How to Diagnose and Treat Dog Diarrhea
Assess your dog’s overall health, apart from the diarrhea., Look for warning signs that your dog needs medical attention., Tell your vet your dog’s history., Get a diagnosis from your vet., Collect a fecal specimen for your vet., Schedule your dog...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Assess your dog’s overall health
If your dog is well apart from the diarrhea, and has recently eaten something decidedly dodgy, then blood tests and fecal analysis may be a waste of both your time and money.
Some dogs have more sensitive stomachs than others and yours may have eaten something that upset it.If you know that your dog has eaten something they shouldn’t have recently, like garbage or feces, make sure that your dog can’t continue to eat this. -
Step 2: apart from the diarrhea.
In most cases, diarrhea can be treated safely and effectively at home.
There are cases where your dog needs to be taken to the veterinarian so they can assess their condition and begin treatment.
Keep an eye out for the following symptoms.
If your dog begins displaying these, take them to the veterinarian immediately:
Black or tarry stool Stool with bright red fresh blood Frequent vomiting Loss of appetite Signs of abdominal pain (like bloating, groaning, or avoidance when their belly is touched) Marked lethargy Symptoms lasting longer than 48 hours , In this context the "history" refers to relevant information about your dog, such as the dog's vaccination status (vaccines protect against some of the viral causes of diarrhea), recent diet, and the animals he has been mixing with.
This history should include a detailed description of what the diarrhea looks like and how often your dog has been experiencing diarrhea.
This information helps the vet to pinpoint whereabouts in the gut the diarrhea originates from., Based on the veterinarian’s physical exam of the dog, the vet will then decide if additional medical tests are necessary, or if their diarrhea can be treated at home.
Your vet may recommend additional testing to rule out other conditions when your dog has chronic diarrhea, which lasts more than four or five days.They may also recommend more testing if your dog loses weight, isn’t responding to bland diets or fasting, or if your dog is displaying other symptoms of a medical condition like a parasite.
At this point, they will either diagnose your dog with acute or chronic diarrhea. , Based on your veterinarian’s recommendation, you may need to collect a fecal sample from your dog.
The vet will then send this sample to a lab to diagnose different medical conditions like parasites, GI disease, or a vitamin deficiency.The vet will give you a fecal specimen container to return once you’ve collected a sample.
Simply scoop a small volume of feces up with the collecting spoon and pop it in the pot, then screw the lid back on.
You want to collect a sample immediately after your dog defecates.Once you’ve returned the sample to your vet, they will send it to a lab for testing.
There, the laboratory technician will examine the sample for any identifiable conditions, like parasites. , If your vet thinks that the diarrhea may be caused by an underlying medical condition, they will want to do a blood test for your dog.
Some of the medical conditions that the vet will look for include liver disease or pancreatitis.
These blood tests look at organ function and the balance of red and white cells in the body.
This gives information about organ health, protein levels, anemia, and signs of infection.
In turn these results may suggest a more specific line of investigation that is necessary to diagnose a problem for which diarrhea is merely a symptom., This test is usually saved for last, and will only be scheduled if the fecal analysis and blood tests come back normal or negative, despite their diarrhea continuing.
These tests look at pancreatic function, any inflammation, and bowel health.They will use this information to find out if your dog is suffering from a medical condition.
If they do find signs that your dog does have a condition like a pancreatic disease, the vet can begin treatment.
The treatment for the disease will usually end up stopping your dog’s diarrhea as well.
The vet will also suggest these tests if your dog is losing weight rapidly, despite treatment.
The vet may skip straight to these tests if your dog’s medical history suggests that he may lack pancreatic enzymes. , Imaging includes radiography and ultrasound.
Imaging tends to be reserved for dogs that are losing weight and still have diarrhea, but all of the other tests listed above have come back normal.
Imaging allows the vet to take a look at the bowel and see if it looks normal.
In particular, this can help to rule out bowel inflammation and cancer., A bowel biopsy is invasive, and has a high complication rate, so it is generally avoided when possible.
A biopsy involves surgically entering a dog’s abdomen and removing slivers of bowel wall to be sent for testing.Your veterinarian will discuss the risks, but bowel biopsy is a procedure of last resort and it may well be worth using information from previous tests to decide on a "educated guess" treatment (diagnosis by treatment), before resorting to biopsy. -
Step 3: Look for warning signs that your dog needs medical attention.
-
Step 4: Tell your vet your dog’s history.
-
Step 5: Get a diagnosis from your vet.
-
Step 6: Collect a fecal specimen for your vet.
-
Step 7: Schedule your dog for a blood test.
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Step 8: Have the vet perform a bowel test.
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Step 9: Get imaging done.
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Step 10: Have your dog’s bowel biopsied as a last resort.
Detailed Guide
If your dog is well apart from the diarrhea, and has recently eaten something decidedly dodgy, then blood tests and fecal analysis may be a waste of both your time and money.
Some dogs have more sensitive stomachs than others and yours may have eaten something that upset it.If you know that your dog has eaten something they shouldn’t have recently, like garbage or feces, make sure that your dog can’t continue to eat this.
In most cases, diarrhea can be treated safely and effectively at home.
There are cases where your dog needs to be taken to the veterinarian so they can assess their condition and begin treatment.
Keep an eye out for the following symptoms.
If your dog begins displaying these, take them to the veterinarian immediately:
Black or tarry stool Stool with bright red fresh blood Frequent vomiting Loss of appetite Signs of abdominal pain (like bloating, groaning, or avoidance when their belly is touched) Marked lethargy Symptoms lasting longer than 48 hours , In this context the "history" refers to relevant information about your dog, such as the dog's vaccination status (vaccines protect against some of the viral causes of diarrhea), recent diet, and the animals he has been mixing with.
This history should include a detailed description of what the diarrhea looks like and how often your dog has been experiencing diarrhea.
This information helps the vet to pinpoint whereabouts in the gut the diarrhea originates from., Based on the veterinarian’s physical exam of the dog, the vet will then decide if additional medical tests are necessary, or if their diarrhea can be treated at home.
Your vet may recommend additional testing to rule out other conditions when your dog has chronic diarrhea, which lasts more than four or five days.They may also recommend more testing if your dog loses weight, isn’t responding to bland diets or fasting, or if your dog is displaying other symptoms of a medical condition like a parasite.
At this point, they will either diagnose your dog with acute or chronic diarrhea. , Based on your veterinarian’s recommendation, you may need to collect a fecal sample from your dog.
The vet will then send this sample to a lab to diagnose different medical conditions like parasites, GI disease, or a vitamin deficiency.The vet will give you a fecal specimen container to return once you’ve collected a sample.
Simply scoop a small volume of feces up with the collecting spoon and pop it in the pot, then screw the lid back on.
You want to collect a sample immediately after your dog defecates.Once you’ve returned the sample to your vet, they will send it to a lab for testing.
There, the laboratory technician will examine the sample for any identifiable conditions, like parasites. , If your vet thinks that the diarrhea may be caused by an underlying medical condition, they will want to do a blood test for your dog.
Some of the medical conditions that the vet will look for include liver disease or pancreatitis.
These blood tests look at organ function and the balance of red and white cells in the body.
This gives information about organ health, protein levels, anemia, and signs of infection.
In turn these results may suggest a more specific line of investigation that is necessary to diagnose a problem for which diarrhea is merely a symptom., This test is usually saved for last, and will only be scheduled if the fecal analysis and blood tests come back normal or negative, despite their diarrhea continuing.
These tests look at pancreatic function, any inflammation, and bowel health.They will use this information to find out if your dog is suffering from a medical condition.
If they do find signs that your dog does have a condition like a pancreatic disease, the vet can begin treatment.
The treatment for the disease will usually end up stopping your dog’s diarrhea as well.
The vet will also suggest these tests if your dog is losing weight rapidly, despite treatment.
The vet may skip straight to these tests if your dog’s medical history suggests that he may lack pancreatic enzymes. , Imaging includes radiography and ultrasound.
Imaging tends to be reserved for dogs that are losing weight and still have diarrhea, but all of the other tests listed above have come back normal.
Imaging allows the vet to take a look at the bowel and see if it looks normal.
In particular, this can help to rule out bowel inflammation and cancer., A bowel biopsy is invasive, and has a high complication rate, so it is generally avoided when possible.
A biopsy involves surgically entering a dog’s abdomen and removing slivers of bowel wall to be sent for testing.Your veterinarian will discuss the risks, but bowel biopsy is a procedure of last resort and it may well be worth using information from previous tests to decide on a "educated guess" treatment (diagnosis by treatment), before resorting to biopsy.
About the Author
Brittany Barnes
Enthusiastic about teaching crafts techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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