Sick Dog?

[mudman]

Hi All-
quick question about the health of my pup.
took him on a good 4 hr adventure through the woods on sat. It was warm out but he spent quite a bit of time in the ponds.
Yesterday and today his [PoorWordUsage] is very liquid, is this because of the swamp water he was drinking? It has happened before but usually goes away in a couple days, just wondering if it calls for a vet check up?

[metrojoe]

What kind of food are you feeding him?
The cheaper dog food can be the cause of this too.

[This message has been edited by metrojoe (edited 09-15-2004).]

[mudman]

He eats precise growth formula and has been on the same food for the last 3 months prior to that he was on precise puppy formula until 4 months of age. hes only 7 months old

[Bryce]

One trick I've learned with labs that eat anything, and I do mean anything, is a cure for the hershey squirts. No food the first day, half ration the second day and then back to normal diet. Works everytime. After this litter, our female came down with a case and not wanting to cut her food while nursing was told by our vet that Kaopectate is OK for hounds. She thought that was a treat also.

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IBOT's # 17 & 248

[gspman]

If it persists for more than a few days it could be giardia. Get him to the vet if it lasts that long.

[mudman]

GPSMAN
what is that?
I took him out last night at 10:30
he woke me up at 2 to go
again at 4 to go
and went again this morning at 7

It looks like it is getting "thicker" but not really like bryce said I only fed him once yesterday and again only once today. If is not better by tomorrow should I take him to the vet?

This has happened in the past but only when I changed over from puppy food to regular

[Swamp Scooter]

Mudman,

It could have been that the pup chomped on some wild mushrooms too. That has happened to me before and the pup got the same symptoms. Also consider the Giardia. It is a parasite that frequents beaver ponds and also snail infested waters. Causes the runs as it sets up camp in the intestines. They usually treat with flagil or something like that. We can get this too. Odds are it was something else but you will know soon enough. If blood appears it is s sign of something that needs to be treated. Bland food and lots of water. Even with hold food for a day and just give water to give their insides a break. That might help if they are not better in a day or so.

[bart simpson]

My vet has always told us to withhold food for 24 hrs then feed him a mixture of rice and hamburger thats been cooked and then rinsed to get rid of the fat. Feed him that for a couple of days. This has worked for us most times.

Nick

[gspman]

giardia is an intestinal parisite that dogs can get from stagnant water (ponds, streams, basement drains, etc... My dogs both had it twice last winter and we were never near a beaver pond or a stream. I still haven't figured out how they got it. Your dog should have firmed up by now if it was a dietary change or even just nerves. You might want to think about paying a visit the vet.

[mudman]

Thanks guys, I held food for about a day and a half and just kept the water flowin'
firmed up nicely.
could it have been possible that he was just dehydrated?

[RJG]

Get a stool sample to your vet, It does not cost that much. Three years ago my 12 yaer old lab blew his guts out all over my dauters room. I don't think the dog had had a accident since it was house trained. I was just after I had chnged food brands so I thought that caused it. To settle his stomach I fed him oatmeal for a couple days, things calmed down then maybe 2 or 3 weeks later it would happen again. I screwed up, should have taken dog to vet sooner, thought it was a food issue so I changed foods for 4 or 5 months. He would be good for 2 - 3 weeks so i thought I had it figured out, than it would come back. Finally took to vet,
stool sample showed giardia. Got medicine, cleared up the parasite. 3 weeks later diarrea comes back. Took sample to vet, no giardia present. Problem goes on for couple months, every time sample comes up clear. Vet said the fact that the parasite was in the dog so long probebly damaged his intestines. They could not find anything else wrong with the dog, I did not have 2 grand for a colonoscipy so I put him down. Take a stool sample to your vet. After all the training time and the dog being a part of the family its pretty cheap peice of mind.
Sorry for rambling so long. Good luck hunting.