Here I go AGAIN with Ginger...

She hasn't gotten anything new to eat that could have set her off, but as of Sunday night, she's been having diarreha on and off. It seems like every other BM, or every other 2 BMs, it's diarreha.

I've backed off raw chicken and ACV for the time being, so the only thing she's been getting is THK and Orijen with her Myristin (glucosamine), and Zuke's Z-Ridge dental bone.

It started Sunday evening when she woke up in the middle of the night pacing and panting by the door - her way of telling us she has to go potty. When I let her out, is was diarreha. I thought maybe it was the chicken she got earlier Sunday evening for dinner. So Monday I just gave her THK with Orijen and her glucosamine, and her next BM was pretty much normal. We went on a hike Monday morning, and she got dehydrated salmon and chicken wrapped carrot treats on the hike. When we got home, her next BM was still pretty normal, and by the evening, her BM was back to normal.

She has the same breakfast, and this morning's BM was still good. But she just had another BM and it was all diarreha again.

The only thing that is different is her glucosamine. It's the same brand, and company but it looks different. Maybe they changed their formula? But I would think that if it is her glucosamine, her BM's would be more consistently diarreha instead of good and then bad?

I keep a pretty close eye on her and hasn't seen anything she ate out of the ordinary such as on our walks or on the hike.

Any ideas?

if that was one of mine and it was only happening every few times and not all the time and she is not messing in the house cause she cant hold it i would just watch her, and not change the diet. (messing with the diet might mess her up more?...) Could it be the heat? it got really hot on Sunday. sometimes its just a weather change. let us know

We didn't do much on Sunday, and I've been keeping them cool. We got done with our hike by 10:15 am on Monday and the rest of the day stayed pretty cool, so I don't think heat...she hasn't had raw or ACV for the past 2 days, and nothing new has been added to her diet.

I'll keep watching her for now.....

Since Sunday early morning, there seems to be a pattern of when it's soft/mucousy or diarreha, and it seems to be between 11-1pm BM....not sure what would cause just that BM to go soft...her breakfast is the same as dinner, and the only other thing she gets in the morning is Zukes Z-Ridge dental bone, which she's had in the past without issue.

Since that's the only thing that's different between all her meals, I won't give her that tomorrow morning and see if that helps.

*sigh*

Awww Ginger =( That's so weird. Is there anything in the yard that she can be eating? Kody eats EVERYTHING in the yard so if he goes soft i'm always scared that he ate something =\

No, but that past few days, she's been a little weird in the mornings too. She doesn't eat her food right away like she used to, and this morning, she's eating grass. I've stopped her, but she's doing things out of her norm since Monday.

I'm wondering if the warmer weather is starting to mess with Nikolai - he's been "grazing" on grass on our walks and in the yard, and I think it's contributing to his vomiting. :-( Hopefully they will both be OK and back to their normal selves soon!

Jenn and JD mentioned the change in weather too!
HHmmmm.....

Could she be stressed? Have there been any changes in her daily routine? Stress can also result in diarrhea.

Has she been wormed regularly? I doubt parasites are the cause but just throwing out ideas.

I really hope she doesn't have irritable bowel like Faith. Faith would have diarrhea every other day even on foods she did well on before we started her on Perfect Form.

I don't think she's stressed....and I'll have to check when she wormed the last time - probably back in September or October when she had diarreha the first time around.

Today, early morning BM was good, mid-day was half soft form/mucousy and half good, then mid-afternoon it was all diarreha, so now I'm thinking it might not be the Zuke's Z-Ridge dental bone....?

If she continues, I'll get her in to see Dr. M to see if it is IBS - can they test for that?

Can the change in weather cause tummy upset in our pets, or changes in normal behavior patterns?

Dr. Miller:
Yes it can. As we defrost, the Giardia in the environment does too, which can cause tummy upset. Also, refuse frozen into the snow gets exposed and can get eaten by an active dog on a walk. The heat can affect animals, as can changes in barometric pressure. Feel free to call for specific answers to more detailed questions.

I'm calling Dr. Miller to discuss Ginger's intermittent diarreha for the past few days...Storm has also been having inconsistent BMs (somethimes soft form, somestimes good, sometimes, half good and half soft form almost no form...)

Yes, the vet can do a test to determine whether or not a dog has irritable bowel.

Let us know what Dr Miller says!

I'm going to call her today, so I'll post back once I talk to her.

I got a text from Danielle yesterday that Gunny has not eaten and has had uncontrollable diarrhea.
She took him to the vet last night and went right there on the floor so they had a "poo" sample and blood test and he has Hookworm! can other dogs catch that once the affected dog starts treatment?

im not saying either of yours have worms Claudia but im just sticking this in the thread as another cause of sudden sickness.

She was also not on any heart worm meds as she ran out i guess in Dec. and never started Gunny back up on it. she feels bad cause she did not know he needed to be on it yr round or tested.

I thought about worms but I would think that Ginger would have diarreha all the time if she picked up worms? I could be wrong - but in any case, I will call Dr. M in the next 30 minutes.

She hasn't gone this morning yet when she usually does by 9am!

She finally gave a big ol' BM around noon and it was good....

Anyway, just talked to Dr. M and as I'm describing the chain of events, she's thinking Giardia. When I asked her, 'Wouldn't diarreha be more consistent instead of intermittent?' She said no.

Here's the info:

Dogs can pick up Giardia from contaminated food, soil or any contaminated water source, not just standing water. Symptoms can take up to 2 weeks before showing, and this can include but not limited to intermittent diarreha, change in appetite, gas or vomiting. Ginger has shown signs of intermittent diarreha and change in appetite.

In any case, since we walk, dog park and hike, and with the weather turning warm, she could have picked up Giardia anywhere, and then it sat 'dormant'. The biggest sign of Giardia in dogs IS INTERMITTENT diarreha. Ginger could have picked it up anywhere, not just standing water.

There a couple of things you can do:

Probiotics to help balance off the bacteria dogs need in their GI tract for healthy BM, or antibiotics - in both cases, this will kill off the parasite. Probiotics taking longer than antibiotics.

I'll be taking her to Dr M for a BM sample today to check for Giardia, and I'll be putting her on probiotics for the time being unless she can get immediate test results right then.

Poor sweet Ginger. I wonder if that's what Nikolai has. He has been a LOT hungrier lately (change in appetite) and his poo is occasionally pretty soft together with the puking, he's just got a lot of intestinal issues... Hmmm. Lemme talk to Chris tonight (as he's actually the one to clean up the yard) and see if that's something we should take him to Dr. M. for.

I hope Ginger does not have Giardia, was really hoping to see her and storm at the party...

whats up with all the pups not feeling good, this just sucks!

No Giardia, no parasites, healthy count of good bacteria in her GI tract....so fecal exam was good.

We got a stronger probiotic, one that actually reaches the GI tract, to help and she should be back to 100% normal by Monday.

We did have to empty her anal glands as they were 2x the normal size, and we don't want it to rupture, or have her start scooting across the carpet....and of course, me being curious to be informed for future reference, I went to watch - DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT get in that room when they do this. It is a stink like I've never experienced before!!! PHEWEY!!

hahaha i went and watched when she checked Jacks but not much came out so no smell, but i hear its bad!!!!

glad she is not sick with anything bad, get better ginger!

CoffeeK8 wrote:

I wonder if that's what Nikolai has. He has been a LOT hungrier lately (change in appetite) and his poo is occasionally pretty soft together with the puking, he's just got a lot of intestinal issues... Hmmm. Lemme talk to Chris tonight (as he's actually the one to clean up the yard) and see if that's something we should take him to Dr. M. for.

If Nikolai is yarfing up food, or other stuff other than stomach bile, and his BMs are intermittently soft/no form, or mucousy, and it just started earlier this week, please give Dr. M a call and tell her I referred you because of Ginger's symptoms and that we thought it was Giardia.

If/when you do make an appointment to see her, she'll want a fecal sample, so if you can grab one before you that day, the fresher, the better, it'll save Nikolai the trouble of them getting a sample from him...and bring his favorite treat

If it's not Giardia, at least you'll know and you get probiotics to help reset his GI tract.

I'm surprised Gingers anal glands were that full! Does she not have regular firm stool?

I had to laugh about your comments about the stink! LOL It is a smell like no other. Dakota's anal glands have expressed in our house before! Ewwww!!! That was unforgettable to say the least. I don't find it too bad though...maybe I'm just used to it since I express my dogs' anal glands myself. Nasty job nonetheless. You have me a good laugh though!

Just out of curiousity, what kind of priobiotics did she give you?

She does have regular BMs, but that day, she didn't have one the night before, nor the following day until noon-ish. So basically she had 1 in 24 hours since her last BM, whereas she normally has 3 or 4 within a 24 hour period...and an occasional 5th BM!

I can't imagine why you or anyone else would ever want to express anal glands yourself! When I had to shovel horse shit, I would gag...I then got used to the smell and I thought that was a stink I would never get used to, but now I'm thinking horse shit smell like roses vs. what I smelled yesterday out of Ginger's behind!

The probiotics I got is called Prostora Max, by Iams. I don't like that it has sucrose listed as the first ingredient, but supposedly, Bifidalis, the live and active culture that is delivered will be carried to the GI tract alive vs. other probiotics bacteria/culture will die in the stomach before it can even get to the GI tract.

I had Dr, M look at the probiotics I had, and she said I could use that and/or yogurt, but could take a little longer than the Prostora. I also asked if Ginger had a healthy amount of good bacteria already (found in her fecal test) why would I need probiotics. Basically, Ginger needs an extra boost sometimes, similar to when some humans need extra fiber to regulate their BMs. So Dr. M did mention that Ginger may on occasion need an extra boost from time to time, and may see it when the weather has an extreme change - such as we had earlier this week when we went from cold/wet to 90 degrees.

Ginger didn't like her, but Storm ate his up. I had to hide Ginger's in yogurt last night, and in her food this morning. If she's already showing she's consistent BMs, I don't have to go the full 3 days.