You are here:
- Home
- Animals/Pets
- Pet Birds
- Ask the Veterinarian
- Color of stool
Ask the Veterinarian/Color of stool
Advertisement
Question
My minature poodle is 22 monthsold. She is on a prescription dog food called rabbit and potato limited ingredients by royal canin. She ate a few red berries from my dog wood tree 3 days ago. Now she has stomach cramps and noises in her gut. She was swollen in her tummy area. I gave her 1/4 gas-x tablet yesterday morning. I took her off her dog food and gave her boiled rice yesterday. She ate that and started her back on her reg diet today. Now her stool is gray in color. IS there anything I should worry about. She plays and things seem to be normal but her stool is not brown. No tummy noises but still looks a little swollen. She is current on all shots and no parasites. Just not to interested in her food.
The stool color change is from the gas-x and the rice. I would consult with your vet before you give her any more over the counter drugs because many of them are fatal to dogs.
While it seems as if the berries were the cause of this, the symptoms would have shown up before three days. If these were poisonous, they would have shown up within hours.
Either her food is not agreeing with her or she got into something else the day she had the stomach cramps.
Her stool color will return to normal in a day or so, but next time call your vet before you give her anything like Gas=x etc.
Check the house for other goodies she might have eaten. If she is on a novel diet I am guessing that you wouldn't randomly give her anything like a treat, but they can certainly cause these symptoms in a dog that has a sensitive stomach.
Her appetite should also return to normal but if she is still not eating by tomorrow, call your vet.
- Ask a Question
| Rating(1-10) | Knowledgeability = 10 | Clarity of Response = 10 | Politeness = 10 |
| Comment | Tks sooooo much for your help. No she does not get any treats. The only extra she gets is a diced bite of an apple every morning with her food. Been doing this for some time. And I know that hasn't upset her tummy. She is so special to us. Her environment she was in as a puppy was far from what it should have been for a puppy. We had a toy poodle for 15 years and finally had to put her down because of a ruptured disc in her neck. She was blind and could not hear, but that did not matter to us. Comes with old age. So we want to make sure Miss Abby lives a long and happy life too. TKs again for your reassuranace. | ||
Related Articles
Answers by Expert:
Jana Connell RVT, CVT
Expertise
PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!
Experience
I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina.
I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.
Organizations
Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.
Education/Credentials
Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT.
Certified Veterinary Dental Technician
Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).
Awards and Honors
Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.