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Tucker has for the last 4 days been pooping in his crate at night. History....5 days ago Tucker develop diarrhea were he would go to the bathroom 4 or 5 times in a 2 hour stretch. I believe his diarrhea may have been cause from the bully sticks I was giving him. I took away the bully sticks as well as his kibble and started him on white rice and a little chicken breast with some pumpkin added in with all the water he could drink. I also stopped feeding him after 4 o'clock in the afternoon and reduced his kennel size so he can just turn around in it. After a day or so his stool firmed up and it was not so watery any more. I have been slowly added his kibble (taste of the wild) back. He is very active and seems no different as far as his energy goes and doesn't appear sick or anything. But he has continued to poop in his kennel at night. I take him for walks 2 or 3 times a day and let him out every couple of hours but has continued to poop in his kennel. For the last couple of nights I take him outside at 11:30 pm before he goes to bed. At 1:00 or 2:00 o'clock am I here him wine and when I go out to see what is going on and he has pooped in his crate. I am not sure what is going on here or what else I might do. I guess the next step may be to take him to the vet but there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with him now except him going to the bathroom in his crate. Tucker is 18 weeks old today

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What do you feed him at 4 o'clock? 
My dog used to poop every night in the kitchen where she used to sleep. We now feed her her biggest meal in the morning and a "just for show" meal in the evening around 5 o'clock.
So she gets something light that tastes good, so she feels she has had a meal and won't be so jealous of the cats getting their meal. But her heavy meal that gets her through the day we feed in the morning. This made her stop pooping at night.

It might not be the same though, as your dog had diarrhea, it could be something else. 

I hope you find out what is going on with him! 

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Have you had him to the vet? I would get my dog checked out before I started working on it as a behavior issue, just to be sure.

I would also stop feeding him in the evening altogether. Breakfast, late lunch around 2 or 3 PM and only a biscuit in the evening.

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2 hours ago, D'Elle said:

Have you had him to the vet? I would get my dog checked out before I started working on it as a behavior issue, just to be sure.

I would also stop feeding him in the evening altogether. Breakfast, late lunch around 2 or 3 PM and only a biscuit in the evening.

I had him to the vet 3 weeks ago today. Stool sample was negative. If he continues that will be my next step. Today I cut his feeding off a 2:00pm. Tomorrow I will make his biggest meal breakfast and a small lunch. 

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If you're still adding pumpkin that could be the culprit. Pumpkin has a lot of indigestible fiber in it, which is great for both diarrhea and constipation, but will mean he's got to go more often. Plus it can stimulation the colon.

At 18 weeks I think it's a bit early to cut out that last meal, but cutting back on the size of the meal could be in order. I'd also try eliminating all pumpkin from that final meal as well as gradually eliminating pumpkin from earlier meals.

If he's crying in the night he's trying to tell you he needs to go out. Is there a way you can get to him sooner before he actually goes? Maybe move his crate into the bedroom for a while until this resolves? Or set an alarm for 1:00 and take him out again? It'll be a PITA but it shouldn't last long till he's regulated again.

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Be careful with how much you are feeding him. I fed Mancer TOW puppy food and learned the hard way that the recommended feeding amounts on the back of the bag are a little excessive. I remember someone else here having the same problem. Even after reducing the feeding amount she still pooped an awful lot (which I guess is somewhat normal for a puppy) but was typically able to sleep through the night even though she had her largest meal in the evening. 

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I took him to the vet this morning. They put him on antibiotics, probiotics, and a stool harding pill. Also wanted him on a bland diet for a few days until things settle down. I gave him his meds and feed him his special diet, he is sleeping now. Last night was bad for him and me. We were up every couple of hours letting him out to go potty. He really strained but not much came out. We will see how he does over the next few days.

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That sounds like his intestines are irritated and telling him he needs to eliminate, even though he doesn't. It could be residual from the original diarrhea or from the pumpkin, or even a combination of the 2.

Did the vet say specifically what the antibiotic was prescribed for? Did s/he do any tests to determine a bacterial infection?

Antibiotics only treat bacteria and can themselves cause diarrhea when they kill off beneficial bacteria as well as nasty ones, which is probably why s/he gave you probiotics.

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35 minutes ago, GentleLake said:

That sounds like his intestines are irritated and telling him he needs to eliminate, even though he doesn't. It could be residual from the original diarrhea or from the pumpkin, or even a combination of the 2.

Did the vet say specifically what the antibiotic was prescribed for? Did s/he do any tests to determine a bacterial infection?

Antibiotics only treat bacteria and can themselves cause diarrhea when they kill off beneficial bacteria as well as nasty ones, which is probably why s/he gave you probiotics.

He did not say and I neglected to ask him. What he prescribed does't sound real great when I read about it. He tested the stool sample which was negative 

Metronidazole (Flagyl) 250 mg tab  1 tablet twice daily for 10 days

Endosorb 1.5g tablet given 3 times a day

Vetri-Mega Probiotic 1 capsule once a day.

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I've come to the point that unless vets or human docs can't give me pretty convincing indication of a bacterial infection I tend to refuse abx. Indiscriminate use of them has created too much abx resistance, and diarrhea is almost always self limiting so I prefer to wait to see how things go before treating something that may not even be an issue.

Metronidazole is still prescribed pretty often for dogs' intestinal distress. Still some disagreement as to whether its probiotics given along with abx that might kill them off immediately or to wait until the abx is discontinued and then give probiotics to replenish what the abx has killed off. Hopefully one of our resident vets or techs will weigh in.

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If there is a next time I will start with the boiled white rice and chicken and leave the punpkin out..  Pumpkin may have made things worse.  He seems to be doing much better now all though he’s been sleeping a lot. 

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Update on Tucker with advice needed..........Tucker has been on his meds for a week now. All though there is a significant improvement in his diarrhea, he still has a soft stool that's more like a cow patty. It does have some form sometimes but it's generally very very soft. He does not have the urge to go now as he did before and he is not going in his crate any more. I have taken him off TOTW food and put him on another brand but it still does make a difference. He has another 7 days of meds left. Should I be concerned and take him back to the vet or continue with his meds and assess after he has completed them. Maybe change his diet to boiled rice and chicken. I am not sure what I need to do here.

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Two things I would be asking my veterinarian at this point are 1) Did (or should) we test for giardia and, more importantly, coccidia? Flagyl should take care of giardia, but for coccidia, the treatment is usually Albon or Tribrissen. 2) Could this be symptomatic of a food allergy? If so, changing the food brand might not help. You may need to change the protein.

Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian.

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I always do boiled chicken and rice for loose stools or diarrhea. 

 I am not in any way a fan of antibiotics. But once you start a course of them it is inadvisable to stop unless there is a compelling reason to do so, because if they are fighting a bacteria stopping before the course is through may make the bacteria more resistant to antibiotics. 

What did the vet find in his stool sample that made him put him on the antibiotics? I wouldn't put a dog on a course of that unless the stool sample were analyzed and showed a definite presence of a bacteria that would be killed by that specific antibiotic. I would want to know what the bacteria was and that the antibiotics were clinically proved to be effective against that specific strain. I think it's always good to ask all those questions at the vet so that I am fully informed about the entire condition and what is being prescribed and why.

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Just wanted to add...The fact that there has been some improvement is good. It is quite possible that it will simply take a while for your dog’s stools to firm up. I agree with D’Elle on the boiled (white meat) chicken and rice.

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32 minutes ago, terrecar said:

Two things I would be asking my veterinarian at this point are 1) Did (or should) we test for giardia and, more importantly, coccidia? Flagyl should take care of giardia, but for coccidia, the treatment is usually Albon or Tribrissen. 2) Could this be symptomatic of a food allergy? If so, changing the food brand might not help. You may need to change the protein.

Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian.

 

 

 

 

36 minutes ago, D'Elle said:

I always do boiled chicken and rice for loose stools or diarrhea. 

 I am not in any way a fan of antibiotics. But once you start a course of them it is inadvisable to stop unless there is a compelling reason to do so, because if they are fighting a bacteria stopping before the course is through may make the bacteria more resistant to antibiotics. 

What did the vet find in his stool sample that made him put him on the antibiotics? I wouldn't put a dog on a course of that unless the stool sample were analyzed and showed a definite presence of a bacteria that would be killed by that specific antibiotic. I would want to know what the bacteria was and that the antibiotics were clinically proved to be effective against that specific strain. I think it's always good to ask all those questions at the vet so that I am fully informed about the entire condition and what is being prescribed and why.

They did treat Tucker for coccidia with Albion when he was 8 weeks old. He is 19 weeks now. I don’t no if he tested for giardia. Changing the protein, do you mean from beef to chicken or fish? 

D’ELLE........I don’t know what they found in his stool sample. They said at first they could not run it because it was diarrhea. Then the vet came in and they decided too but he had all ready prescribed the meds. So good question. I don’t know 

 

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There is a bacteria commonly found in dog intestines, (and human, I believe) that can periodically 'bloom' into an overgrowth and cause diarrhea. I can NOT for the life of me remember the dang name! Buzz was afflicted with it, and my vet was about to send us to a vet gastroenterologist and I asked if there was anything else he could consider before we took that step. He consulted w/the GE vet over the phone, did a stool check for that one dang bug, and that was it. It's a common enough bug, but in some dogs it colonizes the gut.

You might see if your vet could do similar research. A different antibiotic was needed, and Buzz periodically would have another round of it, particularly when he was stressed. And he got sick all over. No appetite, lethargic, low grade fever. My other dogs have had bouts of 'runny tummy' with no other symptoms, but this bug made Buzz feel awful.

In my defense, all this happened about 15 yrs ago or more. If I think of the name of it, I'll post. Perhaps someone else will recognize it from my description. And yes to D'Elle's point - Buzz needed a specific antibiotic for this thing.

Good luck!

Ruth

PS - Buzz did well on cottage cheese & rice when he was ill.

 

 

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Yes, that is what I mean by changing the protein, but...Not so fast. If he has done well on chicken and rice, and you’re feeding a chicken-based kibble, then there is (likely) your answer; the protein is not likely the problem. Also, I would talk to my veterinarian about the possibility of a food allergy instead of just changing his food around.

Now that your dog’s stools are somewhat firm(er), I really think your best bet is to have your vet run another fecal. I would ask for this, and since my veterinarian does routine worm checks in-house but sends out to a lab for giardia and coccidia, I would ask that all of these tests be run. To me, running a fecal is one of the most cost-effective tests you can have done. The expense is minimal compared to the problems you can catch and treat before they compromise the health of the dog. Just my two cents.

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