Diarrhea !!

[Big_Wes99]

Hello all. First time poster, routine reader. My 4 month old handsome boy Rocco has been having "accidents" in his crate the last 3 days. I've recently switched his kibble from Purina Puppy Chow Large Breed mixed with Pedigree Lamb canned to Canidae PAWS (had no idea that puppy chow & pedigree was so poor in nutrition until I read this site - THANKS!!). Unfortunately, I did not complete the 10 day transition of mixing the two kibble, I ran out of Puppy Chow by day three. This was about two weeks ago and Rocco has had normal stools until the past three days. My routine schedule is to walk him and let him eliminate for about 15 mins before work (about 8:30am) feed him and he is crated until my lunch at 1:30pm. Again we take a 10-15 min walk for elimination and to stretch his legs and he is fed lunch after I've taken a few bites of mine. I am home from work at around 6pm, and again we take a 10-15 min walk. I usually feed again at 7pm then again at about 11:30pm followed by last call for elimination.

I am unsure of what is causing the irregular elimination. The color (hope I’m not giving too much info) is dark brownish/greenish and has mucus-slimy look with a horrible stench!!! I've had to give him a bath the past two days, and when I went home for lunch today, I see its going to be 3 in a row. I know that you are not supposed to bathe dogs this frequently, but the smell is unbearable.

Any suggestions on what could be causing the diarrhea and how to get him back to normal??

Any major flaws in my schedule?? Any alternatives to continuously bathing?? HELP!!!

Any advise/suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[Patty1231]

If the stools are loose I'd switch to boiled burger and rice for a day or two until they firm up. I always make sure my dogs have a good hour after they eat to make sure the system is in gear and they have a chance to poop. I've switched kibbles over in that time frame and haven't had any major problems. A call to the vet might ease your worry as far as the color/stench. Has he been eating anything outside?

[Big_Wes99]

No, I don't believe he has eaten anything outside. I keep a pretty good eye on what’s coming up during our walks. Most of the time, he has a branch or a wooden block in his mouth on our walks to keep him from being a vacuum. OK - as for the rice, I got that part, but boiled burger? I'm a young man with verrrry limited kitchen experience. Could you elaborate?

[Patty1231]

Ground beef - buy the lean stuff and boil it (to remove excess fat). Don't cook it in a pan as it will absorb the grease. (I'm not much of a cook, either )

[Alaskan]

Any time my dogs have had the loose green stools in the past they've either contracted worms or giardia which the vet can test and give meds for.

[alex221]

I would do away with the 11:30 pm feeding and divide his food up into 3 meals. I don't know if this would have anything to do with the diarrhea, but I think his digestive system could use the break.

[2rotties2luv]

Here's my easy recipe:

Use the largest pot you have (3-4 quart size) and fill 2/3 full with water.
Bring it to a boil.
Dump in 1 pound lean hamburger. Turn the heat down a little so it doesn't boil over, but keep it boiling.
Break up the hamburger into little bits and boil until there is no longer any pink color.
Add a medium size box of minute (instant) rice, stir. As soon as it starts to boil again, take it off the heat, put the lid on, and let it sit 10 or 15 min.
Dump it into a colander (spaghetti drainer) to drain the excess water and fat from the meat.
Be sure it cools before feeding.
This is enough for several meals, store the rest in the fridge and warm slightly in the microwave before feeding.

First, however, you should probably have the vet see him and bring a stool sample for the vet to see and test.

[Brooke&Ryan]

I would also contact your vet as Patty suggested. Not to scare you, but I've heard from several people on the boards, that pups with parvo have horrible smelling BM's. I would just make sure that everything is okay on that front.

Also, it wouldn't hurt to add a tablespoon or so of pumpkin to his meal as well. Use the plain, canned pumpkin...not the kind that has the spices in it for pies.


Brooke

[Big_Wes99]

I just went home again to check in on him. Again he has loose stool (at least this time he got outside instead of his crate). Since last night, he has been eliminating every two hours or so ( 12:30 am 3:00am 5:30am 8:15am another between 8:15 am and 12:30 - I didn't make it home to let him out, then again at 12:30 pm and now at 3:45 pm) I just fed him for the 1st time since 8:30 am, and if his stool isn't solid on his next restroom break, I will definately schedule a vet visit ASAP, actually we had one previously scheduled for Thurs the 15th - think I can wait it out?

[2rotties2luv]

I suggest that you call your vet and ask if he/she wants you to bring Rocco in before your appointment next week. A 4 month old pup can get very sick very fast. If he's eating and drinking OK, if there's no vomiting, and he has his usual energy and playfulness, then it's not likely to be anything serious. But you should hear this from your vet.

If Rocco loses interest in food or water, if he starts vomiting or if he doesn't want to play and wants to be left alone, you should get him in to see the vet without delay.

[StephanieandToby]

You can try fasting your dog for 24 hours to give his bowel a rest....nothing going in...nothing coming out! Just provide water.If you are feeding him that many times/day his bowel could just be irritated....and I agree with taking a stool sample to the vet. Good luck!

[RottiMomCT]

If anything, I'd call the vet and bring in a stool sample to the vet just to be sure.

Fast him for 24 hours - he won't starve and that'll give his system time to re-adjust. If you feel you MUST feed him - only give him 1/4 cup of rice/burger mixture twice a day - enough to quell the hunger but not so much as he'll poop.

I'd cut down on the late night feeding as well - feed twice a day at consistent times (within and hour or so). My dogs are fed between 6:30-7:30am, and again abetween 6:30-7:30pm. If we have classes, they are fed after class but that's one night a week, and we get home at 8pm.

I came home today to Baron puking in the living room - looked like rice/carrots/celery, some of his breakfast and who knows what...oddly enough EXACTLY like the chicken noodle soup that my mother in law made the other night...although they deny feeding it to him. I suspect my brother in law may have given them some soup along with their dinner last night - it was way too salty for me to eat - I can only imagine what the dogs felt about it!

[JeanT]

You can take a stool sample in now instead of waiting for the appointment on the 15th.

[Big_Wes99]

No improvement last night, so we went to the vet today. They diognosed that he had unbalanced bateria growth and gave a Ampicillin Trhydrate injection. He also has 500 mg of Metronidazole and 250 mg of Clavamox to take over the next 10 days. I had a tough time getting him to swollow the pills, any suggestions on how to get em' down? Should he chew or just swollow them??

I really appreciate all of the responses I recieved. Thanks from myself and Rocco!!!

[Big_Wes99]

No improvement last night, so we went to the vet today. They diagnosed that he had unbalanced bacteria growth and gave a Ampicillin Trhydrate injection. He also has 500 mg of Metronidazole and 250 mg of Clavamox to take over the next 10 days. I had a tough time getting him to swallow the pills, any suggestions on how to get em' down? Should he chew or just swallow them??

I really appreciate all of the responses I received. Thanks from myself and Rocco!!!