Dog ate chocolate?

 ask a vet

Puppy with diarrhea.

Species: Dog
Breed: Miniature Schnauzer
Age: 3-6 months
Hi,
I got Winston when he was just 5 weeks old and he's just a little over 4 months old now. When I got him I was told he was eating purina and that was it. I got him some and have tried different ways of feeding him but the problem persists.
He's not had a single solid poop since I've gotten him. He has always had diarrhea. I figured it was just something that had to do with his habit of eating grass, but as he's cut that habit, it's concerning me. I've taken him to the vet and all I've gotten was "prednisone", which after looking it up, I didn't understand why they would give a pain medication when it's just a chronic diarrhea problem. I've given him various home remedies: pepto and pumpkin, but neither show much help. Lately he's been bleeding what looks like blood, but my parents believe he just can't digest the beef or the dyes in the dry dog food (he likes to eat the older dogs food) and they believe it's just the dyes. He seems to be having trouble because he strains when he poops sometimes and when he can go it's either alot of diarrhea that is normal colored or a little bit of diarrhea but it's red/ reddish brown.

Thing is, today he vomited a white foam and ran to his bed to sleep. He's still asleep as we speak.

What do you think it could be? Someone told me it could be separation anxiety or stress.

Related questions about diarrhea in dogs:

My dog is pooping blood
Dog has occasional diarrhea
Vomiting and Diarrhea. Is my dog dying?
Dog has diarrhea after eating bully stix
Puppy has had diarrhea for 5 days


Online vet, Dr. Marie

Dr. Marie replied:

Oh the poor guy. It is definitely not normal for a puppy to have diarrhea for so long.

This is definitely not separation anxiety or stress. There has to be a physical medical problem here.

What tests has he had done? Has he been on medicines other than prednisone? It's a little unusual to put a puppy on prednisone for diarrhea. I am assuming that the prednisone was given thinking that this could be a food allergy or a food intolerance. But, if this was true then we should have seen a great improvement within a few days of starting the prednisone and this didn't happen.

If this were my case I would be running a fecal exam to look for parasites. If this was negative I would run a second one just to be sure.

The next thing I would be doing is sending stool to the lab to do DNA testing for conditions such as cryptosporidium, clostridium, salmonella, etc. This test can be a little pricey (around $140 or so).

Even if the fecal exam is negative I would likely be treating him with fenbendazole which is a very good dewormer that covers a lot of unusual parasites. I would likely also try a course of metronidazole which is an antibiotic that is good for the parasite giardia as well as helping with intestinal inflamation.

If these don't work then the next step would be to take biopsies of the intestines. This will tell us about more rare conditions. However, intestinal biopsies will be quite expensive.

If he has had some testing done already or been on other medications, let me know and I'll give you my opinion.

I hope you get some answers soon and I really hope that Winston feels better soon.


Do you have a pet website? Interested in learning more about SEO for Wix?

Check out our dog age calculator and cat age calculator.

Want to receive pet coupons, vet advice and info on new pet products in your inbox?

* indicates required

We'll only send you great stuff, never spam. Unsubscribe any time.

Disclaimer: Although Dr. Marie is a qualified veterinarian, the information found on this site is not meant to replace the advice of your own veterinarian. AskAVetQuestion.com and Dr. Marie do not accept any responsibility for any loss, damage, injury, death, or disease which may arise from reliance on information contained on this site. Do not use information found on this site for diagnosing or treating your pet. Anything you read here is for information only.

Customer reply:

The vet didn't even look at him, the nurse just asked what seemed to be the problem and I told her diarrhea and she handed me prednisone. I was confused, but as I saw online that it could be a food intolerance, I changed his diet to something without beef and there was really no change in him.


Online vet, Dr. Marie

Dr. Marie replied:

Something doesn't add up here. Prednisone is a prescription medication and needs to be prescribed by a vet. If you are in the US or Canada, then it is illegal for anyone but a vet to give you prednisone. This would be true in most other parts of the world as well.

A food intolerance can cause some diarrhea, but this doesn't sound like a food intolerance at all.

I would bet money that there is an infectious problem here such as parasites or bacteria.

Winston needs to have a vet exam as soon as possible! I hope he does better soon!



Search for similar questions:

ask a vet

Popular questions...

Swollen ear. My cats right inner ear just started turning like bruised, black & blue. Inner ear,... (15789 views)

Run over by car. we have a small part pomeranian dog, she old, but not sure how old. she was... (13969 views)

White bumps on anus. Hi Dr. Marie, I know you are quite busy with all your other questions and I am... (26456 views)

Puppy ate Imodium We think our 11-week-old puppy ate an Imodium. He weighs 6.5 pounds. Do we need to... (32496 views)

Swollen feet. hey doctor, i have a weimarner....for the last 1 year he has been continuously... (9616 views)

Peeing in the house. I would like a REAL solution to this, without the standard answers or suggestions(... (11537 views)

Accidents outside of box. Mt cat is litter box trained and has been since she was around 3 months old. We... (8200 views)

Trouble going to the bathroom. First off i want to say i really wish i could do the paid option so i could for sure... (11292 views)

Cat with bump on skin. My 5 year old cat has a small bump on the back of his neck. It moves with the skin... (15332 views)

How to get a guinea pig to lose weight Hi Dr. Marie: Recently I took my sow guinea pig Squeaky to have her nails trimmed.... (7761 views)

See all questions...

Dr. MarieDr. Marie is a veterinarian who practices in a busy animal hospital in Ottawa, Ontario. She created Ask A Vet Question as a resource for good, accurate veterinary advice online. Dr. Marie treats dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rats. She has been a vet since 1999.

Is an online vet visit just as good as a trip to your veterinarian? No! But, many times, asking an online veterinarian a question can help save you money. While Dr. Marie can't officially diagnose your pet or prescribe medications, she can often advise you on whether a vet visit is necessary. You can also ask Dr. Marie for a second opinion on your pet's condition.