help! Need poop advice

[Tex]

Warning: this thread will contain discussions of poop. Not for the faint of heart.


Last Sunday both Julie & Jax had runny poop. Jax had his birthday breakfast Saturday morning, so I thought maybe it just upset their tummies. We'd wait it out.

By Tuesday, they were no better, and somebody had thrown up in the x-pen over night. So, I figured it was a bad batch of dog food. I had just purchased a new bag, & this had happened once before. It was Innova small bites. So I get them a new bag of Blue Buffalo fancy smancy food (I'd been considering switching anyway). I also picked up some canned pumpkin as a precaution. Gave them each one small spoon full. Figured that would do the trick.

Wednesday was a little better. Their poop wasn't "normal" but they we're no longer waking me up all hours of the night to go outside (gotta love condo living :rolleyes:). So I thought we were in the clear.

Boy was I wrong! Last night Jax (bless his sweet little heart) woke me (& of course Ray) up at least 4 different times :sosad:. Every time I would take him out, he would try to poop, but got nothing. Then finally around 4:30am he was able to go. I will NOT go into description of the mess that came out of that dog. Needless to say it wasn't pretty. Then this morning for their regular morning potty walk, both dogs again had yucky poop. It's not super runny, but really, really soft.

I don't get it. I'm beginning to wonder if it's something environmental. I've been doing some hard core cleaning on the floors lately, and I wonder if they are licking them and getting (read:staying) sick. I'm cleaning the grout between the tiles with Ajax (powdery cleaner) and bleach. I'm rinsing it well, but it's the only left I can think of. Unless they have some kind of tummy parasite or something. Other than the poop thing, they are acting completely normal :scratch:.

I'm going to take the dogs out to my mom's house today and leave them for the weekend, both to see if they get better and so that we can actually have a decent night's sleep. Neither of us have slept all week and it's starting to take it's toll. I will also make a trip to the vet if I need to, but I figured I'd hit up my super smart dachshund family first.

Any & all advice is greatly appreciated.

Signed,

Tired & desparate

[Ivan]

We ditched kibble. Switched to 100% raw diet. As mother nature intended. Working great! They poop far less, and it's a darn good indicator of their diet. Esp the 80/10/10 ratios of the raw-prey-model.

For runny poop, we add bone, so give 'em meat with higher percentage of bone inside, such as a drumstick or spareribs. That fixes it fast, in about 1 or 2 days. To fix overly hard poop, it's the reverse, so we feed boneless. Never cooked bones, cuz those are hard brittle and not digestible (ie, dangerous). Always UNcooked bones which are soft chewy pliable tasty and easily digestible (ie, safe).

[lotsadox]

You might try putting them both on white rice and chicken broth for a couple days to see if it clears up and give their digestive systems a rest. The gradually work them back to their regular food. If they still have problems on white rice and broth, it's probably something environmental. I'm not sure about the Ajax and bleach but it could bother them. My friend has schnauzers that have digestive problems and she only uses vinegar and water on her floors so they don't have problems with cleaners.

[BeauBuddy]

Since it's Friday it seems to be going on too long. I would take them to the vet rather than go over a long weekend waiting to see if they got better.
When we have had that issue, it's been because of goose and/or rabbit poop, picking up something nasty. Actually 2 different nasty bugs at once. Likely got goose poop on the bottom of their feet on a walk and licked paws later.

Acidophilus helps with diahrrea for people and dogs, it's the healthy bacteria in our guts. It comes in capsule form at the drugstore and I keep the capsules in the fridge for whenever the balance gets upset. I open one up and sprinkle on white rice. Repeat, repeat, repeat. You give a lot more healthy bacteria this way than a teaspoon of yogurt.

[lotsadox]

I just thought of something, Tex. Have they been spraying for mosquitos in your area? Sometimes the spray they use will make the dogs sick when it gets on their feet after a walk and then they lick it off. Something to consider . . .

[Tex]

I had the same thought about the holiday weekend so we got a vet appointment for this morning. It's some kind of bacteria. They both got antibiotic. All should be better soon (fingers crossed).

[lotsadox]

:crossfin::crossfin::crossfin::crossfin::crossfin:

[BeauBuddy]

I had the same thought about the holiday weekend so we got a vet appointment for this morning. It's some kind of bacteria. They both got antibiotic. All should be better soon (fingers crossed).

Good!
Got our fingers crossed for a good weekend. Please consider picking up the acidophilus and get going with that. Do not give with the antibiotic, but with food a few hours later so that you can get some balance in the gut back. Good luck!

[Mama S.]

Am dog sitting was so away - so glad that you got meds and that they will be on the road to good very very quickly!!!

[SasatheRusty]

For diarrhea we have us the "tear powder" you can buy at the store. The vet suggested this. In addition we gave them rice and boiled chicken. Hope they are doing better.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_5585296_tylan-powder.html

[SasatheRusty]

I do have to add that if after a couple of days the dogs should see a doctor as you don't want them to get dehydrated or malnourished.

[lotsadox]

I do have to add that if after a couple of days the dogs should see a doctor as you don't want them to get dehydrated or malnourished.

She took them to the vet today.

[Patt]

I'm glad you went to the vets and got meds before the long weekend. I would feed a very bland diet for about 3 days or so until their systems calm down. Either boiled chicken and rice or I/D from the vet is also good. Good luck!

[LexieLuvr]

Yep a vet visit was in order - runny poop that lasts over a day is scary stuff. Jack had some type of nasty stuff for a few days and it scared the crap out of me (pun intended); he was on meds for quite some time, plus chicken broth, rice, etc. Sounds like yours both ate something they shouldn't have! Lots of get-well :bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:!

[Alex's Mom]

As the queen of poop :rotfl:, I'd say you did the right thing, Tex. Do stick with a bland diet for a couple of days, and I'd also see if your vet will give you a probiotic to help get the gut flora back in order. Tons of tummy :bigrayz::bigrayz:...keep us posted, ok? :hug99:

the best stuff for bad poops is Progut...I always keep some on hand, and believe me, it works great!!!!! http://www.drugs.com/vet/progut-can.html

[oceangirls]

We love I/D around here. I like it because it works and the puppies like it because apparently it's really tasty (probably like a big bowl of mashed potatoes is to me, lol). It's easy to keep a spare can around in case of emergencies.

More rayz for the pups! :bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz: