Another Diarrhoea question...

Hey everyone...

I've read up on the topics re: Diarrhoea that I could find so far, but I'm still not quite sure what to do.

Gatsby is a tri, just shy of a year old (he'll turn 1 in three weeks). He has been doing great with potty training and has been out of his kennel during the day while I'm at work since I returned to teaching from christmas break (Jan 3). Two weeks ago he had a major episode of diarrhoea while I was at work, then had a similar incident the next day. I assumed it was due to a different type of bone I had give him as a treat so I took the bone away and then he was fine until about a week ago when he had a similar accident. I've noticed when I watch him potty outside that sometimes his poo is soft/drippy and sometimes--during the same day even--it's fine.

Last night he had an accident in my bedroom that was a mix of solid and soft poo. Then this afternoon he was walking into the kitchen towards me and he just let loose with a huge stream of diarrhoea. It scared him--I don't know that he even felt it--and I put him outside where he dripped and tried to poo for a few minutes.

His appetite hasn't changed at all--he eats about a cup of dry food each day. Also, he doesn't seem lethargic or sick. We played earlier today with his favorite toy and he has seemed fine since the latest diarrhoea episode.

Should I take him to the vet? Has anyone had "random diarrhoea" experiences before?

Thanks!
Kelly

I would take him to the vet. He could have any number of things: colitis, worms, an overgrowth of bacteria, coccidia, clostridium, food sensitivities, etc.

My cavs have had similar problems, and it turns out to be one of these things listed.

I would stop feeding him his regular food immediately, and switch him to boiled chicken and white rice or boiled ground/minced beef and white rice. If you use ground beef, get a grade that is lower in fat, and when you cook it pour off the fat. Then add water and boil it, then pour off the water.

Since this diarrhea is now 'explosive' I wouldn't feed him anything for the next 12-16 hours, as his digestive tract needs a rest. Then give him smaller meals of boiled meat and cooked white rice but more meals per day. His food should be around room temperature.

Make sure he is drinking his water. His water should be room temperature, not cold water. The cold water can be irritating if he has colitis.

When you go to the vet, you'll want to bring a fresh stool sample. And let the vet know how long you withheld food before starting him on the boiled meat/white rice.

Every time he goes, see if there is blood in his stool.

Good luck at the vets, and hope he is feeling better soon. :flwr:

Kelly,
I totally second~ Please bring him to a vet and withold food for a bit....plenty of water and keep us updated.

Thanks for the advice! Gatsby is the first dog I've owned entirely on my own. I wrote down what I could remember of his diarrhoea and what/when he's eaten in the last 24 hours. He hasn't eaten yet today so I put his food away and left out just his water.
I'll take him to the vet tomorrow and let you know what I find out.

Keep us posted Kelly. When mine get an upset tummy I either withhold food or feed science diet canned i/d. It's the only thing their tummy can handle. I've tried chicken and rice and it just doesn't work as well for Jake. If it doesn't clear up within 24 hours (or at least start to firm up) it usually warrants a visit to the vet.

Good luck with Gatsby Kelly. Mia had all sorts of these types of problems but is doing really well now. Our problem turned out to be food related, but you certainly want to rule out the other possible problems with your vet.

Keep us posted!

Hi Kelly

I would definitely bring Gatsby to the vet. We have just gotten over Odie's diarrhoea now, he acutally had Gastroentoritis. Odie has had other diarrhoea episodes in the past and it just turned out to be worms. However, when I noticed that he was in pain trying to go and spotted the blood I was quite concerned.

It will put your mind at ease after you've been to the vet.

Hope Gatsby gets well soon :flwr:

Hey all--

I took Gatsby to the vet yesterday and they were unable to make a conclusive diagnosis, so they ran his blood and sent his poo sample to the lab (should hear back today). In the meantime they put him on a fairly general antibiotic and gave him something to harden his stool. The vet said that he may have eaten part of a toy (they found something in his sample that I didn't recognize) or it might be a bug. Since his behavior/energy/appetite are all good he's not too worried and wants to treat "conservatively" unless there's a change.

thanks for all the advice! I'll let you know if anything changes or if there's an official name for what he has.

Hi there! I hope Gatsby is doing better, it's so scary when they aren't feeling well. How is he doing today? Maybe the lab work will show more for you. Let us know how he is doing.

I am sort of going thru something very similar with my Bentley, and I popped on here to look and see what kind of advice there was. I've been up half of the night worrying about Bentley because he started to have loose stools/diarrhea last night shortly before 9:00. He's had about 5 or 6 episodes of diarrhea....so I am up extra-early to get ready in case we need to go to the vet. Either way I am going to put in a call to my vet this morning. He doesn't seem to be in any discomfort, fortunately, but this constant diarrhea is something that is really starting to scare me because of its frequency. I'm so thankful for this forum because there is always someone here to help!

Renee