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Pet of the Month – April 2015
by on April 2nd, 2015
Category: Pet of the Month, Tags:
Our Pet of the Month for April is Alf, a handsome Burtonion Bulldog. As is often the case when puppies leave their mother and move to their first ‘home’ Alf suffered a bout of diarrhoea almost immediately.
As with ourselves, simply providing plenty of fresh water, temporarily withholding food then reintroduction of small amounts of an easily digestible bland diet such as plain chicken and boiled rice or a little scrambled egg, is all that is required to provide some ‘gut rest’ and for the diarrhoea to settle. In cases where very plentiful diarrhoea occurs, especially if accompanied by vomiting, a more proactive approach may need to be taken and this may include temporary provision of oral or intravenous rehydrating solutions if dehydration is identified as a risk. There is very little indication for antibiotics to be given in most cases of short-term diarrhoea.Whilst there are many medical treatments which may act as ‘adsorbants’ purported to ‘soothe’ the gut, in many cases, just as in their human owners, dogs and cats with short bouts of diarrhoea require no treatment. Investigation as to a cause of acute diarrhoea in otherwise healthy cats and dogs is rarely undertaken since this is not only usually fruitless, but results in both unnecessary expense and, more importantly, potential for completely unnecessary medical tests to be performed on a pet.
The are numerous potential predisposing factors such as dietary change, internal parasites and the stress of moving home. We checked that his worming program was up to date and are pleased to report that Alf’s tummy has settled and he is doing very well.
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