Rescue Dog With Repeated 24-Hour Bouts of Diarrhea and Vomiting
Reader Question
we have a 5 yr old blue heeler/husky/shep mix who we got as a rescue at 6mnths old. Right from the start she has had issues with these bouts of diarrhea & vomit, will last 24-36 hrs and then back to normal for 2 to 3 weeks. I changed her to a grain free food, no difference. She is very reactive and goes from 0 to 10 in about 2 seconds when sees another dog when we are walking, a car coming up our road, and trips to the vet are very stressful. She has to be muzzled and held down by 3 techs in order for vet to give annual vacs. Funny though, she looks like she recovers quickly from these episodes. No diarrhea/vomiting after vet visit. She loves to go into vets and look around at everything but gets very stressed/scared once we enter exam room. She was diagonsed with low thyroid approx 2 yrs ago and is on the lowest dose on meds they have, thyroid just low enough to need meds. I have her on Digestive Support from Natural Remedies, since Nov/12. It must be helping as episodes have gone from every 2-3 weeks to around 6 weeks. She'll start with just not wanting to eat (not common for her) and that's the trigger that we know an episode is coming on. Within 2-4 hours she'll have runny diarrhea and loud rumbling in her belly area. Wants to drink water but does not want anything to eat. Often will throw up either the water or sometimes just a biley substance. This goes on for usually 24-26 hours and she seems alert and is interested in whatever is going on. She may need to go
out 2 to 4 times during night to strain and sputter out diarrhea in little bits. If she had had a full meal sometimes it will been a blast of it for first bit then she seems to want to go but just small amounts come out, kinda mucousy looking. Not seeing any blood.
Then, like a switch is flipped, she'll want something to eat after the 24-36 hours is up and goes right back to her normal self. I feel so bad for her and vet thinks it could be IBS and we have switched her to vet gastro food but honestly don't think food change has done anything. I did take her in to vet Nov/12 and they took stool sample and found no parasites or anything.
any thoughts ??
Answer from Our Team
Regular bouts of vomiting and diarrhea that end suddenly, in a dog who is otherwise well between episodes, can be a chronic enteropathy. The straining and small mucus-covered stools suggest the large bowel is involved, and stress can be a trigger in anxious dogs.
Steps worth discussing with your vet: a strict diet trial with a hydrolyzed or novel-protein diet for at least a couple of weeks (grain-free food isn't the same as a diet trial); repeat stool tests, since one negative test doesn't rule out parasites; blood tests including vitamin B12, and a test for Addison's disease (low adrenal hormone levels), which can cause on-and-off vomiting and diarrhea that flares with stress; and a plan to reduce stress around triggers and vet visits, such as pre-visit calming medicine or "happy visits". Keep a diary of each episode to spot patterns.
See IBD in dogs and colitis in dogs.
This is general information, not a diagnosis. Please follow your own vet's advice.
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