The number of bowel movements in dogs depends on how much food they eat and what quality the food has. Most often, these animals go to the toilet 1-4 times a day. But sometimes the digestive tract of the dog fails. In this case, the animal usually begins to behave uneasily - whining, spinning in one place and invites the owner to walk. This happens most often, of course, with diarrhea.
What could be the reasons
Diarrhea in dogs can develop with various diseases. But most often diarrhea in dogs is observed due to poor-quality food. Stale foods can easily cause a pet digestive upset. Also, dog diarrhea often happens due to:
- overeating;
- a sharp transition from home-made food to finished industrial feed or vice versa;
- swallowing fell;
- interceptions of something tasty;
- swallowing poisons from rodents, cockroaches, etc .;
- ingestion of foreign objects.
In addition, diarrhea in a dog can be a consequence of:
- allergies
- parasitic infestation;
- tumors.
Sometimes the causes of diarrhea in a dog are:
- sores;
- dysbiosis;
- enteritis;
- colitis.
In any case, if diarrhea occurs, the pet should be shown to the veterinarian. An accurate diagnosis in this case can only be made by conducting appropriate laboratory tests.
It is believed that a pet should be taken to the veterinary clinic (or called to a specialist at home) if diarrhea lasts longer than a day. The reason for immediately contacting a doctor may be such symptoms accompanying diarrhea as:
- temperature rise;
- unexpected weight loss;
- dark feces.
Be sure to contact a specialist, of course. and if the dog has diarrhea with blood.
Symptoms of Poisoning
The intoxication of the body in dogs due to poor-quality food appears approximately 7-8 hours after eating. When swallowing household chemicals - washing powder, soap, etc. - the dog will have diarrhea, most likely, after about 6 hours. Poisons act on the dog’s body, of course, even faster. The first signs in this case will appear after 4-5 hours.
In addition to diarrhea, the main symptoms of food poisoning in dogs are:
- lethargy and apathy;
- sharp weakness;
- uncontrolled vomiting.
If the dog is poisoned by poison, it will most likely also have the following:
- severe cramps;
- stretching the body into a string;
- pre-paralytic state (with arsenic poisoning).
Dry food poisoning can be suspected if the dog has blood in the diarrhea and vomiting is observed. Also signs of such a problem may be:
- dark urine;
- hair loss;
- thirst and itching.
Very often, dogs that have been poisoned by poor-quality industrial feeds display various kinds of nervous pathologies. In this case, the dog may experience: impaired coordination of movements, trembling in the body, convulsions, as with poisoning, and loss of consciousness. A dog poisoning with dry food often also becomes aggressive.
How to help a dog with poisoning
So the dog has diarrhea. What should the owners do in this case? Simple food poisoning in these animals usually disappears quite quickly and without any complications. But if the dog ate poison, it could, of course, end badly. In this case, only the veterinarian can help the animal.
Of course, first aid to the poisoned dog and the owners themselves should begin to be provided immediately. While waiting for the vet, the dog must be given some kind of emetic to clean the stomach. It can be, for example, a cool solution of soda or salt. Prepare for a dog such a tool is in a double dose. After all, part of the liquid during violent soldering can spill.
Next, the dog needs to be given 1 tablet of activated charcoal or some other sorbent per 5 kg of weight. On the day of diarrhea, the dog does not need to be offered any food. This will put an additional burden on the upset digestive system and the animal can become even worse.
On the second day, the dog should offer some rice porridge. This product contains a lot of gluten. And this substance is able to envelop the walls of the stomach and relieve pain from inflammation. In addition, rice is a natural adsorbent and is able to absorb toxins. Another useful property of this cereal is that it belongs to astringent products.
If it becomes noticeable that the dog’s condition is gradually normalizing, from the third day he can begin to gradually give ordinary food. After a week, the animal is usually usually completely transferred to its usual diet.
The dog has diarrhea: what to do with allergies
You can suspect this disease in a dog if, in addition to diarrhea, she has the following symptoms:
- persistent itching;
- an increase in dandruff;
- discharge from the ears;
- bad breath from the mouth.
Of course, in this case, the owners of a sick dog must first identify which product caused such a reaction in him. This will most likely be easy to do. With a probability of up to 100%, it will be some new food - one that the dog has never tried before. The owners of the animal will just need to remember when the signs of allergy appeared in the dog for the first time.
Of course, food that caused an allergic reaction should be excluded from the dog’s diet. After this, the unpleasant symptoms in the dog will disappear, most likely very quickly. For fidelity with food allergies, a dog can also offer some kind of antihistamine. This will alleviate the condition of the animal and speed up recovery. Very often, dogs with allergies are given, for example, medicines such as Suprastin, Zirtek, Fenistil, etc.
Infectious diseases
If the dog vilifies, among other things, one can suspect some kind of viral or bacterial disease. Very often, for example, diarrhea occurs in dogs with enteritis. This disease is caused by a dangerous and very tenacious virus that affects the digestive tract and mucous membranes.
Most often, enteritis dogs become infected in the fall from other dogs. This disease can be observed in animals of any age. But puppies and very young dogs are most susceptible to her. That is, those dogs in which the body is still not strong enough and worse resists infection.
There are two main types of enteritis in dogs:
With enteritis, diarrhea in dogs is observed with blood. Symptoms of the parvovirus form are also:
- refusal of food and viscous vomiting;
- putrefactive odor from the litter;
- severe abdominal pain.
Vomiting in dogs with this form of enteritis, once started, usually does not stop for a very long time. In young puppies, parvovirus can affect, unfortunately, including the heart. In this case, the animal usually has a weak pulse and blueness of the mucous membranes.
The main symptoms of the coronavirus form, in addition to diarrhea with blood, are:
- weakness and lethargy;
- loss of appetite.
Coronavirus enteritis is considered a much milder form than parvovirus. Only very small puppies can die with such an infection, and then usually just from a secondary infection. Parvovirus enteritis is a very dangerous and serious disease. The probability of death in its diagnosis, unfortunately, is quite high. Mortality of animals with this disease, according to veterinarians, can reach 10%.
Enteritis treatment
The dog has vomiting and diarrhea - what should I do? If the dog also has severe abdominal pain, and a putrefactive odor from the feces, you should immediately call a specialist. Enteritis is a serious disease, and only a specialist can help the dog in this case.
Treatment for enteritis in dogs is usually prescribed antibacterial. Also sick dogs are fed immunostimulating and pain medication.
In this case, treatment of diarrhea in a dog is carried out exclusively by administering the prescribed drugs intravenously or intramuscularly. Pills for this disease are not used. Unfortunately, a medicine in this form with enteritis is not absorbed at all and only additionally irritates the gastric mucosa.
How to treat diarrhea in a dog with parasitic diseases
Diarrhea in dogs can occur when infected with worms. Carry, for example, a dog, sick:
Dipylidiosis. This disease causes cucumber tapeworm. Diarrhea in a dog in this case will alternate with constipation. In this case, the dog either completely stops eating or becomes too gluttonous. Symptoms of this disease are also thinness and pallor of the mucous membranes. In small dogs, dipyllidiosis is treated using Felixan (0.4 g per 1 kg of weight), and in large dogs, Fenasala (0.1-0.2 g).
- Ascaridosis. Symptoms of this disease are vomiting, diarrhea, emaciation, food perversions, coughing. Sometimes ascaris can be seen in the feces of the animal. In this case, the answer to the question of what to give the dog from diarrhea and to rid it of parasites are, for example, drugs such as Drontal, Dirofen, Helmintal.
- Diphyllobothriasis. This disease causes a wide ribbon. Symptoms include vomiting, exhaustion, perverted appetite, and sometimes seizures and convulsions. In feces, in some cases, the owner may notice parts of the body of the worm. This disease is also treated with anthelmintics.
Swelling diarrhea
For this reason, diarrhea occurs most often in older animals. Diarrhea in a dog is observed, for example, with adenocarcinomas. Cancer in dogs can be localized in the colon or rectum. Sometimes a tumor also occurs directly in the area of the anal glands.
In addition to diarrhea, symptoms of bowel cancer in dogs are:
- vomiting
- weight loss;
- frequent accumulations of gases in the stomach and intestines;
- the presence of blood in the feces.
Of course, the main way to treat cancer in dogs is to remove the tumor surgically. At the same time, along with the pathological formation, unfortunately, usually part of the intestine of the animal is also excised. In the treatment of cancer for males, among other things, they also perform castration.
After surgery, chemotherapy may be given to the animal. Quite often after treating cancer in dogs, fecal incontinence is observed. It goes pretty fast. But in the first time after surgery, the dog usually requires a special digestible diet.
Diarrhea due to an ulcer: symptoms and treatment
Sometimes diarrhea occurs in dogs for this reason. Like humans, dogs can be diagnosed with, for example, stomach ulcers. In addition to diarrhea, the dog in this case will observe:
- deterioration in general condition;
- depression and weakness;
- vomiting blood-colored coffee grounds.
A dog suffering from a stomach ulcer sometimes takes the pose of a "prayer." A dog with such a disease is very sick. Therefore, in the end, she develops anemia.
They treat stomach ulcers in dogs by surgery. After the operation, the owners of the animal, of course, need to eliminate the causes that led to the disease. A special diet is prescribed for the dog, which includes mainly liquid and semi-liquid food. It can be soups, milk porridges with butter, milk, etc.
In order to reduce the intensity of the production of hydrochloric acid and pepsin in the dog’s stomach, blockers are prescribed. It can be, for example, “Ranitidine”, “Cimetidine”, “Famotidine”.
Colitis: symptoms and treatment
Gastrointestinal diseases in dogs are quite common. The length of the digestive tract in these animals is very short. Therefore, many types of food are digested in the digestive tract of dogs poorly. Because of this, in turn, inflammation can occur. Most often, this problem manifests itself in the colon of the dog. This disease is called colitis.
If the dog has diarrhea with mucus and blood, it is possible that she developed the inflammation of the colon. The main symptom of colitis in canids is just such diarrhea. Also signs of this disease can be:
- frequent false urge to defecate;
- the presence in the feces of mucus and blood;
- greenish tint of discharge;
- foul smell from discharge;
- thick sticky feces.
Colitis in a dog can develop:
They treat this disease with the help of, for example, drugs such as Trichopolum and Sulfasalazine. The dog is also given dietary fiber.
Dysbacteriosis
Since the dog’s digestive tract is short, almost all beneficial microflora is washed out of it even during bowel movements. The uncontrolled use of antibiotics for these animals can be very dangerous at all. The microflora in the intestines of the dog is killed in this case instantly. As a result, dogs begin to develop harmful bacteria in the digestive tract.
With dysbiosis, blood diarrhea can also be seen in the dog. What to do in this case? To prevent the development of bacteriosis of animals after a course of treatment with antibiotics, be sure to solder with probiotics. Very often with dysbiosis, dogs, for example, are given the drug "Linex".
It is possible to suspect that the dog has developed precisely this disease, even if not only blood, but also mucus is visible in his feces. In principle, dysbiosis does not present any particular danger to the dog. Usually this disease in dogs passes quickly. But to try to help the animal with dysbiosis, of course, is necessary.
Prevention of Diarrhea
Treatment of diarrhea in a dog at home in many cases should be done only under the supervision of a veterinarian. The choice of drugs for diarrhea depends on the specific disease that caused it. Feces with blood in a dog, therefore, can be a sign of poisoning or symptoms of diseases such as enteritis, ulcers or dysbiosis. Putrid smell - an occasion to suspect enteritis or colitis in an animal. Diarrhea with mucus in a dog may mean that the dog suffers from dysbiosis or inflammation of the intestines.
Of course, it is possible to cure an animal with diarrhea in most cases. If the dog has diarrhea - what to do at home in this case we found out. Dog food poisoning usually goes away quickly. If there are additional symptoms of any other disease, you should definitely consult a doctor. But of course, the owners of the animal first of all need to ensure that their pet never has such problems. Preventive measures against diarrhea include, for example:
- timely treatment of parasites and deworming;
- timely vaccinations;
- animal control on the street.
Walking with a dog, you need to make sure that she does not pick up waste from the ground and does not take food from the wrong hands. Of course, the dog must not be allowed to the garbage cans and bins.
Among preventive measures against diarrhea, among other things, of course, include a properly developed diet. It is impossible to overfeed a dog. Snacks between main meals should also be avoided. And, of course, the main thing is to constantly monitor the condition of the dog and follow the recommendations for caring for this particular breed.