We went camping this weekend so we had to board the dog from Saturday to Monday. When we picked up the dog she seemd fine, happy to see us, etc. I got home from work yesterday and there were puddles (yes, PUDDLES) of olive green poo all over the house. I don’t think it’s overexcitement from being home. We did have a huge storm here while we were gone and it’s possible she drank water that had collected in my daughter’s wading pool. Other than that, I can’t think of anything she could’ve gotten into.
I’m calling the vet once they open (it’s only 3:40 am–she’s been asking to go out about every hour) but I was just curious if anyone has ever dealt with this before?
I’ve had that happen with my dogs a couple of times. I think it’s the stress and anxiety from being kenneled. Being locked up in a cage away from their regular pack, with a bunch of strange barking “other” dogs can be really upsetting for some dogs.
It could also be a sign of Irritable Bowel syndrome, which can be brought on by stress.
You can give your dog an Imodium; just make sure it doesn’t have acetominophen in it. 1 pill every 8 hours will stop 'em right up. Another thing you can give as a first aid measure (for dogs with diarrhea) is cook some plain white rice and feed 'em 1/2 cup to 1 cup (depending on size of dog). You can also top that off with plain old canned pumpkin (or squash if you can’t find pumpkin). The fiber helps bind 'em up.
Have the dog checked, a kennel situation or drinking standing water are prime sources for Giardia, a Protozoal parasite. Antidiarrheals won’t do squat in that situation and you will need an antibiotic, usually metronidazole (Flagyl). Unfortunately, it us sometimes hard to find in a fecal exam but there is also a snap test or it though not all vets might carry it. However, most will treat with metronidazole just in case, plus it’s the best antibiotic for intestinal problems.
It could be just stress and diet change but if the dog’s having a lot of stinky, watery diarrhea he would like some relief sooner rather than later. By the way Giardiasis is contagious to other animals and people so that’s another reason to get it checked out.
Mmmm, I forgot about metro… I hope nobody inferred from my post that I meant to suggest just making some rice and giving the dog an Imodium without having the vet check it out. I made that suggestion as an in-the-meantime-until-you-get-to-the-vet stopgap measure.
A few years ago I was away from home for a week, and the dogs stayed home with Mr. S. I work at home, so I’m normally here all day.
The day after I returned, Dottie (who’s very attached to me) had an episode of vomiting (once), followed by bloody diarrhea all over the kitchen/dining area (where I’d put her, because it’s tiled, in order to clean up the carpet where she’d puked). Thank you, tiled floor!
The vet said it was likely stress over the change in routine, and he put her on a rice-and-boiled-hamburger diet for a few days. She may have had some pills also. She came out of it just fine.
I was unable to take my baby-dog to the vet today (I was going to leave work early but one of my students started having chest pains!). When I got home today there were a couple more poo puddles but they were back to the normal brown color (sorry, TMI again!). She is now eating for the first time. I called the vet’s office to tell them I was going to miss today’s appointment and they said to bring her in tomorrow if she’s still feeling out of sorts.