My dog has diarrhea whenever she goes for a walk or has a bought of high activity at the dog park. No other time does this happen. Help?
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Thank you for using PetCoach! What you are describing is relatively normal, as excitement can sometimes activate the nervous system and cause a bowel movement. This means that the next bowel movement will be loose as the food has not had enough time to digest. As long as other bowel movements are normal, and there is no blood or mucus in the stool, I recommend keeping an eye on Nyssa. I hope this helps and am happy to answer any other questions you may have!
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Diarrhea after times of exercise or stress is very common. It is usually self limiting and of little consequence. Concern should be had if the diarrhea persists, if there is blood in the feces, or if it accompanied by other signs such as lethargy, depression, vomiting, or not wanting to eat. Diarrhea with every walk could be a sign of problem that would merit further investigation. Causes of diarrhea could include intestinal parasites, sensitivities to the protein of carbohydrates source in the food, metabolic problems with digestion, bacterial overgrowth in the intestines, and live/kidney problems. Feeding a high quality food can sometimes help although, if there is a true sensitivity to the protein or carbohydrate source, the only way to rule that in or out is to do a strict diet trial with a novel protein/carbohydrate food or a hydrolyzed diet. These are available with a prescription from your veterinarian. And intermediate step would be to try a food that is for sensitive stomachs. Many food companies have those now and they are widely available. As with any food change to gradually over the course of 5 to 7 days small amounts at a time from one food to the other. A thorough deworming by your veterinarian but also be reasonable. Your veterinarian may recommend fecal testing and bloodowork to start to evaluate for a cause of diarrhea. sometimes, special testing including tests for other infectious diseases, imaging of the abdomen, and even a colonoscopy with biopsies maybe recommended. As stated above if the diarrhea is accompanied by any other signs or persists for longer than 24 hours your patch be seen by veterinarian to be evaluated. Diarrhea can occur secondary to diarrhea that perisists.
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