What could be the cause of my dog having diarrhoea?
Posted by Dog Supplies Advice in Dog Supplies Q&A, Dog Supplies Tips, tags: Dog, Dog Advice, dog care, Dog Health, dog illness, dog Q&A, dog supplies, dog supplies advice, Pet Supplies, signs of illnessWhat could be the cause of my dog having diarrhoea?
The term diarrhoea includes both the excessively frequent passage of motions, and motions that are unusually soft or liquid. Normal dogs pass motions between one and three times a day and the stools are formed; though on modern canned diets they are usually not completely solid.
A lot of water in the form of digestive juices is added to the food as it passes through the digestive tract, more than 2 pints for every 25 lb body weight (i .e. more than 1 litre per 10 kg), though almost all of this is later reabsorbed. However, if the gut is irritated (by viruses such as that causing distemper, or by irritant poisons, food poisoning or dietary allergies) material may be moved through so rapidly that much of the water cannot be removed. Usually material takes between five and ten hours to pass right through the digestive tract but where there is increased motility this can be reduced to only twenty or thirty minutes. If food cannot be properly digested or absorbed it remains in the intestine and holds water with it, just like a saline laxative (e.g. Epsom salts), so that the dog passes soft motions, remain hungry despite eating more, and gradually loses weight. Undigested materials can ferment in the bowel producing large amounts of gas which the animal subsequently passes.
A lot of fat in the diet can have an Irritant effect because it is broken down to oleic acid which has a similar, though milder, effect to that of ricinoleic acid – the active ingredient of castor oil. Also, certain disease producing bacteria can damage the cell” lining the bowel so that water is lost from them into the bowel contents – just as it is in the human disease of cholera.
In general diarrhoea due to bacteria or food poisoning only lasts for a few days before clearing up spontaneously. Worms are seldom a cause of diarrhoea except in young puppies. In older dogs cancer must be considered as a possible cause, even though this is uncommon. Persistent or recurrent diarrhoea is almost always confined to the larger breeds, especially German Shepherd Dogs (Alsatians), and to a lesser extent Great Danes and Old English Sheepdogs, starting at an early age. There are three main causes for persistent diarrhoea: failure to digest food completely, failure to absorb it into the bloodstream once it has been digested, and, in very nervous dogs, a psychogenic diarrhoea such as also occurs in certain people, particularly at a time of stress.
If foods containing specific substances which the dog cannot effectively deal with, such as lactose in milk and gluten in flour-containing products, are omitted from the diet, a great improvement may result.
In all breeds of dogs, but especially the Collie breeds, and at any age, colitis may be responsible for diarrhoea. Since this disorder involves the large bowel, which is beyond the point where food absorption takes place, hunger and weight loss are not common features. The frequent passage of liquid motions with considerable straining and the presence of mucus (jelly-like material) and even blood (which signifies dysentery) are the tell-tale signs. Often this condition regularly disappears and reappears until eventually it is present continuously.
In all cases where diarrhoea persists, or the animal is passing blood, or is rapidly becoming weak, veterinary attention should be obtained as soon as possible.
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