Dogs cant poop

fend

Hi all,

my fella seems to be having difficulty going number 2. I brought him down to the vet numerous times abd have tried everything, even down to liquid parafin...
Now iv just noticed my small lady has started getting constipated. I feed them rgular dried food, pedegree chum. And give them the odd boneo here and there as a treat. Both me and my vet are puzzled.

Has anyone ever had anything similar happen and if so, wat was the cause????

kylith

I'd look at switching to a better quality food if I were you cos Pedigree isn't great.

Lots of dogs also love veggies (mine go mad for berries of all descriptions, apple cores, carrots and cooked spuds) and since they can't digest them properly they help move things along from the inside.

lorebringer

Pedigree is a low quality food, this could be the cause of both of your dogs problems. Switching to a higher quality food (eg. Hills Science Plan, James Wellbeloved, Royal Canin, Arden Grange, Red Mills Leader, Origen...) would be a long term solution to your problem.

You didn't mention your dogs age, but if they are on the older side (over7/8) their digestive system can slow down a bit and they may need extra fibre to keep everything moving - fresh veg, some bran or fibrous foods each day wold help. You could also switch to a "senior" food which tend to have more fibre in them.

Anal gland issues can cause constipation and/or diarrhoea - have you had them checked? If it is uncomfortable for your dog to go to the toilet, or if they are straining to go it, would be worth while to make sure they are ok.

A short term solution to your problem would be to add more fibre to the dogs diet to try get them going again, then reduce to so as not to cause diarrhoea. Something like Shredded Wheat is good for this. Liquid paraffin is also handy for these things but you said you tried it already so maybe ask the vet if they have any other laxatives for a short term solution.

Just a quick note - if your dogs pooing habits are all over the place when they were fine before, and nothing (diet, stress levels etc.) has changed, there may be an underlying condition that is not showing up. It is always worth asking you vet to do blood and stool tests to see if there is something dodgy going on.

Hope you pooch gets some relief soon!

IvySlayer

Yup, fibre would be the way to go.

fend

Sammy is a golden cocker, about 10 years, and Lacey is a black cocker just a pup, roughly 6 months old. The little one was on the science plan food.

Iv had Sammy at the vet almost 10 times for this problem and have exhausted EVERY test. He goes to go number too and squats for about 5 minutes but nothing. The little one has started doing the same. Lately iv been feeding them scraps from the fridge, fibre based to see if theres any change and still nothing!!

Laceys' not so bad, she eventually gets it out in dribs and drabs [Sorry to be so graphic]

I'm wondering would it be the Bonios? They are just basic dog treats, and they get maybe one a day as a treat. Nothing overboard. I'm running out of ideas.

lorebringer

Are they getting enough water? (scraping the bottom of the barrel here!) I know that in humans with constipation it is always recommended to drink more water to make sure the fibre is able to work its way through the gut, perhaps it is the same for animals (I can't imagine why it wouldn't be). They may not be dehydrated but of they are taking in lots of fibre it might be blocking them up because it does not have enough water to expand in their gut.

I know this sounds a bit mad but is it psychological? Do they not like being watched while they are trying to go. One of mine won't go for a pee if we are staring at her - could be a similar situation with your two.

Walking stimulates dogs digestive systems to evacuate (poo!), maybe bringing them on more strolls or longer ones, with lots of grassy places, will get things moving.

If you think it is the Bonios, try not giving them any for about a week to see if it makes a difference.

fend

Thanks for all your input -- Well they get plenty of running around anyways, loads of land for them to run their socks off.

Haha don't worry, I don't stand beside them watching them use the toilet, can usually see them through the windows upstairs etc. Thats gas about your one not peeing while your watching. Dogs are getting smarter and smarter all the time. My 6month old PUPPY now knows to turn on the lamp in the evenings when we walk in the room using a foot switch! I have NOOOO idea how the hell she learned it, but now does it when we walk in the room int he evening.

I'm hoping she'll pick up the "How to cook the sunday roast" trick soon enough :P

cmbutterfly45

the same thing happened with my dog and the vet diagnosed irritable bowel, she said it hurts so much for them to try go they hold it in, i find walking the dog even around garden on lead encouraging "go to toilet" works and a little liquid parrafin mixed with food, but i find a lot of time i jus hav to wait for her to go cud b only once every 2 days when its bad! it might b somethin to suggest your vet check out for ibs tho

Sigma Force

Perhaps leave the Bonios out of the diet at the mo. As mentioned something like shredded wheat or weetabix might help. Or you can mix some warm water into their dry food that might help.
If the two are having the same problem and on the same diet it could be the diet. But also as said rule out things like ibs although the likley hood of both having it is slim.

Perhaps slowly changing their diet to another brand, zooplus are very reasonable and have a lot of foods to choose from something perhaps with less additives and high fibre.

Did the vet check their anal glands to make sure they weren't full?

Sigma Force

Oh and here's a recipe for dog biccys that might help (if not bit of fun anyway). If your dogs are ok with wheaty products then use wholegrain flour or other high fibre flour, if not use rice flour (you will need to add extra water if using rice flour).

1 mug wholegrain/wholewheat or rice flour.
1/2 mug of oats.
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon.
1 Tablespoon sunflower oil.
1/2 mug cooked peas.
Sprinkle of bran.
2 Tablespoons Molasses or honey (no honey for young pups).
1 mug of water.

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl, except for the water.
Using elbow grease of a mixer with the dough hook gradually add water until the mixture forms a ball of dough that's tacky but not too wet. You may not need to add all the water depending on the flour, or you may need more esp. if using rice flour.

Roll out the dough ball onto a floured surface and cut out cookie shapes with a cookie cutter or egg cup.

Place cut out shapes on a lined baking tray (parchment paper does the job) and bake in a pre-heated oven 170 degrees for a fan oven for approx 15-20 mins or until the cookies are dry and hard when you tap them. This makes them more crunchy for dogs so mind your teeth if you try them yourself.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Store in an airtight cookie jar for up to 2 weeks.

You can vary the ingredients a bit as long as the dough forms a dough ball.

Kalahari

I'd agree if both are being affected it is probably diet related.
One thing for a short term fix i'd suggest is mixing some of the breakfast cereal 'all-bran' in with the food. One of our dogs got constipated after he injured his leg and so wasn't able to get enough exercise, and a handful of all-bran mixed into the dry food with wet food or gravy to flavour it worked a treat. Do they have access to fresh water 24-7? Is the water changed often and placed somewhere in the shade? Some dogs will be really thirsty and they'll still refuse water because it is warm from the sun or isn't fresh.

I'd recommend you change their food to a non-supermarket brand for a few weeks at least to see if there is any improvement so you can determine whether or not diet is the cause. They'd need to be on it a few weeks to let their systems get used to the new food first. I'd say with all the vet visits adding up this could be worthwhile to try, and if the cause is indeed diet, getting different food is better than paying for a ton of vet visits with no outcome.

There's a lot of medical causes of constipation but since it is affecting both your dogs I think water or diet are the 2 most likely culprits. Good luck with Sammy and Lacey, hope they feel better soon.

up for anything

Don't switch brands abruptly. Mix the new one with the old one, gradually adding more of the new one till eventually it's all they are getting. Do it over a couple of weeks. It's not good for animals to have a sudden and complete brand diet change.

EGAR

Cut out the bones, they can really impact on a dog bowel movement.

Buy rice and a chicken, boil the bejaysus out of the chicken until meat falls off the bones. Boil the rice in chicken broth and mix with the meat from the chicken. A big pot of this should last a few days.

Feed only that for a few days and see if the bowel movements improve but make sure they have access to water at all times.

Also, as a treat introduce goats milk to their diet.

kylith

putting a little beef or chicken stock into their water will encourage them to drink more.

I also make what I call Bock Ices which is just frozen chicken stock. They love gnawing at it and it's a great way of getting fluid into them. Just watch out that the stock isn't too salty.