regarding my rottie saskia

had her from 8 weeks old she has had constant diarea (diarrhea) and has had blood and mucus in it had her to the pdsa they pumped her with antibiotics after antibiotics still havent done a thing for her took her to a private vet they still non the wiser what is the matter with her the blood cleared up but she still has the diarea (diarrhea) what could this be.i kept her on a bland diet for 3 months and it still hasnt helped her.so now she is on wainwrights food where it hasnt got any derivatives in it at all at my wits end with her would be greatful of any help that you could off.

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

There are many possibility for chronic diarrhea. I have listed some possibilities as follows:

1. PLE (protein losing enteropathy) is excessive loss of plasma and protein- containing tissues into the gastrointestinal tract as diarrhea and is due to a deficiency of digestive enzymes.  To Cure this problem digestive enzymes are added to the diet.

2.  Food allergy gastro-enteritis, or IBD (inflammatory bowel disease), (Allergies to common eaten foods in the diet) To cure this problem your dog would have to be placed on a hypoallergenic, novel protein diet for 12 weeks.  Novel protein just means something that she has never been exposed to before, and these diets are available by prescription by your vet.

3.  Idiopathic inflammatory enteropathy, such as lymphocytic-plasmacytic gastroenteritis, and eosinophilic or granulomatous gastroenteritis,(Of unknown origin, but may be helped by adding a steroid, such as prednisone)

4. gastrointestinal neoplasia,(cancer of the digestive tract) If your dog has abdominal cancer it would have to be diagnosed by X-Rays, Ultrasound or exploratory surgery

5. parasitic and fungal enteropathies,(can be any parasite such as Giardia, Coccidia, round worms, tape worms etc) Your dog should be tested for all GI parasites, even the more unusual ones, and if any are found they should be treated.

6. acute infectious (viral or bacterial) enteritis

A course of Metronidazole antibiotic may be helpful.  If IBD is suspected than the medicine called Tylan can be used at a very low dose long term to control diarrhea.

All dogs with digestive issues should be placed on a probiotic supplement long term such as RX Biotic, I-Flora, Culturelle, or other.  Probiotics contain all the good bacteria in the GI and help dramatically with digestion.