MaggieDog Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 I'm finally home from a week long conference and get to deal with this fun stuff. Maggie developed stress diarrhea on Saturday evening. She messed her kennel horribly on Saturday night and the kennel called to see what I wanted to do first thing Sunday. They fasted her for a meal and gave her pumpkin on my request and she had a normal stool Sunday night, but she's had diarrhea throughout the day today and now that she's home she's asking to go out every 3 to 4 hours and licking her hind end frequently - thankfully the bit of blood I saw in the first go round once I picked her up is gone, but now the stool is green. In the past her stress diarrhea has resolved in a day or two once she's out of the situation so I was planning on just watching her closely rather than going to the vet (she's acting normal and drinking fine, sleeping a lot but that's more likely due to lack of sleep at the kennel since that's common for her), but I don't recall seeing green stool before, so I'm a bit concerned. I may take a stool sample in to work tomorrow to have them look at it, but I'd really like to get some input from you guys on what you've noticed when your dogs have had stress related diarrhea. She's had a few pieces of kibble but dinner was a tablespoon of canned pumpkin and about 1/4 cup of rice - if anything I'd expect her to have orange stool. Thoughts? Should I do a complete fast? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SweetJordan Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 I always do the canned pumpkin remedy as well, but I usually start with a complete fast first(24 hrs). Then I'll start with a very bland diet w/ pumpkin added. There can be multiple causes for her having a green stool. One is just that the stool is going through her too fast so it doesn't have the opportunity to change to brown. As long as she is acting okay and drinking enough I don't think I would be too worried esp. if you feel that it was just brought on by stress. Granted that it clears up within the next day or so. I know they always say to give rice, but I think that can be difficult to digest. I'd add some yogurt to her food if you don't already when you go back to her diet, and some enzymes if you are feeding kibble. Just responded because I know all about colitis. Hope that was some help. I'm sure others will offer suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 If it's stress related, it should clear up in a day or two like you said. Pumpkin and yogurt is a good idea. Just don't give her too much yogurt in case she's lactose intolerant. As far as the green stool, did she eat any grass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquarius89 Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Poor Maggie. I'd fast her for 12-24 hours, and start her on a little bit of pumpkin - no kibble. Feel better soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 If you fast- fast her for 24 hours, only water. Then, feed a bit of rice and cooked chicken. Make the digestion easy on her. If she isn't resolved soon, get her in to the vet. Jmo. Julie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think I'm going to have her skip food completely this morning and then reintroduce things tonight. I was up every 2.5 hours last night and she threw up 3 times as well - I'm going to talk to the vet at work about it and see what she has to say. Hopefully anything that comes out this morning will be more normalized, but I'm still going to see if I can work from home this afternoon since otherwise I'll be driving home every 2 hours. :\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Vet appointment scheduled for 10:15 - there was way more blood in her stool this morning than I wanted to see. Plus side is I can go back to bed for an hour or so since my boss told me I could just come in after the appointment. So much for getting lots accomplished after a week away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Good- I think that's a good plan- please update when you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 uurgh, Maggie is sounding a lot like Buzz. He started showing stress related loose stools, that progressed to a bacterial overgrowth in his gut, clostridia perfingens. He had 4 nasty episodes in 6 months, pretty sick each time. He was very lethargic, ran a fever a couple times, vomited, bloody stool, wasn't interested in food or his human friends, and very restless, probably because his gut was so painful. My vet was ready to send me to a doggy gastroenterologist, but did one more stool culture - bingo, c. perfingens. Almost any stress would set him off. Being kenneled, even though he ran around and played a lot and seemed to enjoy himself. My working long hours for extended periods, or too many visitors at home, well, you get the idea. Just doing the bland diet did not help at all. He needed medication each time. I delayed getting him to the vet the 1st couple times, because I'd always been able to treat Sami's dire rear w/just a bland diet, but he'd get sicker quickly. Fast forward a couple years, what is working for Buzz is to be on a prophlactic dose of flagyl 2x/week. He's only had one out break this year, and that was when I was out of town and he was kenneled 3 times in 7 weeks. When he goes to the kennel, he gets a half dose daily, and that helps too. This is all per my vet's diagnosis/prescription. Good luck w/Maggie, please let us know what happens with her. Ruth n the BC3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Ok diagnosis is now bacterial coliis. She's been given an injection of antibiotics to jumpstart things and also has scripts for reglan BID, metronidazole BID, and diamycin SID. They wanted me to feed her SD I/D but she's sensitive to poultry so she's getting overcooked white rice and yogurt for the next few days, gradually switching back to her regular diet (CA Natural lamb). I'm also dosing w/ probiotics. Bah! Having a sick doggie sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelpiegirl Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Good that you got her in then! Anyway- a side note- I had my Boxer on Reglan, and Metro-- and it really threw him for a loop- he behaved very oddly, I had to stop it. Just watch Maggie. I feed my kitty ID- it is a god send for her. Too bad Maggie is sensitive to chix- they should make ID with another protein source. Ok diagnosis is now bacterial coliis. She's been given an injection of antibiotics to jumpstart things and also has scripts for reglan BID, metronidazole BID, and diamycin SID. They wanted me to feed her SD I/D but she's sensitive to poultry so she's getting overcooked white rice and yogurt for the next few days, gradually switching back to her regular diet (CA Natural lamb). I'm also dosing w/ probiotics. Bah! Having a sick doggie sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Wow, this has been an interesting thread. I know stress can lower your immune system but I never knew it could actually create an infection! Thanks for starting this discussion, Erin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Brenda, Just a point of clarification. Stress doesn't "create" an infection. Stress just affects the immune response which then allows an infection to take hold. In this case, it was probably bacterial overgrowth in the GI tract, where bacteria normally live, but because of the stress they were able to in effect "take over" where normally the immune system would keep them in check. Likewise, people and animals with compromised immune systems are more susceptible to infections. So a compromised immune system (whether from stress or disease) doesn't *cause* other diseases--it simply makes one more susceptible to them (in other words, the disease-causing organisms are all around, and some live on or within us--and when our immune system isn't functioning properly, then those disease-causing organisms can gain a foothold and actually cause disease). It's probably just a fine point, but I think it's an important one. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 It's probably just a fine point, but I think it's an important one. I agree. It is important. Thanks for clarifying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SweetJordan Posted October 30, 2007 Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Ok diagnosis is now bacterial coliis. She's been given an injection of antibiotics to jumpstart things and also has scripts for reglan BID, metronidazole BID, and diamycin SID. They wanted me to feed her SD I/D but she's sensitive to poultry so she's getting overcooked white rice and yogurt for the next few days, gradually switching back to her regular diet (CA Natural lamb). I'm also dosing w/ probiotics. Bah! Having a sick doggie sucks. I came back to check and saw that things got worse. Hopefully she will be feeling better soon with the meds. One of my girls took Reglan when she received certain chemo drugs, and she always did really well with it. And it worked well because she ate a ton and never threw up. If she doesn't like the taste of her bland diet try adding some low sodium beef broth. Chicken would be good as well, but if she's sensitive to poultry I know you wouldn't want to use that. Anyway, it would give it some extra flavor and it would give her some extra liquids. Just an idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted October 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 30, 2007 Ok we've gone 8.5 hours w/ no poop of any kind after the shot of antibiotics and a dose of reglan with a lunch of yogurt and rice w/ added probiotics. She's going to get her first dose of one of the antibiotics tonight (metronidazole) with another meal of yogurt and rice, and will get the other antibiotic tomorrow morning since it's only SID. I wonder if the stress diarrhea wiped out all the "good" bacteria in the GI tract, thus allowing the overgrowth to run unchecked. The vet did say if we didn't need to use all the antibiotics this go round that I could send them with her the next time she boards so they can catch this whole thing sooner. The way things are going it looks like she'll only need the antibiotics for 2 days or so - he said to give them one dose past when she stops showing tummy upset, yet gave us a weeks worth of tablets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BCjetta Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Hannah had a similar issue this summer (started the afternoon before we went on a roadtrip across 2 provinces). Wed am she was fine and ate breakfast. Wed 4pm had diarrhea. After that it progressed to vomiting 3-4 times and diarrhea every 2 hours all night (obviously she did not get fed dinner). I ended up taking her into work at 5am and giving her barium (it will coat the stomach sometimes and help the problem). Well, 7am comes and the barium comes out the other end with blood (picture pink milkshake....mmm). So I went back to work and talked to the Dr's. Got metronidazole, metacam and metoclopramide (reglan) and we left for our roadtrip from there (thursday). No more diarrhea after that, but, I did not feed her anything until friday night (so wed am was her last meal), and when I fed her it was 1 tblspoon of gastro food. Same thing sat am, 1 tablespoon. She didn't end up having a bowel movement until sunday morning. After that she was fine (no more diarrhea). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted October 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Thanks for the additional info BCjetta - I was starting to wonder about her lack of bowel movements as she was out last night at 11 and still nothing (12 hours after the reglan), we'll see if anything appears this morning. I need to call the vet though because he had said I should only continue the antibiotics one dose past her tummy settling and I haven't even started the second antibiotic, yet this morning would be one dose past the dose when her tummy settled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 I was going on the board to ask a question about diarrhea and ran across this thread. I hope you don't mind me jumping in? Lacee has had two episodes of diarrhea in the past two months, both times requiring meds. Nothing was found in her stool or blood, so the doc said it is probably colitis. I've been feeding her chicken and rice to try to get her stools back to normal. Once they are normal, I start her back on her Innova with chicken broth. She now has diarrhea AGAIN! I really don't know what to do. I don't know how to handle colitis. Could it be the Innova? If it is, I don't understand because it's supposed to be the best. I tried to feed her pumpkin, but she won't eat it. A friend of mine told me about a website called PHD products that make good dog food. Have any of you heard of this? It talks about raw diet also, but I don't know how to do that either. My husband thinks it has something to do with the canine club I take her to. She runs so much and won't stop to rest like the rest of the dogs. She would keep going until she dropped, so he thinks it happens when she runs too much. I really don't think so, though. Any help would be much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Which Innova are you feeding her? If it's the one with grains in it, I would try the EVO. Are you watering down the chicken broth? But if she's developed an allergy to chicken, even watering it down might not help. Does she like yogurt? The active cultures in yogurt might help her. BTW, Erin, did you get in touch with the vet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 I feed her the senior one, not EVO. And, no, I'm not watering down the broth, didn't know I should. The only reason I was doing this was to get her to eat. She doesn't like just dry food. If she were allergic to chicken, wouldn't she still have a problem when I feed her chicken and rice? I've never tried yogurt. Do I just give her plain? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheRuffMuttGang Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Metronidizole works wonderfully in only a couple of doses. Generally I give it for about 2 days and then switch over to probiotics. That normally does the trick if you continue to give the probiotics for several days. The fosters always get this bacterial diarrhea about a week and a half after getting here. Not sure if it's something contagious that is in the yard now or what but my own dogs never get it and they use the same yard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 Metronidizole works wonderfully in only a couple of doses. Generally I give it for about 2 days and then switch over to probiotics. That normally does the trick if you continue to give the probiotics for several days. The fosters always get this bacterial diarrhea about a week and a half after getting here. Not sure if it's something contagious that is in the yard now or what but my own dogs never get it and they use the same yard. So where can I get these products? And do I only give it when she's having the diahrrea, or is this something that can be a maintenance thing? I guess I sound stupid, but I've never heard of this before. I've had BC's all my life, but have never had this problem, so it's new to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OurBoys Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 I would water down the chicken broth because it has a lot of sodium in it and I don't like giving JJ & Jake a lot of sodium. It'll also last longer. When I feed them non-fat, plain yogurt, Jake's ears stay clean. The one time I quit feeding it to them, Jake got a yeast infection in one of his ears. I know that's a different infection but it might still work. I'm glad this thread was started because, even though we haven't had anyone dog-sit for us since adopting Jake, he is our velcro dog and if for some reason we need to have someone keep them for us, I can see Jake developing colitis. Of course, he might not but if he does, I won't panic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luv2napp Posted October 31, 2007 Report Share Posted October 31, 2007 If I start feeding EVO, what would be best, meat or chicken? Or does it make a difference? I won't do rabbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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