snacks and diarrhea?

[debbiej]

Something is giving Hilda rather dramatic diarrhea and I'm trying to figure out what it may be by process of elimination (no pun intended). We have changed her food a few times in the 3 months we've had her and although she has soft poop with a food change, not real diarrhea. A few days after her spay (on the weekend of course) she had bad diarrhea. She could hold it till she gets outside, but it was liquid. I gave her boiled rice and burger for a few meals and it away. Now she has it again, and I'm beginning to suspect peanut butter, I've been giving it to her alot in her kong while she was crated. Also, I am always catching her with something in her mouth. she chews on bushes and shrubs, sticks and bark from our wood pile. she chews roots and bark off our old shaggy mexican elder trees. I try to keep an eye on her all the time when she is outside, but sometimes she get into things anyway. I wonder if anyone else has determined peanut butter gives their dogs diarrhea and are mexican elder trees poisonous? She is full of energy and not sick acting at all. thanks, and happy holidays.

[Rott-Wiley]

Seems like recently we were just talking about a dog that was allergic to peanut butter. I don't know anything about that elder tree so it's hard to say. Hopefully she isn't eating that much of it to cause a problem. Could you switch her kong over to cheese? Or maybe try giving her a marrow bone for a change? They are really the best thing for a dog to chew on IMO. Although if she already has diarrhea I think I'd hold off on trying marrow bones because they can cause that also (if the dog has too much of the marrow). Cheese is probably your best bet right now.

[Judi W]

Settle on one food, stick with it and dump filling the kong and extra treats for now. She can get along just fine without a stuffed kong. There is no way to even hazard a guess with all that stuff and food changes.

[moondog]

High fat content frequently will cause tummy troubles in certain dogs. Peanut butter, cheese and marrow bones are all high in fat and would be the first things I would eliminate, along with any other high fat treats. You can still give fresh bones, but remove the marrow first.

Feed her her dog food only and see if that clears it up. If so, then it's best to not lavish the extras on her. If that doesn't clear it up, then I'd have a complete checkup to eliminate a medical problem.

[debbiej]

This morning after I saw she had diarrhea, I didn't give her any more of anything but rice for her meals. But tonight I noticed that the other dog has diarrhea too. must be some kind of bacteria. bleach the water dishes and off to the vets we go..

[Diane Heller-Vaccaro]

I'm sure the vet will give you something better but I keep pumkin on hand for diarhea. Just plain on pumkin in a can. Let us know how your dogs are doing and I would check on the net to find out what exactly might be toxic in your yard.

[debbiej]

well my two are ok now. The vet was closed from 23rd-29th. Had to decide does this qualify as an emergency? probably not yet. I thought and thought, what could they both be getting into? They eat different foods, the old dog isn't interested in grazing like Hilda is. I asked my husband that question, and he said he'd been feeding them treats of left over turkey. little pieces of turkey from thanksgiving! He'd put some away in baggies and was using it for little treats and I didn't know. It smelled ok, no skin just meat-- but no more turkey, no more runs.

[austin]

Month old turkey- blech! Meat shouldn't be kept for more than 3 days. You're lucky that the runs is all they got from that!

[livertw]

Daisy cannot tolerate marrow bones. We found that out in spectacular fashion a few months ago. I think she managed to splat every room in the house -- 3200 square feet of carpet, tile and hardwood covered in.....well, you get the picture.

She also gets "loose" if I put more than a tablespoonful of fat, gristle, or poultry skin from our meal preparations into her kibble. :D :p

[beemerron]

My employer gave us turkeys at Thanksgiving. With just Athena and me in the household, she got her share of bits and pieces. The bird was in the fridge for less than a week, but the whole time she had the runs to the point where I was about to take her to the Vets. Since we finished the turkey, her stool has firmed up.
Next year I think I'll keep the turkey to myself. Piles are easier to pick up then pies.

[Judi W]

I guess I have a question. Why did you continue with the turkey? I simply don't understand this determination some have in spite of the evidence (very vivid evidence) that something is disagreeing with the dog. We have another couple on the forum who persist in feeding raw to a dog that does not handle it well. Instead of changing, they instead keep adding special stuff to firm up the stool. All this because they read it was better for the dog. Well, if the dog is letting you know it is not better for them, let it go!

[debbiej]

I've been pondering this old turkey thing. when I asked my husband to think of ANYTHING that both dogs could be getting into, he didn't even consider the turkey at first. when he told me well, he had been giving them little pieces of it, he said "well dogs stomachs can handle meat that is old". I once saw coyotes eating off of a dead cow for weeks. so I've been wondering why such touchy tummies? why turkey?

[debbiej]

Hi Judi, I didn't know my husband was giving them "turkey treats" he feeds them when he comes home from work at lunch, and I'm not ususally there. After thanksgiving, he picked the carcass and put the pieces in baggies to give them for treats. He often adds goodies to the old dog's food cause hes a softie. then he thinks Hilda should have some too. Anyway, when I asked him if he could think of anything they were both eating--then I found out about the turkey. no more turkey, no more diarrhea. thanks, debbie

[Judi W]

Gosh, could it be that dogs are not coyotes? Also, what makes you think those coyotes ate that road kill without any bad effects but continued to do so because they did not have access to anything else? Sort of like the owner that won't give their dog anything else because they have decided what the dog should be eating regardless of how the dog processes it. To me it is not rocket science to discontinue a food that is giving your dog digestive problems.

[beemerron]

I adopted her the week before Thanksgiving and her stool was loose when I got her. I was also in the process of changing her over to a better grade food than she was getting at the rescue. There were several variables involved. Now that she has adapted to her new home and is on a consistent diet she's doing good.
Perhaps the turkey had nothing to do with it, but next year, no turkey.