Diarrhea in the house

[Olivia & Chanel]

I have a first time dog owner question that I hope someone knows what to do.  Of course, if this were one of my kids, I'd know exactly what to do but with a puppy????

Chanel is an 8 month old ALD--this morning I woke up to two loose,diarrhea like poops and some pee in the playroom where she is overnight usually.  We had just upgraded her from being crated overnight to being in the playroom a couple of weeks ago and she was doing great.  She has never had a poop accident inside the house since we got her.  I am assuming that the only reason she pooped in the house is because she can't control her diarrhea.?.

So now what do I do?  She had stool culture test positive for giardia 3 months ago but was asympomatic and we treated her with Panacur-C.  I am planning on trying to collect a stool sample for that reason.  Should I feed her regular Orijen kibble this morning?  Should I let the dog walker know and not have them come get her today?  

She otherwise seems quite normal energy.

Thank you for any advice!

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Time for the vet. Certainly she needs a stool sample.  Call your vet!   Maybe they can suggest something to calm that tummy down too.  Diarrhea should be taken seriously and with her history she needs attention.

 I wouldn't withhold her food.  If you don't feed solids, you wont get solids  out either.  But it sounds like you are going to work? Right? Maybe a light meal, let her out, then more food when you can be home with her.

If she is sick, I wouldn't cancel the dogwalker. I would at least want someone to check on her.  

[Cindy and Olive (Ollie)]

IF she has giardia, i think their energy is still normal, so I would still walk her but take precautions against spreading possible infection. Collect and spray bleach, right? Feed her boiled chicken n rice. Hydrate. Hope she feels better, soon...

[Barb @ Gemstone Labradoodles]

You are doing the right thing by getting a stool sample to the vet and you could let the dog walker know she had an issue last night.  I crate my dogs to at least 1 yr old and sometimes age 2 before they are free at night so perhaps continuing to crate her for a few months would be appropriate. She is still a puppy with a puppy brain so could still manage to get into trouble, even if it's unusual for her to do so.

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

Everyone's advice is good. The only thing I would add is its very possible Chanel just couldn't hold it in the middle of the night. 2 yrs ago Lucy, who was 3 yrs old at the time and had not had a potty accident in the house for years, and usually rings a bell to be let out to potty, acted very anxious and ran from room to room, then squatted in the hall and had a very bad case of diarrhea. She did not ring the bell that time and I felt very foolish for not recognizing the source of her distress. If Chanel has been doing well outside her crate at night I wouldn't go back to crating her for this reason. It just might be she'd have an accident in her crate which would be far worse, IMO. Hope you get to the bottom of her problem soon.

[Olivia & Chanel]

Thank you everybody for your support and advice. My poor pup is definitely off. She has been sleeping most of the day and tries to greet us but clearly does not feel well. I dropped off a stool sample at the vets and the vet told me to encourage fluids and I have her on just plain chicken baby food and rice. Vet thought it could just be something she ate. She does like cat poop. But we are checking for giardia just in case. Hope she feels better soon. It is so sad to see her just lying around. Thank you again everyone!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Giardia generally doesn't cause lethargy. I hope she feels better soon.