Content
- Constipated Dog: Causes
- Constipated dog: symptoms
- Warning Signs for Constipated Dog
- What to give for constipated dog?
- Treatment for constipated dog
- Prevent constipation in dogs
- general dog care
Deciding to welcome a dog into your home does not only imply accepting a great responsibility, but also receiving affection, company and presence on a daily basis, since a dog becomes a loyal and faithful friend.
In return, they just need enough attention to cover all their physical, psychological and social needs, so it's important that you watch your pet and know how to identify those signs that something is not right.
Intestinal transit disorders in dogs are common, so in this PeritoAnimal article we will explain everything about constipation in dog, what are the possible causes, their symptoms and the best treatments.
Constipated Dog: Causes
Constipation is a situation in which the evacuation of fecesit's not possible or in which there is a decrease in it, and it may be verified that the pet defecates small, hard and dark stools and that it does so with difficulty or even pain.
Constipation in dogs can indicate an unbalanced diet or lack of physical exercise, but it can also be the manifestation of serious pathological disorders, such as tumors that obstruct the digestive tract.
It is possible to distinguish three main Causes of Constipation in Dogs:
- Constipation in dogs occurs due to a partial or complete obstruction of the digestive tract;
- Constipation is caused by abnormalities that lie outside the colon but which also contribute to blockage of the digestive tract;
- It is not possible to evacuate the stool due to neuromuscular pathologies or other disorders such as hypercalcemia or hypothyroidism.
Any dog can be affected, however constipation in dogs occurs more often in old dogs, due to the physiological changes that your body undergoes and the reduction in daily physical activity.
Constipated dog: symptoms
If your pet suffers from constipation, it can manifest through the following signs:
- Lack of feces evacuation;
- Smaller, darker, hard stools;
- Stools with the presence of mucus or blood;
- The dog remains in the evacuation position but is unable to defecate;
- Signs of pain during defecation;
- Swollen abdomen;
- Loss of appetite;
- Weight loss;
- Vomiting.
As we will see below, some of these symptoms should be interpreted as warning signs and need to be immediate veterinary attention.
Warning Signs for Constipated Dog
You must seek help from an urgent veterinarian if you observe in your pet some of the following situations:
- Constipation does not resolve in 1 or 2 days;
- Constipation in dogs ends in 1 or 2 days but recurs constantly;
- The dog has loss of appetite, vomiting or lethargy.
Any of the situations mentioned above can indicate a serious health problem, so medical attention is essential.
What to give for constipated dog?
There's a lot hygiene and diet measures that can be very useful to treat constipation in dogs, for example:
- Ground green leaf vegetables: add 1 teaspoon per 4 kg of body weight to your usual diet, 1 or 2 times a day. This quickly increases fiber intake.
- pumpkin preserve: pumpkin is a natural remedy that contains large proportions of water and fiber, you should add 1 teaspoon to your diet for every 4 kilos of body weight, 1 or 2 times a day.
- Coconut fiber: administer 1 teaspoon for every 4 kg of body weight, 1 or 2 times a day.
- organic apple vinegar: favors digestion and adequate intestinal transit, administer half a teaspoon for every 4 kilos of body weight, once a day.
- pure aloe vera juice: aloe juice is also highly beneficial for your pet and it will be enough to administer half a teaspoon for every 4 kilos of body weight, once a day.
- Olive oil: enriching your dog's food with olive oil is a simple way to relieve constipation, it will also make the food more appetizing.
- more water: it is essential that the dog drink more water. You can place a second water container elsewhere in the house.
- daily exercise: puppies must perform daily physical exercise, which must be adapted to the individual characteristics, age and physical limitations of the pet.
This information is for guidance only, remember that the veterinarian is the only person capable of recommending an accurate treatment.
Treatment for constipated dog
Before knowing how to encourage the puppy to make feces, it is important to consider several aspects, for example, never give laxative to dog, as laxatives for human consumption may not be suitable for the body of dogs. In addition, many of these substances increase motility as they act by contact, irritating the intestinal walls, which could be uncomfortable for the dog.
You should also not apply any enema, as it could hurt the animal's rectum and cause imbalances in the bacterial flora.
Only the veterinarian can decide if your puppy must undergo a pharmacological treatment and, in this case, you can opt for prokinetic drugs, which work by improving all the processes of the digestive tract and which are less aggressive than laxatives.
Likewise, the veterinarian will determine the need to prescribe probiotics if they believe that constipation is due to abnormalities in the intestinal flora.
Prevent constipation in dogs
Better safe than sorry, isn't it? Therefore, it is important that you offer your dogs enough resources to avoid changes in their intestinal transit.
For prevent constipation in dogs It is important that the tutor takes into account the following advice:
- It is essential that the diet is based on dry food (contains more fiber), but that this intake is balanced with moist food, as it contains more amounts of water;
- If your dog is medicated, see your veterinarian. Some drugs such as antacids, antihistamines or diuretics can cause constipation;
- If your puppy needs to take a nutritional supplement with iron, consult your veterinarian first, as iron can cause constipation;
- It is recommended that your dog exercise daily.
general dog care
If you have adopted a dog and want to provide it with the best care, we recommend that you consult the following articles to keep its health in perfect condition and to prevent it from developing conditions such as constipation:
- types of dog food;
- Ideal amount of dog food;
- What to do if my dog is stressed.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.