Rice and pumpkin- It sure did work

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Quince had another night time bowel movement the night of Wednesday into Thursday and again last night -  this time very liquid.  He had normal BM in between on our walk on Tuesday morning.   His energy and behavior seem fine and he is drinking water as usual.  He eats Blue homestyle canned food and Blue kibble from my hand when I walk him.  He usually gets some cream cheese in his Kong for when he is in his crate and the same brand bully sticks he always enjoys.  Nothing new, maybe  his grass intake has been more than usual, but not huge amounts

My plan is boiled rice and pumpkin today and some boiled chicken for dinner.  He has not been around other dogs for a few weeks, but could he have picked up something just from smelling around on our walks to the beach?  

UPDATE- no BM for about 48 hours or since we started the rice/boiled beef,...I just fed him his regular food...hope we are not on the other side of the spectrum for too much longer...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Has he had any contact with standing water? That's usually how they pick up giardia. If this continues, you might want to have a fecal done. Sometimes it's rampant in an area and dogs get it somehow even without contact with other dogs. 

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Thanks Karen-

My DH actually got a sample from the mess I cleaned up at 4 am this morning and somehow managed to get it into the container we had from the vet's office.  He did say that it was "not as easy as he thought it would be" to get it. All is forgiven for any past infractions after that...I will get it to the vet to test. 

I don't think he has gotten into any standing water.  He does sometimes drink from the flower pot containers but we try to keep them drained.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's not giardia. 

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

We have had no real issues with his digestion so I am bit worried about giardia.  If he had not had that normal BM in between we would have acted sooner.  Is a normal BM in between common with giardia? 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Not once it gets going. :(

But the waking up at night urgency is. 

[F, Calla & Luca]

My two had a bout of diarrhea this winter and they hadn't been near any other dogs as far as I remember so it seemed likely they got something on a walk. In the end I thought it was a viral thing.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Lots of dogs get irritated intestines from bully sticks if you don't limit the time they have to chew on them--I have this problem with one of my doodles with bully sticks or hooves if I don't take them away after just 15 minutes or so each day. Boiled and drained hamburger with rice will clear it up after a day or two--if the intestine is irritated and the dog is fed chicken it will sometimes make it worse.

I just talked to an owner of one of my dog's pups, now 6 months old who had this exact same thing happen --he ended up very sick with blood in the stool after getting chicken and rice for a day or so--just a precaution that you may want to use the hamburger instead. The dog in question did not have giardia but had the same  symptoms you are describing. and nothing helped until they got him onto the hamburger/rice combo.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Thanks for the heads up.  We will use hamburger instead.  He is a bully stick fan but has been from the start.  I am going to take them away for now too.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Lori, make sure you use lean hamburger and drain off as much fat as possible. I rinse it in hot water after cooking. High fat foods contribute to diarrhea. Rather than "irritating" the intestines, that's probably why too much bully stick would cause diarrhea. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

thanks for clarifying that karen--I did say boiled and drained, but I think that the drier and less fatty it is, the better the dog will do. And that is true, I never thought about the fat content of a bully stick--so that must be the reason... I think that once the dog has diarrhea (for whatever reason), a lot of people give the dog things that just make the bowel more stressed and the vicious cycle starts all over again. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This doesn't make any sense to me, unless the dog had an intolerance or sensitivity to chicken. 

Following JD's endoscope, when his intestines were beyond irritated, actually inflamed and ulcerated, the prescribed diet from the internal medicine specialist included boiled white meat chicken. So there can't be anything in chicken itself that would exacerbate an intestinal issue, unless the dog had an ongoing sensitivity to it. 

Perhaps it was the way it was prepared, or the size of the pieces? Ground meats, including hamburger, are easier to digest, since the pieces are so small. 

[Ginny Nightingale]

good point, but I know a lot of doodles, including one of my own, who have a tough time with chicken (and some of her pups do too!) IOne of my grooming clients was just told by the vet to avoid it and my breeder thinks it can cause issues also--but not for EVERY dog, just some--