Bully sticks cause diarrhea

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Has anyone experienced giving their dogs bully sticks and then later have diarrhea?

Long story short we have given him one bully stick from a local store here and we stretched it out over about 3-4 weeks. Only giving it to him on special occasions usually when we brushed him because the single stick was over 5 dollars.

Someone turned me onto bestbullysticks.com where I purchased some (made and sourced in the USA) in bulk. It was so much cheaper so we decided we could afford to let yeti have one this weekend. He chewed 75% of it between Saturday and Sunday. His teeth are coming in and really bothering him and the bully sticks are the only thing he will chew for long periods of time.

The last time he chewed it was for about 10 minutes on Sunday night while I brushed him.

Sunday into Monday he wasn't really interested in his food. We had to encourage him to eat ... Very weird for him. I chalked this up to just being hot outside. We spent a lot of time outside this weekend. Always making sure he got plenty of water though. Monday I allowed him 10 minutes for dinner and he hardly ate 1/4 of a cup. I took it away and shortly after he cried and cried so I took him out and boom diarrhea. And lots of it. This went on all night last night about every hour and a half we had to go out to go. Sometimes he was getting a decent amount out and sometimes it was only about a pea size. We spent about 15-20 minutes out each time as he tried and tried to get something to come out.

At 4am he threw up. First time ever. It looked like it was sweet potato (as I trod to feed him sweet potato and chicken after his first bout of loose stool after dinner)

We took him on the boat with us Saturday. I'm not sure if this is a factor or not?

He is still acting very playful and happy which is what is weird. He was sick with a bug a couple weeks ago and had diarrhea as well. I just don't know what to do ☹️

[F, Calla & Luca]

I found that bully sticks could cause loose stools but not as severe as you are describing.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Bully sticks are very fatty.... You know what they actually are, right? ;p. So yes, common for some dogs to have a bout of loose stools after chewing on one. RpEnzo can finish one and never be effected. But I could never give one to my Golden because he was have severe bouts of diarrhea .
But considering all that you are explaining ...I would question if the bully stick was the main factor here.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I agree with the others. Bully sticks can cause loose stools in some dogs, but what you're describing does sound extreme. Of course, it also sounds like he had a lot more of the bully stick over a much shorter period of time than he ever did before, which could also be a factor. 

Taking him out on the boat would only be a factor if he swallowed any water out there. 

[Helga, Nimbus, Sierra, Clooney]

Could also be that he has a parasite. I've used bully sticks for mine and the puppies I trained and never had an issue so far. But every dog is different.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

I was hoping it would be a simple fix like not giving him any more bully sticks however it appears that it's probably more serious. We're headin the vet in about an hour.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

A couple of tips: Unless there is a fecal test that is positive for parasites and/or abnormal bacteria, I would not give metronidazole (Flagyl). (And if it's positive for giardia, you want Panacur, not metronidazole.) And I would not buy Fortiflora from the vet; if the vet recommends probiotics (which would be a good idea), order Proviable or iFlora, unless your vet happens to be one of those who sells those better brands. And if a bland diet is recommended, make your own. :)

It's very possible that it was just the bully sticks.  

Please keep us posted. 

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Thank you so much!

He was on metronidazole a couple weeks ago for a parasite (before I knew better about it). His was feeling much better and so was his stool. I'm wondering if it didn't fully go away like I thought it did. I'm bringing in a fecal so I suppose we'll see soon.

I'm extra worrie as he just threw up 3 times. He looks so sad and weak :(

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

It's very common when a dog is on metronidazole for the diarrhea to come back after the meds are discontinued. That's because along with the bad bacteria, the metronidazole also kills all of the good bacteria in the gut that's necessary for proper stool formation. This is why it's important to always give a good probiotic when your dog is on antibiotics, and to continue the probiotics for several weeks after the meds are finished.

But the vomiting is something else. I think it's good you're having him checked out.  

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Anything like that can cause diarrhea. Treats even give one of my guys problems.