Dog care, symptoms, health issues, and dog health advocacy from an owner's perspective. In loving memory of Jasmine.
Why does it matter what your dog’s poop looks like? Dog poop consistency is one of the most useful clues about your dog’s health. The longer I’ve been a dog mom, the more attention I’ve learned to pay to poop. It started with Jasmine who had ongoing poop issues from the day she came to us. After years of being…
My dog has diarrhea. What caused it, and what do I do? Diarrhea and runny stools in dogs are incredibly common, but they can mean many different things—from harmless blips to serious medical problems. Diarrhea isn’t a disease—it’s a symptom. It means something has irritated or disrupted your dog’s digestive tract. When things move through the intestines too quickly, there…
Intestinal worms in dogs are parasites that live in the digestive tract. They cause damage and rob your dog of needed nutrients. The damage they cause depends on the type and number of worms involved. In general, the adult worms that infect dogs cannot live in people. However, in rare cases, immature forms of these parasites can migrate through human…
Gastrointestinal obstruction is the partial or full blockage of the digestive tract. It can occur in the stomach or in the intestine. It can be life-threatening. Symptoms might include vomiting diarrhea loss of appetite straining to poop pain lethargy Thank you, Dawn Munger, for sharing Chance’s story. Chance’s story Chance was a four y/o American Bulldog mix. I volunteer at…
Severe or chronic GI disease can be challenging to treat. Dogs with severe chronic problems without a clear cause often don’t respond to treatment. The underlying factors can be genetic, environmental, immune, or involve the state of intestinal bacteria. In fact, the disruption in intestinal microbiota appears to be the key. Probiotic therapy can prove helpful. However, there is a…