Health Concern

Question
My dog has been having on and off diarrhea, and having trouble pooping. She is a mix of German Sheppard, chow and great Dane. She is extremely old, 15 human years. Many times we thought she was going to die but always managed to pull through and was happy and healthy again. We were feeding her really healthy food like chicken, turkey and such, but we started going back to dog food. She has started having one of her diarrhea, trouble going to the bathroom attacks again, but I noticed that this time their is blood, or at least what looks like blood, in her diarrhea. I have no idea if this is just the first time I caught it or it has been going on this whole time. But it concerns me. Is it just a sign of her being old, or could it be something else?

Thanks,
Matt

Answer
Hi Matt,

Thank you for writing to me and I want to applaud you for giving your girl the many years she's had, which is unusual for a dog of such large breed mixture.  

My advice is to fast her for 24 hrs, then start out with white rice, a large amount of pumpkin/squash/sweet potato then slowly add in a little boiled chicken.  Keep up with the pumpkin/squash/sweet potato as it's high in fiber and will bind her.  

If this doesnt improve her condition she would have to be seen by a vet to determine if there are any parasites, worms or other medical condition causing this.

Always give a digestive enzyme before her meals to help her digest and assimilate her food.

Go back to real food as it's not only healthier for her but her body isn't reacting well to dog food.

Make sure she doesn't exercise one hour before or after eating.

I wish you the very best.

Regards,
Shelley Davis