on an extensive fecal analysis. If anyone out there has had a similar experience or has advice for me, I would really appreciate it. For now, he is on eggs and rice and feels very good. His energy and attitude are great although I will have trouble keeping weight on him with this diet, not to mention that it is not nutritionally balanced. Please Help!

Thank you,
Lisa Cody

Lisa, so sorry to hear your Trooper has cancer and now is having other problems on top .
While you are waiting for results of the tests, can your vet not give him any antis' like metrondiazole (sp) or even do an intollerance test to see if there is anything he can eat other than rice or eggs?
I have a food intollerant dog and she can't have any dairy products at all - apart from chicken which is just about the only meat she can eat without getting 'explosive' dire rear She too has a pancreas problem so the vet may well suggest enzyme supplements to help with the digestion. I wouldn't worry about the 'nutrional' balance for now, as long as your dog is eating.
I do hope Trooper gets the right treatment in the end.

Keeping fingers and paws crossed for you

Thank you so much for your suggestions. Trooper cannot tolerate even the blandest of foods, like sweet potatoes, so the likelihood that he could tolerate an antibiotic are slim. He had to be wormed two weeks ago and despite using a wormer that does not give 3-week old puppies diarrhea, he developed horrible diarrhea. It is so strange that he has perfect stool when on eggs and rice and over the last 6 weeks has become completely intolerant of all other foods. He has never had trouble in the past with any types of food. I plan to keep him on eggs and rice until I have some time off at Christmas to try and balance his intestinal flora. I believe perhaps some of the supplements he was taking for cancer, have done a whammy on his GI tract. Who knows... Thanks again

Hi Lisa,
Sorry, no advice to offer but I just wanted to say how good it is that Trooper's cancer seems to be under control. Hopefully you'll be able to sort out his food intolerance very soon but, as Leospride has said, at least you are keeping something down him for now.x

Thank you for your thoughts.

Hi Lisa I am sorry to hear Trooper is ill..
Here are a couple of suggestions you may like to try...
..to help the digestion:
Probiotics:
http://www.denes.com/advice/fact_sheets/probiotic.php

http://naturalpetcare.co.uk/petshop/...es/lactob9.htm
http://www.naturalpetcare.co.uk/pets...roducts_id=366
from the vet or buy online,

Bland food that is easily tolerated;
..pure oatmeal from the health food shop (cook then add honey)
..any white non oily fish
..Beef tea, buy some shin beef/add a little water/ cook very slowly in a foil covered dish for about 3 hours/ now liquidise/ strain/ leave to set to a gel ( You can do this with chicken too but you don't need to cook it for so long).

..St Vincent Arrowroot is a pure form of starch, it can be tolerated when other cereals can't and it will help stop diarrhoea .
You can buy it online (or from a chemist in the UK).
To use it mix to a paste with cold water/add hot water/boil to thicken. This thick paste can then be added to any other foods (like chopped chicken).