I have two dogs and they both are recovering from diarrhea. I believe the cause of the diarrhea is dietary indiscretion combined with emotional upset: we are living in a new situation with many new environmental situations to adjust to. They were both on a 24 hour fast until yesterday in the early evening, when I fed them about a 1/4 ration of rice gruel.

This morning I fed them another 1/4 ration of rice gruel, this time mixed with a soft boiled egg (Skipper 1/4 egg, Jethro 3/4 egg), and the same thing again at midday.

Skipper, who has been less affected than Jethro, had a normal bowel movement this morning, and another normally shaped one this early afternoon after a good game of Fetch. I dropped him off at our neighbour's, who is a professional, semi-retired dog behaviorist. She loves Skipper and it gives me a chance to walk Jethro one to one, as we are learning to walk with a loose leash.

Jethro and I had a great walk, and he had a normally shaped poop, although it was green fading to yellow one end to the other.

After we picked up Skipper, he had another poo, and this one was like mustard. Completely unformed, and he was straining.

What should be our next step? Jethro is definitely on the comeback trail, I think I can continue to give him his rice gruel and egg to wrap up today's feeding. I figured I would start adding his regular raw food to the rice gruel tomorrow. Skipper, I don't know what to do. I don't know if he ate treats at the dog trainers that upset him, or if he was just upset to be separated from us and that put him over the edge. A temporary setback, but he can continue to eat rice gruel.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would stop giving egg for now. Egg yolk isn't a good diarrhea food.

I would not segue to regular diet until you see several excellent log poops.

The dog who is straining with pudding poop ..... what was the dietary indiscretion in the first paragraph? Did it involve anything that could have made a partial obstruction? (In fact, what was it anyway)?)

Are you give small frequent portions of the very-overcooked rice?

BTW, no matter what these answers are, I urge that you not be in any kind of a hurry. Diarrhea means that the GI system is now inflamed (no matter what the trigger was), and only several formed logs will tell you that it's soothed and ready for a slow return, in small meals, to the regular diet.

What did they eat?

There were a number of things, due to the many different situations we have been in over the last two weeks.

1. When we got to this island they were eating deer poops.

2. When we had an overnight in the city last week, I didn't have their regular raw food with me and we fed them raw hamburger to tide them over. Skipper ate his down and then immediately threw it up. He then ate about half of what he had thrown up before I scooped up the remainder and threw it away.

3. When we got back on the island we had a beach walk and I think Skipper and Jethro ate seaweed. Jethro also ate barnacles, and may even mussels, I'm not sure about the mussels.

4. While we were in the city last week I bought a different brand of kibble to use for dog treats. Usually I use Acana and they have been fine with those. For some reason I thought they would like something different and I bought Now brand. It was after I started feeding the Now brand kibble for treats that the cabin filled with dog farts and I realized the kibble was not helping.

5. I also used another treat that they were unfamiliar with - freeze dried beef liver treats. Not a lot - but some.

6. The trainer has given Skipper a couple of treats that he is not used to. I don't know if that is enough to cause a problem, but on top of everything else, who knows?

7. A couple of days ago Skipper got under the kitchen sink and found an old chicken bone. He got a bite of it before I caught him. I was able to pry his jaws open and get out a small piece of bone, I don't know how much he swallowed, but I'm sure he swallowed some fragments.

I think that about covers it. We have had to move out of our house temporarily due to renovations. This is my first time travelling with my dogs and I am constantly trying to figure out how to maintain our routines from home when we are in a totally different situation.

Since we left home, Skipper's poops have not been altogether normal, although they haven't been as bad as today. Usually his poops are like little pellets, quite dry, and well formed. Since we left home they have been softer, longer, sometimes laced with grass. And yellow greenish. Even his well-formed poop this afternoon, before the mustard splat, was saffron coloured.

This afternoon Jethro had a well formed poop, but the colour was yellow/green. Not normal colour.

I am afraid that little bit of bone Skipper ate might be causing an obstruction. He was fasting at the time.

No vomiting. Either dog.

Try to keep in mind that the color of the poop will NOT be normal for them, when they're on rice/chicken, or rice and egg. Ditto to Connie, and I'd eliminate the egg.

I'd keep up the rice mix for at least 24hours of seeing solid, well formed log poops.

I don't think the freeze dried beef liver treat in small-med quantities would upset them, especially if they are normally on a raw diet. I don't think a couple treats would be enough to send a otherwise healthy dog into diarrhea. Stress can, however, and that may be more of what is going on in your case, with all the recent traveling.

JMO, of course- Connie is the poop expert! (and has helped me through Koe's diarrhea bouts in the past)

What can and can't be eaten on a beach is probably something that will take a little experience!

Thanks you guys! I'm feeling a little worried. It is hard not to let my imagination run away to catastrophe.

Should I fast Skipper again before giving him anymore rice? Or might the rice help to bind his tender innerds?

I do think his diarrhea is more stress related. He has been sticking pretty close and I don't think he is enjoying the visits away from me and Jethro. I think I am just going to have to muddle through keeping both of them together. That is definitely something they are used to. This afternoon, after only 40 minutes apart, I could hear Skipper bark, bark, barking as we approached the trainer's house. That is his stress bark. If you saw the reunion between the two dogs you would have thought they had been apart all day, rather than just 40 minutes.

 Quote: Jenny Arntzen

Thanks you guys! I'm feeling a little worried. It is hard not to let my imagination run away to catastrophe.

Should I fast Skipper again before giving him anymore rice? Or might the rice help to bind his tender innerds?

I do think his diarrhea is more stress related.

I'm always concerned about a dog straining with pudding poop when you know he has eaten a possible blockage item like hard, cooked or old bone. When was that bone event? HOWEVER, you say he also had a well-formed log just before the mustard-color pudding? Do you mean log-shaped and not exceptionally narrow/thin?

I would probably be allowing him to have VERY tiny amounts at a time of very overcooked rice. If I didn't see logs again tomorrow, even soft but normally thick around, I'd probably be calling the vet.



PS
Pellets are also not desirable. On a raw diet, they usually indicate a need for a little more muscle meat and less bone.


All JMO!