My two 6 months Westies start the day with a normal stool. Then some days they can have diarrhea AND constipation on the same day! We took them to the vets and they said to keep an eye on them but that it was probably because they recently changed food (which we did gradually). That was a week ago so we are taking them back tomorrow but have you any ideas? It could be a foreign body but does seems strange that both of them are affected.
For example, if the first food wasn’t completely right for them and you’ve now recently and gradually changed food, then it still can take 2 to 3 weeks before the effects from eating the first food disappears.
But it really doesn’t sound normal if they for long periods are so variable in their stomachs, changing between a few days normal and then some days with very varied results. Maybe they’ve inherited a disposition for having sensitive stomachs, maybe they help each other with eating unsuitable things when you take them out on walks, maybe it is something else or a combination of things, to even make a guess can be difficult.
If your regular veterinarian can’t find anything wrong and the problem continues, perhaps you should ask your veterinarian for a referral to a veterinarian specialising in gastroenterology (a gastroenterologist) or perhaps try changing food a third time.
Have you talked to the breeder? Has he/she had any similar problems amongst their breeding animals and/or heard of other Westies with similar problems?
Have you talked to the trainer at your dog club about it?
Have you tried asking about your Westies problems on a Westie forum? Although, as with this site and many others, you usually only have the other member’s word for that they actually are the one they say that they are and really know what they say they know and even though, I don’t know how active their forum members are, as in, how quickly you might get any answer, it still could be worth a try.
http://www.westhighlandwhite.co.uk/forum/index.php
http://www.crazyaboutwesties.com/forum/index.php
Actually, I just remembered what happened after that I moved house about 10 years ago, after a few months my b*tches and cats began having stomach problems, but as I recall it, their stomachs "only" varied between normal and diarrhea, so maybe it isn’t relevant for your dogs, anyhow with veterinarian help we found the cause of it, it turned out that the water that came from a private well contained Radon.
On the paper, it had too high levels to be safe for human consumption but the levels was not high enough for my body to react on it, but enough high to affect my cats and b*tches, who only weights between about 2,5 to about 15 kg. (which could be the equivalent of the average weight of a newborn baby to about a 3 year old child).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon
Tags: WestieTags: Westie
For example, if the first food wasn’t completely right for them and you’ve now recently and gradually changed food, then it still can take 2 to 3 weeks before the effects from eating the first food disappears.
But it really doesn’t sound normal if they for long periods are so variable in their stomachs, changing between a few days normal and then some days with very varied results. Maybe they’ve inherited a disposition for having sensitive stomachs, maybe they help each other with eating unsuitable things when you take them out on walks, maybe it is something else or a combination of things, to even make a guess can be difficult.
If your regular veterinarian can’t find anything wrong and the problem continues, perhaps you should ask your veterinarian for a referral to a veterinarian specialising in gastroenterology (a gastroenterologist) or perhaps try changing food a third time.
Have you talked to the breeder? Has he/she had any similar problems amongst their breeding animals and/or heard of other Westies with similar problems?
Have you talked to the trainer at your dog club about it?
Have you tried asking about your Westies problems on a Westie forum? Although, as with this site and many others, you usually only have the other member’s word for that they actually are the one they say that they are and really know what they say they know and even though, I don’t know how active their forum members are, as in, how quickly you might get any answer, it still could be worth a try.
http://www.westhighlandwhite.co.uk/forum/index.php
http://www.crazyaboutwesties.com/forum/index.php
Actually, I just remembered what happened after that I moved house about 10 years ago, after a few months my b*tches and cats began having stomach problems, but as I recall it, their stomachs "only" varied between normal and diarrhea, so maybe it isn’t relevant for your dogs, anyhow with veterinarian help we found the cause of it, it turned out that the water that came from a private well contained Radon.
On the paper, it had too high levels to be safe for human consumption but the levels was not high enough for my body to react on it, but enough high to affect my cats and b*tches, who only weights between about 2,5 to about 15 kg. (which could be the equivalent of the average weight of a newborn baby to about a 3 year old child).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radon
References :
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