Constipation in a dog. What to do

Owners of dogs at least once in their lives faced with the lack of defecation of a pet or its difficulty. But not everyone knows how to deal with this problem and how you can help a four-legged friend. Is constipation always a reason to go to the vet and what to do if the dog has constipation?

Symptoms of constipation in a dog

If a person has started a dog, then he should care for her and be attentive to her health. What can suggest that the pet is not all right with the intestines?

First of all, a healthy dog goes to the toilet “by and large” at least twice a day. If it began to be emptied less often or stopped altogether, then this is a reason to get accustomed to its general state, and one should not immediately panic. The number of defecations of an animal depends largely on its size, physiology and age.

First of all, it is necessary to evaluate how a pet behaves. If he is cheerful, cheerful, with a good appetite, and the feces have a uniform taut consistency, then there is no particular cause for concern.

On the walk you can see that the dog is trying to go to the toilet, straining, hard, but to no avail. At this point, you can hear her squealing and whining , as constipation causes pain and discomfort.

In addition, there are several symptoms that clearly indicate that the dog is constipated:

bloating - gas accumulates in the intestines, and the dog often rumbles in the stomach;
lack of appetite - in case of intestinal obstruction, in most cases, pets refuse to eat;
a dog may have vomiting ;
she drinks a lot of water;
general malaise - a dog without great enthusiasm perceives the message of a walk, moves a little and strives to go home.

In some cases, you can help your pet yourself, but not always. Seek medical attention if you have the following symptoms:

if blood feces, foam, undigested feed particles are present in feces;
feces have a distinct smell of rot and dampness.

What can cause such a condition?

Improper diet and other causes of constipation

Much depends on proper nutrition , including the quantity and quality of emptyings. The following can cause constipation:

the dog ate a large number of bones, especially tubular boiled ones;
pet feed steep broth;
in the diet there is a large amount of fiber;
overfeeding the dog.

Also, difficult bowel movement may cause dry food that is not suitable for a pet.

Often constipation is not an independent disease, but only one of the symptoms of a more serious condition:

diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys;
neurological or orthopedic problems;
diseases of paraanal gland and prostate in males.

The ingestion of a pet of foreign objects can also provoke an obstruction of fecal masses. If the veterinarian finds out the cause of the constipation, then an X-ray of the peritoneum, complete blood count, ultrasound examination is prescribed.

Treatment of constipation in dogs

Therapeutic treatment includes the use of lactulose preparations that soften the fecal masses - Duphalac, Lizolac, Lactusan, Livo-varnish, Portalak. In addition, for this purpose, you can use liquid paraffin.

The most effective method of relieving a pet of constipation, as well as to prevent them, is enema. They successfully cleanse the intestines of hardened fecal stones.

If a diagnostic study showed that the dog’s intestines are filled with bone fragments, then surgery is often necessary to remove them under general anesthesia.

If constipation is accompanied by abundant vomiting and a complete lack of appetite, then supportive therapy is prescribed in the form of droppers, protecting the body from dehydration.

In more complicated cases, veterinarians may resort to amputation of a fragment of the large intestine together with the masses that fill it.

Correction of nutrition for constipation

If the dog does not have special symptoms that require medical assistance, the owner can help the pet by changing its diet:

The following products are excluded from the diet: rice, pulses, meat broths, corn, meat with muscle tissue (muscular), cheeses, yesterday’s fermented milk products, cheeses.
Food is given fractionally, in small portions, it is desirable that it be liquid and warm.
It is recommended to include in the dog menu:

boiled buckwheat, boiled in water or milk;
vegetable stew;
a small amount of boiled sea fish, carefully cleaned of bones, preference should be given to fish with white meat;
freshly prepared kefir, yogurt without additives;
raw vegetables - carrots and beets;
fresh plums (in case the pet has no allergic reaction and no more than two).

While the dog is sick, you can feed it ready canned food intended for puppies or dogs with chronic diseases. Usually these foods have increased digestibility.

Home remedies for constipation

Pet owners can cope with a dog’s constipation if it is caused only by an unhealthy diet.

The following products help in its removal:

yogurt (given instead of breakfast);
fresh cabbage juice (you should be careful with it, as it often causes increased gas formation);
buckthorn decoction;
infusion of pumpkin seeds (2 tablespoons of seeds per one cup of boiling water, infused for about half an hour in the heat);
a mixture of crushed flax seeds with vegetable oil or prepared flax oil.

It is strictly forbidden to give your pet everything at once, you should select only one specific option.

At home, you can do cleansing enemas with vaseline. Heated to a warm state, the oil gently and slowly introduced into the rectum of the dog. For a very large pet, one glass of oil is taken, for a dog weighing about 20 kg - 75-100 ml, for small breeds 1-2 tablespoons will suffice.

If it does not pass, then the pet most likely has intestinal obstruction and the procedure should be stopped.

Enemas are best done by placing the dog in the bathroom or basin, purely for hygienic reasons.

Before enema, you can try oral administration of vaseline oil. It is heated to room temperature and injected into the cheeks of a dog with a syringe that does not have a needle. For dogs of dwarf breeds for a single reception is enough one teaspoon, medium - one tablespoon, large - 2-3 tablespoons. You need to give twice a day, until a positive result is achieved.

You should not worry about overdose, as its surplus leaves the body naturally. When constipation is recommended to increase the number of walking up to 5 times a day and try as much as possible to walk. Movement fruitfully affects the activity of the intestines, makes it work. This mode should be observed for two or three days.

If the actions have not had the desired effect, the dog still has symptoms of the disease, then it is imperative to seek medical help.

Preventive measures against constipation

Like any other disease, constipation is better to prevent than to treat them later. What should be done to prevent such a state? The following rules must be followed:

Observance of the feeding regime is obligatory - the pet should receive food at the same time in the prescribed amount;
consumption of heavy products in large quantities should be avoided, everything should be in moderation;
you should not treat the dog with bones every day, they should be in the diet a rare delicacy (bones often become the cause of intestinal blockage);
exclude from the diet foods that cause increased gas formation - legumes, apples, cabbage, including Brussels sprouts and broccoli, oats, starches - potato and corn;
provide your pet around the clock access to water, and it should always be fresh;
periodically enrich the pet's nutrition with vitamin and mineral supplements ;
try to walk your pet more often, and not less than 20 minutes;
refuse to walk a newly-eaten dog, a minimum of 30 minutes should pass from the moment of feeding;
Do not forget about the regular intake of anthelmintic drugs and prophylactic inoculation.

In most cases, if we are not talking about hereditary and congenital ailments, the pet's health depends on the care and care of the owner. The more attention is paid to the development and well-being of the dog, the healthier the dog, the more long his life will be. And if constipation happened, the caring owner knows how to save a four-legged friend from this trouble.