Comments on: The poop on the dawg (another gross blog entry)

By: Jane

Jane — Sat, 24 May 2008 12:26:47 +0000

Wow those moose photos are really something. Yes I would also have been a bit anxious about being close to that monstrous thing.

By: GrannyJ

GrannyJ — Mon, 19 May 2008 18:03:29 +0000

Thanks for the moose pictures. Where’s that amazing rack that I’ve been led to expect? Perhaps a sturdy fence topped by razor wire is called for.

By: Maia

Maia — Sat, 17 May 2008 23:38:43 +0000

Not to be too graphic - but of course, after your post, I feel I have full reign - but if the blood/poop is the consistency of strawberry jam and has a particularly fishy smell - it’s probably hemmoraghic (sp?) gastroenteritis. My dog had it for years - and it’s awful, and probably stress related - but not fatal. You just have to be sure he doesn’t get dehydrated.

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 17 May 2008 22:46:08 +0000

Going to delurk after so long to post on your blog if you don’t mind.
For what it’s worth from a lowly former tech (you’ve been to the vet. and back by now and probably have an answer but, for future reference): Giardia canis does not pass in every stool sample and it’s hard to detect so it may take multiple samples. The same can also be said for minor cases of other intestinal parasites including worms (round, whip, tape) and coccidia for example. Symptoms are similar and it sounds like the first vet. didn’t spend a lot of time on your dog. Metronidazole (flagyl) kills bacteria that will cause diarrhea but not necessarily the parasite. Unfortunately your first vet. didn’t take the time to explain this or even feel around your dog’s abdomen to determine whether there was a mass etc. and the need for rads or scans. I’m always sorry to see/read when this happens. Anyway the suggestions from the first two posts are right on as far as bland food and hydration (as long as there is no continued vomiting)

Hope omegadawg is feeling better soon.

By: you know where you are with

you know where you are with — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:30:12 +0000

Oh, I almost forgot…she probably got the tapeworm from a flea, which can carry it. I found a few fleas on her before having a chance to get her on the flea pill AND the flea drops. In Arizona, at our altitudes, there were no fleas. But now it’s a different story.

By: you know where you are with

you know where you are with — Sat, 17 May 2008 17:27:48 +0000

We just went through this EXACT SAME thing last week with the littlest dog. BLOOD everywhere (she was both puking blood and having bloody diarrhea). And LOTS of mucus. Sometimes just gobs of mucus would come out.

Anyway. Went to the vet (where I waited 3 hours to be seen) and went home with that antibiotic metronidazole. Was told to watch for dehydration, but she was drinking a lot. Stopped eating. Got worse mucus and blood and diarrhea. I went online and read about worms. I examined some poop. It was worms–tapeworm. I went to the pet store and bought Safe Guard and sprinkled it on both dogs’ food for three nights in a row. And washed everything in boiling hot water. Problem solved.

By: Mrs Figby

Mrs Figby — Sat, 17 May 2008 14:16:34 +0000

Oh, poor poor OmegaDawg! I hope he feels better soon.

As for the moose and your veggies…um…an extremely large and sturdy fence?

By: Carol Anne

Carol Anne — Sat, 17 May 2008 05:39:14 +0000

What did dawg eat? Obviously something he didn’t agree with. Is the blood and poop have lots of mucus? If so, it’s probably gastroenteritis. Therefore the antibiotics and no food thing would be appropriate. Was the antibiotic metronidazole?

Main thing right now is to keep dawg hydrated. No more barfing, right? If he’s barf-free, make sure h2o is available. Check his gums — they should be pink, not white.

You can also make this mixture: 1-2 beef or chicken bouillon cubes dissolved in a quart of water, with 2 tablespoons of sugar added. You can serve this to dawg either hot or cold — keep the extra in the fridge. At her worst, Macalester always drank this stuff.

Keeping my fingers crossed that it’s just a messed up stomach from eating dumb stuff outside — or inside if The Dotter is like my kids. Keep the floor clean!

By: kris

kris — Sat, 17 May 2008 03:27:01 +0000

did he test him for giardia? one of my dogs got that once (actually they have had it way more than once but once BAD) and he had the puke/poops and his vomit got bloody specks in it. i think the bloody poop is probably from the irratation. go to a different vet and maybe not wait until tomorrow if this gets worse. i have found with giardia that after the first dose of flagyl the poops clear up pretty quick. you might try a yogurt or something that has the stomach/intestine bacteria in it to get his good bacterial level back up. i hate crappy vets and they are out there. good luck