diarrhea

My little Bentley, not quite 5 months, has loose stools today. We went to obedience class last evening. He was so excited & bouncing off the walls, learning things and getting many treats. This morning he pottied on my carpet and, rather than being easy to pick up with a paper towel, it was soft and hard to clean up. I put him outside for a while and observed him going at least 4 times in 2-3 hours. The only thing different I can think of is that another puppy owner last night offered me a handful of "organic treats." As far as I know that's the only thing unusual he's eaten unless he found something in the yard. He has also been munching on grass today; I've been told that's a sign he's sick. Vet's office said to either bring in a stool sample this afternoon or wait & see how he is tomorrow, meanwhile giving him boiled chicken with white rice. He has eaten very little of anything today.

This has happened to Gracie... likely too many treats at one time

My guess is that your Bentley just got new many "new" things in his diet at one time. From what I learned by experience with Gracie and friends' dogs, too many treats for a tiny dog can be just like a new dog food introduced too fast. Or Bentley is very sensitive to something(s) in the treats. Both of these things can throw off the bacteria levels in their intestinal tract. Gracie especially did poorly after some treats a neighbor gave her that were had alot of wheat and beef. She does poorly with both.

You may need to get some meds like flagyl (metronidazole) for her or at least some strong probiotics to get things back on track. A few dogs get well on their own, but Gracie does not for sure.

Well, so far, so good! Maybe he'll be OK now. When he got up from his nap I took him out to potty & he only peed, was quite frisky and we went around the house a couple of laps. He came inside and played with his chew toy. I cooked the little piece of chicken breast and rice and he absolutely loved it and would eat more. I'm afraid to give him more in case it would upset him again. I'm sure he was hungry because he ate very little, if anything, all day.

Probably just too much excitement and too many treats all at once. Glad he is starting to feel better.

Thanks for the advice. Yes, he got better & better last night, slept well, and woke up in fine form!

GraciesMom said:

My guess is that your Bentley just got new many "new" things in his diet at one time. From what I learned by experience with Gracie and friends' dogs, too many treats for a tiny dog can be just like a new dog food introduced too fast. Or Bentley is very sensitive to something(s) in the treats. Both of these things can throw off the bacteria levels in their intestinal tract. Gracie especially did poorly after some treats a neighbor gave her that were had alot of wheat and beef. She does poorly with both.

You may need to get some meds like flagyl (metronidazole) for her or at least some strong probiotics to get things back on track. A few dogs get well on their own, but Gracie does not for sure.

Click to expand...

Agree, metronidazole is great to keep on hand. If he still does have diarrhea tomorrow I would take him in to see the Dr. My little one got too used to chicken & rice & refused to eat her own food for a few days lol

Haven't had a sleepless night like last night since I gave birth to twins in 1963! Bentley woke me 4 times, about every 2 hours, crying pitifully to go out. I got him into the vet this afternoon and he too believes it was the excitement + unusual treats. The stool sample was clear of parasites, thank goodness. He prescribed 5 days of Metronidazole plus the chicken/rice diet, gradually transitioning back to regular food. He, too, loves the chicken & rice. I'm going to attempt to keep him a little quieter and not let him & Grandpa play so much fetch for a few days!

Just as a note...

The medication should help you for sure, but Gracie got worse with chicken.... she does not tolerate chicken at all. So be alert to that potential problem. Once I got rid of the chicken she got better. Used rice with just a teaspoon of boiled ground lamb and worked up to more lamb slowly. That is what finally got her over this last bout. Hope you do not have that problem, but you may.

First BM since noon yesterday happened (on livingroom carpet:yuk but it was firm and easy to clean up. Unlike every single one since Tues! Hopefully he'll be fine now. And, he tolerates chicken just fine it seems.