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How to Identify Common Pet Problems ?
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Colitis has many possible causes, including bacterial infections, parasites, stress, allergies, and inflammatory bowel disease. If a veterinarian believes that your dog has colitis, they may prescribe changes to their diet, temporary fasting, and/or medication.
Naturally, adding fibrous foods is a great way to firm up your dog`s poop. Fiber absorbs extra liquid in the digestive tract, which helps to harden your dog`s stool. Fiber also helps your canine friend to feel more full, which can be helpful with reducing their meal size (see tip #3).
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When it comes to nipping there are a few things you can do. First, you should yelp as soon as the teeth touch your skin, stand up, cross your arms, and ignore the puppy until he is ignoring you. Once he is off doing his own thing, swoop down and calmly reward him by playing with him WITH A TOY so he doesn’t nip your hands. Whenever you pet him, or interact with him, you should always have a toy on-hand so you can give it to him. This toy should be a soft braided rope toy that YOU own. This means, your puppy is never allowed to have this toy on the floor, and your pup can never “win” tug games with this toy. This is YOUR toy that disappears when you’re finished playing, and reappears when you want to play. If you keep this up, in a weeks time, your puppy will be so excited to see that toy, that as soon as you bring it out, he stops nipping you because he wants to play with the toy. Another thing you can do is have two bags of toys. Bag#1 is full of chew toys/soft toys/squeaky toys/etc. After one week, Bag#1 disappears and out comes Bag#2. Bag#2 has the same types of toys as Bag#1, and it only stays out for one week. This keeps the toys feeling like new to your pup!
Remember to NEVER scold for accident indoors. The more you scold, the more fearful your dog is of pooping in front of you, the less your dog will want to poop in front of you outdoors, the more he will poop indoors, the more you scold… it’s a vicious cycle.
Have you been cleaning messes with Nature Miracle? Pick up a bottle, and try cleaning with that instead of regular cleaner. It will eliminate the smells deep down (even to your dog), which will discourage him from potting in that spot again.
Maybe he needs to be taken outside more often, and maybe he needs to be kept outside longer each time. He should be allowed at least 10 minutes of roaming outside before he has to come back inside. Allow him 10 minutes every single time you bring him outside, just in case he has to poop. He needs every opportunity you can give him. Bring him outside every hour if he’s full grown, every 40 minutes if he’s an adolescent (6-10 months), and every 30 minutes if he’s a puppy (2-6 months). If you have a doggy door, you should still be bringing your dog outside yourself to encourage him to stay outside longer, and poop. When he does poop outside, you should praise him, and reward him with lots of treats!
First off, you should have a toy that YOU own. This toy should be brand new. It should be something like a SOFT braided rope toy. Never allow your pup to play with this toy without you. Never leave this toy on the ground for your pup to play with. Never allow your pup to “”win”” tug games with this toy. This toy disappears when YOU are finished playing with it. This toy is hidden from your pups sight whenever you are finished playing with it. After about a week of keeping this toy hidden from your pup, and only bringing it out when YOU are engaging your puppy in play, you can THEN begin to use it to redirect your pups attention when she nips.
You could also try adding things to your pups diet. Things like canned pumpkin for dogs (not the pie filling you find in the grocery store, that has way too much sugar in it). Or you could feed your dog raw chews like marrow bones, or beef tendons. You’ll have to add things to his diet in order to find out what is missing from it. If you allow him to continue eating poop, even if there is something lacking in his diet, he will continue eating poop when you’ve solved his diet issue because it will become a LEARNED behavior. This means he will continue eating poop because he learned he CAN eat poop. You could also try feeding him three meals per day. Feed him the same amount of food, but break it up into three feedings per day. This could help him feel a bit more full throughout the day.
Clean up your yard, and clean up after your pups immediately when they eliminate outdoors. Do not scold him, there is no need.. it isn’t his fault.
Diet problems can also play a factor in loose stool as well as chronic illness. Dogs can be allergic to many different ingredients in the diet, however grains such as corn, wheat and soy products can be the most problematic. Adding a probiotic supplement can sometimes help such as a scoop of plain yogurt ever meal, or commercial product from your vet.
Illnesses and metabolic disorders may also cause chronic loose stools. German Shepherds are prone to a disease called Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency which is a problem with the pancreas (the same organ that dysfunctions in diabetes- however that is ENDOCRINE function in that case) producing enough digestive enzymes. This causes stools that may be loose, discolored grey or yellow and appear very fatty in color. Shepherds can also be prone to chronic small intestine infections that cause loose stool as well. Luckily, treatment for these conditions often just involves adding a daily digestive enzyme supplement to the food, or daily anti-biotic designed specifically for chronic bowel issues.
Diarrhea can be caused by a large number of things ranging from illness, internal parasites, digestive upset or even dietary issues. Ruling out any more serious issues first is best, then looking to others such as stress or diet is next. Cats can have issues with some grain products such as wheat, corn and soy, and can even have issues with dairy and fish products! (Cats are naturally lactose-intolerant). Changing the diet may help to firm up the stools.
For other additives, adding a probiotic such as Forti-flora from your vet, or a teaspoon of plain yogurt added to the food can help. Adding in a small amount of pureed pumpkin to the diet may also help as the added fiber can firm up the stool. However if the stool does not improve after a few days of treatment, a follow-up with your vet is best.
