Dog with Diarrhea

The causes of loose bowel movements are as many and as varied asare those in vomiting. Some overlap, having common sources.

Toxic substances ingested may irritate the full length of the gastroin-testinal tract, resulting in loose bowel movements sometimes withblood.

When food enters the intestine it is in a semisolid form with amplefluid secreted by the stomach wall, even if the food was a dry kibblewhen ingested. As the semisolid material enters the large intestine,called the colon, or the lower bowel, it is still of moist consistency, butas it descends the colon it is dehydrated, resulting in an acceptablyformed fecal mass.

Anything that interferes with this dehydration or anything that re-verses the process causing fluid to be secreted into the colon results indiarrhea.

A sensitivity to food is high on the list of causes. A sudden change ofdiet apparently will produce a reversal of the dehydration process sothat a bowl of milk to a dog that has not had milk in some time acts asa laxative or worse. Pet shops rarely offer puppies milk and instruct newpuppy owners to withhold milk for that reason. After giving milk for afew days or making other changes of diet, if you are persistent, thecondition is self-corrected.

It is, therefore, obvious that changes of diet be gradual when possi-ble. A tablespoon of milk to a twenty-pound dog has no ill effect and ifthe amount is increased gradually over a period of four or five days noproblem develops. Incidentally, a cup of skins milk to a dog is a goodnatural laxative.

One of the more common causes of loose stools is whipworm infesta-tion. These parasites live in a blind pouch called the cecum and ondown through the colon to the anus. In a dog with a serious case ofwhipworms, diarrhea with bright blood and mucus will precede death.The whipworm-infected dog is unhealthy, tires easily, and is not quiteas responsive as it was before the infestation. This is a matter of degree,however, since dogs through the ages have adapted to life with a few ofmany types of parasites. The problem arises when the worm infestationexceeds the dog's natural resistance.

Hookworms, too, can cause loose bowel movements along with ahost of protozoan organisms, a good example of which is coccidial.

Just as "tourists' " disease, a bacterial infection, affects people, thereis a small army of bacterial diseases that can affect our dogs. Most ofthese diseases, perhaps more than 75 percent, fortunately are easilyovercome by the dogs, but in the case of some, help is required fromyou. If you can visualize a bright red rash over the lining of the intes-tines and then consider a rough stool mass passing over and furtherirritating it, you will better appreciate that the type of foodfed to an infected dog is of great importance. In the first place, a foodthat may enhance the undesirable bacterial flora does not make sense.Fighting fire with fire seems to work in this situation in that theintroduction of helpful bacteria can theoretically outgrow the disease-producing ones to the advantage of the dog. Yogurt (lactobacillus aci-dophilus) helps some dogs with bacterial infections. You can prepare a blend diet for you dog, such as well-cooked meat and cooked vegetables well blended intoa creamy consistency. Many commercial dog foods have undigestibleroughage and bonemeal, which can further irritate the already irritatedintestinal mucosa.

If the diarrhea is not too severe, a diet of one third cooked ham-burger, boiled rice, and stewed tomatoes is remarkably effective. Theimportance of the tomatoes is that they have pectin, a jellylike indigest-ible material that surrounds each seed and acts as a lubricant. A furtheradvantage is the high percentage of digestibility of this diet, resultingin good nourishment with a small volume of waste. Because it is sodigestible, the food mass does not distend the irritated intestines, afurther advantage.

But when diet alone may not be enough to inhibit the bacterialgrowth, antibiotics are useful. Some of the coating agents, althoughmore effective for stomach-wall coating when given in large amounts,will coat the intestines, which is a plus. Don't permit diarrhea to be-come too well-entrenched before asking for veterinary help.

Virus diarrhea may be more common than suspected in the past. The outbreak of virus diarrhea in newborn baby wards inour human hospitals. When such a condition exists all the babies who are well enough are sent home and no new babies are permitted nearthe infected ward. Eventually everything is sterilized and the wards arerepainted before they can be used again.

Most diarrhea is diagnosed as bacterial in nature. There is more and more evidence that many of the so-called bacterial diarrheas are essentially viral with bacterial secondaryinvaders. It is entirely possible that certain bacteria work with certainviruses to cause disease that one alone could not cause. Parvovirus andcoronavirus infections cause diarrhea.

When persistent diarrhea without vomiting is present we can assumethat only the large intestine is affected. If the cause ascends into thesmall intestine, vomiting may accompany the problem, and if the gas-tric area is invaded, vomiting is common.

Dehydration can be a complication of diarrhea with or withoutvomiting. Dogs have gone without any food for months and survived,so a few days or a week is not as tragic as some pet owners believe. Tomaintain hydration, however, a clear broth such as chicken broth,bouillion, or consomme should be given to the dog. If diarrhea is per-mitted to progress it will contribute to the demise of an dog thatcould recover if proper hydration were maintained. In extreme cases, aconsultation with your veterinarian often results in your dog's beinghospitalized and given intravenous fluids and in your dog surviving.