# Heartworm Med Causing Diarrhea?



## FireStorm (Nov 9, 2013)

Have you thought about using the Nutriscan test to see if he's sensitive to anything in particular? I've never had to use it, but I've heard good things and I would go that route if I thought there was a food sensitivity issue. 

I've never used revolution, but you could always try just giving heartguard instead. If you live somewhere that gets cold in the winter, that would be the best time to go without and see if he improves. I'm in FL, so I pretty much have to give a heartworm preventative year round. I use Trifexis...Hans has never had an issue with it but it's such an individual thing. One dog might do fine and another might have terrible side effects.


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## Streetcar (Apr 13, 2014)

Could be it's the Revolution, or could be coincidental. Sorry, that is a pure non-answer, I know .

Some dogs do better on a quality food that contains grains. Mine is one. If I give him grain-free it's a problem for his digestive tract.

He recently had somewhat soft stools on the Wee Bits (has grain) that I rotated in, and now I've mixed it half and half with Nature's Variety Prairie Salmon, which uses brown rice, and things are much improved - he has always done well on the Nature's Variety Prairie range. I often include a small spoon of pumpkin, too. Pro Plan is well worth a try, too.

Consider buying the smallest size bags of kibble possible. The large ones can go off before people get through them. I don't like to open the bag to get kibble every meal, so store a small amount in a plastic or glass food storage jar that sits in the cupboard. The manufacturer's bag stays closed tight in the closet. Other people use food grade storage bins that minimize the air, and those seem great.

Granted, I have a Toy, so getting through the smallest bag of food takes some time. I'm thinking until you find what foods will work well for you, the smallest purchase possible might save your pocketbook and if you're like me, avoid that feeling of having to get through a whole bag to get one's money's worth . Not that you or I wouldn't toss out bad food, of course we would!

Nutriscan sounds like a good idea if you can manage it. Maybe try to avoid foods with chicken for a while, including chicken fat just in case?

I need to start Oliver on an oral flea preventive so am paying a lot of attention to people's posts on them and appreciate your question. I sure hope Bowie's tummy can settle down soon. Just thought of something, has he been tested for giardia?


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Purina Pro Plan Sensitive Skin & Stomach is a good one to try for the ultra-sensitive dog! Also, Royal Canin Gastrointestinal and Science Diet I/D. I use Heartgard for heartworm prevention and have never had a dog have any side effects from it.


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## kayla_baxter (Jul 17, 2015)

Canine Caviar is my favourite for sensitive dogs. It has a high digestibility (I think 93%), and is high density so the dog doesn't have to eat nearly as much which puts less strain on the system. I don't think I've had a single dog that was having GI issues not improve on the Canine Caviar. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Charmed (Aug 4, 2014)

Have you tried giving a half dose of the Revolution... or using the dose that is one size smaller? One of my males is very sensitive so I give him the 20-40 pound dose, even though he weighs 50 pounds. I went through a lot of flea meds before we got to Revolution; it is the least problem causing for Mr. Sensitive. Our Jack Russel Terrier started getting diarrhea right after he got his Heartguard. Once I figured it out, I split the nugget in two and his digestive issue were solved. Now, I will add that we live in a area with very few mosquitoes, so I am not worried about giving the boys lowered doses of heartworm meds. Giving half doses was just the simplest solution for us.


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## Spot210 (Nov 7, 2015)

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read my post and send such thoughtful responses. I took Bowie to the vet today, decided on having a total blood panel done, and started him on Hill's Rx food (canned). We'll see what, if anything, comes of the bloodwork. If he doesn't straighten out soon, then I will probably take him to the internist. I will keep a list of the dog food you all recommended. True, the grain-free food actually may not be the right thing for him! Giving half a dose of the heartworm meds makes sense to me, too. I really appreciate your help and interest in Bowie's situation. Hoping things turn out well for him soon, he is such a sweet boy--finally getting out of that crazy puppy stage, lol.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

I have heard that giving half a heartworm preventative is like giving none at all, so please check with your vet on that!


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## Spot210 (Nov 7, 2015)

zooeysmom said:


> I have heard that giving half a heartworm preventative is like giving none at all, so please check with your vet on that!


Ok, Zooeysmom, I will check with the vet.  Thank you. He did actually lose some weight (down from 44# to 40#) so I think I would have to give him a smaller dose this month.


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## zooeysmom (Jan 3, 2014)

Spot210 said:


> Ok, Zooeysmom, I will check with the vet.  Thank you. He did actually lose some weight (down from 44# to 40#) so I think I would have to give him a smaller dose this month.


Yes, you could do the 20.1-40 lb. dose. Poor guy--I really hope he feels better soon!


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## Spot210 (Nov 7, 2015)

Quick update: Bowie's problems pretty much vanished after I started him on Hills Rx Diet i/d. Bloodwork normal, two stool samples normal. They still want me to give him some dewormer that you sprinkle on food but I think I will hold off and only give it if he starts showing on again/off again diarrhea. I hope Pet Plan helps me out on this. I spent over $500 trying to sort this out! Does this mean I will have to keep him on the i/d Rx diet forever? I am terrified of trying to change his diet again after all this. Would Pet Plan cover the Rx food?


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

Since you have PetPlan, I would take him to an internist eventually. Poor puppy. I'm sure this has been stressful for you too!


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## bigpoodleperson (Jul 14, 2009)

I am glad that your pup is feeling better! That I/D diet can be a miracle! He probably does not need to be on the diet forever. I would feed it for 2-3 months though to give his system a break and let the inflammation resolve inside. It can take awhile. I have seen people try and switch off of it too soon and have problems again. After awhile you could probably try to very slowly transition him to a regular diet again.


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## Spot210 (Nov 7, 2015)

Update on Bowie: So....after lots of detective work, I have come to the conclusion that Bowie cannot digest dry dog food. I have no idea why! I think that was the source of all the problems from day 1. Once I put him on the canned i/d Rx food from Hills, his problems vanished. So, we are done with all the testing for now. My next concern is which canned food to slowly transition him to! I know Hill's has a Science Diet non-Rx food, which is probably less costly. Any suggestions? Thanks!


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## snow0160 (Sep 20, 2016)

I had the exact same problem with my new puppy. It got so bad that it reverse house trained him for a week. I recently switched him off grain free food at the advice of my neighbor. I used to feed him Orijen Large Puppy. It is high protein (38%) and grain-free. Now I feed him Fromm Gold Large Puppy and no more diarrhea! Fromm has probiotics in all their food. However, his diarrhea would come back from Heartgard Plus. A person on a different forum suggested that her dog gets it from the artificial flavoring additives and recommended the non-chewable pill. Hope this helps.


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## Mfmst (Jun 18, 2014)

I am really sorry for you AND Bowie. I would be so stressed if my dog had constant diarrhea and was losing weight. Glad that he has stabilized with the Hills special diet. Since you have PetPlan, I would have to have all of the tests and kibbles reviewed by a specialist as your vet suggested. I would want to know what parameters beyond Hills could work and another opinion of what's going on. That's why I signed up with PetPlan, so that I could see specialists on their dime. Or 8 cents of my dime... Keep us updated!


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## Caddy (Nov 23, 2014)

I totally agree that since you have insurance you might as well get more answers. So glad to hear your pup us doing better, that was really rough on both of you.


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## Dechi (Aug 22, 2015)

The best diet for such a dog would definitely be raw. It can be expensive but you don't ever have to pay for dentals and they never have diarrhea problems. There are some companies that now sell the complete package, where they have added all the vitamins already so you don't have to worry abut mixing anything.

Might be worth a try. Canned food is also very expensive and it won't be nearly as good. Also I think in the states you have better prices than in Canada. I used yo buy an all-prepared kind, just thaw and put in the dog's bowl and I think it cost me around 0,30$ per day per dog (4 pounds and 6 pounds). Not that expensive when you think about it !


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