I would also suggest you change your food.
The wisdom is that you pay more for good quality food, and less at the vets.
I do believe that it is true.
Good luck with your b. tummy.
I have another diarrhea issue. Topper, 12 3/4, is on several medications that frequently cause him to be a little loose, but up until a week ago he had never had any accident in the house, even in pouring rain. Then about a week ago I found poop in my hallway one morning. I wasn't sure who did it so just cleaned it up. Two nights later, I found the same thing in the same place. Then this morning, my husband was cleaning up and he said Topper had pooped in my living room on a rug, and I followed my nose and found another small poop in the hall. Tonight we were out for several hours and came home, took them to the park and he didn't do much, and when we got home again I found small loose poop again on my living room rug. Now, we have a fenced yard and a dog door, and for the 11 years we have had him, he has 'held it' or gone out in whatever weather we had. These days have all been clear, no reason not to go out, and he is only 10 steps from the back door.
I did give him a 1/2 Immodium tonight, and stopped a new med that can have diarrhea as a side effect.
What has me really befuddled is the change in his behavior. He knows it isn't good, the other morning he is the one that was 'looking' down the hall and drew my attention to the mess I needed to clean up. If it were storming, or he was at the other end of our very small house, I might think he just couldn't hold it, but it is just a few steps from the dog door.
Any ideas as to the behavior change…or how to reverse it?
Anne in Tampa
Seems like he just couldn't "hold" it.
Poor guy.
Hope this clears up soon.
Does he have to be on the meds forever?
I would also call the vet to ask about this…
I would guess it is not behavior… but more a side effect from the meds... as he can't hold it... and really doesn't know he is going until after it happens...
My OJ at 16 3/4 has it happen, but his is due to old age.... sometimes he just forgets to go... and a "piece" falls out... (delightful subject isn't it...)....
I am working on human behavior modification as well, Topper slept all night, then I took them out front for a short walk up the block, where he 'did his business', a little loose today as well so I gave another half Immodium. The odd thing is that before I got his leash on him, he was headed back toward the hall, I wonder if he was on his way to poop? He held it till we were 4 houses up the block, once we were out. I took him off the singulair, I was hoping he would be able to get off his amminophylline (on for life, he has asthma) but the first day completely without the amminophylline, he coughed all day, so I started back on the old meds as well. As I tried to analyze this constant loose stool and behavior change, the only new thing was the singulair, which can have diarrhea as a side effect. As it didn't seem to work well, I decided to forget it! Amminophylline might be a bad, toxic drug but it has been working for him for a year, so I think for now we will leave well enough alone, and hope we can do some behavior mod. for both of us!
I'll keep you posted, thanks for the comments !
Anne
I find that taking Indi over to the spot, holding his collar and saying a very firm "NO" does the trick. But then again he is only 6m old
I believe a hard no can cause the basenji to start hiding his poop, sometimes to the extent that they begin to eat it.
I would ignore the mess and praise the going outside. Also clean up with a good cleaner…
This is probably not the issue, but when I hear about loose stools, I think of this awful gut sickness GIARDIA…
Giardia in Dogs and Cats:
More Common Than
You Think
Stanley L. Marks, BVSc, PhD, DACVIM (Internal Medicine, Oncology), DACVN
University of California School of Veterinary Medicine
Davis, California
Giardia is an important cause of outbreaks of waterborne
infection due to contamination of raw municipal water, backcountry
streams, and lakes with human effluent or infected
animal feces.1 The overall prevalence of Giardia in dogs in
North America has been reported at about 8%, with much
higher levels in puppies (36% to 50%) and in animals in shelters
and kennels (up to 100%).2 The prevalence in cats tends
to be lower, at about 4%.2 As with dogs, infection in cats is
more common in animals younger than 3 years of age. Most
infections are subclinical or show only transient softening of
the stool early in the infection, although diarrhea may be acute
and short-lived, chronic, or intermittent in dogs and cats.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis of Giardia infection traditionally has depended
on microscopic identification of trophozoites or cysts in feces
of affected animals. However, microscopic diagnosis of Giardia
infection can be difficult because cysts are delicate and may
be shed intermittently. Many artifacts (e.g., grass pollen, yeast)
mimic to varying degrees the morphology of Giardia cysts, and
care must be exercised in differentiating these from Giardia. A
commercially available direct immunofluorescence assay can
be used to facilitate the diagnosis of Giardia; however, this test
requires a fluorescent microscope for detection of the cysts.
There are also human ELISA kits available that can detect Giardia
antigen in fecal specimens; however, the performance
characteristics of many of these kits have not been well studied
in dogs and cats, and these assays are relatively
expensive.
Recently, a novel SNAP
Giardia Test Kit (IDEXX Laboratories,
Inc., Westbrook, ME) for detection of Giardia antigen
in canine and feline feces was released. This test is a rapid
in-house enzyme immunoassay that can be conducted on
fresh feces, previously frozen feces, or feces stored at 2˚C
to 7˚C for up to 7 days. This test represents the first commercially
available ELISA designed specifically for dogs and
cats and has the added advantages of simplicity, rapid
completion (8 minutes), and low cost.
Treatment
Treatment for Giardia should include bathing the infected
animal and decontamination of the animal’s environment with
a quarternary ammonium–based disinfectant. Giardiacidal
drugs used in dogs and cats include the following:
• Metronidazole, 50 mg/kg PO q24h for 5 days, is only
about 67% effective in dogs,3 can cause neurotoxicosis,
is expensive, and is suspected of being teratogenic.
• Albendazole, 25 mg/kg PO q12h for 2 days, is effective in
dogs; however, the drug can cause pancytopenia secondary
to bone marrow suppression.4
• Fenbendazole is generally safe and effective in dogs and
cats when administered at a dose of 50 mg/kg PO q24h
for 3 days.5
• Quanacrine, 6.6 mg/kg PO q12h for 5 days, is effective in
dogs; however, the drug can cause anorexia, lethargy,
and fever.3
Prevention
Recently, a commercial Giardia vaccine (GiardiaVaxTM, Fort
Dodge Animal Health, Overland Park, KS) containing chemically
inactivated trophozoites has been prepared and licensed
for use in dogs and cats in the United States. Efficacy studies
conducted in puppies and kittens revealed that fewer vaccinated
animals developed diarrhea after oral challenge, and
diarrhea in vaccinated animals was of short duration compared
with controls. Vaccination also reduced the duration of
cyst shedding and the number of cysts shed in the feces
when compared with control animals.6 The use of Giardia
vaccination as immunotherapy in naturally infected dogs and
experimentally infected cats has had mixed results, although
additional studies are warranted to determine the efficacy of
vaccination combined with giardiacidal drugs.
References
1. Marshall MM, Naumovitz D, Ortega Y, Sterling CR:
Waterborne protozoan pathogens. Clin Microbiol Rev
10:67–85, 1997.
2. Kirkpatrick CE: Enteric protozoal infections, in Greene CE
(ed): Infectious Diseases of the Dog and Cat. Philadelphia,
WB Saunders, 1990, pp 804–814.
3. Zimmer JF, Burrington DB: Comparison of four protocols for
the treatment of canine giardiasis. JAAHA 22:168–172, 1986.
4. Meyer EK: Adverse events associated with albendazole and
other products used for the treatment of giardiasis in dogs.
JAVMA 213:44–46, 2001.
5. Barr SC, Bowman DD, Heller RL: Efficacy of fenbendazole
against giardiasis in dogs. Am J Vet Res 55:988–990, 1994.
6. Olson ME, Ceri H, Morck DW: Giardia vaccination. Parasitol
Today 16:213–217, 2000.
09-65012-00
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Today, after 2 doses of Immodium Topper's poop is soft but formed, he seems to feel better, duh!, and so I am hoping another day of diarrhea meds plus elimination of the medication I think was causing it and my grand old man will be back to normal. I thought about an intestinal bug, but hopefully this has a simple solution, and a better tummy will give him time to get outside!
Anne
I was told that if it is an intestinal bug, giving an anti-diarrheal upon onset will slow the bodys natural ability to evacuate the nasty virus, and the 'bug' can in fact regroup in the intestines and come back even stronger.
Fluids are key. Dehydration can happen so fast.
After the diarrhea slows, try feeding active culture yougart (I use Activia)to re-introduce the 'good' bacteria back into digestive tract. This along with the soft boiled diet and Gatorade or Pedialyte in the water, seems to do the trick with my older male.
Glad to hear Topper if feeling better.
