What Your Dog's Stools Can Tell You About Their Health

We've gotten strange looks from friends for commenting on what nice poop - seriously as breeders / owners we watch these things.  - yes the exciting times watching dogs 'dump'.

The causes for acute diarrhea in the absence of other signs are varied and include dietary indiscretion (for example: getting into the garbage), gastrointestinal bacteria including Campylobacter, and GI parasites such as hookworms, roundworms, whipworms, and protozoal infections. In most cases of acute, self-limiting diarrhea, a cause is never identified.

Many things can cause diarrhea or, less frequently, constipation. Some things, like eating too much grass, are not serious at all. Others can be a sign of a life-threatening problem, such as an indigestible object (like a rock) lodged in the stomach, or a disease like cancer.

If your dog seems otherwise normal, and he is currently on monthly parasite preventative medication, then symptomatic treatment at home is appropriate. Usually most diarrhea will run its course within two to four days, although in some cases, it can last longer. If there are any other signs of illness like vomiting, loss of appetite, depression, or pain, a veterinary trip is in order.

The consistency and color of diarrhea reveals a lot about the cause of the problem and what is happening in your dog. Take  note of the color, consistency, and anything else that might help when you describe the symptoms to your veterinarian. In most cases, diarrhea will resolve after a few days of home treatment, but it’s a good idea to give your vet a call if it continues for a long period or has any one of several signs that may point to a serious problem.

a few things to note
    Dietary indiscretion: Eating too much, eating garbage, or spoiled food. There’s actually a name for it in veterinary circles—“garbage toxicosis” or “garbage gut.”
    
    some dogs may have a food intolerance or allergies to some ingredients.   foods may have different bases such as rice, corn even one like bil-jac is more beet based. see my notes on grain free ( not all good )
 regional foods and different companies may have different base mixes.  I had one dog could not tolerate red dye.  a customer has a dog that will lose her hair with chicken. you will learn your dogs needs as they can vary just like people. most get along fine on about any decent food.  

Poisonous substances or plants
Swallowing an indigestible foreign body, like a toy, socks, sticks. one of our customers had to have surgery after shredding and eating a rope bone.  we had one swallow a fish hook at the lake since she liked to eat worms (no accounting for some dogs taste). that passed after a few days of feeding her a lot of bread to bulk things up and help it pass.  such fun hosing down her stools until we found the hook. it beat the alternative of surgery which could have been a real possibility.

Diarrhea that develops suddenly in an otherwise healthy dog is often due to scavenging behavior, Stress or emotional upset can upset a dog just like it an people. a sudden change in diet, or viral, Bacterial infections, such as salmonella or parasitic infections.

Change in diet: It may take a few days for a dog’s digestive system to adapt to new proteins. when changing your dogs diet mix the new food with the old in greater purportions over a week at least to have less impact on your dogs system.
Illnesses, such as kidney and liver disease, colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, and cancer
Antibiotics and other medications can kill the beneficial bacteria in you or your dogs digestive tract.  consider adding a probiotic or live culture yogurt

More chronic diarrhea can be caused by dietary allergies or intolerances, stress, some types of parasites (e.g., Giardia, hookworms, roundworms and whipworms), bacterial infections, pancreatic disease, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, some types of cancer, and diseases outside of the gastrointestinal tract (e.g., liver failure or heart disease). These type of health issues will need to be discussed with your veterinarian and can require prescription pet medication.

if your dog is very young, very old, has a preexisting health condition, call your veterinarian for advice on how to handle the diarrhea. These individuals can become severely debilitated even when suffering from relatively mild diarrhea. Also, call your veterinarian if your dog’s diarrhea is frequent and/or very watery - contains more than just a streak of blood - is dark and tarry or if your dog is vomiting profusely, lethargic, depressed, and/or is in pain. These can be signs of potentially serious health conditions.

Home Remedies
Make sure the dog has access to plenty of clean water to avoid dehydration. Encourage the dog to drink. If needed, offer dilute chicken, beef broth or Pedialyte in addition to the water.

Give the dog a small meal of boiled white meat chicken (no bones or skin) and white rice. This can be the dog's diet until the stool consistency returns to normal.

If the diarrhea continues for more than 3 dayss or your dog’s condition worsens at any time, call your vet
A great many cases are mild and may be treated without a trip to the office. They may respond to a regimen of very basic treatments such as.

Fasting
Withholding food for 12 to 24 hours, and providing water in small amounts frequently, can clear the cause of the upset and allow the gastrointestinal tract to settle. It’s usually the first line of attack for the runs. Before you decide on a fast, be sure that your dog is healthy enough to endure it. Puppies, and elderly dogs, for example, need nutrients. Also, a fast may not be appropriate for little dogs, who do not have the physical reserves of their larger cousins.

Diarrhea can lead to dehydration, so make sure to give your dog access to water at all times. Many people also offer unflavored Pedialyte to maintain electrolyte balance. diluted chicken broth may be more palatable - watch of for the salted kind if buying pre -made broth.

After a fast, food is usually introduced slowly and many people start with binders, which can normalize stool consistency. Some tried-and-true methods include:

•  Rice water: Boil high-quality rice in a lot of water, remove the grains, and offer the dog the creamy white soup that’s left. A splash of broth or a bit baby food will make it more palatable.
• White rice  - cooked a tad dry to help absorb moisture in your dogs or yours...  digestive tract.  a little lean cooked hamburger or chicken without the skin can make it more enticing.
• Canned pumpkin (plain, not prepared pie filling) is effective for both diarrhea and constipation.    Probiotics, live bacteria that aid digestion (these are also found in yogurt - read the label for live culture)  don't give a lot as most dogs are lactose intolerant past early puppyhood.
• Boiled potatoes, without skin
  
• Plain protein sources such as egg (prepared with no butter or oil) or chicken (without skin)
• Herbs, such as fennel, ginger or papaya have gut-soothing properties
• Specially-formulated dog foods: Some manufacturers offer foods that can sooth stomach problems.
  
• You may need to obtain these from your vet.

 Over-the-counter medications for humans may also be effective for doggie diarrhea, but should be given with caution and you should talk to your vet before using them. kaopectate is a good one. an old remedy is unflavored 'jello' such as knox gelatin to drink before it 'sets up'.

Avoid using human remedies such as loperamide, also called Immodium. This medication has an opioid in it, and it is easy to overdose a dog unintentionally.

If your dog continues to do well other than diarrhea, three to four days of at-home treatment is appropriate.
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Methods that work for one dog may not help another, so you might need to do a little experimentation to find the right formula. It might also be helpful to write down what works and what doesn’t so you’ll know what to do the next time you find yourself mopping up a mess.

Once you find a recovery diet that agree with your dog, and doesn’t cause a relapse, you can slowly increase the portions over a period of days, and then start to add small quantities of your dog’s regular food, until things are back to normal.