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Dog still straining after enema for impacted feces. What to do?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Female | unspayed | 11 years and 10 months old | 1lb

This morning I took my 11 year old shih tzu cross to the vet as she has 2 days of constipation. Sedation given, Abdo xray was done and found she has impacted faeces and gas build up. Vet administered enema - removed build up and gave metacam for pain relief. Advice given was not to feed tonight and back to normal diet tomorrow (in total 36hrs of food withheld by us and the vet collectively. 10hrs on, her tummy is a little bit tense and sensitive to touch. She is trying to poo with no success.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Lauren Kennedy, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on January 20th, 2018

Your dog probably feels like she needs to poop but there is nothing left in her colon if your veterinarian did a complete enema.

At this point I would try offering her a small now easily digestible food like some plain boiled chicken and rice, and see if she eats.

She may need additional pain meds for a few days to get through the discomfort being impacted. I would also recommend you put her on a prescription diet that is specifically made for dogs with G.I. issues because it will help her stay regular. You may also want to ask your vet about a medication called lactulose. This medication can be given daily and can help keeps two songs and make them easier to pass.

Make sure Coco has plenty of water as well. If she becomes dehydrated it will make it more difficult for her to poop.

If she is still straining to poop, starts vomiting, stops wanting to eat, or has diarrhea, then I would recommend taking her back to your vet for a recheck. Otherwise just trying to keep her comfortable, exercising regularly, and drinking plenty of water and hopefully her stools will return to normal.

Please let us know if you have any additional questions or concerns. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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