Gastroenteritis in dogs: causes, symptoms, treatment

If your pet digestion worsened, vomiting and diarrhea or a dog whine, then it is an occasion to seek help from a veterinarian. Do not wait for it to go away by itself. Typically, these symptoms mean one thing - gastroenteritis in dogs. We will study this disease in more detail and see how it can be properly cured.

Why does the disease appear?

Gastroenteritis in dogs primarily affects the mucous membrane of the stomach and the entire intestine. Serious and muscular layers begin to suffer in severe course of the disease. If the treatment is completely absent or was prescribed by an unqualified doctor, then it is possible to get complications that will affect the kidneys, liver and heart. And in the end this will all lead to a fatal outcome.

The main causes of the disease are the following:

• Irregular feeding;
• Poor-quality, sharp, fatty food;
• Ingress of heavy metal salts into the body;
• Taking certain medications;
• Food allergy.

Very often gastroenteritis in dogs is manifested due to infectious diseases.

Variety of the disease

Judging by how this disease can proceed, veterinarians classify gastroenteritis into several types:

• Diphtheria;
• purulent:
• Croupous;
• hemorrhagic;
• Phlegmonous;
• Mucocutaneous membranous;
• mixed.

There are also three additional types:

• primary;
• secondary;
• chronic.

The main source of this disease in pets is food. The lack of trace elements and vitamins in it, constant overeating and cheap low-quality fodder lead to the fact that in the stomach in dogs, fermentation begins. Even if your pet eats only high-quality products, there is a risk that the animal will pick up something on the street, and this can lead to poisoning, an allergy, and then a gastroenteritis in the dog is formed. Treatment in this case should be effective and started immediately.

Secondary gastroenteritis is formed after the development of infectious diseases, helminthic invasions, hemostasis and kaprostasis.

Parvovirus gastroenteritis

This disease is considered one of the most dangerous, which only can touch the gastrointestinal tract. Gastroenteritis in dogs of this species appeared not so long ago, but many cases of infection in the territory of the Russian Federation, Japan, Great Britain, North America and in Europe have already been recorded.

Scientists have proved that the virus develops due to disease-causing organisms that die only after boiling. If this type of disease affected the health of an adult dog, then there is a chance that the pet can recover. Small puppies, as a rule, die from parvovirus gastroenteritis. The main peak of the disease is in spring and summer. The recession begins with the end of autumn, when the first frosts come.

Most often, infection comes from a sick dog that secretes pathogenic bacteria along with feces and vomiting. Their greatest concentration is on the third day after contact.

Coronavirus gastroenteritis

If your pet has weak immunity, then it is in the risk of infection. This disease is also transmitted from a sick dog to a healthy one. When infected in the gastrointestinal tract of the animal, an inflammatory process is formed, which is additionally accompanied by depletion and dehydration of the body. The disease can take place in three versions:

• Acute;
• Superscale;
• Hidden.

With a super-structured form, a puppy can live only for about two days, then death occurs. The acute course of the disease is accompanied by:

• Vomiting;
• diarrhea;
• Admixture of blood in urine and feces.

The latent form passes practically without symptoms, and intestinal disorders can be taken as ordinary indigestion.

How to identify the disease

If you suspect gastroenteritis, the symptoms in dogs in this case are as follows:

• High body temperature (in a dog it can reach up to 41 degrees).
• Febrile state.
• Lethargy.
• The skin becomes less elastic (this is due to dehydration).
• Eyelash of the eyes.
• The dog whines.
• Enhanced gasification with eructations.
• Colic in the abdomen.
• Rapid weight loss.
• Vomiting and diarrhea.
• Unpleasant smell from the mouth of the dog.
• The presence of blood in the stool.

The last symptom indicates that gastroenteritis in dogs develops directly in the rectum. If there are black or dark brown patches in the excrements, this indicates the development of an ailment in the small intestine.

First Aid

If the dog showed at least one symptom from the list, the first thing you should do is call the doctor. It is impossible to cure gastroenteritis on its own and in most cases is fatal. Surely the dog will refuse to eat and drink. Do not force her. Better measure the temperature in the anus of the animal.

If the dog has diarrhea and vomiting lasted too long, then surely the pet has already started dehydration. In this case, the first aid to the dog is provided with a medicinal solution that can be prepared at home under the following prescription:

• liter of water;
• 4 grams of rock salt;
• 3 grams of baking soda;
• 2 grams of potassium chloride;
• 20 grams of sugar or glucose.

The prepared solution is given to the dog portionwise at the rate of: 1 kg of weight, 40 grams of solution. You can buy a dry powder in the pharmacy to make such a drink. The soldering lasts until the diarrhea stops.

Treatment

To defeat this ailment, not only different medications should be used, but also a proper diet. Treatment begins as soon as one of the symptoms appears.

Medicines

The following drugs are used for therapy:

1. Antimicrobials. These include: "Biseptol", "Ftalazol", Trichopol "and antibiotics." Imodium "and" Levomycitin "are used to remove pathogenic microbes from the organism of the pet.
2. Cleanses for body cleansing. They will help to remove all toxins. For the solution, a decoction of chamomile and St. John's wort, manganese, boric acid or furacilin is used. After 30-40 minutes after cleansing, the dog is given a nutrient solution, for example, meat broth, rice broth or milk.
3. Required adsorbents, for example, activated carbon.
4. To diarrhea does not appear again, give astringents. These include oak bark, tannin, string or bird cherry.
5. Means with enveloping effect: "Fosfalugel" or decoction from flax seeds.
6. If the body of the pet is severely depleted, then it is possible to inject Ringer's solution directly into the rectum.
7. Vitaminotherapy is mandatory.
8. It is necessary to take care of antihistamines. These include Suprastin, Kestin, or Diazolin.
9. A dog needs to drink a course of sedatives, namely "No-shpa", "Almagel", "Besalol" or infusion of belladonna.

An experienced veterinarian must develop an individual treatment for the dog, depending on the severity of the disease, weight and other individual indices.

Therapeutic diet

Without proper nutrition, taking certain medicines will not help a four-footed friend. If the dog has an appetite - it's good. But do not immediately begin to stuff the animal with food. In the first day the pet should have access only to water and medicinal solutions. Then you can gradually introduce meat broths and decoctions of flax and chaga.

After two days, you can enter the boiled eggs. For an adult animal, about 2-3 pieces per day. After another 3-4 days, you can cook rice or oat porridge on a meat broth. Also in it you can add a little low-fat minced meat.

After five days, the sour-milk products return to the diet. You can cook porridge. After another couple of days, the dog can eat boiled vegetables. A normal diet can be returned 10 days after the beginning of the complex treatment.

To ensure that the diet has given its positive results, it is worth reading some additional recommendations:

1. Portions should be small. Feed your dog often, about 6 times a day.
2. The amount of salt and trace elements should remain in the diet.
3. During the whole month you can not feed your pet with peas, beans, bones and raw vegetables.
4. Do not let the dog eat grass and pick up foreign objects.
5. During the entire treatment four-legged friend should be observed daily with a veterinarian.

How to distinguish a disease from an allergy

The dog's fever has increased - what should I do? Do not immediately panic that the pet has gastroenteritis. Perhaps it's just a food allergy. It can manifest itself on the following products:

• Eggs;
• Horse meat;
• Beef;
• The fish is moist;
• Grain protein.

If the dog has diarrhea and vomiting, it can also indicate an allergy. In this case, you need to quickly identify the product and exclude it from the diet. Better for feeding animals to use meat of birds or young veal. Also, the body of some pets is susceptible to rice and buckwheat.

Consequences of gastroenteritis

Parasites that are colonized in the intestines of a dog adversely affect its further development. And puppies, instead of gaining weight and actively behaving, remain thin, and frequent diarrhea is also observed. In this case, do not neglect the use of anthelmintic drugs.

In principle, the disease passes easily, without special complications. It is worth remembering that the consequences can be very diverse. Dogs are not recommended to diagnose and carry out gastroenteritis treatment alone. If there is an unpleasant smell from the mouth of the dog, the temperature, what to do in this case, will tell only the doctor.

The transferred gastroenteritis forms good immunity for the long term in four-legged friends. The bitch will pass it through breast milk to the future offspring. Puppies will be immune to the virus for about three months. After this period, they must be vaccinated.