My dog is 33 months old. He is a German Shepherd Collie Cross.He appears to look fine - healthy coat, eyes, teeth, gums etc. he is very lively and loves to play and go for walks. His normal stool behaviour is perfectly normal when he goes in the garden. However, on walks, he starts off firm, and finishes up soft, which I suspect is due to excitement.However, occasionally he will have a bout of vomiting/diarrhoea which exhibits the following:He will go off his food suddenly - he will vomit a bit of phlegm with blood spots in it. When the vomiting stops, (sometimes it only happens once, other times for a few hours) sometimes he will display soft stools/diarrhoea with blood coating it, or sometimes a firm stool with blood coating it. When all this occurs, I with hold food for 24 hours, and then re-introduce slowly. He recovers quickly within a day or two and is then fine showing no other symptoms. This seems to occur every 4 or 5 weeks.I have been to my vet who suspects some form of IBD - he states that the dog is very excitable and this alone could be the cause. My dog likes to eat grass and foreign objects in the garden, which I try to monitor and prevent as obviously this could be the cause - However, we don't know if this behaviour is the cause of the problem, or whether his upset tummy is causing him to do these things!What would be your opinion on this whole thing - Is there anything I could be doing to help prevent this happening. I feed only one type of food which is Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal Dry food for dogs, which he enjoys. I don't feed him treats of any description as I have suspected them having an adverse effect on him in he past. I feed him five small meals throughout the day. I am considering trying probiotics (Purina Fortiflora for dogs). Do you think that could help and would it be safe? Can you offer me any further advice?
Optional Information: Type of Animal: DogGender: MaleAge: 3Name of Animal: EricWhat have you tried so far?: My dog is 33 months old. He is a German Shepherd Collie Cross. He appears to look fine - healthy coat, eyes, teeth, gums etc. he is very lively and loves to play and go for walks. His normal stool behaviour is perfectly normal when he goes in the garden. However, on walks, he starts off firm, and finishes up soft, which I suspect is due to excitement. However, occasionally he will have a bout of vomiting/diarrhoea which exhibits the following: He will go off his food suddenly - he will vomit a bit of phlegm with blood spots in it. When the vomiting stops, (sometimes it only happens once, other times for a few hours) sometimes he will display soft stools/diarrhoea with blood coating it, or sometimes a firm stool with blood coating it. When all this occurs, I with hold food for 24 hours, and then re-introduce slowly. He recovers quickly within a day or two and is then fine showing no other symptoms. This seems to occur every 4 or 5 weeks. I have been to my vet who suspects some form of IBD - he states that the dog is very excitable and this alone could be the cause. My dog likes to eat grass and foreign objects in the garden, which I try to monitor and prevent as obviously this could be the cause - However, we don't know if this behaviour is the cause of the problem, or whether his upset tummy is causing him to do these things! What would be your opinion on this whole thing - Is there anything I could be doing to help prevent this happening. I feed only one type of food which is Royal Canin Gastro Intestinal Dry food for dogs, which he enjoys. I don't feed him treats of any description as I have suspected them having an adverse effect on him in he past. I feed him five small meals throughout the day. I am considering trying probiotics (Purina Fortiflora for dogs). Do you think that could help and would it be safe? Can you offer me any further advice?
Welcome to JustAnswer! I am a licensed veterinarian and specialist and will do my best to assist you today!Before we discuss prevention.1) Is there any rhythm or specific frequency of these episodes?2) Any pattern?3) What tests have been performed?4) Are any other pets in the house having similar signs?-
1/. Seems to occur every 4 to 5 weeks .2/ same as answer 1.3/ no tests performed - only physical examination.4/ no other pets with similar signs.
Thank you for your reply!In this breed, with these signs - the question to how to prevent this is often how to find the underlying cause.With intermittent signs of gastrointestinal upset, as well as stool changes, IBD in a dog of this age is a little less common - but there are other thoughts to consider:1) Based on the breed, I would consider a process called Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. You can read over this link as I think it very much applies to this case:http://www.petplace.com/dogs/exocrine-pancreatic-insufficiency-in-dogs-epi/page1.aspx2) Addisons disease:http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/cliented/addisons.aspx3) In a young dog that may eat abnormal objects - dietary indiscretion alone - which quite honestly would not be uncommon - and there may be no real disease.While there are supportive care measures:Weight: normal;font-style: normal;font-variant: normal;text-decoration: none;">Medications such as Flagyl or SulfasalazineBulk in the diet such as fiber can also help, examples:MetamucilCanned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)Famotidine (Pepcid A/C) - LINK HERE (The typical dose administered is 0.25 to 0.5 mg per pound (0.5 to 1.0 mg/kg) every 12 to 24 hours.)Probiotics can also be considered - LINK HEREBut if the signs continue, intermittent or continuous, the above processes could easily explain your signs and testing for these would be considered.Hope that helps and answers all your questions!Before rating - Please REPLY at any time if more information is needed and I would be glad to reply back and help!Positive RATING (EXCITED FACE or 5 STARS) and bonus is appreciated as this is the way the professional receives credit for their time. If for any reason the rating box is not visible or you are unable to enter a rating, please send me a message. Please remember to ONLY rate my answer when you are 100% satisfied. IF you feel the need to rate "Poor Service" or "Bad Service", please STOP and reply to me via the REPLY TO EXPERT button with the issue you have. I will be happy to continue further and do everything I can to provide you with the service you seek.Join thousands of satisfied customers by adding me to your bookmarks/favorites: CriticalCareVet. Just type your future question in the text box to direct it to my personal attention.With this communication - we are here to guide you in making the best decision for your pet. This is for informational purposes only. We are not allowed to diagnose and prescribe medications - rather provide a course of action to speak to your veterinarian about - and any medical therapy and treatment should only be performed after an in-person examination with your veterinarian as a professional-client relationship has not been established on the site. While information may be discussed, this is not intended as an encouragement for you to self treat your pet, rather information online, and any treatment provided should only be performed after consulting your veterinarian
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Hi - I tried him with canned pumpkin but it brought his symptoms on so I stopped. Is this usual - is it possible that he might have settled down with it if I had kept him on it...
Hi there,Most often they do settle when on it for a period of time, 1-2 weeks, and it would be a little uncommon for that to cause the illness.But there are other dogs that do better on other fiber sources such as bran or metamucil.Hope that helps and answers all your questions!Before rating - Please REPLY at any time if more information is needed and I would be glad to reply back and help!Positive RATING (EXCITED FACE or 5 STARS) and bonus is appreciated as this is the way the professional receives credit for their time. If for any reason the rating box is not visible or you are unable to enter a rating, please send me a message. Please remember to ONLY rate my answer when you are 100% satisfied. IF you feel the need to rate "Poor Service" or "Bad Service", please STOP and reply to me via the REPLY TO EXPERT button with the issue you have. I will be happy to continue further and do everything I can to provide you with the service you seek.Join thousands of satisfied customers by adding me to your bookmarks/favorites: CriticalCareVet. Just type your future question in the text box to direct it to my personal attention.With this communication - we are here to guide you in making the best decision for your pet. This is for informational purposes only. We are not allowed to diagnose and prescribe medications - rather provide a course of action to speak to your veterinarian about - and any medical therapy and treatment should only be performed after an in-person examination with your veterinarian as a professional-client relationship has not been established on the site. While information may be discussed, this is not intended as an encouragement for you to self treat your pet, rather information online, and any treatment provided should only be performed after consulting your veterinarian
What about Colitis - is there any chance it could be that?
Hi there,Colitis is a general description for anything that causes inflammation of the colon.It is not really a specific diagnosis and can be from many causes including a virus, bacteria, parasite, food allergy, etc...While the soft stool indicats that there can be a colitis, inflammation of the colon - if it continues we are then going to look for WHY - such as with the causes I had listed in our first conversation.Hope that helps and answers all your questions!Before rating - Please REPLY at any time if more information is needed and I would be glad to reply back and help!Positive RATING (EXCITED FACE or 5 STARS) and bonus is appreciated as this is the way the professional receives credit for their time. If for any reason the rating box is not visible or you are unable to enter a rating, please send me a message. Please remember to ONLY rate my answer when you are 100% satisfied. IF you feel the need to rate "Poor Service" or "Bad Service", please STOP and reply to me via the REPLY TO EXPERT button with the issue you have. I will be happy to continue further and do everything I can to provide you with the service you seek.Join thousands of satisfied customers by adding me to your bookmarks/favorites: CriticalCareVet. Just type your future question in the text box to direct it to my personal attention.With this communication - we are here to guide you in making the best decision for your pet. This is for informational purposes only. We are not allowed to diagnose and prescribe medications - rather provide a course of action to speak to your veterinarian about - and any medical therapy and treatment should only be performed after an in-person examination with your veterinarian as a professional-client relationship has not been established on the site. While information may be discussed, this is not intended as an encouragement for you to self treat your pet, rather information online, and any treatment provided should only be performed after consulting your veterinarian
Experience: Emergency and Critical Care Specialist
Hi Pam,I'm just following up on our conversation about Eric. How is everything going?CriticalCareVet
HiBased on the info you have given me, I'm going to try him on the Probiotics and see how he goes over the next few months. If there is no improvement, then I will have to go down the road of some blood tests to see if we can get to the cause, although I still suspect that it could be his behaviour (he is a bit if a rogue!) that could be the root cause (I'm hoping so!)Incidentally, if it were to be EPI, would the symptoms be intermittent or continuous?
Hi Based on the info you have given me, I'm going to try him on the Probiotics and see how he goes over the next few months. If there is no improvement, then I will have to go down the road of some blood tests to see if we can get to the cause, although I still suspect that it could be his behaviour (he is a bit if a rogue!) that could be the root cause (I'm hoping so!)Incidentally, if it were to be EPI, would the symptoms be intermittent or continuous?