Thank you for your ideas. I have taken Ellwood to his regular vet and also to
a homiopathic vet who wanted to get him on a raw diet, which I couldn't handle.
He's had all the tests regarding his stomach. He also had a liver lobectomy,
spleenectomy and a gastioplasty all last year. It was a very rough year for him
(and my wallet).

When I first adopted him in June 2005, he refused to eat for weeks and weeks and
was depressed, which prompted the visits to the vets. They found nothing
obviously wrong and by the time we started discussing tests, he started eating
and getting out of his depression. I made a huge mistake in September 2005 by
boarding him for 5 days and this started his diarreah issues, which was a battle
for a year and a half after this boarding. He had a ton of tests and there is
nothing physically wrong with him, but when he gets diarrhea, we found that
tylan powder works much better for him than metronitazole. The vet also
prescribed him xanex. Unfortunately, the tylan powder is awful tasting and being
150lb he has to take quite a bit, which is a chore to get it down.

When I left to go away, which wasn't often, I had a dogwalker who I had hired
when I first got Ellwood. She loved him and he loved her, but he still refused
to eat even when she stayed, but the diarreah was not an issue when he was with
her. She has moved to Florida and now I'm at odds with what to do with him. He
refuses to eat and also gets diarreah if I leave him at the boarders or at home.
He's a very laid back sweet dog, but he stresses out when I leave him. This is
purely behavioral and if anyone has any ideas how to deal with his behavior,
that would be great.

Thanks

Vivien







-- In k9sepanx@yahoogroups.com, melboem@... wrote:
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> I agree with Vivien. Def start with the vet and cover all the basics. Also
ask the vet if she knows any specialists in behavior. If you live near a
veterinary medicine school there is usually a behaviorist there! keep us
updated!
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: julia marta clapp <julmarcla@...>
> To: k9sepanx@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thu, 28 May 2009 4:21 pm
> Subject: Re: [k9sepanx] Ellwood & Anxiety
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> Hi Vivien,
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> You say you got him 4 years ago... did the diarrhea just start recently?
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> If you haven't already, definitely go to the vet and explain the situation.?
My dog gets what I call a "loose bum: when he is anxious but you must rule out
illness.? Or intolerance to his food.? A dog can be fine with a certain brand
for awhile and then all of a sudden it just doesn't work for him anymore.
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> But I would start at the vet.
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> Julia
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> On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 3:56 PM, vstraume <vstraume@...> wrote:
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> Hi everyone, I am a new member and I was thrilled to find a group that deals
with separation anxiety.
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> I adopted a Saint Bernard 4 years ago from the rescue and he's wonderful. It
is evident that he was very bonded with his previous owner who had suddenly
passed away, which is the reason why he was in rescue. He's a wonderful dog,
except for the separation anxiety issue. He is not destructive or does he bark
or cry. He just refuses to eat and will get bad diarrhea. Most of the info I
have read on separation anxiety seems that deals with more short-term anxiety
and destructive behavior problem rather than for a dog who has stomach issues.
I have boarded him at a daycare facility where he plays all day and is put in a
large cage and located in a quiet area at night(and where he often goes just to
play all day, so he knows everyone and the facility). He had diarrhea all over
his cage both nights and forget about eating. This obviously didn't work. I
then got his dogwalker to come over and look after him while he's at home in his
environment. He wouldn't eat and I came home last night to a house full of
diarrhea (he's 150lb). My last resort is boarding him at my vets who can treat
his stomach while putting him on an anti anxiety medication, but if I could
avoid this, I would. I don't think it's addressing the problem, but masking it.
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> I am thinking that perhaps I should start boarding him every other weekend for
one night and then slowly increase the amount of time...
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> If anyone has any ideas I could use, I would really appreciate it.
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> Thank you
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> Vivien
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