Seriously, Riley has me at my wits end.....

[lovemyshiba]

I don't know what to do.

Riley poops a lot--6 or more times a day:eek:
He's gotten into the habit of doing it in the house too, when we aren't home, in the basement, where he and Abbey stay.
Every time I come home, I open the front door, and I can smell it, and I have to spend a half hour cleaning it up.

It's never totally solid, maybe a few are, and then the rest are runny. Today I left for work at 9:30 am, and returned home at 3:30. They had all eaten at 8, and had plenty of time to do their business. Riley went at 7am, and again after he ate. 6 hours is a long time, I know, but it was a rarity (I usually don't work on Saturday mornings). Tonight, my husband and I had a dinner to go to, and we left the house at 7pm. Upon returning at 10:15, there were two more messes for me to clean up. They hadn't eaten dinner yet either, and were all out 3 times while we were home, Riley pooping twice in that time period.

He's always pooped a lot, but this in the house thing is new. I don't know how to correct him, because we are not home when he does it. Crating is not an option with him, he gets very anxious and thrashes about so much in his crate, and drools so much that there are puddles outside of it when we come home. My vet actually suggested that I quit using it when I told her about it, which was probably 8 or 9 months ago.

I have recently started feeding Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover's Soul. Before that he has had Nutro, Purina One, and a few others.

I am at a total loss here--should I keep experimenting with foods?
Is it the poop he munches on in the yard (with 4 of them, and especially with how much he goes, I can't always get it all cleaned up every time they go)?
Is this food too rich, and I should try something for a sensitive stomach?
Is he nervous or anxious when we aren't home?
Is he sick?
Is something terribly wrong with him?

It's not from switching the food, he's been doing it for a while now, and I only started feeding it on Monday.

I want to call the vet, but I don't even know what she could do--I'm sure she'd want a sample, but what can she tell from that?

I just feel so bad for my poor baby:(

[Cincy'sMom]

Poor Riley. And poor you...I know that smell and it is not fun to come home too!

How are you switching his food? I are doing it slowly ( like 25/75; 50/50 then 75/25) or all at once? How long are you trying himon a food, before trying the next?

What our vet told us for Cincy's allergies, is that it can take 4-6 weeks for all the proteins and such to be removed from the body. If one of these foods has some thing he isallergic tothat is giving him digestive problems, it may take awhile to work its way out of his system.

I thinkI would do two things. Frist, since Chicken Soup is supposed to be a higher quality food then some of the other's I would give it a week or two and see if he improves. At the same time, I would talk to your vet and see if there are some tests you can have run to check his health. Dog's can get Colitis, as well as other parasites that may not be dected by a regular fecal check. When Sadie had a problem last year, the vet did a more through check. She was put on antibiotics and the diaherra cleared up in a day or two.

I have found alot of helpful info at www.peteducation.com Some things to search for may be colitis or inflammatory bowel disease...see if the some fo the symptoms match...maybe it will at least trigger some ideas to present to the vet.


Good lcuk! I'm sure Riley doesn't mean to go potty so much and I hope you can find something to help him!

[captain]

Emily,

I wish I could give you some useful advice.

What about feeding him at night? would that make a difference? Can he get out during the night to do his business?

I think that site that Amy pointed you to might give you some good pointers, and ideas where to start. I would read up, and then contact the vet.
Riley might have a sensitive stomach (or something like it) which makes him poop alot. They would be able to help you handle it better I am certain.

{{{{{hugs}}}}}

[4 Dog Mother]

Soon after we got Taggert, he started doing that too. However when we changed his food, he stopped. He is on Sensible Choice, Lamb and Rice. But if you have tried changing foods, and things have not changed, I am not sure. Do your dogs chew a lot of rawhide? We have had problems with some rawhide but of course not to that extent. How about treats?

I think Amy's advice is about the best. Although you might check to see if the ingredients basically the same in all of them and then change one with a totally different base. (Now I am going to show my stupidity - I think there are some non-meat based ones out there).

[Cataholic]

The only other thing I can think to add is to be overly consistent with his feeding schedules. Overly. He may suffer from some sort of anxiety..and the switching of food times might make him very nervous.

[micki76]

Originally posted by 4 Dog Mother
Although you might check to see if the ingredients basically the same in all of them and then change one with a totally different base. (Now I am going to show my stupidity - I think there are some non-meat based ones out there).

Yes there are. I know for certain that Nature’s Recipe has an allergy formula that’s totally vegetarian. No meat or fish.

Nature's Recipe Vegetarian (http://www.naturesrecipe.com/pages/dogproducts/allergy/vegetarian.asp)

[Lissa]

Natural Balance also carries a vegiterian formula.

[lovemyshiba]

Thank you all for the wonderful advice.
Today was the worst--this is gross, so.......

Riley was out this morning, and apparently he found a little snack (poo). Well, he came in, and vomited all over the carpet in the living room:eek: :eek: :eek:
It was, quite possibly, the most disgusting thing I've ever had to clean up.

Although, no pooping in the house today.

He doesn't get rawhides, and probably less than 5 treats a day too. He does eat at night too--they all eat twice a day.
I would like to give this food some time, and see how he reacts to it after a couple of weeks or so. I did switch them all gradually, so maybe the other food is still in his system a bit.

I am trying to be more consistent with his feeding, instead of making it sometime between 8-10 am, and 7-9 pm, I'm shooting for the same exact time for every meal.

One thing I am curious about though, is why he tries to eat poop outside all the time, but when he does it in the basement, he leaves it all there

:confused: :confused:

Thanks again for all of the informative advice.

[lv4dogs]

I would give it at least 2 weeks, preferably 4 weeks on one type of food. Also keep in mind if his system is sensative than feed him good quality treats as well and only 1 kind, but if it were me I would not give him any treats until the problem is under control, it may make it easier to find out exactly what is causing his stools to be loose.
You say his stools are loose sometimes that may mean he can not hold it as well as a formed stool. Has he had a vet exam for this problem? He may have something wrong w/ him.
Feedin him at the exact same time should help some too!

Maybe when he is outside he eats the other dogs poop & not his?

[BitsyNaceyDog]

How much are you feeding him? Too much food would result in too much poo.


One thing I am curious about though, is why he tries to eat poop outside all the time, but when he does it in the basement, he leaves it all there

I agree with lv4dogs, he is probably eating someone else's poo outside. In the basement it's always his, therefore he does not eat it. Is there cats that would be pooping in the yard? Dogs usually like cat poo.

Have you ever considered crating him while you are away? At least for the shorter times.

[Cazi]

Firstly, I found that whenever I fed my previous dog with anything that contained chicken, he would have vomitting or diarrhoea. It could be that your dog is allergic to chicken or, that he wasn't gradually introduced to it and it was too rich for him.

As for copography (eating other stools) it is common with dogs. They never eat their own but will eat others. To us it is disgusting, but to them, it's like eating chocolate - that's how the vet described it to me. You can get pills from the vet which will help to cut the habit out.

I found this info below which may help you.

EATING STOOL (COPOGRAPHY)

Distasteful as it seems to most humans, eating stool is normal for dogs. (New mothers, for example, will eat the stool of puppies, presumably to keep the nest clean. Puppies, in turn, will sample whatever they come across including stool. Human babies explore with their hands, and puppies explore with their mouths.

Nearly every dog will occasionally sample stool but some have a real craving for it, including their own, and will eat it every chance they get. This may be caused by nutritional deficiencies possibly due to a lack of certain enzymes in the digestive tract. When a dog eats his own stool he is giving the partially digested food another run through his digestive tract where more nutrients will be absorbed.

In some cases, dogs will eat stool merely because they don't have enough to do or they will do it because it is a way of getting your attention. They will also eat stool as a way of establishing their dominance over other pets by removing their scent markers. (dogs that are wrangling for dominance will sometimes pick fights as well.)

NOTE - Many of the problems listed above can also be caused by a serious condition called obsessive-compulsive disorder. Like people who are obsessive about washing their hands, for example, dogs may be obsessive about biting at their skin, over eating, finicky eating and the like.