How to Identify Common Pet Problems ?
Our sources include academic articles, blog posts, and personal essays from experienced pet care professionals :
More often than not, I have pet parents report their pet didn`t improve on chicken and rice and is continuing to have diarrhea, which is where you would suspect a food sensitivity.
Relevant Questions and Answers :
the most relevant questions and answers related to your specific issue
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.
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!
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!
If your dog is eating his own, removing the feces as soon as he deposits them is best in preventing them from being eaten. Keeping your dog on a leash while he potties can also help to catch any stool before he finds it. If he is eating other stool as well, sweeping the area prior to letting him out to go potty can help you identify and remove any left-behind stool.
There is also a product called For-bid that is available to make stool distasteful to pets. This product is sprinkled over every meal for a period of a week. When your dog attempts to eat the stool formed from this product, it becomes distasteful and discourages him from doing so. Most dogs will stop after a week of use, but some may need a few reminders from time to time to completely stop the behavior.
Loose stools in cats can be caused by a number of things ranging from chronic stress, internal parasites, food allergies, to digestive upset and internal illness. You can try some home remedies such as adding pureed pumpkin or plain yogurt to meals which may help bulk up the stool some and is safe for your other healthy cats to ingest.
However if the loose stools continue, bringing in your cat as well as a sample of his stool to your vet is best. They can check for any internal parasites which may be causing the issue, as well as look for any underlying conditions causing it. If a food allergy is the cause, changing the food should be fine for your other cats if they are healthy.
