# Poop explosion in crate!



## HankGSD (Oct 28, 2010)

Last night I came home to Hank having had diarrhea in his crate. Obviously he couldn't hold it because poor boy hasn't pottied in the crate since he was 11 or 12 weeks old. 

I guess everyone might go through this once: poop-covered dog, poop-covered crate, poop-covered floor and walls. I finished with bathing, cleaning and disinfecting by about 1 a.m. 

Can't quite figure out what caused the diarrhea. He started with some loose stools Friday and I didn't think much of it, and he pooped (loose) twice on his normal schedule before I left for work yesterday. His third and last poop of the day is always after he is fed when I come home from work. 

The only thing I have done different is I had been giving a Kong with a frozen half banana in it at night after work as a treat. Perhaps too much banana over a few days? Any thoughts would be appreciated as always.


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

i would think it may be too much banana. We occassionally have poop explosions in the crates. no fun.


----------



## CaseysGSD (Oct 15, 2010)

Give a few tsp of pumpkin to bind him back up... I picked up a new pup from the airport once who had a poop explosion on the plane ride....NOT FUN!! luckily I brought all the supplies to break down the cage and clean it but no hose for the pup and he was too gross to ride up front, so back in the now at least clean cage for and hour ride home... Was the longest, smelliest car ride I have EVER had!!!!!


----------



## HankGSD (Oct 28, 2010)

CaseysGSD said:


> Give a few tsp of pumpkin to bind him back up... I picked up a new pup from the airport once who had a poop explosion on the plane ride....NOT FUN!! luckily I brought all the supplies to break down the cage and clean it but no hose for the pup and he was too gross to ride up front, so back in the now at least clean cage for and hour ride home... Was the longest, smelliest car ride I have EVER had!!!!!


Oh my! That does sound like a pretty rotten car ride. I feel a little better now. 

And the poor pups, I think they really do feel shamed when they are covered in their soil.


----------



## Elaine (Sep 10, 2006)

It could be caused by some sort of intestinal infection, worms, something he ate that didn't agree with him, to stress. Hard to say. If it doesn't clear up right away, I would do the bland diet thing and take a sample in to the vet.


----------



## Zisso (Mar 20, 2009)

I agree that it is probably too much banana. 

I feel for ya on the mess too. Right after I adopted Nadia, I had left the two dogs in the house, crated while I was at work. It turned out to be a later day than anticipated and I had a friend come to let the dogs out. Good thing I did too. Nadia had diarrhea, the explosive type. My friend came in to the horrendous stench. He took her out, took both crates out, took blankets out of crates, gave the dog a bath, hosed blankets and crates down. All I had to do was clean the carpet where it meets the wall(no base boards here). After he was done, he called me (at work) to tell me....He is a terrific friend for doing all of that! Most would want to run for the hills!!


----------



## HankGSD (Oct 28, 2010)

I ended up taking Hank to the vet yesterday since the diarrhea wasn't stopping, and Monday night was the worst with him waking me up at 11:20 p.m., 12:45 a.m and 2:15 a.m. to go outside. More diarrhea when we got up at 6.

After all the blood work and various stool tests, there was no conclusion except it had to "bacterial" and he was put on Flagyl. Immediate improvement.

Two vets at this practice have tried to tell me he may be prone to something called "EPI" (I think that's it), some sort of pancreatic disorder shepherds may be susceptible to? This was the only time he had true diarrhea; earlier he had a lot of loose stool issues until I got him on a grain-free food. I kind of feel like the vets just want me to pay for an expensive test. As if yesterday was not expensive enough, but it was worth it to not come home to another crate disaster!!


----------



## Liesje (Mar 4, 2007)

HankGSD said:


> I guess everyone might go through this once


Once??! lol

Now I bet you can agree that you know what the expression "The {poop} has hit the fan" actually looks like!

If he's only had this one bout, I wouldn't obsess over EPI just yet. All of my dogs have had several bouts of explosive diarrhea over the years and none have EPI, SIBO, or any allergies. They just get sick every once in a while, especially the ones that track and are more likely to eat something "disagreeable". Generally if the diarrhea does not resolve itself after 24 hours I do a round of metronidazole (flagyl, same thing). I've taken in many fecal samples over the years and have never once actually had one test positive for something, but once I start the metro the dogs are better almost instantly.


----------



## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

I've also had 2 crate/diarrhea adventures with my dog. LOL...they are definitely no fun. 

Glad you took him to the vet and got him on some antibiotics.

The first time it happened with my dog (she was a puppy at the time), I also took her to the vet along with a stool sample. Everything came back normal...they just wrote it up to a "digestive indiscretion". LOL


----------



## lisgje (Sep 3, 2010)

When that happened to my Shane and then Chance, it was the first serious symptom of IBD. I know i talk about that a lot, but after having two dogs with the disease, that is my first thought. one way to rule it out is to have the eosinaphil and protein levels checked. If they are not normal, can be an indicator of IBD. Flagyl worked for about a week and then back to the diahrhea. The bloodwork for this is less expensive than for EPI. If the diahrea continues after you are done with the Flagyl ask the vet to check that first. A CBC and Chem panel will test for those two indicators. When Shane exploded in his crate I could actually smell it outside when I came home from work since the A/C was running. Knew something was wrong before I even got in the house. He had also vomited, probably from the smell. Took me four hours to clean him ( he was a long haired, so you can imagine..) the crate, the blanket and the walls. then another hour to clean the bathroom. Yuck!


----------



## HankGSD (Oct 28, 2010)

The vet did a complete blood count, since Hank was due for a heart worm test anyway. She thought the blood work looked perfect, especially considering he had been having diarrhea for a few days. 

She also did a giardia snap test, and the "routine" fecal exam.

My bill was $194 and, trust me, I did not need that this month. Just glad my boy is doing better. 

I just can't imagine one bout of diarrhea could mean he could have EPI. If I came in with him repeatedly having this problem, then it would be more appropriate at that time to suggest the test.


----------



## HankGSD (Oct 28, 2010)

lisgje said:


> Took me four hours to clean him ( he was a long haired, so you can imagine..) the crate, the blanket and the walls. then another hour to clean the bathroom. Yuck!


Sounds like my Saturday night, except it only took me 3 hours. 

Glad to know I'm not alone. Thanks everyone for your responses and input!


----------



## sadie2010 (Nov 24, 2010)

Just a thought... now that the snow has melted it uncovers a lot of rabbit poop. Perhaps your dog ate some of that.

My shep/lab mix used to eat that and always got a nasty case of diarrhea.


----------



## lisgje (Sep 3, 2010)

So glad your dog's bloodwork, etc came back normal. Lisa


----------

