Kristin took Chester to the vet again this morning because I wanted her to bring in a stool sample so the vet could run some tests. It turns out that bringing in a stool sample was a great idea, because within 10 minutes they were able to tell us exactly what the problem was. Chester has hookworm. According to a PersonalMD article, Hookworm can lead to abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, loss of appetite and excessive gases.
This leads us to believe that all of the problems Chester has been experiencing are solely due to hookworm. Luckily, hookworm can be cured with two pills. Unfortunately, the parasites can live outside of a host for a while and can linger in things like dirt and carpet.
I left work an hour earlier than usual so I could pick up the carpet cleaner from Kristin's parent's house. I spent forever and a day cleaning the carpet, and Kristin washed all the blankets that Chester lays on. It's amazing how much dog hair is in the carpet that you can't normally see.
We have decided not to throw out the Nutro Max that we have left, since we don't think the problem had anything to do with his food. However, we are going to keep him on Nutro Natural Choice. I mixed about 30 pounds of Natural Choice with the Max that we had left, since we have almost fully moved him over already. We're also researching how good/bad Greenies actually are to decide if we are going to keep giving them to Chester. Until we make our final decision, we will not give him any more.