diarrhoea

DIARRHOEA IN THE CANINE

Dont Ignore Diarrhoea
Most bouts of diarrhoea last for a couple of days. Dogs often appear otherwise well, no treatment is given and the problem resolves itself. Frequently in these cases, the cause is unknown. More debilitating disease, longer or more frequent bouts of diarrhoea need more attention. Lack of energy, weight loss and poor coat quality can develop, and more serious causes, such as pancreatitis, can result in severe pain and even death.

The most common cause of diarrhoea in dogs is scavenging or eating a poor diet. Other causes include intestinal worms, food intolerance, and conditions such as pancreatic disease or poor absorption or digestion of food. Infectious causes include parvovirus and campylobacter, one of the common causes of food poisoning in humans. Disease in organs such as the kidney can also lead to gastrointestinal disease. Foreign bodies and cancer may also cause diarrhoea.

Dogs that are prone to diarrhoea can cope better with a food that has a fat content of less than 14 %; I aim for around 10% fat content. Some dogs respond to being starved for 24 hours. I prefer to feed small amounts of boiled chicken, white fish, pasta, and boiled potatoes several times a day. Canikur tablets help bind the stool and are given for two days. Avoid vigorous exercise and offer electrolyte solutions, such as Lectade.

Regular worming and vaccination should be carried out. Feed a cinsistent diet and introduce any changes slowly. Dogs may require certain alterations to their ration to treat underlying disease; for example, low-fat diets can help dogs perone to pancreatitis, while some dogs suffer from specific meat or carbohydrate intolerances. Though it is a common problem, diarrhoea may require veterinary diagnostic tests, and some dogs require intensive treatment.
Harvey Caruthers

DIARRHOEA

If you have an animal with diarrhoea there are some important guidelines that you should follow:

If you haven't done so - Get your pet examined by your veterinarian. Always give the medications that your veterinarian has prescribed at the correct dose and at the correct times. Contact your veterinary practice if you are concerned that your animal is having a relapse, or if it appears to react abnormally following treatment. Keep your animal on the strict diet that your veterinarian recommends and AVOID feeding high fat foods because fat intake can make the condition much worse. If your pet is a bin scrounger or likely to steal food - stop him/her . Many "snacks" are relatively high in fat - so cut them out !!

Description
The definition of diarrhoea is as follows:

Normal bowel movements are altered resulting in an increase in any one of the following:

Frequency of defaecation.
Fluid content in the stools causing a loose consistency. (NB The water content in normal faeces is 60-80%and 70-90% in loose stools).

Volume of faeces produced - this is a combination of water content and undigestible (e.g. dietary fibre) or unabsorbed nutrients (as seen in malabsorption syndrome).

Appearance
The definition of diarrhoea does not cover the appearance of the stool - and it should be realised that not all forms of diarrhoea result in loose stools. The stool can still be formed, as it is with steatorrhoea which results from the presence of undigested fat in the faeces.

Sometimes mucous will be seen, and sometimes fresh blood (see dysentery and haematochezia and melaena).

The photograph below is of dysentery

The photograph below is of black, tarry melaena

The photograph below is of haematochezia

hemprovet

The picture below is of faeces, blood and mucus typical of colitis.

colitisprovet

Sometimes blood can be present in a faecal stool without there being any obvious external change in appearance - this is called occult blood, and can be detected using sensitive laboratory tests.

The appearance of the diarrhoea can give a very good idea of the location of the gastrointestinal disorder:

Appearance of faeces	Location of disorder
Normal colour. Increased volume. Large, bulky soft stool.	Small intestine
Very watery - no obvious blood	Small intestine
Very watery stool with fresh blood (dysentery)	Small intestine. Typical of canine parvovirus infection or Haemorrhagic gastroenteritis
Yellow, brown or green soft, bulky stool	Small intestine
Pale, greasy, putty-coloured, soft, fatty foul smelling stool	Steatorrhoea
Black, tarry stools.	Melaena
Very pale, white, crumbly stools	Lack of bile pigment
Small volume, but frequently passed stools	Colon
Formed faeces or watery faeces with mucus	Colon
Clear mucus or mucus	Colon
Watery faeces with fresh blood and mucus	Colon

Cause
Diarrhoea is a very common clinical sign which can be associated with a whole variety of causes including:

FUNCTIONAL CAUSE	REASON	UNDERLYING CAUSE
Osmotic movement of water into the faeces	Excessive food intake, overloading the system with retention in the intestine lumen.	Can be just excessive intake of one nutrient e.g. high fat content
	Failure to digest nutrients properly resulting in retention in the lumen of the intestine	Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, bacterial overgrowth, enzyme deficiency (e.g. lactase deficiency), bile salt deficiency
	True dietary allergy (rare)
	Diseases of the mucosal lining of the small intestine	Inflammation, neoplasia (cancer), gluten enteropathy (Irish Setters)
	Diseases of the wall of the intestine	Chronic enteritis, chronic cellular infiltration, lymphangiectasia, cancer (e.g. lymphosarcoma), canine sprue
Secretory diarrhoea due excessive fluid secretion into the faeces	Secretory stimulants	Endotoxins produced by bacteria in the intestine
		Hydroxylated bile acids in the intestine lumen
	Inflammation of the intestine	Bacteria,Parasites, Viruses
Increased permeability of the intestine wall		Lymphangiectasia , protein-losing enteropathy
Motility disorders of the intestine	Reduced intestinal transit time	Low fibre diets, partial obstruction of the intestine
	Rapid intestinal transit time	Many diseases of the intestine

Diagnosis
The primary cause of a diarrhoea is not always possible to detect - particularly in acute diarrhoea when eating rubbish, a high fat snack or an unusual foodstuff might not have been noticed by the owners.

In chronic diarrhoea the appearance of the stool is very helpful in identifying the likely site of the problem, and the following tests can help with identifying an underlying cause:

TEST
Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

Proximal Small Intestine Disease *

Distal Small Intestine Disease *

Bacterial Overgrowth

TLI Test Low Normal Normal Normal or Increased

Cobalamin Normal Normal Low Low

Folate Normal Low Normal High

Bile acids Normal Normal Low Low

Faecal Fat Increased Normal Increased

Absorption Test (e.g. xylose) Decreased Decreased Normal Decreased

Consequences
A patient can lose large amounts of water in diarrhoea and this causes dehydration which, in severe cases such as canine parvovirus disease, can be life-threatening.

Diarrhoea Supplements

Diarrhoea-Using Natural Remedies

Tree Bark Powder

The above information is simply informational. It's intent is not to replace the advice of a veterinarian nor to assist you in making a diagnosis of your pet. Please consult with your own veterinarian for confirmation of any diagnosis. Your pets life may depend on it.