Diarrhea/Ticks

Question
QUESTION: My dog has had diarrhea on and off for about three days; now I'm not sure if one has anything to do with the other but I did find a huge, blueish grey tick on him when this started (I live in the desert and I believe those are very uncommon here).  I've contacted my vet and all the others in the area and they cannot get him in until the end of the upcoming week.  He seems fine other than his bathroom problem, while I am extremely worried about him can you give me any suggestions on how to stop his diarrhea for the time being, the bland diet is not working and obviously I cannot starve him for the next week.  I would appericiate any suggestions and what else to look for as far as symptoms go.  Thank you very much.

ANSWER: You need to fast him for 24 hours before starting him back on a bland diet as his gut needs a chance to rest.

Collect a stool specimen as best you can and take that into the vet for an examination. They should be able to run that through and tell you if there are any worms or other problems that the dog can be treated for without actually seeing him. I give mine either Kaopectin or Imodium for diarrhea, but you need to call your vet and ask him for the proper dosage for your dog. You can also give your dog a couple tsp. of canned pumpkin.... the real stuff, not the pie filling. Canned pumpkin works on both diarrhea and constipation, apparently. I have never tried it myself, but I know lots of people that have with very good results.

I doubt that the tick has any relationship to the diarrhea.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you very, very much for your prompt responce, I've been worried out of my mind.  Unfortunately, I have more reason to be worried.  Shortly after I sent my question, my dog had another bought of stomach problems, this time, there where a good about (about two tablespoons worth) of bright red blood at the end of this poop.  I'm guessing I'll have to consult a vet for this but my question to you is, can you tell me if this is a emergency issue?

Answer
I'm sorry, but there is no yes or no answer to that question. It could be, or not....

As one elderly old-fashioned common-sense vet said to me once many years ago, bright blood in the vomit or stool simply means that the dog ruptured a blood vessel in straining. Because of his statement to me so long ago, I don't freak out anymore when I see blood at either end. Personally, I would be more concerned with dark tarry blood in the stool as that means the dog is bleeding from higher up in the intestinal tract.

However, this *does* need to be addressed as the dog could start dehydrating, and hopefully you have already done that this morning. Take in a stool sample and talk to the vet tech or veterinarian while you are there, and tell them exactly what is happening. The first thing they would want to check for would be parasites. Failing to find any problems with the stool, they will look elsewhere in the body for the source of the problem. (ie. colitis)