Ziggy has bad diarrhea that started yesterday – first with one very large BM, then loose and watery after that. He's going almost every half hour. His appetite is fine, and other than the diarrhea, he is fine. Does this sound more like something he ate (like leftover Indian rice, 2 days ago) or giardia? Advice, please! ~ Lori ~
There could be many different reasons, something he ate, giardia, or even a dog flu or other bug. If he is going that often dehydration could be a concern and you may want to have him seen by a vet to make sure he is staying hydrated.
I would hesitate to feed him anything if he is going that often…. until the "gut" settles down...
And if longer then 48 hours, certainly should be seen by a Vet...
When i worked for the vet we withheld food for a while maybe a day or at least a feeding(always offer water). Then we did the hamburger rice diet. Mostly rice with a lttle cooked burger for flavor(drain the fat off). Once the bms seem better slowly switch to the regular diet. Never used it on my B, but years ago I had a great dane always worked for him. Good luck.
Yes–pls see Lisa's (LVoss) message above. He may need sub Q or IV fluids if he gets dehydrated. Good luck. Keep us posted.
When i worked for the vet we withheld food for a while maybe a day or at least a feeding(always offer water). Then we did the hamburger rice diet. Mostly rice with a lttle cooked burger for flavor(drain the fat off). Once the bms seem better slowly switch to the regular diet. Never used it on my B, but years ago I had a great dane always worked for him. Good luck.[/QUOT
We did the same where I worked. I have also used Immodium.
Immodium is great to use, but first you need to make sure there is nothing really wrong going on… or you could be covering up a real problem....
Best to use brown rice... and I use ground turkey boiled in water and then drained. The main thing is to get the fat off and make it a bland meal
In the past, I've used pepto bismol instead of immodium after a vet check. I've only used immodium if the pepto didn't work.
My old vet, in addition to withholding food for 24 hours, also reccommended a bland diet of scrambled eggs with a dollop of cottage on it. I was skeptical, but it worked like a charm! Also, ice cubes in the water to prevent over-doing it on the water all at once. The ice makes them take their time while drinking (plus my dog's dig the cubes! 
).
If it's not cleared up in a day or so, definitely schedule a vet appointment.
Hope Ziggy's feeling better soon!
If you use cottage cheese, I would recommend the fat free or at least very low fat as it is the fat in the food that makes the gut work harder
I've actually been told to use low fat cottage cheese rather than the non fat (or regular)–because the non fat has more milk in it or something that can cause digestive problems and the regular has too much fat in it.
Pat and Max - I hadn't even given the kind of cottage cheese a thought, though I always use low-fat, anyway. I keep it on hand for an occasional kibble topper for the pups. Thanks for the "food for thought".
Thanks everyone for all the great advice! I'm giving Ziggy oatmeal and plain rice (and lots of water) today … I think he's on the mend.
And a question: when the stools are already runny, why switch the diet to bland, soft food? Won't that make the problem worse? Wouldn't it make sense to "bulk" up the dog's diet with fiber-rich foods, to increase the volume of the stool rather than making it softer?
~ Lori ~
Actually, it is not so much that you want to give them soft foods as trying to choose the most easily digested food. Things that the digestive tract will not have to work very hard at processing.
Zengrrrl , You would think so right ? lol When any of my dogs B's or not have gotten the "runs" I have always held food away for 24 hrs then after given them rice with boiled hanburger, chicken, or turkey for a few days after and then started to put there regular food in it slowly mixing it in i also put in pediylite in there water just to make sure they don't get dehydrated they always seem to like the fruit flavor type . I've also put alittle in there when it's REALLY hot out and they go for long runs . The most that's gonna happen is there going to pee it out if there body doesn't need it. I hope ur little one is feeling better !!
You can also use one of those little plastic syringes to get additional water into them (hold up one side of the upper lip and insert in the side of the mouth between the teeth and skin always worked best for me).
For those of you who have heard me say this before - its from the old Dr. Whitney vet book (orig published in 1898) Cheap hamburger, brown rice and tomatoes, in water - boil it until the rice is mushy. You can use stewed tomatoes as it's the pectin around the little seeds that is the binding agent. Feed in small amounts.
re: pepto vs Immodium Pepto does have an antibacterial that Immodium does not have so it really depends on what might be going on in the gut.
You might also - in extreme circumstances need to add some pedilyte for electrolites (find it in the baby food aisles)
Make sure it's not camphylobacter - as that needs a course of antibiotics AND can transmit to humans and is contagious long after symptoms are gone.
A bit more Web research helped me to differentiate between acute diarrhea and chronic – this is definitely acute. I've given him oatmeal, white rice, some sweet potato baby food, and lots of water. I figured I'd wait another 12 hours to see how he was doing, and this morning saw a stool that was virtually normal (firm, not liquidy). He's eating, drinking, and behaving completely normally, so I'm thinking that whatever he ate has now passed through his system. ~ Lori ~
glad to hear that Ziggy is getting back to normal!
The only problem with cheap hamberger (unless you make sure to drain off the fat) is the fat content… I prefer ground turkey.....
