Poor pup, trying to poop but can't... **NEW UPDATE**
Jul 9, 2014 20:07:14 GMT
gajitldy, freebird, and 2 more like this
Post by *Shannon on Jul 9, 2014 20:07:14 GMT
My 2 yo Shih Tzu has been squatting to poop on and off for a an hour or so, but isn't having any luck. I have seen a couple of drops of liquid come out a couple of times, but that's it. Earlier today she did have a small, soft poop, and also left a tiny (5 or 6 drops) of really soft poop in the house.
I did switch her food about two weeks ago (from one Merrick variety to another, grain free to 20% grain), but she started have frequent, soft stool with the new food, so decided to switch her back. She's been on 100% her old food for a couple of days now.
She's not throwing up any. Is drinking fine. Hasn't eaten much today.
Our vet's office said to watch her for a bit to see if she's able to go. As long as she's drinking, she should be ok as long as she doesn't show any other symptoms.
Any advice to offer? Pumpkin pulp?
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Update: Thursday, 6:32am
Lu is doing much better this morning. She was almost normal last night when we went to bed at 12:30. She slept as usual, no attempts to poop as far as I know - no messes. She didn't try to go when I took her out a bit ago, either, but did urinate and patrolled the yard as usual. She hasn't had anything to eat other than a spoonful of pumpkin for over 24 hrs, so there may no be anything for her to move along so to speak.
I'm still taking her to the vet at 8:00, just to make sure she's ok and to get good guidelines on how to restart her on her food. I'll report back after the visit.
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Update Thursday, 1:20pm
Hello ladies, thank you so much for checking in on Lu... I am happy to say that she is still doing well.
Here's more info than you probably wanted.
Her appt went very well. A little background... we go to a vet hospital that is decades old (the office is very stuck in the 60's). We've taken our cats there for 15+ years. Lu hasn't been there yet - you may remember that we adopted her about three months ago from our former neighbor. The founder of the practice is also the patriarch of one of the founding families of our city, old as the hills, great vet, a wonderful guy. He retired last year and the vet hospital is now owned by a doctor that worked with the founder of the practice. This man also owns two other practices. All three clinics work together now as sister clinics.
Our usual vet could not see Lu, she was booked solid. The receptionist told be about their new relationship with the two clinics and told me that I could have Lu seen at one of the clinics, so I called, got an appt, etc. I dreaded seeing a new vet. I love our reg vet, she's down to earth, very hands on with animals, makes all her calls herself, she's awesome. I felt like I was cheating on her!
Anyway... the guy we saw this morning was awesome! He spent an hour with us, examining Lu, discussing her issues of late, discussing what she needed regarding vaccinations, heart worm prevention, paw licking, etc. I learned so much and never felt rushed or that I was annoying him with questions. It was awesome. The staff was great, just an all around good experience. I will be leaving reviews on Yelp and such.
So on to Lu...
He thinks her issues were probably caused by switching her food. Her exam was unremarkable, other than pretty full anal glands which apparently happens often when dogs have diarrhea. No fever, not dehydrated, etc. He explained that when dogs, particularly ones that are on a strict one-type-of-food diet, change food bacteria in their gut can get out of whack and sometimes bad bacteria can take a hold resulting in colitis, which results in the frequent straining and diarrhea.
He performed a digital rectal exam to make sure there was no internal bleeding or crazy inflammation, that turned out fine. They have a stool sample and are testing for giardia and other nasties that could be playing a roll just to be on the safe side. She is on a twice daily antibiotic for a week and is on a bland canned food diet for several days. We are about to leave town for a week and my dad's watching her, so we're going to do the bland diet the whole time we're away and then will slowly start mixing in her regular food when we return.
It was a very educational and busy visit... In addition to the above she also received her distemper vaccine, was dewormed, was micro chipped, and had a blood draw done for heart worm testing.
Phew! She greedily ate her 1/4 of a can of food when we got home, drank a good bit and promptly went to sleep.
She's almost 100%. I just hope my dad remembers to give her her medicine twice a day while we're gone.
Thank you for your advice and support, I really appreciate it!
I did switch her food about two weeks ago (from one Merrick variety to another, grain free to 20% grain), but she started have frequent, soft stool with the new food, so decided to switch her back. She's been on 100% her old food for a couple of days now.
She's not throwing up any. Is drinking fine. Hasn't eaten much today.
Our vet's office said to watch her for a bit to see if she's able to go. As long as she's drinking, she should be ok as long as she doesn't show any other symptoms.
Any advice to offer? Pumpkin pulp?
-------------------------------------------------------
Update: Thursday, 6:32am
Lu is doing much better this morning. She was almost normal last night when we went to bed at 12:30. She slept as usual, no attempts to poop as far as I know - no messes. She didn't try to go when I took her out a bit ago, either, but did urinate and patrolled the yard as usual. She hasn't had anything to eat other than a spoonful of pumpkin for over 24 hrs, so there may no be anything for her to move along so to speak.
I'm still taking her to the vet at 8:00, just to make sure she's ok and to get good guidelines on how to restart her on her food. I'll report back after the visit.
-------------------------------------------------------
Update Thursday, 1:20pm
Hello ladies, thank you so much for checking in on Lu... I am happy to say that she is still doing well.
Here's more info than you probably wanted.
Her appt went very well. A little background... we go to a vet hospital that is decades old (the office is very stuck in the 60's). We've taken our cats there for 15+ years. Lu hasn't been there yet - you may remember that we adopted her about three months ago from our former neighbor. The founder of the practice is also the patriarch of one of the founding families of our city, old as the hills, great vet, a wonderful guy. He retired last year and the vet hospital is now owned by a doctor that worked with the founder of the practice. This man also owns two other practices. All three clinics work together now as sister clinics.
Our usual vet could not see Lu, she was booked solid. The receptionist told be about their new relationship with the two clinics and told me that I could have Lu seen at one of the clinics, so I called, got an appt, etc. I dreaded seeing a new vet. I love our reg vet, she's down to earth, very hands on with animals, makes all her calls herself, she's awesome. I felt like I was cheating on her!
Anyway... the guy we saw this morning was awesome! He spent an hour with us, examining Lu, discussing her issues of late, discussing what she needed regarding vaccinations, heart worm prevention, paw licking, etc. I learned so much and never felt rushed or that I was annoying him with questions. It was awesome. The staff was great, just an all around good experience. I will be leaving reviews on Yelp and such.
So on to Lu...
He thinks her issues were probably caused by switching her food. Her exam was unremarkable, other than pretty full anal glands which apparently happens often when dogs have diarrhea. No fever, not dehydrated, etc. He explained that when dogs, particularly ones that are on a strict one-type-of-food diet, change food bacteria in their gut can get out of whack and sometimes bad bacteria can take a hold resulting in colitis, which results in the frequent straining and diarrhea.
He performed a digital rectal exam to make sure there was no internal bleeding or crazy inflammation, that turned out fine. They have a stool sample and are testing for giardia and other nasties that could be playing a roll just to be on the safe side. She is on a twice daily antibiotic for a week and is on a bland canned food diet for several days. We are about to leave town for a week and my dad's watching her, so we're going to do the bland diet the whole time we're away and then will slowly start mixing in her regular food when we return.
It was a very educational and busy visit... In addition to the above she also received her distemper vaccine, was dewormed, was micro chipped, and had a blood draw done for heart worm testing.
Phew! She greedily ate her 1/4 of a can of food when we got home, drank a good bit and promptly went to sleep.
She's almost 100%. I just hope my dad remembers to give her her medicine twice a day while we're gone.
Thank you for your advice and support, I really appreciate it!
Hoping pup feels better soon. 
I hope you can keep her comfortable tonight. If she seems at all worse, don't hesitate to look for a 24 hour vet clinic. 
