Let’s discuss the various causes of doggie diarrhea -we know all know the signs. Loose stools and your doodle are not a good combination.
More often than not, with a doodle, diarrhea is caused by something they’ve eaten. I know I’m repeating myself when I say doodles have sensitive stomachs, but I can’t stress it enough. People that are former retriever owners are used to a stomach of steel, former poodle owners know exactly what I’m talking about.
Most cases of diarrhea with a doodle can be cleared up by only feeding their kibble, giving a toy filled with peanut butter for outside play time, and either eliminate treats or restrict to pieces of cheese.
When the problem persists, or their stools have other indicators that your dood possibly contracted something, a trip to the vet is in order. Below is a list of the most common causes and the appropriate treatments.
Worms, coccidia, and giardia are all common causes of diarrhea in puppies and dogs.
If your dog has worms, you’ll typically see a distended belly, sloppy (but not necessarily runny) stools, some blood can be present. If Tapeworms are present, you’ll often see “grains of rice” in their stool. Most heartworm medications will keep your dog worm free. Should you need a wormer, in my opinion, a three day treatment with Panacur is the most effective remedy. In the past, Panacur also known as Safegard, was only available through a vet. It is now sold at all the big Pet Supply stores.
Coccidia can be caused by several factors, stress being one. Playing with an infected dog is another. Coccidia typically produces very runny stools with possible blood, weight loss, lethargy. A prescription from your vet for Albon, a sulfa drug, is the standard treatment.
Giardia is a bit trickier to diagnose, it’s very difficult for even your vet to see with a microscopic inspection of stool. It’s common for the other two causes of diarrhea to be eliminated prior to an assumption being made that giardia is the cause. Typical symptoms are soft to loose stool with mucus and some blood, it looks a bit slimy. A change in coat, texture and shedding. Weight loss with no loss of appetite. If your dood has been hiking or drinking from a pond – any place where water could be contaminated, suspect giardia. The treatment typically given is the same as for worms, Panacur. Most vets recommend extending the treatment to 7-10 days, rather than the three days as suggested for worms.
I always recommend having your vet check a stool sample to verify the nature of the problem.
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