Help. My dog has the runs.

12 Volt Man · Post by **12 Volt Man** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 1:33 am

Woke up this morning to a couple of piles of really runny poop in the dog run. Again after work there were a couple more.

Cooper got real wet and cold at the field trial last weekend.

Should I just watch it for a few days?

Post by **Ayres** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 2:32 am

Get some real lean ground beef (the 92/8 kind if available) and brown it and drain. Steam some rice. Then combine in a 50/50 mixture and add (make sure it's cool) on top of his normal food.

That was recommended to me by my vet when Justus had the runs really bad, and it cleared his up within the day. If it persists after that, you might want to give your vet a call and see if they would recommend anything else, or bring him in for a checkup.

larue · Post by **larue** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 7:54 am

loose stools can be anything from something the dog ate,,to parvo...
other possibilites are worms,coccidia,( a protazoa).....
I doubt it is parvo,,the dog would be vomiting,,and the stool would smell like dead fish......but If the loose stool continues, have a stool sample checked by your vet....

icefire · Post by **icefire** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 11:49 am

go with the rice and hamburger but i would do it alone, not on his regular food and you don't need to give him much. also an immodium tablet a couple times a day might help out as well. worms can also cause this.

12 Volt Man · Post by **12 Volt Man** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 12:17 pm

More of it this morning.

I'll try the hamburger and rice. Maybe some immodium. I doubt it is worms. The vet just gave him a dewormer a couple of weeks ago.

Country-Side Breeders · Post by **Country-Side Breeders** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 12:27 pm

As long as he seems to be reasonably strong, happy and active, simply follow these guidelines:

Cut the amount of food you are feeding in half
Feed home cooked bland diets; they are vastly superior to the commercial bland diets promoted by many veterinarians
Bland foods include:
1/3 meat
Cooked meats that are very low in fat such as chicken (you can also boil hamburger, which will remove all the fat, as suggested)
2/3 rice or other bland grain
Cottage Cheese
White Rice (some will do better on cooked oatmeal)
Do not add any oils or fats to the diet at this point
To the Bland Food, add:
Yogurt 1-3 tablespoons per meal (yogurt is soothing but does not really provide any significant beneficial bacteria)
Boiled Sweet Potato: 2-4 tablespoons
Keep feeding this bland diet for at least a couple days after the diarrhea clears up.

I would certainly take Cooper in if he seems to:

Act very sick
Be lethargic
Show bloating or abdominal pain
Be feverish (Rectal temperatures above 103.5 degrees F)
Be dehydrated (one way to try to decide if a dog is dehydrated is to feel his or her gums... if they feel dry or tacky, there may be dehydration present)
Have persistent vomiting
Be passing large amounts of blood in the stool
Has "normal" stools for a few days and then goes back to loose ones

Also, has he been wormed before with the same medicine...may be a reaction to that. What about him getting into something within the last few days that he isn't able to digest/pass...stones, sticks etc.? That will also cause loose stools.

Let us know how Cooper does!

Post by **Ayres** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 1:56 pm

When Justus had a problem with the runs we pinpointed it to rawhide. At that point he wasn't merely chewing the stuff, he was outright eating it. We took away all the rawhide after that and he hasn't had a problem since.

This is kind of gross, but check his stools and see if there is any blood or mucous. If so, do consult your vet asap.

snips · Post by **snips** » Fri Sep 24, 2004 11:56 pm

We keep Metronidizole on hand in kennel and at trials. Dogs drink whatever when they travel, picking up a bacteria is pretty common. If he`s feeling good, just loose, it should help, I agree if he`s depressed acting, go to a vet. Also a 3 day dose of Safeguard would not hurt. That would cover the bases.

12 Volt Man · Post by **12 Volt Man** » Sat Sep 25, 2004 12:05 am

I gave him some rice and some immodium tonite. Lets hope that does the trick. I am afraid now that we'll have the opposite problem.

12 Volt Man · Post by **12 Volt Man** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 4:56 pm

The immodium worked for only one day. I didn't keep him on it. I took Cooper out for a couple hours of Grouse hunting yesterday. While we were out, he hacked and coughed quite a few times. This led me to believe that he had come down with Kennel Cough.

Cowboy, my new pup came down with it approximately two weeks after I got him. I figure he picked it up from the transport guy I used. He had quite a few dogs in his trailer when he dropped him off. At that time my vet gave me medication for Cowboy and also treated Cooper with a Nasal Vaccine against Kennel Cough. Apparently that did not work. I called the Vet this morning and they had me come in to pick up some anti-biotics and cough pills for Cooper.

Hopefully gets him back to normal.

Country-Side Breeders · Post by **Country-Side Breeders** » Mon Sep 27, 2004 5:25 pm

Kennel cough doesn't come with loose stools, though.

Are the dogs current on the vaccination for Bordetella? I do know that the shot lasts longer, but the nasal one generally provides relief faster...in case you need to get them done. If it is kennel cough, you might just want to ask for a cough suppressent as opposed to an antibiotic...kennel cough goes away on its own. Seldom times dogs will get pneumonia, but it's not common. Let us know what you find out.