Seasonal Affected Diarrhea (Ish)?

[jshell]

Betty Joan has been going through a diarrhea patch since wednesday evening / thursday morning. It's not explosive; not that pure-liquid stuff. Some poops are a bit more firm than others. Sometimes she goes hours without needing to go out, and then will have those big "I need to go out NOW!" dances over a few hours. Otherwise she seems mostly fine - she's been playful with other dogs, she runs down the hall back home. She's eating all of her meals. Can't tell if she's being more lethargic today, or just being tired..

 

It seems like we go through something like this in the spring and fall, but I never keep good enough records to confirm this. I keep thinking "I should write this down so I can see when this happens in the future to see if there's a pattern!" but never do. Not sure where I would write it and remember where to find it later anyways.

 

We had one of those weeks where it went from upper 70's to lower 40's, and this onset happened right in the middle of that. I seem to recall Betty having these seasonal things during similar weeks.

 

Betty did get really sick last year around this time with digestive problems, but they were much more severe than what we're seeing now (vomiting, explosive diarrhea, not eating, and massive weight loss). I'm hoping this isn't going into a repeat of that. I'll call the vet if conditions don't improve or worsen in a couple of days.

 

But until then, I'm just wondering if anyone else's hounds seem sensitive to the big seasonal transitions?

[greyhead]

No, I think the season thing is coincidence. Some things, like worms, can be cyclic in the flare-ups. What was the diagnosis last year when it seemed more serious?

 

ETA: There's a gal in SLC who posted a photo on FB similar to the one you posted of Betty in January. Turned out to be hookworm. If you want to PM me, I'll give you contact info for her. She's an experienced greyhound person, very gracious, and perhaps you two could compare notes.

Edited April 15, 2012 by greyhead

[jshell]

I don't think we got last year fully diagnosed, as a lot of things were happening, including vestibular syndrome. The underlying causes seemed to be very high blood pressure (now under control) and lack of albumin proteins (fixed last year).

 

I haven't seen any worm-related materials, yet, but I'll keep a look out. We've had tapeworm problems in the past, and Betty had roundworms when I first adopted her.

[jshell]

Apparently I don't have the post count, yet, to get DM's. Or PM's. Or whichever they are. Soon! Hopefully. Hopefully by sharing cute'n'funny pictures and not health/diet posts...

 

Just called the vet and have an appointment sometime tomorrow. The poop is just not coming together and it's been about 4-5 days now.

 

(This morning looked kindof good and Betty slept through the night without any emergency "gotta go!" moments, but the evening walk was still rather wet).

[greyhead]

Good luck tomorrow, Jeff. Hope the vet can give Betty something that will help.

[Guest sirsmom]

One of ours ate a lot of grass on a walk yesterday and sure enough this morning we've got soft and normal output.

[jshell]

Vet just came (yay mobile vet!) and said she appears fine. She's down a pound from when he last saw her, but still at 57 pounds (Betty's high average until she got up to 61 pounds recovering from last year's sudden drop down to 42!). Got some I/D wet and dry food and metronidazole. Going to try that for a week or so. Also got some de-worming pills.

 

Since we have a history of inflammation, vet says it could be allergies causing the seasonal-affected soft stool, as they're causing an inflammation to flare up. A neighbor with a Chihuahua said her little dog goes through the same thing about this time every year too.

 

Forgot to ask the vet if I should keep giving her Imodium along with the metronidazole... Whoops.

[jshell]

Mixed results so far. A lot of wet poops, mixed with a couple of solid pieces, but that seems to be when eating the I/D which we switched to rapidly. I don't know how to slowly blend canned food and keep the portions right. On her normal food, poops are a little better defined, though still soft. And, especially when on her own food (which we've only tried for two breakfasts so far) it seems like it takes even longer to get her evening poop out; the opposite of normal diarrhea behavior. Maybe I should leave that evening poop to solidify overnight? We went on the equivalent of three evening walks to get tonight's out. We will see what tomorrow brings. Gave her normal food for dinner and we will see what it does tomorrow...

[fliggie]

I had a non-grey who did this. Ginger was with us for over 10 years and it did finally dawn on me she was doing the diarrhea seasonally with the weather changes, just as you describe. She'd had a lot of issues, digestively, when we adopted her and I think she'd sustained some damaged internally from several years of being neglected and having many, many worm issues. She suffered from what appeared to be IBD--but in spring and fall like clockwork, the running poos began. She was a licker, and she her poos also had her hair in it. I often wondered if her licking and shedding irritated her already irritated bowel, if that makes any sense, causing flare ups during shedding seasons.

 

Hope you baby feels better soon.

[jshell]

She seems to be doing better. I gave Betty her normal canned food last night for dinner and this morning's poop was well defined: a little soft, but well formed. Her mood and attitude towards food is still a little odd and less excited than normal, but getting better.