[AnonymouslyYours]

Yesterday, Roz had loose stools, but she pooped the normal amount of times. This morning, she would not eat her breakfast. She showed no interest in it whatsoever. Also, she has just been laying around all morning. She acted normal on our walk (aside from not pooping) but since we've gotten back, she has just been laying on the couch or on her bed. She ate all of both of her meals yesterday. She did not go poop this morning when we went on her morning walk. She could not have possibly eaten anything she wasn't supposed to since her last bowel movement, as after her night time walk, she laid on the couch with me until I put her in her crate for bed.

She did go to the dog park yesterday. She has had all of her shots, but I'd been keeping her out of the park and just doing long lead run time lately. Not sure if that is relevant, but I thought I would include it. She didn't have any altercations and just played chase for a long time with a few different dogs.

Should I be super worried? I have to be out of the house for a good portion of the day, so my brother agreed to watch her, and now I am freaking out. How many meals does your dog skip before you start to worry? I am not sure if I am being overly paranoid because she is my sweet baby, or if there is genuine reason for concern. I know it is definitely something I need to keep an eye on, in case she continues like this.

I have an appt with the vet on Monday, but if I need to I can take her to the Emergency vet if you guys think it is necessary. Is there a certain thing I should watch for that would make an ER visit necessary?

Thank you for any help you can give!

 

[vivienne00]

In my case, I would take her to the vet immediately. I do not have to make an appt with my vet so I go asap once they open. I have taken a dog in several times for things like this and only once or twice was it nothing.

It all depends on your peace of mind. Therefore, if my dogs skip one meal, off to the vet we go because for me it is easy. E-vets cost money. Local vet, not so much.

I don't like to offer medical advice for things like this, that's what the vets are for. If it were me, I would go to the vet, even the e-vet. I don't like having a sick dog when I don't know the cause. Have you taken her temperature and checked her pulse etc?

 

[Amelia_]

Because of her age, I would probably give the E-vets a call and see what they think.

My boy had the same thing at about 4 months old; the day before he had really, really bad stools but was eating fine, then the next day her wouldnt eat his breakfast or lunch and was acting a bit sorry for himself, so I called the E-Vets and they said it wasnt an emergency, but bring him in the next morning (although they said if it got any worse, take him straight in)

I think the main risk it de-hydration, so I would definatley give them a call if you're not 100%. Keep us updated!

 

[AnonymouslyYours]

I did call the E-Vet and they told me it wasn't an emergency. I just wasn't satisfied with their opinion, which is why I posted here. I thought that including that in my OP might bias you guys into agreeing with them.

I haven't taken her temperature. Her heart rate is normal.

She and I just went for another walk because she asked to go out and she went poo while we were out. It was still loose, and it was kind of a lot. Now she is acting much more normal. She came in and went over to her food bowl, sniffed the now-empty (because I cleaned it out) bowl, then had a drink of water. Now she is being nosey and picking up all her toys. Do you guys think I should try feeding her again now even though it's an hour after her normal eating time, or just wait until dinner? I am feeding her 2 cups of TOTW Pacific Stream for bfast and 2 for dinner. Is it possible that is too much? According to the back of the bag for her age and weight I should be feeding 3 3/4 - 5 cups a day.

Thank you so much for your fast replies.

 

[Amelia_]

Im definitely no expert, but if she’s still acting fairly normal I wouldn’t be too worried. I would say if she stops drinking, lies down and wont get up, starts shaking or gets a really high temperature, I'd rush her in. Maybe just give her cooked chicken and rice to try and settle her stomach a bit?

A good way to tell if you're over feeding your dog normally, is the stool will be hard to begin with, then runny at the end.

 

[Sage]

What did you feed her that may have caused the loose stools? I would check the condition of all of her toys just to confirm she has not swallowed a piece of one. I would eliminate all treats so that she will only get her kibble until she has firm stools again. When my dog turned his nose up at his kibble, I added a very small pinch of moist bacon bits, just to give the kibble an appealing smell. He gobbled his kibble up. I tried adding some canned food, but it just caused bad diarrhea.

 

[AnonymouslyYours]

What did you feed her that may have caused the loose stools? I would check the condition of all of her toys just to confirm she has not swallowed a piece of one. I would eliminate all treats so that she will only get her kibble until she has firm stools again. When my dog turned his nose up at his kibble, I added a very small pinch of moist bacon bits, just to give the kibble an appealing smell. He gobbled his kibble up. I tried adding some canned food, but it just caused bad diarrhea.

I have checked all her toys. All in tact. She did have a lot of cheese yesterday, so that could be the culprit. I used tiny pieces of string cheese trying to train her to leave it.

 

[vivienne00]

I have checked all her toys. All in tact. She did have a lot of cheese yesterday, so that could be the culprit. I used tiny pieces of string cheese trying to train her to leave it.

I always immediately switch to cooked white rice and cooked chicken breast - 50:50 when trying to get rid of loose stools if I am confident that is the issue. Overfeeding a puppy will lead to loose stools, then their stomach flora get disrupted and you end up in a cycle of loose stools for ages.

I get some form or enzymes added to their chicken rice every day. That's all they get is chicken and rice (really well cooked rice so that it almost is mush). I usually cook the rice in the water I cooked the chicken in just to save the flavor (needs more water than that). I do that for about a week. Nothing fatty, no cheese. The stools will firm up in a day or 2 but keep it up until the stomach stabilizes. I use either N-Zymes or Eagle Pack Holistics Solution powder to get it all working right again.

Again, if I know what caused it - like a lot of cheese the day before - then I treat it this way. I normally feed raw, so this is the one time when I use cooked food - for sick dogs.

Cooked protein can be easier to absorb for a weakened digestive system PLUS the bacteria that abound in raw chicken will not be countered by a weakened digestive system, therefore you cook it to kill the bacteria. There is no need to get excited about missing vitamins etc for a few days. It is more important to get her digesting properly again since adding stuff to a puppy with loose stools means it isn't getting digested in any case - it is moving thru too fast.

There is a someone on here who knows of a human grade form of enzymes that can be used if you don't have the other ones available to you - mmctag.

Goodluck

 

[mmctaq]

I like NOW Foods brand Super Enzymes, but I would be more inclined to recommend a probiotic for this pup if the OP wants to feel like they are doing something (which I don't necessarily think is warranted, but it won't hurt)... a schlock of plain yoghurt, a slug of plain kefir or iFlora brand probiotic capsules an hour before meals (in spite of the directions that suggest with meals).

I am never happy when a dog ain't right, but dogs (like people) can get a little something and be punk for a couple of days and it most usually will self-correct without a person ever having a clue what was wrong. If an emergency facility tells you to stay home, it will most generally be the correct advice.

 

[TheStig]

Too much time spent worrying is probably worse on you than the dog. Stress is a contributor to a number of health related issues in people.

My wife is a worry wart. She gets stressed out all the time, and to me, for barely any reason at all.

I tell her, you don't have to worry until I start to worry. My main worries in life are T-Rex's and sharks. Since T-Rex's are extinct and I spend 99.9% of my time on land, she should have little to worry about.

 

[phrannie]

I always immediately switch to cooked white rice and cooked chicken breast - 50:50 when trying to get rid of loose stools if I am confident that is the issue. Overfeeding a puppy will lead to loose stools, then their stomach flora get disrupted and you end up in a cycle of loose stools for ages.

Me too...if she's starting to feel better, but her poop is still loose, then I'd give her tummy a break, and let it cool down with the boiled rice/chicken mix.

p

 

[DeeHaleem]

I agree with Vivienne also.

I treat a tummy upset immediately with boiled chicken and rice, then leave it another day.

If you're still not happy with how she seems after that, take her to the vet - just for peace of mind if nothing else!

If you have a kiddie or doggie thermometer at home I'd check her temp too. If you don't have, just press ur hand to the soft lowest part of her belly and touch her ears to see if either seem warmer than normal. If they do or u took her temp and its anything over 39 or 40 - vet straight away.

Also - how old is your girl? Mine went through this same thing just as she started teething and toward the end of her teething. Their temp goes up, they go off their food and their mood changes.

Let us know how she gets on.

 

[AnonymouslyYours]

Hey guys,
Sorry I did not update sooner. We went to the vet for her already scheduled appt for a booster shot on Monday, and she was just fine. She had already started eating again as of that night. I did give her boiled chicken and rice all day Sunday (thank you for that suggestion). The vet said what TheStig said basically, that she was probably playing off of my emotions because I was nervous about leaving her with my brother for the day. They really must be able to pick up on some subtle cues, as I always thought I was good at keeping my cool despite what I'm feeling.

Thank you again for all of your responses, they were immensely helpful.