Is my Chihuahua's diarrhea after surgery a pain med side effect?

Hi and thank you for your post on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! One of the most common side effects of pain medications used in dogs can be vomiting and/or diarrhea. There can be other causes for diarrhea as well such as parasites, bacterial or viral infections, IBD, food allergy, or organ dysfunction, so I would talk to your veterinarian if the diarrhea becomes more frequent or gets worse. Sometimes plain canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) in the food can help with transient diarrhea. You may try that and see if it gets any better. I hope this helps and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Poor Peanut. She could be having stomach cramps which are causing her to run around and yelp. You could try to feed her some plain boneless, skinless chicken and white rice to see if this settles her tummy. If she isn't improving or constantly yelping, I would have your vet take a look at her. Your vet will be able to figure out the main problem(s) and get her started on the proper meds!

I hate to hear Chicken Noodle is not feeling well! Yes, this can be a side effect of the medication but other causes are also possible. I recommend to start by calling your veterinarian. They will ask you several questions and help to determine if the medication should be continued or if additional care is needed. There are a couple things you can do at home that may also help. A bland diet for 48 hours can help. A bland diet can consist of 25% boiled white meat chicken and 75% boiled white rice. This should all be plain. A probiotic may also be beneficial. Purina carries a nice one called FortiFlora if you can find it. Your vet will also have a nice one as well. You can add additional water to her food to help prevent dehydration. At home, your pup should rest today so no walks or playtime. I hope Chicken Noodle starts feeling better quickly! Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Unfortunately, bloody diarrhea often does not respond to at home treatment and may require a trip to your veterinarian. Since your veterinarian is likely closed today, you can certainly try a bland diet of 1/2 cooked white rice and 1/2 cooked white meat chicken (no skin or bones). If the bloody diarrhea continues with this diet, I would contact your veterinarian tomorrow. If Gumbo becomes lethargic, does not want to eat or the bloody diarrhea worsens, I would have him evaluated today. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and Gumbo feels better. soon Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Oral Metacam should be ideally stopped and as a first approach I would suggest to withhold food for the next 8-12 hours and then start feeding with a bland diet based on boiled chicken and rice in small portion every 6 hours for the following 48hours. Then gradually reintroduce the normal diet over 5 days. I would definitively recommend a veterinary check up if the signs persist or you notice lethargy or inappetence. Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

I would recommend calling your vet. They should be able to prescribe a different pain medication that may not upset her GI tract so much or they can give you medication to help treat the diarrhea and that will help her tolerate the meds better. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

It could be Suzy has a bit of diarrhea, and I can give you a home remedy to see if that helps. Withhold food for 12-24 hours, then feed a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in her normal diet. If the diarrhea continues on the bland diet, she starts vomiting food, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, she will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck.