My German Shepherd gets diarrhea from heartworm medicine. What helps?

Both doxycycline and prednisone can cause vomiting and diarrhea. I am not sure of the dose that your dog is on but maybe your vet could adjust the dose so he has less gastrointestinal problems. Feeding the medication with a meal can sometimes help with the gastrointestinal side effects so make sure to give with food. Your vet could also prescribe an anti-vomiting medication, probiotic, and GI protectant which may help, too. At this point, If he is just going to vomit the medication than it doesn't make sense to give it. You should wait and see if your vet can prescribe additional medications to help with the vomiting and diarrhea. If the vomiting and diarrhea has stopped, you could try to give one medication at a time with food and see how he does.

He could have colitis secondary to something he ate. You could feed him a bland diet of chicken breast and white rice for a few days and see if that helps. You could also add a probiotic to his diet, like Fortiflora or Proviable. If the abnormal stools continue then he should be examined by a vet to determine the cause and treat. Your vet can run a fecal test to make sure he doesn't have a parasite.

Diarrhea can be normal after Immiticide injections, especially if he is also currently on steroids (often used concurrently to reduce inflammation and chances of embolisms). You should worry if you see signs of coughing, extreme lethargy, pale gums, not eating, or any random bleeding episodes. Other than that a little loose stool is not very concerning for a severe reaction. You can try a bland diet of boiled plain chicken and rice or cottage cheese tonight to help settle the stomach. If the diarrhea continues past 12-24 hrs then antibiotics +/- probiotics may be prescribed by your vet to help get the intestinal flora back to normal status.

A veterinary probiotic, FortiFlora, ProStora or ProViable, may help. You can get any one of them from your veterinarian or in the local Petco. A teaspoon or two of plain yogurt along with a bland diet may also help.

The product is a good broad spectrum dewormer, but the picture is too blurry to tell the dosing . It should be labeled for how much to give on a weight basis. Intestinal parasites can cause weight loss, but in a German Shepherd Dog I also worry about exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. This can cause diarrhea and significant weight loss as the dog Can not absorb nutrients effectively. A blood test called a TLI tests For that. If you do not have a veterinarian close you may consider traveling to see one as if it is EPI they can fail to thrive and actually starve to death even if they are eating normally. Best of luck and I hope he improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Finding the cause of the diarrhea is the most important thing right now as the treatment will depend on the cause. If you haven't already, having a fecal exam done as well as possible bloodwork or X-rays is best. This can help rule out common issues such as parasites, infections, etc that can cause diarrhea. German Shepherds are also prone to some issues that can cause malabsorption, which can lead to diarrhea, discolored stool, weight loss, etc. Bloodwork can help to rule these out, and in most cases the issue is resolved with a daily medication. If no major issues can be found, then a food trial may be helpful for finding any food allergies causing the GI upset.

These signs could be compatible with a colitis, which is an inflammation of the last part of the colon possibly secondary to the parasite infection, usually related to dietary indiscretion. As a first approach, I would suggest to start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice vomiting, lethargy or inappetence. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!