constipation? Yelping?

    • Gold Top Dog

    constipation? Yelping?

    They gave Kira that I/D food when she had some diarrhea.  Her stool was better yesterday late morning, so I just gave her a couple tablespoonsful at each meal to finish off the can. Well, she didn't poop the rest of yesterday, or all day today.  We kept taking her out and waiting and waiting and nothing was happening! She finally went after me waiting with her outside at 1am for 20 minutes and right as she finished up, she yelped a couple of times.  Immediately after, she lunged as if she was wanting to take off after the cat (amazing how major surgery doesn't slow her down) and seemed totally fine.  I rolled her over when we got back inside, and pushed gently on her belly and she seemed fine.  I assume she is constipated.  Her incision looks fine and she didn't seem bloated. She is also taking antibiotics, which I guess can go either way digestively speaking.  I suppose if she hasn't pooped enough lately, her anal glands could also be more full and painful than usual too.  It was too dark for me to see her poop, but it looked like there were about 4 or 5 golfball sized poos that came out, which is what Misty's always looks like.

    Should I give her some milk of magnesia? If so, how much?  She's 42lbs now.  I will wait till morning at this point. I also think she's not drinking enough because it's so hard with the stupid e-collar on.  I've been trying to give her some time here and there without it, and I'll just sit with her, but she wants to chew on her tail right away, and I'm nervous she'll move to the incision if I turn my head for even a second.

    • Gold Top Dog

     I tend to go the extra fluids route, first. Some canned pumpkin in the food, and some flavor in the water. My dogs like vanilla more than anything, but most people use meat broth, LOL. I got the k9 quencher waters for dog shows (It's like a doggy gatorade mix) and that's how I found out that they LOVE vanilla water. I cover their dry food in water, then add canned pumpkin, and flavor some water in a seperate bowl (in case somebody doesn't like flavored water that day) for the dog who isn't drinking enough. Surgery does slow things down. Ena had a bit of  a time with pooping after her spay, but it cleared up fairly quickly with plenty of fluids.

    • Gold Top Dog

    The antibiotics could be constipating her.  I too would encourage the water intake.  I've been known to add some low sodium chicken broth to the water, which helps. 

    • Gold Top Dog

    My old reliable is a prune -- if you bit it into small bites she'll think she's having a tasty treat (they're sweet - I haven't had a dog yet who didn't love them!).  Just one should rectify things. 

    • Gold Top Dog

     Oh, yes! After Teenie Weenie's ridiculously invasive and painful bladder surgery, we did half a prune a day (at Callie's advice) for two weeks. It helped her so much. She actually needed over soft stools, because she was in a very uncomfortable place, and that helped her not push and hurt herself.

    • Gold Top Dog

    I feel so bad for her.  She seems totally fine, but every time now, immediately after she has a bowel movement, she typically yelps a few times, runs around in circles, and then she's okay.  The vet seemed to think she has pain on the inside parts from her surgery and it hurts to strain when she poops, but I would almost want to say she'd cry during the act of pooping itself, moreso than afterwards if that were the case. I'm still sort of thinking it might be her anal glands. It did occur to me though, that this started to happen after she had gone her first day without pain meds, so maybe it IS her insides just hurting when she strains.

    Has anyone here ever had a dog who had pain after bowel movements after a spay surgery?

    Prunes are okay to give dogs?  I don't have any, so that would require a trip to the store. I don't even have any canned pumpkin right now.  ugh.

    • Gold Top Dog

    lisa4kids1pup
    The vet seemed to think she has pain on the inside parts from her surgery and it hurts to strain when she poops, but I would almost want to say she'd cry during the act of pooping itself, moreso than afterwards if that were the case. I'm still sort of thinking it might be her anal glands.

    Anal glands don't usually cause pain when pooping, not unless THEY are infected and usually then you feel swelling back there.  You'll have to watch this for a few days -- yes, I've seen it before.  And I've seen it pretty darned bad.  I have a friend who had a little poodle who was totally botched when she was spayed (the vet was literally DRUNK they found out) and poor Haley -- but it was while she was actually pooping not "after" -- and so the fact that this may be pulling on glued stitches (and since that's been opened up and stapled, etc. that's a lot of trauma fotr the poor gal to deal with and HEAL.)

    Prunes are GOOD for them -- they're high in iron (lordy, when Billy had IMHA he ate TONS of them because he had to be on iron pills for a while and man do THEY constipate them so it was a win/'win because the prunes were also high in iron.

    But I've used them for years at vet recommendation cos they're EASY and yummy.  I still use them FOR ME too -- LOL. 

    But the bag is resealable -- easier by far than pumpkin!  I'd say right now to keep her pretty soft -- then after she heals you can cut it back until she's comfortable.  But they are actually really good for them.  (so are dates and figs by the way)