Constipation In Dogs

[dogdogdog]

My little girl Charley has been eating grass every day for the past week. She also seems to be having a few problems doing poos. Are the two related at all.

Poor little thing I feel so sorry for her. Is there anything I can feed her without it becoming the reverse. Don't want her to end up with diarrhea.

Or anything I can add to her diet. She currently gets a handful of beef mince and half a can of my dog. And different doggy treats during the day.

[ellz]

You could try increasing her fluid intake. That would be my first point of call for constipation. She may be eating the grass because of the water content so it could be related in that respect. If she won't drink willingly, try adding some brown sugar to the water or give her some weak chicken broth or chicken noodle soup but go easy on the salt which can create more problems in itself.

[puggy_puggy]

I have know of dogs to eat grass to try and throw up and if you are saying she is constipated then she probably is doing the grass eating for this very reason.

She currently gets a handful of beef mince and half a can of my dog. And different doggy treats during the day.

Personally I would say that beef mince and my dog is a horrible diet as I feed a BARF diet.

For the constipation try a can of sardines or adding oil to her food.

If you must give her my dog I would be changing the beef mince to chicken necks three times a week, sardines once a week and lamb bones at least twice a week.

[ellz]

If she is particularly prone to constipation on a canned food, I'd be wary of giving her too much bone content in her diet as that tends to bind them up as well.

[dogdogdog]

Both my dogs have problems with bones.

They have had bones but on the occasion I gave them a lamb shank each Leo spent the night throwing up. Was awful for the poor little bloke.

Okay I will try the sardines tonight.

I would love nothing better than giving them BARF. Perhaps I will try a couple of things again. I will did out the recipe I have for the patties maybe they can deal with that.

[puggy_puggy]

Try some flaxseed oil as well.

Maybe you could purchase some of the BARF patties and give them a go.

What does your recipe include? I actually make up the veggie/fruit slops and give a few spoonfulls of that as well as whatever meat they are getting for the day ie. chicken necks, kangaroo, sardines, lamb bones.

[Christina]

Some dogs just eat grass anyway because they like it. Chicken necks will make it worse.

Put some mashed up Brussel Sprouts in her food. They work like magic

[InspectorRex]

A few years back Phoebe was not pooing, and after one Vet wanting to do barium x-rays etc- it turned out to be that she had put her back out so it hurt to try and do a poop(went to chiropractic Vet and her back was out everywhere and after treatment Phoebe came home and had a huge poop)

Might be worth a visit to a Chiropractic Vet for a check-up. If you have ever had a back issue yourself believe me it is very hard to try and have a poop.

[gareth]

Your dog needs some roughage. You can add some mashed pumpkin, grated carrot and apple and sardines in oil will all help.You should feed meat on the bone too.

Lamb shanks are not good, too fatty and bones are too hard to digest. Try raw chicken bones

Edited September 13, 2008 by gareth

[puggy_puggy]

Lamb shanks are not good, too fatty and bones are too hard to digest. Try raw chicken bones

Try some lamb ribs as they are much softer then the weight bearing bones like the shanks.

[ellz]

Try raw chicken bones

Raw chicken bones will bind up even further.

[gareth]

Try raw chicken bones

Raw chicken bones will bind up even further.

Never in my experience. Dogs live on them and have never had a day of constipation in their lives. It depends on what is fed with them. Feed some roughage (fruit and veg) and some oil and there will be no problems. Meat on it's own and commercial tinned stuff is a poor diet.

Try some lamb ribs as they are much softer then the weight bearing bones like the shanks

I would avoid lamb flaps - far too fatty.

[dogdogdog]

Well we tried the sardines last night. Today we have at least 4 poos outside and 2 very happy dogs.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

I've just had a major problem with one of my girls following her inactivity after a fall.

The vet suggested metamucil but when she hadn't poo'd for almost a week, she was booked in for an enema. She wasn't eating much but she used to be regular, every day.

Anyhow, the metamucil worked well - about an hour before the enema appointment! I had emptied some sardines and the water into a bowl and stirred it in.

In the evenings, she is eating a little meat and loads of cooked vegetables (she's on a vet supervised diet). I knew that pumpkin was great for constipation or diarrhea conversely but she won't eat it - spits it out. So I bought frozen veggies - a selection of different ones and have discovered that she loves carrot, broccoli and cauliflower!!

She's also up and about again so our constipation probs have eased.

[puggy_puggy]

Well we tried the sardines last night. Today we have at least 4 poos outside and 2 very happy dogs.

Fantastic news.

You should start feeding sardines at least once a week from now on.

[puggy_puggy]

Can I ask how the hell you got the metamucil into her?

I was caring for a pugy that had stomach lymphoma which caused him to have constant diarrhea. His vet suggested Metamucil to try and clog him up a bit. The only way I could get him to take it in was to mix up 2 spoonfulls with just a little water so it turned into a glob of stuff and then put bits of it in his mouth and hold his mouth closed till he swallowed. Saying this his cancer made him not want to eat most things so maybe a normal healthy dog would just eat it.

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

She wouldn't eat the metamucil when I stirred it into her food.

I think the sardines are so strong that they mask most stuff, maybe because I use the sardine water and it stays more moist?

[puggy_puggy]

She wouldn't eat the metamucil when I stirred it into her food.

I think the sardines are so strong that they mask most stuff, maybe because I use the sardine water and it stays more moist?

Thanks I will know this if I have to use it again with a dog that has a normal appatite.

I was syringe feeding, the cancer boy, the special high calorie Science Diet canned food and he would eat bits of roast chicken or steak so mixing it in with his food was not an option and because it turns to a thick glug very quickly putting it into a syringe didn't work.

[lea]

Dogs eat grass and dirt, because they can.

its normal and its natural.

you need only worry if the dog vomits more then twice a day.

Grass is roughage and will not cause constipation, in fact, it works in the opposite way.

[persephone]

metamucil is often flavoured- a lot of dogs won't touch it .

use PSYLLIUM husks instead- this is the raw ingredient of metamucil--- works out cheaper, and I have no probs giving it to dogs,cats,humans..