Last week my dog got into my restroom trash. I’m not sure what he ate, but that night his stomach was grumbling all night. Then the next morning, he didn’t want to eat but ate when I was leaving for work. I came home to diarrhea. Then I left for a couple of hours and he did it again. The next morning it was the same with the food. We went out of town and his poop was more of the same. Came back, took him to the ER yesterday because I noticed blood. They checked his temperature and everything was normal. His behavior has been good this whole time, running and playing like usual. Doc gave some meds for the blood (maybe an infection) and fluids.
Today I came home to a mess again but it was more firm. He still doesn’t really want to eat, and his poop when I took him outside was just liquid, and very little. Vet says to give him another day. I gave him some pumpkin purée. I just need thoughts.
Today I came home to a mess again but it was more firm. He still doesn’t really want to eat, and his poop when I took him outside was just liquid, and very little. Vet says to give him another day. I gave him some pumpkin purée. I just need thoughts.
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Wow.. thank you SO much! That medication you mentioned is the one he’s prescribed at the moment. I’m taking him for all his shots on Thursday anyway. Thank you SO MUCH! This was so helpful!
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1. Give him brown rice to help with the poop.
2. You can throw in some browned ground beef that is washed so all the grease is off. Same with some hard-boiled egg.
3. I always keep on hand Post (*) Shredded Wheat. The small kind with NO added sugar. I call these "cookies" and these are the "treats" I use for them, but, also, they help give fiber, whole grain, and fill them up a bit and absorb moisture. Empty the entire box into a container or leave it in the cereal box. I have 8 dogs, so I used a container. SAVE ANY CRUSHED SHREDDED WHEAT DUST. I save that dust and add it to food in which I've added a little liquid for flavor. Some dogs who are older get finicky because they have to be on prescription dog food, so added salt-free, fat-free broth helps and the shredded wheat dust helps absorb any excess liquid.
4. Also, never be afraid to keep electrolyte drinks on-hand. Not cheap, but you can find good ones like Pedialyte in the baby food aisle of any store. This helps when a dog is sick.
5. I also often have low sodium V-8 around to give things flavor or to give the dogs a nutritious watery drink. I find that it can help with flavor of dog food too.
>>> You don't need much in terms of flavor enhancers. Remember: the sense of taste is really just an extension of the sense of smell. (If you have a cold and your nose is clogged up, food tastes bland...) Dogs have a better sense of smell than we do, so only a little bit of a flavor-enhancing liquid like V-8 or chicken broth goes a long way. I used to add a tablespoon of chicken broth to a cup of Pedialyte to get my dog to drink the Pedialyte, but he promptly did once I added it. It's important to realize that a human or a dog with diarrhea is losing water and will be thirsty. This is why it is important to stay hydrated. Water or, better, mineral water (that is not sparking or is flat) is good. Something like Pedialyte is better.
(*) I don't care about the brand of shredded wheat you use. Post just comes to mind. But, it has to be sugar-free; "frosted" = bad. Frankly, I use the brand "Best Choice"; it's considerably cheaper and actually, to me, tastes better than Post. "Best Choice" is a brand associated with IGA supermarkets. Almost certainly, there is an IGA-related grocer near you.
IGA
https://www.iga.com/
Pedialyte
https://www.pedialyte.com/
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OK, here's what I am suspecting...
This SHOULD clear up within a few days, preferably they would have given you an antibiotic.
If the diarrhea is still happening, make sure to collect whatever you can for a poop sample and take it to the vet ASAP. (Keep it in the fridge if you have to wait until morning.) INSIST ON A GIARDIA TEST. Not all vets can do a giardia test in-house, so they have to send it out. Most of pack of 8 had consistent bouts of diarrhea over a year. It was only when we and the vet started thinking about it that giardia came up. Once they sent out a poop sample of two of our dogs who had gone camping (and drinking contaminated water or eating poop), we discovered they had giardia. And since my dogs love to eat each other's lawn sausages, we had a pan-poop-demdic. They ALL got dewormer stuff and antibiotics. Everybody is good now.
Giardia is a single-cell parasite like an amoeba or paramecium. The symptoms sound like your dog could have it.
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/index.html
Chances are this is going to clear up in a few days, but, if not within 3, insist on an antibiotic. Metronidazole seems to be the one that vets like these days.
Give your dog easy-to-digest food though; the things I listed will help. Maybe even some apple juice too.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Don't get flavored Pedialyte. Always go with flavorless. You aren't drinking it; the dog is and most things flavored for humans are overpowering and unpleasant for dogs. (For instance, lots of dogs do not like citrus stuff, so lemon or orange are out.) Just go with flavorless.
www.pedialyte.com/.../food-poisoning-remedies
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK539728/
Consider printing out this post and some of these webpages that I have linked to and take them to the vet with you to verify that I am not giving you any bad advice.
I'm not so sure I would give a dog ALL their shots while he is sick 🤢. I would wait until he is over this illness. Especially because you don't know exactly what is making him sick.
And secondly, this vet he is seeing sounds like he missed a lot of school when studying to be a vet!
Obviously there is something wrong with the 🐕. He just hasn't found out what it is.
When an animal has diarrhea day after day with blood in it, there is something wrong!
He could have a parasite that would cause that. He could have a blockage, he could have colon cancer or something else.
The vet needs to test his colon and insides - a colonoscopy, an MRI.
Pumpkin & sweet potato help.