Gastroenteritis is a disease of the gastrointestinal tract. Both the stomach and intestinal lining get inflamed, causing a lot of discomfort. This digestive disorder can affect all kinds of dogs, in different age groups. Certain dog breeds, however, are more prone to gastroenteritis.
The main symptoms of gastroenteritis are vomiting and diarrhea because he is losing a lot of fluids, the dog gets dehydrated. Dogs can vomit regularly from time to time. Frequent vomiting, however, is not a good sign. If your dog抯 vomit or fecal matter has any blood, most of the time the culprit is hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. If this happens, your dog might need some immediate help. Take him to the veterinarian right away, as he might have internal bleeding. The same is the case if you find any bile in the vomit.You can tell if your dog has gastroenteritis if he is lethargic, and has no appetite. You will also be able to hear grumbling sounds if you listen to his stomach. Because he is in so much discomfort, your dog will be listless and depressed. He won抰 have any energy to move around, as his stomach is hurting him.
Gastroenteritis can occur because of a lot of things and most of the time is the infections from the improper diet; ingestion of rotten food or foreign objects is very common. Any infections, whether viral, fungal or bacterial, can cause gastroenteritis as well. Another thing that causes inflammation of the lining is anti-cancer medication. If your dog has been diagnosed with a metabolic disorder, pancreatitis or peritonitis, he is more susceptible to the disease.
The treatments used for gastroenteritis vary, for most dogs that have been diagnosed early, vomiting and diarrhea will not require any home-treatment. While the vomiting will continue for a day or two, it will go away on its own. However, dogs that continually vomit for as long as three days need further testing. A complete blood count, routine urine examination, blood biochemistry profiling, ultrasound, and stool examination will be required by the veterinarian. Smaller puppies are usually more vulnerable to the disease; vomiting and diarrhea do not stop in one to two days. There are also some cases where dogs cannot stop vomiting for twenty-four hours. Intravenous fluid may have to be administered to prevent dehydration. The regular treatment for dogs with severe cases requires the dog抯 digestive tract to be cleansed. This means that they cannot orally take anything for a couple of hours. For those who are suffering from an infection, antibiotics are administered.
If you think your dog is suffering too much from the symptoms, you can ask your veterinarian for some medicine. They will help soothe the symptoms of gastroenteritis. However, you should never give your dog medicine without consulting your vet. This might only irritate his gastrointestinal tract further, worsening the situation. Give your dog a healthy diet, so that he does not develop gastroenteritis. Keep the environment clean, so that you can prevent any infections.
