my dog is a mixed breed (dachund + ?) 16 years old. 12lbs. Last week I witnessed string of mucous coming out of her anal area. A neighbor (deals with animal rescue) told me to put her on: Gentle Digest pribiotic.(1 tablet/day). I only saw that only once. Problem now: she just urinated and it look like there was a white discharge too.
History: losing muscle mass in legs, hind legs often dislocate. Our vet put her on tramadol (4 months now). Because she has an enlarged liver she couldn't be on Rimadyl.)
Hi XXXXXXXXXXX,
Welcome to Just Answer! I'm sorry that you have had such a long wait to get any help with this very complicated question. It's not an easy one to answer!
However, I would like to try to help you and your dog with this question, but need a bit more information in order to better assist you.
Have you started the probiotic - any improvement?
Have you seen more vaginal discharge?
Is she spayed?
Any accidents (urinary or fecal) in the house?
Fiona
Have you started the probiotic - any improvement? Can't really tell. Stopped giving it to her for right now.
Have you seen more vaginal discharge? yes, this morning, like a string of it.<don't mean to be gross, but that is what it was> It is not every time however.
Is she spayed? yes, years ago
Any accidents (urinary or fecal) in the house? No, she usually barks and then we take her out. She seems to urinate fine just sometimes with a milky discharge. Some times when she has bowel movements she seems to strain.
So that she would eat, we changed her food to innova senior dog food in the can. Been on it less than a week, but now she is eating.
Hmmm....
With the urine - do you think she is urinating MORE than usual? Does she ever jump up while urinating as though it hurts?
With the bowel movements, you mention that she strains. Is she passing little hard rocks of feces? Or are her bowel movements larger and sometimes have mucus on them? Any blood?
No she does not appear to be in pain while urinating. When she is urinating, she is concentrating so that her right hine leg doesn't dislocate as soon as she finishes she stands up and walks right back in the house.
Bowel movements are not hard, sometimes a little gushy and sometimes I do see a little mucous in them. No blood.
For how long has she had the soft stool with occasional mucus?
Is she licking at her vulva more than usual?
Maybe about 3 weeks.
Now that you mention that I havent really seen her licking her vulva for a long time.
I failed to mention that my dog is not going to the bathroom in the yard any longer. We have mapped off a place on the deck for her to go. After she finishes her bowel movement we use the doggie wipes to clean her up.
Hey Carla!
Sorry for the delay - I was off at a dental appointment. Fun, fun! ;-)
Can you tell me how long you have been using the deck for her to defecate/urinate?
Fiona,
Just came back from the store. It's been about 5 months that she has been using the deck. My husband had built her a doggy ramp that she has been using more than 3 years, but because of her losing muscle mass in her hind legs, she could not longer go up and down the ramp unassisted. Now we wait for her to bark and we pick her up and take her directly outside to do her business.
My daughter told me to tell you that although not frequent, our dog has had some bowel movement accidents in our kitchen. At those times, she appeared to no know she had done it. This has not happened in the past few weeks. We attributed it to her thinking it was gas. Although not as bad as it was, she is very gassy.
Hi again Carla,
What you are describing in your dog with the slightly soft stool that sometimes has mucus on it, and occasinal accidents sounds like she may have colitis.
With colitis, dogs tend to have more frequent bowel movements, a sense of urgency, sometimes straining, and mucus and even blood on the stools. The stools often start out a bit soft, or pudding like and become gelatinous, shiny and mucoid as it progresses. The colon normally makes mucus to help the stool to pass along, so when it is inflamed it makes a lot of mucus, and also can have erosions that lead to bleeding.
Colitis could be caused by a large number of different things. Examples are stress, dietary indiscretion (eating something she shouldn't have), bacterial and viral infections, and parasites. In a sensitive dog, even a one-meal food change could trigger this.
If a dog with no history of stress were to come in to my hospital, and we didn't have to consider money (so I could do all the tests I would want to do!) I would start with a physical exam and then a number of tests:
- fecal analysis to rule out hookworms, whipworms and coccidia
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/intestinal-parasites-in-dogs/page1.aspx
- an ELISA test for Giardia. Giardia used to be hard to diagnose, but this test is fast and easy and accurate.
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/giardia-in-dogs/page1.aspx
- a fecal smear to look for Campylobacter
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2232
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/campylobacteriosis-in-dogs/page1.aspx
- a fecal culture (sent out to a lab) to check for Clostridium or other unusual bacteria. This test takes 3-4 days.
Then, if the dog were my patient, I would see how the dog responded to treatment as follows:
- fibre trial - I would start the dog on Metamucil or canned pumpkin (not pie filler). I usually suggest 1 tsp per 10 lbs body weight given 2 or 3 times a day of Metamucil, or 2 tablespoons twice daily per 10lbs body weight of Pumpkin. Do this for at least one week.
- medication trial:
I would try metronidazole (http://www.petplace.com/dogs/metronidazole-flagyl-toxicity-in-dogs/page1.aspx) as a first line treatment but there are a number other drugs that can be helpful too:
Panacur (fenbendazole, http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/fenbendazole-panacur/page1.aspx) ,
Tylosin (http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/tylosin-tylan/page1.aspx )
and even steroids (prednisone http://www.petplace.com/drug-library/prednisone-prednisolone/page1.aspx )
Now, in terms of what people can do at home for dogs that I have seen and diagnosed with colitis, I suggest the following:
1. When she has an episode of blood and mucus on the stool, you should WITH-HOLD FOOD! Do not offer any of her normal food for 12 hours. This gives the intestines a chance to rest and heal. While she is off her regular food, start 2 tablespoons twice daily per 10lbs body weight of canned Pumpkin. Be sure to use plain canned pumpkin and NOT pie filler!
2. When she is fasting, she can have lots of clear fluids. So, water is fine, but also she can have pedialyte, Gatorade, apple juice diluted 50:50 with water, or chicken or beef broth diluted 50:50 with water. Give the fluids in small amounts frequently. For a dog this size that means about 1/4 cup an hour.
3. After 12 hours if the diarrhea has stopped, you can start your dog back on a bland diet, but continue the pumpkin. For patients that I see, I recommend a mixture of 75% cooked white rice, and 25% low fat protein. For the protein you could use extra lean ground beef, boiled with the fat scooped off, or chicken breast boiled with fat scooped off or even scrambled egg cooked without fat in the microwave. Feed small frequent meals. For a dog this size, I would suggest 2-3 tablespoons every 3 to 4 hours.
4. After 1-2 days on the rice mix, you would gradually change your dog back to the normal diet and food. So, on day 3, give the rice mixture, but bigger meals, spaced further apart. On day 4, mix a little tiny bit of the normal food in there, and decrease the frequency so it is down to 3 meals or so. And so on.
5. Keep your dog as quiet as possible - just out to relieve herself and back in.
6. Continue the canned pumpkin for 1 week. In some dogs, I keep them on this longterm if they are prone to colitis.
I'll give you links to further information:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=677
http://www.dogsworldwide.com/articles/infofile/if_bpn10.htm
Also, you may wish to consider a DAP (dog appeasing pheromone) diffuser to decrease stress if this has been a factor in the last few weeks. It contains a smell that calms dogs, but is not a drug and is perfectly safe. It has no odour to humans. Here is more about them:
http://www.healthypets.com/dapdogappher.html
If your girl is straining and is passing mucus, or begins vomiting, or loses her appetite, then a call to your vet would be in order. Your vet may want to start her on metronidazole which is very quickly effective at helping to make dogs with colitis feel better.
In terms of the mucus in her urine, it couold be the start of a urinary tract infection. UTI's in female dogs are fairly common. The urethra (the tube between the bladder and the outside) is short and wide in female dogs which allows bacteria an easy route to climb up into the bladder and cause infection. If your girl is overweight or has any stiffness in her hips that would make her more prone to infection, too. If she has sore hips, she might "hold it" instead of getting up to go, and as that urine sits in the bladder for longer, then it is more likely that an infection can get started. Overweight dogs can be more prone to infections because there is more likely to be fecal contamination of the urethral opening, which again makes it more likely for bacteria to climb up into the bladder. However, we see UTI's in young, active dogs and sometimes don't know what the cause is. Most UTI's will clear up with a 1-2 week course of antibiotics from your veterinarian.
Here is more about it:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2457
If she shows discomfort when urinating, or has urinary accidents in the house, then I would certainly recommend having a urine sample checked. You may be able to nip this in the bud by encouraging her to drink a lot to really flush her bladder.
I hope that helps you. If this has been helpful, please hit the green "Accept" button and leave feedback. If you need more information, just click on reply and I will still be here to provide it!
The above is given for information only. Although I am a licensed veterinarian, I cannot legally prescribe medicines or diagnose your pet's condition without performing a physical exam. If you have concerns about your pet I would strongly advise contacting your regular veterinarian.
Dog Veterinarian
15 years experience as a companion animal veterinarian in British Columbia, California and Ontario