Doggy diarrhea

[nancy]

Fergie appears to have diarrhea - yet again. Great timing. A "cousin" who's in the States for the summer is coming to visit for the week-end. Sure, he's a med student. But cleaning dog poop from the kitchen floor would not be his idea of fun.

 

So I got another round of metronidazole from the vet - and asked if this could be giadia, assuming that's what she has gotten two bouts of about every summer.

 

The vet says it's highly unlikely as she has not even sniffed goose poop for over 2 years. She says it is most likely seasonal allergies! Very common in this area this time of year. And dogs react to allergies by having diarrhea.

 

Who'd a thunk!?

[Sue R]

Goose poop is not the only source of giardia. Here is what the Mayo Clinic has to say about it:

 

Giardia infection is an intestinal infection marked by abdominal cramps, bloating, nausea and watery diarrhea. Giardia infection is caused by a parasite that is found worldwide, especially in areas with poor sanitation and unsafe water.

 

Giardia infection (giardiasis) is one of the most common waterborne diseases in the United States. The parasites are found in backcountry streams and lakes, but also in municipal water supplies, swimming pools and spas. Giardia infection can also be transmitted through food and person-to-person contact.

 

Infections usually clear up within six weeks. But you may have recurrent episodes or have intestinal problems long after the parasites are gone. Several drugs are generally effective against giardia parasites, but not everyone responds to them. Prevention is your best defense.

 

This is, of course, written with regards to humans. With regards to dogs or cats, this is from ThePetCenter:

 

Giardia are actually protozoans (single celled organisms) and are commonly found in the intestines of many animals, including dogs. This microscopic parasite clings to the surface of the intestine, or floats free in the mucous lining the intestine. A few percent of dogs and cats will carry Giardia organisms and not show any signs of disease. Actual diarrhea, bloody or mucousy stool often accompanied by gas production is seen most often in affected puppies and kittens. Giardia can have a significant impact on the health status of malnourished and stressed pups and kittens. Dogs that are stressed nutritionally or by exposure or by strong physical activity may have a previously low grade giardia infestation flare up into a significant disease.

 

Giardia can be difficult to diagnose - according to my vet, a very freah stool sample analyzed under the microscope, gives the best likelihood of detecting giardia.

 

My uneducated guess would be that your dog is either becoming reinfected from a natural source (water, infected feces) or may have some giardia present without symptoms, and stress of some sort results in a flare-up of the giardia and visible symptoms.

 

However, as your vet has pointed out, there are alternatives (many of them) that may cause diarrhea. On the (now) rare occasion we experience a problem with this, I fast the dog for 24 hours (thank you, Debbie Crowder!) and then, if needed, reintroduce food with the CRaP diet (boiled skinless chicken breast, rice, and pumpkin - the acronym makes it easy to remember), followed by gradual reintroduction of the regular diet.

 

Best wishes!

[DTrain]

Can you explain CRaP and how this works. How is it served. I have not heard of this before and I do have an infected dog who comes down with stool problems several times per year. Thanks.

[Sue R]

I buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts and poach them (cook in barely boiling water, just until done). I use the chicken water (which is very low fat) to cook white rice, and cook it pretty soft. I used canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling).

 

Depending on the age/weight of the dog, I make meals that have the proportion of one ounce of chicken, 1/4 cup of cooked rice, and a tablespoon (1/2 ounce) of pumpkin. For a pup/youngster or after a very bad digestive upset (lots of mucus or some blood), I might feed these same amounts in each of four to six small feedings a day. For an adult, I might feed just a morning and an evening feeding, each of about 2-3 ounces of chicken, 2-3 quarter cups of cooked rice, and a heaping tablespoon of pumpking.

 

I watch the stools (Debbie Crowder, my "doggie diarrhea care mentor" said I was much too occupied with poop). As soon as the dog has had a couple of firm ones (and this "recipe" tends to firm them up solidly and they tend to be pretty small), I begin to introduce the previous food, taking anywhere from one to several days to get back onto full "normal" food (depending on how the stools look and what caused the problem).

 

Simple to make and easy to digest. There were times I wondered if Bute was trying to crank out some loose ones just to get his special diet.

 

Best wishes!

[Tassie]

Yes, I do the plain chicken and plain white rice thing too. Don't do the pumpkin (we don't have canned pumpkin here - or not that I know of. I'm lazy, so I just cook the skinless chicken breasts in the microwave, and get takeaway white steamed rice from the Indian takeaway restaurant, if I'm too lazy to put on the rice-cooker .

 

The other thing I start adding, particularly if the dog has been/is on antibiotics, is some low fat yoghurt pr some sort of probiotics to help repopulate the gut flora.

[Sue R]

The pumpkin is to provide fiber and some bulk. It comes in cans here in the US (in the baking aisle of the grocery store/supermarket). You might be able to use cooked carrots or green beans in its place, if needed.

 

Yogurt is a very good idea, as well, low-fat as you point out. A good tablespoon would probably be sufficient. Make sure to avoid yogurt with artificial sweeteners and/or sugar added.

[in2adventure]

I use oatmeal most of the time. Rice and pumpkin seem to make Lucia worse I've spent 100's of dollars on meds and vet visits because she has cronic diahrea. I've since figured out that the plain oatmeal with a gradual increase back to her reg diet works best. I hate overloading her on meds that aren't really needed. A little pepto helps too.

 

We hike a lot in the back country and think she gets the giardia bug quite often. My vet said many dogs never build a tollerance for it

[urge to herd]

Tassie, any hard shelled squash, like butternut or acorn, will act like pumpkin, which happens to be a squash itself. If you can't find the canned stuff, and are just wild to try it out, you can substitute the other squashes. Just crack that baby open, bake or steam, and there you go. All of mine love any kind of orange squash.

 

I also keep several little jars of chicken baby food. It's handy for when somebody (Sam) has started diarrhea in the middle of the night. Inevitably, she picks the night before a busy day, and I'm in a rush to get out the door. The rice goes in the steamer, we go to the park, we come home, rice is done, add baby food and pumpkin, and voila! Quick breakfast for the fussy tummy.

 

Cottage cheese or plain low fat yogurt will work for us as well. My vet told me you can brown ground beef and rinse it, to get all the fat off, and use that, too.

 

Nancy, it could be any number of things that caused Fergie's upset. If it continues or comes back, ask for a test for clostridium perfingens. Especially if she's acting sick in other ways - lethargy, vomiting, no appetite. The c perfingens made Buzz really ill several times before we figured it out.

 

Ruth n the BC3

[Sue R]

Thanks for catching that question about pumpkin, Ruth. The stuff that comes in cans here labeled "pumpkin" is really not what we would call pumpkin. It is another form of winter (hard-skinned) squash. As you say, any winter squash will do (like butternut, buttercup, etc.). You could also possibly substitute sweet potato (but that may be a bit high in sugar and so I would probably avoid that if I could for an upset stomach).

[nancy]

Ruth, Fergie acts the same as usual. If it's hot and humid, she's a bit slow. But if we have a cool morning, the intestinal stuff makes no difference to her romping. And she would eat anything we might give her or that she could scrounge. But we police that because it comes out like foul-smelling chocolate milk.

 

I tend to believe the vet, I keep a sort of stream-of-consciousness journal every day. And, checking back in the volumes, I can see that Fergie gets this problem at the same time every summer. So an allergy to a grass pollen makes real sense.

 

Bless her heart - and her intestines - she was fine while our Lithuanian medical-student cousin was here.

[Tassie]

Thanks for the pumpkin info ladies. Yes, we have various kinds of pumpkins here in the fresh fruit and vegetable department, pretty much all year round. My two really love pumpkin, so they get extra whenever I cook it. In Australia, we tend to use pumpkin as a side vegetable (baked or mashed or made into a thick soup). Pumpkin pie as a sweet pie is a real novelty for us - which I guess is why the canned 'pumpkin' isn't found in stores.

I hadn't thought of using pumpkin in conjunction with my regular 'upset tummy diet' - but it makes sense.

 

And yes, I should have specified plain low/no fat yoghurt - with the acidophilus, etc. Actually, my two get that every day - about a tablespoonful with their kibble for breakfast - no particular reason, except that they like it, and it does slow down the rate of inhalation of the kibble.

 

Hope poor Fergie gets to feeling better soon, Nancy. If it's an allergy thing, as it seems to be - can she be helped with anti-histamines? Or I guess if she's feeling OK otherwise, there's no need.