My dog has diarrhea and fast breathing on a road trip. What's wrong?

Hello. Shiro may just be having some digestive upsets that are still messing with him. Are his gums nice & pink? If so, & there is no vomiting, then you can probably let him rest this evening. Starting tomorrow, if he feels like eating, start him on a bland diet of 25% white chicken breast & 75% plain white rice or low fat cottage cheese. Small amounts fairly often should be offered throughout the day tomorrow. If he is feeling better & his stool seems to be subsiding, you can slowly transition back to his regular food Sunday or Monday. But if he continues to act distressed by refusing to eat, continued diarrhea, retching or vomiting, you will need to see your vet as soon as convenient. I hope Shiro is feeling better soon & thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I would suspect both the heavy running and bone may have upset his stomach. Heavy breathing can be a sign of pain coming from his stomach and intestines, or he may have a lung issue if the breathing is labored and making it hard for him to get in enough oxygen (Blue tongue, gasping for air, congested airway, etc). If he seems to be getting enough oxygen then he is likely just painful and this is likely the cause of his panting. You can try feeding him a bland diet of boiled plain chicken and rice or cottage cheese for a few days, along with Culturelle (probiotic) over the counter to see if this improves his loose stool and discomfort. Also 1-2 tsp of canned pumpkin can help solidify the stools as well. If he does not improve or at any point seems to get worse within the next 24-48 hrs then it’s best to take him to your vet for further care. Usually a short course of antibiotics along with the probiotics and bland diet are all that’s needed for uncomplicated cases of stomach upset. I hope that your pet Jay Junior is able to make a full and speedy recovery from his illness. Best wishes and take care.

Poor girl. This is a classic case of colitis (inflamed colon) which can be caused by intestinal parasites, stress, or eating something she shouldn't have. You will need to take Kita to your local vet for a short course of antibiotics to resolve this. You can start probiotics now (over the counter Culturelle works well!) until you can get her seen. Sometimes probiotics alone can resolve mild cases of loose stool, but in most cases and antibiotic is also needed. Keep an eye on her and make sure she isn't ingesting things that she shouldn't, and also make sure not to make any abrupt brand foods changes (i.e. always over the course of a week or two) with her in the future, since she has a sensitive stomach/intestines. I hope that Kita feels better soon! Best wishes and take care.

This is concerning, especially for an older dog to have severe gastrointestinal symptoms. I would first fast her for 12 hrs and then slowly introduce a bland diet of boiled plain chicken and rice or cottage cheese. But then it's best to get her to a vet right away. She needs to have bloodwork analysis done and potentially further testing to determine what her underlying illness is. Once we know what is wrong with Stella then we will know what she needs to get well again. I hope she gets well soon. Best wishes and take care.

This could be just from the stress of travel but since it has been going on for 3 days it is probably time to have her checked out. Other causes of diarrhea include intestinal parasites, viruses, GI blockages, and many metabolic diseases. An examination by your vet should help determine the cause. Roux may need a bland diet and some antibiotics and/or probiotics to help her gut get back into balance. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

I'm sorry to hear Breeze isn't feeling well. I wouldn't say it's an emergency but diarrhea is pretty uncomfortable and I recommend getting medication to remedy that. I would see if she would eat the boiled chicken and rice to help settle her stomach. I would also recommend blood work and X-rays to make sure there's not something else more serious going on in her intestinal tract. Good luck and kisses to Breeze!

Poor Dharma, I'm sure you are very worried, but you will be able to get her sorted. So with diarrhoea by far the most common cause is gastroenteritis. This is inflammation of the gut and can be caused by many reasons ranging from eating something rancid to infection. Usually it takes a mild form where the dog will feel poorly for a day or two, but it will resolve by itself. In other cases they will need veterinary treatment as there can be more severe infections etc. My general advice in the first instance of diarrhoea, is to starve the dog for 24 hours as long as it is drinking and keeping water down. This allows the guts a chance to rest as if they do eat it will simply run through them. Then following this feed plain chicken and rice until faeces return to normal. Now, if Dharma is in a lot of pain, bearing in mind some will be expected as it is uncomfortable, or she starts to vomit or experiences blood in her diarrhoea, I would take her to the vet as it could be a more serious issue. Alongside starving her make sure she is up to date on wormer. Many vets sell an over the counter paste which helps to restore good bacteria in the gut, you could give this a go also. Similar to a human it can take a few days to get over diarrhoea so don't worry overly. However if she is not improving within another 24 hours, or starts to deteriorate, please take her in for an examination.