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My dog is constipated after diarrhea and meds. Should I stop them?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Cocker Spaniel | Male | 5 years and 6 months old | 39.6 lbs

Long story short I have 5 yr old cockerspanial that showed signs of being sick Monday vomited 1x and had diarrhea. Went to the vet he ended up giving him anal expression prescribed metronidazole 250mg Ranitidine 10mg Pics are included fast forward today he is eating not drinking much but moves around ok has had no bowel for approx 2.5 days now can it be possible the medicine is constipating him? Can I take him off? I also just learned they were to be taken 2hrs apart. I'm 100% PLEASE HELP!!!!!

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

Published on July 7th, 2017

I'm sorry to hear that Sunny has been sick! It's actually quite common for dogs to go a few days without a bowel movement when they have had diarrhea - this is because it takes time for the intestinal tract to "fill up" again with normal stool, once the diarrhea resolves. So it's likely that this is a good sign :) As long as Sunny is acting normal and not straining to defecate, I wouldn't worry - she will have a bowel movement when she is ready, probably sometime in the next 24-48 hours.

If you didn't give the medications two hours apart, this is okay - some vets do recommend giving oral meds like this at different times to avoid any issues with absorption, but it sounds like Sunny did just fine regardless. This would not cause constipation or any other issues.

I would not recommend stopping either of these medications without talking to your veterinarian first, as it's generally important to finish out the entire course of prescribed meds in order to make sure that the problem is completely resolved. If you're concerned, you could certainly call your vet today and ask about continuing the medications vs. stopping them - but they should not be causing Sunny to be constipated, so based on your description I don't see any reason to take her off of them.
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Related Answers from Veterinarians

  • Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Poor guy. Neither of these medicaitons are shown to cause constipation in pets. If he was sick recently then he likely has some slow moving bowels and limited intake a food to form a good regular stool. It can take pets 2-4 days to go back to a norma stool after being ill. As long as he isn't straining to try and poop then he is not considered to be constipated. I would continue with the medicaitons prescribed and if not already doing so, offer him a bland diet (either Rx hills I/d or OTC Purina EN Gastrointestinal) or plain boiled chicken and rice or cottage cheese can be given for a few days, then slowly transition him back to his normal diet.
    Don't worry so much about your previous errors in when the medicaitons were given. They just work best when given apart, so moving forward make sure to space them out. I hope that Sunny continues to improve, which it sounds like he is, and is able to make a full and speedy recovery. If he starts to deteriorate or is seen straining to defecate then another trip to the vet is best for him. Best wishes and take care.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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