One Of My Dogs Was Pooing For England!

Recently my lass had a really bad bout of dog diarrhoea. She got me up no less than 6 times in the night. It was like water.
She's nearly 12 and on steroids, and very rarely has any problems in that area, so I was quite worried.
There was no blood or mucous present and my lad (6yrs) was OK.

Then I realised that the problem was probably the new food. I had changed them on to it quite quickly.
When you change dogs food it needs to be done slowly over several days. Add a bit more of the new to the old until the swap over is complete. Yes, I know that some dogs have cast-iron stomachs and won't be affected, but that isn't true for all.

I won't say what the new food is, as I do rate it, and it would be unfair to paint a bad picture of it.

I starved her for 24 hours, fed her tinned Chappie for a couple of days (small amounts several times a day) , and put her back onto the old food. The problem cleared up, and hasn't repeated.

If your dog has diarrhoea (this means loose, very soft as well as liquid), you do need to examine the output! Not nice, but all part of caring for your dog.

There may be worms - see your vet.
Blood and mucous (jelly like stuff) - if it persists see your vet.

IF IT LOOKS LIKE STRAWBERRY JAM AND SMELLS AWFUL GET TO YOUR VET AT ONCE. IT COULD BE PARVO - A KILLER. (EVEN IF YOUR DOG HAS HAD ITS JABS)

Sorry for shouting..... but I can't emphasise enough how serious it is.

So what best to do?

- a 24 hour starve ,unless you have an old or sick dog. Then just give tiny amounts of food several times a day. This rests the system.
- feed something like freshly cooked chicken and boiled rice (not too much). You can use plain pasta instead of rice. This is gentle on the tum and easy to digest.
- scrambled eggs are very good. They help to bind.
- tinned chappie (original) is very gentle on dogs stomachs and can stimulate the appetite.
- make sure there is plenty of fresh clean drinking water for your dog. Dehydration needs to be avoided.
- sterilise the dogs food and drinking bowls
- destroy or thoroughly wash any soiled bedding (you don't want to risk recurrence)
- make sure you thoroughly wash your hands to protect yourself and your family
- you can get Kaogel from your vet. It's like human kaolin or diocalm. This will stop the ouput and absorb any toxins in the dog's gut.
- rehydration powders may be necessary. You can get those from your vet.

If the dog diarrhoea problem persists or keeps happening a veterinary examination will be needed. Dogs can get a bacterial overgrowth in the intestines and it takes weeks of medication to get rid of it. A dog with this can quickly become emancipated.

I do talk about some horrible things don't I! Next time I'll keep things light.
I'll finish now so I can watch the opening days highlights from Crufts (BBC2 this week).

Bye , Ti