dog HEALTH

The Scoop on Poop
Dr. Julie Schell BSc (Hons), DVM, CVA
It’s not pleasant. In fact, it is down right nasty. However, your dog’s bowel movements can tell you a lot about their health.

If your pup is suffering from diarrhea, a trip to the vet may be a good idea. If intestines are ill, they either respond by producing loose feces, dry feces, no feces or feces with undigested food or blood. Diarrhea can develop due to many illnesses, which is why veterinarians see so many dogs with it and are very experienced in treating it. Because dogs can quickly develop dehydration, and because diarrhea is very uncomfortable for dogs, they should be promptly brought to a veterinarian if diarrhea occurs.

Causes
Causes of diarrhea can include:
• bacterial infections
• viral illnesses (such as parvovirus)
• parasites (such as round worms, coccidia or giardia)
• gluttony
• ingestion of rotten foods, garbage or foreign objects
• pancreatitis
• food allergies
• inflammatory bowel disease
• reactions to medications
Some causes are life threatening and require immediate treatment.

Certain causes of diarrhea in dogs can also cause the same illnesses in people. These
include giardia, otherwise known as Beaver Fever, and bacterial infections such as
campylobacter, salmonella and Escherichia coli. It is important to wash your hands after
handling a dog with diarrhea or after cleaning an environment where dogs have defecated.

What's the Problem?
Finding and curing the underlying cause of your dog’s diarrhea is what veterinarians
strive for. Your veterinarian will ask you many questions about your dog’s feces because fecal quantity and quality can help determine the cause of diarrhea. Upper (small) intestine illness can cause diarrhea that is often normal in frequency but increased in volume, does
not have mucus, may have dark red or black coloured blood because it has been partially digested and congealed, is not accompanied by straining, but may be accompanied by weight loss. Lower (large) intestine diarrhea often has increased frequency, mucus,
bright red fresh blood, is accompanied by straining, but no weight loss in the dog.

Testing
Based on your dog’s history and clinical signs, your veterinarian will perform certain tests including fecal gram stain for bacterial analysis, centrifugation for cytology analysis and parasite identification as well as specific giardia testing. Sometimes culture and sensitivity of the feces is performed to see if certain severely pathologic bacteria such as salmonella are present in over abundant quantities. Effective antibiotics can also be chosen using the sensitivity results.
For protracted or recurrent diarrhea, or for dogs with suspect intestinal blockage or inflammatory bowel disease, more specific or invasive testing such as abdominal radiographs, ultrasound, endoscopy and exploratory laparatomy with biopsies may be needed to find the underlying cause.

Solutions
Antibiotics, probiotics, fecal firming medicines, therapeutic foods, acupuncture and herbs may be prescribed. For severely sick pets, hospitalization with intravenous fluid therapy and antibiotics may also be needed. Dogs with inflammatory bowel disorders or metabolic disorders may require permanent anti-inflammatory medications or herbal formulas as well
as special diets and supplements.

Prevention
• Deworm regularly.
• Feed your dog appropriate foods.
• Prevent your pup from raiding the garbage.
• Maintain vaccination status.
• Bring your dog for twice yearly examinations by your veterinarian.