One of the most common reasons we take our dog to visit the veterinarian is for diarrhea – with or without vomiting. What causes diarrhea is also one of the most common questions asked on my Facebook page, K9Nutrition. Symptoms may include loose stools, projectile diarrhea, mucus and occasionally red blood tinged stools. Oftentimes, veterinarians will prescribe anti-inflammatory antibiotics, such as metronidazole or Tylan, and suggest a bland diet. As the antibiotic treatment proceeds the dog gets better, but in many cases, the symptoms return and you head back to the vet for another round of treatment. Repeated use of either of these antibiotics can cause antibiotic resistance and continued use of metronidazole can cause neurological problems.
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So, What can you do?
It is always important to take your dog to your veterinarian in cases of prolonged diarrhea and/or vomiting. These two problems can cause dehydration. Blood work is needed to look for the underlying cause and sometimes radiographs will be taken to make sure there is not a blockage. Frequent and prolonged diarrhea causes inflammation of the digestive tract and digestive tract lining and it can take time to heal these and get the dog back on the right track. If there is no hard and fast reason your dog has prolonged diarrhea, there are some steps you can take to try and help this situation. These include:
- Take note of how much food is being fed to your dog and make sure you are not over feeding. The number one cause of diarrhea in dogs is feeding them too much food. Oftentimes when people switch to a raw diet from a dry dog food diet, they tend to over feed because their dog truly enjoys the new diet. Additionally, when they are fed a fresh raw diet, they are also getting fresh fat which leads to the next cause.
- There may be too much fat in the diet. When a dog has an irritated digestive tract lining, fat can be more difficult to digest. Cutting down on the amount of fat in the diet may help in the beginning. For a raw diet, this means feeding leaner meat choices, removing the skin from chicken and selecting low fat or nonfat yogurt or cottage cheese. For cooked diets, this means using lean meat and removing all the fat by draining the meat after cooking. The same applies for dogs already on these diets that had been doing well, but now have digestive upsets. Cutting back on the fat should only be temporary until the digestive tract lining has healed. This can take up to 6 to 12 weeks.
- Instead of feeding one or two meals a day, offer four small meals per day. Small meals are easier to digest and they put less stress on the digestive tract while it heals. This is also only done temporarily for a few weeks. After seeing improvement, start offering three meals per day for a few weeks and see how it goes. Eventually, you want to work your way back to two meals per day.
- Add three important supplements to your dog’s diet to help with the healing process. Probiotic powder helps replenish the good flora and fauna back into the gut. Animal-based digestive enzymes that include Pancreatin, Pancrealipase and Ox Bile help predigest fats and proteins in the stomach and lighten the load for the small intestine. And lastly, l-glutamine. This amino acid actually helps heal the digestive tract lining. It has been used in infants and people suffering from malnutrition to bring the digestive tract back into good working order.
All three of these ingredients are in the Berte’s Digestion Blend. This powdered blend can be added to each meal. I suggest starting at half dose and slowly work up to full dose over the course of a week or two. Generally, this supplement will be needed for at least 3 months. Some dogs may need this supplement longer depending on the severity of the problem and how long the digestive lining has been inflamed.
Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs, Revised: The Definitive Guide to Homemade Meals!
Lew Olson's newly revised book is filled with an abundance of new topics and information. Whether you are new to home feeding or a seasoned raw feeder, have a senior dog or a new puppy, a pregnant mom or a toy breed, this book presents all the information you need to make the best nutritional decisions for your dog.Various things may cause irritation of the digestion tract lining. Sometimes it is an autoimmune response to stress, surgery, long term boarding or illness. Occasionally some dogs will react to a dry dog food diet that contains no moisture. This diet can be irritating to the stomach and small intestine and symptoms arise when the dog cannot tolerate the dry food any longer. Some dogs may have had a previous blockage, from a toy or other foreign object, which can cause scar tissue or adhesions in the intestines. Dogs that had digestive insults as a puppy, such as parvo, distemper, etc., may also develop digestive issues later on.
Feeding a moist diet in smaller, more frequent meals, is extremely helpful. Adding the Berte’s Digestion Blend, which contains probiotics, animal-based digestive enzymes and l-glutamine will help heal the digestive tract lining permanently.
Remember, healing your dog’s digestive tract can take several weeks – and sometimes several months. Your dog may improve for a while and then have another occurrence of loose stools. Then he will improve again and probably have another setback in a week or so. But after a few weeks, you should see steady improvement! It takes patience and perseverance, but it will pay off in the long run! Be sure to always have your veterinarian follow up with a full work-up of blood values and an examination if your dog’s condition does not improve. A correct diagnosis is always worth its weight in gold when it comes to deciding treatment options!
It is wonderful to see that Spring is finally here again! This is the time of year when you need to be sure to check your dogs carefully for fleas and ticks and remember to check their ears as summer approaches. Warm and wet weather can bring on yeast and other ear problems! One good all-purpose ear cleaner and rinse after bathing is a solution of three-quarters water and one-quarter vinegar. Do not flood the ears; simply wipe out the ears with this solution.
