# Back from the kennel ... with diarrhea



## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

I boarded my healthy 4 month old pup overnight while I was away. Since picking her up five days ago, she has had diarrhea.

She was doing well on raw in the morning and high quality kibble at night. Few and firm stools. Now she poops brown water.

I've tried adding pumpkin (about a tablespoon) to her meals. I've tried adding yogurt. I've tried meals of kibble. I've tried RMBs (no organs).

In all other ways she's normal - same active, happy puppy. Same good appetite.

Any ideas?


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## Ania's Mommy (Feb 8, 2009)

I would fast her (if it is safe to do so with a pup this young) for a day.

Then I would go back to feeding very heavy bone meals such as chicken backs or quarters for a couple days until it clears up.

I hate to say it, but it could be that kibble/raw combo finally catching up with her. Some dogs just have trouble digesting both within the same 24 hour period. Maybe instead of raw in the mornings and kibble at night, you could try raw a few days in a row, then kibble a few days in a row. Might have less impact that way. Or you could go full raw...

I sure hope this clears up for you! But I'm glad to hear she seems to be happy otherwise. 

Richelle


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## JayJayisme (Aug 2, 2009)

Dogs who go through an episode of psychological stress (which could include boarding) can develop stomach upset and diarrhea. Pumpkin will just mask the problem.

I agree with Ania's Mommy. Fast her for 24 hours then stick with one type of food. Personally, I recommend high bone-content raw (like chicken backs) but if you go with kibble, avoid mixing it with raw, at least until things are stable.

If things don't improve, you should have her checked for parasites like Giardia or Coccidia. It's pretty easy for dogs, especially pups, to contract these in communal or high density living conditions.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks for the advice.

I fasted her for 16 hours (with a puppy, I've heard that I shouldn't fast a full 24 hours). I gave her a chicken quarter this morning, with a dollop of a pumpkin+probiotic canned mix by Fruitables.

I'll feed her the same through the weekend or until things normalize.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Yeah good plan. If it's only been five days since she was boarded and you've tried so many different things in that time, that will also not help the situation. I'd suggest you pick one thing and stick with it for several days and see if that helps.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

SpooOwner said:


> Thanks for the advice.
> 
> I fasted her for 16 hours (with a puppy, I've heard that I shouldn't fast a full 24 hours). I gave her a chicken quarter this morning, with a dollop of a pumpkin+probiotic canned mix by Fruitables.
> 
> I'll feed her the same through the weekend or until things normalize.


For right now you want the least amount of things added to her diet...make it as simple and "bland" as possible. Which means removing all but ONE food source. Personally I would go with nothing but chicken quarters stripped of all skin and excess fat. Remove the pumpkin and the canned mix stuff. The more things added into the diet the more complex it gets and it's harder to get a good grasp on what is causing the true issue. Bone in chicken is pretty darn safe to assume is not the issue.

My guess this whole situation developed due to nothing but stress. It's hard on a pup of 4 months to be left alone in a new place. Oh, and at this age its perfectly fine to fast a larger breed pup for 24 hours.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Update ... I fasted her for 16 hours, then fed her chicken quarters and the probiotic pumpkin mix. She ate at approximately 8 am and 5 pm yesterday.

This morning, at around either 1 am or 4 am, she threw up. The first time looked like leaves and grass. The second time was a bone. I'm not sure what kind: it's round and thick but short - maybe a vertebra (singluar of vertebrae)?

She also pooped. It's semi-formed and yellow, which other posters have said is usual for a chicken diet, but she's never had yellow poops before.

She's still very active and happy with no other signs of distress.

Does it sound like we're on the mend?


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Moving in the right direction. 
I personally would disregard the vomiting altogether, because it sounds like she ate grass and whatnot, so vomiting is entirely normal, and probably not connecting to the diarrhea in any way. My dogs will both vomit after eating grass.

I would really stop the pumpkin mix, though. Raw to me is something you either do.. or you don't... because mixing it with kibble, and adding things just complicate it and make it that much more difficult to pinpoint and fix issues. Raw is simple. It's logical. It's easy to problem solve just by adjusting meat/bone/organ ratios. With kibble added to the mix, and pumpkin probiotic stuff, the water gets deeper and darker.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Update ... we're back to diarrhea. Brown, not yellow, if that's a good sign.

It has now been a week since I picked her up from the kennel. I kept her on the chicken+pumpkin yesterday. Today I'll try just the chicken.

She's still active and happy and otherwise normal.

Any ideas?


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

I just skimmed through the thread and don't know what kind of dog she is. A quarter may be too much to feed her at one time right now. Try feeding her smaller meals. I, too, suggest feeding her nothing but chicken until this straightens out. If you could find some chicken backs, they would be preferable to quarters because they have more bone. Right now you want to feed a lot of bone.

As long as she's active and happy, don't worry a lot about her. Make sure she is getting plenty of water.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

SpooOwner said:


> Update ... we're back to diarrhea. Brown, not yellow, if that's a good sign.
> 
> It has now been a week since I picked her up from the kennel. I kept her on the chicken+pumpkin yesterday. Today I'll try just the chicken.
> 
> ...


If she is having diarrhea for a week, don't you think it might be time to take her to the vet? She may actually have contracted something while @ the kennel. I would especially be concerned about her becoming dehydrated.

At the vet you can discuss keeping her on chicken/rice and perhaps giving her something to help keep her electrolytes up like pedialyte. Having diarrhea for this long is not good for any dog, especially a puppy.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks for your concern, SubMariner. She already has a Vet appointment on Monday, and because she is otherwise acting normally, I did not move the appointment up. If we're not able to resolve the issue this weekend, then I will bring a stool sample for analysis.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I have to say this is exactly the scenario that I was dealing with all the time, I ran my dog back and forth to the vet constantly. I call her my 15,000 dog, All this nonsense finally stopped when I took the plunge and took her off kibble and started her on a raw diet. No more DIAHRREA! Really SpooOwner, I'm not sure if the half kibble and half raw is working so well, I do wish after this is all cleared up that you would try to go all raw and see if you can forego this issue completely.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks for your concern, WhiteLeo. She has been on an all raw diet for five days. I stopped the pumpkin+probiotic three days ago, and she has been on an all chicken diet for two days. The issue persists.

She never had problems before the spending one night at the kennel. I've spoken to several local friends about the problem, and I have since heard many terrible stories about this particular kennel.

At the kennel, they gave her at least one rawhide. Some people suggested that a piece of the rawhide may have caused a blockage.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

If there was a blockage you'd know it already. Dogs that get blocked up are extremely painful, lethargic, anorexic, vomiting, etc. She may have a partial blockage or something like that but I doubt it, because even in those cases I think you'd see a few more symptoms. I would still have her examined but I don't think you should tell your vet what you plan to feed her (unless they are raw friendly) because they will scare you off of feeding whole raw. Or you can tell them but be prepared to hear that you're going to kill your dog with bones or bacteria...

I personally think that just a few more days and persistence with nothing but bone in chicken and she will be as right as rain. Keep us posted.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks for the insight, DaneMama. A friend of mine agrees with your assessment. We just got back from a playdate. When I told my friend what was going on, she took one look at my puppy frolicking with her dog in their yard and said that there's no way she has a blockage.

I just read another post about high sodium levels in chicken causing diarrhea. The chicken quarters have 150 mgs of sodium per 4 oz raw. Could this be the culprit?


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Are these enhanced chicken quarters? If so I would buy some that aren't....just to make sure it isn't the sodium.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

DaneMama - I don't know if they're enhanced. How do I tell? The packaging does not say "enhanced."


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## John Rambo (Sep 27, 2010)

If she was given rawhide..that would do it...My dogs that eat rawhide have an issue for 3-5 days...even though they love it.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Enhanced definitely can cause problems for some dogs, I mistakenly gave my boy dog Leo some turkey that was enhanced about a year ago and he became quite ill, diahrrea, he couldn't eat for a day and a half. It doesn't affect all dogs like this but I have stayed away from all enhanced meats from that point on. Good Luck, the package should say it has a sodium mixture if it is enhanced!


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

The packaging should say if they're enhanced.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Crap. The chicken is enhanced. I'll thaw some turkey for tomorrow.


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

And we have firm poops. Thanks to everyone for their input.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

This is great news! Just keep up the bone in chicken for another week or two and then we can address adding in other protein sources!


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## SpooOwner (Oct 1, 2010)

Thanks for the help, DaneMama. Your last post is a little confusing because the chicken was causing the problem, but I assume you mean continue feeding the turkey.

At any rate, she's back to normal. She had fish this morning without any problems.

In order to salvage the last 10 pounds of high-sodium chicken quarters, someone suggested soaking them in water to reduce the salt concentration. I'm going to try that later this week.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Sorry my post was confusing. But I do suggest sticking with bone in chicken for the next few weeks but get unenhanced chicken. I really don't think you should add anything in besides chicken for now since it's only been a day with normal poos. I suggest going as slow as possible so this doesn't happen again. Save the fish for another few weeks down the road. No need to rush things.


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## 1605 (May 27, 2009)

SpooOwner said:


> And we have firm poops. Thanks to everyone for their input.


Great news! (Geez... never thought I'd be typing that about "output". <lol>)


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