Very windy bottom yesterday - loose yellowish poo today

[codiesmum]

Hi I am a new hound-homer and have had my lovely boy, Codie, for two weeks. He's been making great progress and really settling in nicely but a couple of days ago I noticed that he was very f*rty pants all evening. Very smelly indeed.  I then noticed yesterday that, whilst not as bad as diarrhoea, his poop was on the loose side.  Yesterday the wind problem eased off a little so I thought we were over the worst but when walking him this afternoon, his poop was yellow and more runny than before.  He seems fine in himself - loving his walks - drinking well, weeing well, sleeping well - doesn't seem to be fretful or uncomfortable.  After he had loose poop yesterday I moved him off the kibble that I was told to keep him on by the Dogs Trust and fed him with smaller portions of plain, boiled brown rice and plain chicken (no skin).  He's still got a really good appetite and still interested in food (very food-driven) He had another portion of boiled rice and chicken for brekky this morning and again for dinner this evening.  Ate the lot every time.  Just a bit worried as I am a new, solo hound mummy and could do with some sage advice.  Thanks peeps! Codiesmum :-)

[Ian]

You could give him a worm tablet. I often used to find that solved runny bums with our Seaney, he had much the same thing on and off. It was often accompanied by a rumbling belly which would sometimes keep us awake at night since he slept in the same room as us.

[codiesmum]

Thanks Mark. I was told he was wormed prior to being rehomed by Dogs Trust but I will pop out tomorrow to the vet that Codie is registered with and explain the situation and as if he can prescribe a worm tablet. Sorry to be so twitchy but I'm new to this and already he has become my dog-panion and a fully fledged member of my family of one! Will let you know how I get on - keeping everything crossed that when doing out starlight walk this evening, he'll produce something a bit more "normal" for me. Codiesmum

[sallyannh]

If the vet can't find anything wrong with him, you might like to try the RGT's own dried food. Our two have it and it has firmed the poo up and reduced the windieness, although sweet dainty Roma has spent this evening happily deflating and gassing us in the process!

[codiesmum]

Many thanks Sallyann. Thankfully he's picked up a little today. Had a lovely walk in the sunshine this morning for about 1.5 hours - right out into the countryside. Did a plop and it was at least semi firm (could at least pick it up) but still an alarming colour. Another good 45 min walk this afternoon - and another little parcel for me - semi firm too but still far too yellow for my liking. The boiled rice and small amount of plain chicken seems to be helping. I've got the worm table from the vets on "standby" but the vet has said to only use if it he's not started to show strong signs of recovery within 48 hours as the de-wormer can be harsh on his digestive tract. Keep you all posted - fingers crossed.

[Ian]

Mar 12, 2016 21:25:42 GMT codiesmum said:

Many thanks Sallyann. Thankfully he's picked up a little today. Had a lovely walk in the sunshine this morning for about 1.5 hours - right out into the countryside. Did a plop and it was at least semi firm (could at least pick it up) but still an alarming colour. Another good 45 min walk this afternoon - and another little parcel for me - semi firm too but still far too yellow for my liking. The boiled rice and small amount of plain chicken seems to be helping. I've got the worm table from the vets on "standby" but the vet has said to only use if it he's not started to show strong signs of recovery within 48 hours as the de-wormer can be harsh on his digestive tract. Keep you all posted - fingers crossed.

Yes it's very true what the vet says about wormers being harsh on the system, you definitely should not be hitting a dog with them on a weekly basis for example. Our Seaney averaged about 2 months between uses whilst we had him, and we used to take it as a sign when his output was poor that he needed doing. Fortunately it became fairly predictable with Sean and we bought wormers two at a time each time we ran out. They're not prescription drugs and can be bought online from reputable sellers, usually more cheaply than from a vets. Drontal are the most common, just buy based on the weight of your dog. Typically this will be Drontal XL for Greyhounds, but if your hound is on the smaller side a lower dose may be fine. Your vet has no doubt supplied the correct one for the size of the dog.

[codiesmum]

Many thanks Mark and Sallyann for the advice.  Codie's improved a little over the weekend. Vet is calling this afternoon. Sadly, my new car (big enough to fit Codie in) doesn't arrive until Friday morning - but vet has agreed to pop by for me on that basis. Things have got a little better but still an alarming colour. Clearly transiting his tum too quickly as you can see undigested food in there. He's still eating fine, drinking and wee'ing fine and generally being lively. Had some cracking walks at the weekend as the weather was glorious.  Had a fantastic run around in a neighbour's huge, fenced-off garden yesterday. First time I had seen him run - totally awesome and brought tears to my eyes - just the sheer joy of living and being free was apparent. Think us humans could learn a thing or two off our hooooounds! So kind of the lady to let me use her garden whilst her grey-lurcher was out for a walk!!  Will keep you posted - but popular opinion is that something's got out of balance with his flora in gut. 

[gazza56]

I've mention this before in different posts but our first grey who sadly left us 6 years ago was gluton intolerant .There are dry foods on the market for this problem.oh and her pasting had nothing to do with that problem

[codiesmum]

Many thanks everyone for all the info. Thankfully Codie's got a lot better - still a bit on the "soft" side if I'm honest, but a good colour and getting better with every passing day. I did take 3 lots of samples to the local vets that Codie is registered with and should get the results today, just to be on the safe side. Think they will conclude that it's just that he's had a lot of change in his life over a short period of time and perhaps just made his tummy a bit dickie! Will post on another thread as just need some advice about something else (non medical - thankfully!!)

[codiesmum]

Update on Codie's dicky tummy. Vet called me yesterday to say that they found nothing of any concern in his poo samples that I handed over late last week. Upon talking with the vet I described how the first poo of the day is reasonably firm and then they get progressively softer. He has one poo first thing, in the garden, then we go for our long walk in the morning and normally has another 2 or so poo's with the 2nd poo being softer than his early morning poo and the third poo being really soft. She thinks he is suffering from SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth)meaning that food is passing through his gut too quickly before he's really had a chance to fully digest it and, as a result, he will be constantly hungry (which he is but just figured he was/is quite food-focused) and will likely not be getting his full set of nutrients. He has improved a lot compared with how he was a week or so ago. She's said I've to monitor it for the next couple of days and if no improvement then I should take him for a blood test on Wednesday after Easter. She said it can point to a problem with his pancreas - the feeling of which I know only too well as I too have terrible troubles with mine.
Does anyone else on this forum have experience of SIBO with their greys please? Thanks for any info or advice that you can give. Codies Mum

[gail]

I have sent you personal message, greyhound ' output' is such an odd subject!

[codiesmum]

Thanks everyone for all the info. Thankfully Codie's blood tests came back as all "clear" on Monday - so no sign of SIBO, pancreatitis or liver probs - delighted! I think he is just falling into the category or poo passing too quickly through his large intestine and hence not extracting all the water out as it goes. Have bought him some Forteflora sachets to put onto his food once a day to help rebalance his gut - but having done quite a bit of research, does look like this is a v. common problem for ex-racers. Something to do with being let out of their crates on a regular basis but only for a few minutes at a time and encouraged to do a poo in the short time they have. He might just get the idea that he doesn't have to force it to please his "Mum". He's such a lovely boy and has settled in soooo well. Even his food aggression and sleep aggression issues experienced in the first couple of weeks have lessened to the point that he's very chillaxed (although not sure that I'd pick up a knuckle bone as he sure does love his bones :-)) I adore him and am even more delighted to discover that he is actually coming up for 4 years old in June and not 8 years old as the tattoos would infer. They mis-tatooed him poor lad. Explains him having bags of energy and loving his long walks with his mum. A special thanks to Andrea for all the support and encouragement she gave me when I first adopted Codie - and very kindly giving me a muzzle which fitted the snouty boy! (he still wears his muzzle with pride Andrea) Will keep you posted with how he progresses - but all good so far! Codies Mum x