Help For Outdoor Dog That Has Frequent Diarrhea

by Crystal
(Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

Reader Question: Dog Diarrhea Help For Outdoor Dog

My Dog has had one diarrhea stool each day for about 5 or 6 days, maybe a couple of days longer. The stools are dark brown, but the consistency is totally liquid. She also has about 1 formed stool intermittently.

My dog is a female, long haired collie X, about 65 lbs. We live in Edmonton, Canada and the weather has been 0 to -15 Celsius in the past couple weeks. She is a 98% outdoor dog and has an insulated doghouse with straw bedding. She is just 3 years old. I take her for a 1 hour (approx) walk daily. She is active and seems healthy otherwise.

Health history: She got sick (vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of appetite for about 3 days when she was about 7 or 8 months old. After a vet visit and antibiotics, etc. she was put on an 'enteric' food, dry kibble. Occasionally she has one loose stool, but not on a regular basis.

Diet: She gets half cup Enteric and half cup Acana (med. high protein kibble) twice daily and has seemed to do well on that. I've increased the amounts slightly for winter. I also give her one raw chicken piece per day (usually a back or neck).

I am pretty sure she scavenges occasionally (rabbit droppings and cat poop) when she is at my daughter's acreage. The cats catch mice, so I wonder if she has gotten worms from that.

Today I will not feed her the morning meal, and maybe the evening meal. Should I buy some deworming pills or wait to see what fasting and a bland diet will produce (or not produce)?

Vet Suggestion For Dog That Has Diarrhea

Hello,

It does not sound as if your dog’s diarrhea is severe, but it has gone on long enough that I think it would be in her best interest to have a doctor examine her. If the diarrhea was going to resolve on its own (with or without fasting), I suspect it would have done so by now.

Your dog’s history of scavenging and eating raw chicken makes me worry that she may have developed a gastrointestinal infection (many other causes are possible also). If she were my patient I would start with a physical examination and a microscopic fecal examination, looking for a number of bacteria and parasites that can cause the symptoms you describe.

I don’t recommend that you buy deworming pills because worms may not be to blame, and even if they are, no one dewormer kills every type of intestinal parasite. If you wanted to try an over-the-counter remedy before making an appointment with your veterinarian, a product like Proviable-KP would be a reasonable choice.

Best of luck,

Jennifer Coates, DVM