Spring is here, and with the warmer temperatures, vets start to see many dogs that are either vomiting, have diarrhea or both. All the birds, mice, chipmunks and anything else that has died over the winter, in addition to various animal feces that had been frozen have now thawed.
For many dogs this is a treat they just can’t resist! Many times these tasty little treats are badly decomposed and contain many different forms of pathogenic bacteria. Also, all of the ponds and lakes thaw and dogs start drinking from them again.
Most of the time, the first thing that you will notice is vomiting, diarrhea or both. This usually occurs within 6-24 hours of ingestion of the contaminated material. Sometimes the dog just vomits the material up and that is the end of it. Unfortunately, what usually happens is the dog vomits at first and then begins to have runny, watery and sometimes bloody diarrhea. At this point it is a good idea to get your four-legged friend to the veterinarian as soon as possible.
While not every dog is going to get sick every time it eats something off the ground, many will. Diarrhea and vomiting it’s no fun for the dog, and no fun for the cleanup crew! Your vet can speed the diagnosis if you bring a fresh fecal sample along with you.
And that’s enough poop talk for today!