848. The dog passes gas for a long time - flatulence

I followed through today by phoning the owner. Some 5 days ago, his wife brought a container of semi-wet greenish stools, a medical swab of blood-stained vomit to me.

"My dog vomited blood", she had also told me she was a nurse and her husband was a doctor. They don't self-treat their own dog. The two samples were useful. I got the stools sent to the lab and the blood tested.

That was some 5 days ago. "Farting for so many months is not a normal thing for a dog or human being," I said. "There is something wrong with the stomach and intestines. So you get gas production and then smelly stinky smell in the room. If not treated, the intestines can get much irritated leading to "telescoping of one segment into another (intussusception) or rectal prolapse,"

This appeared to be a simple case of vomiting of blood. But the main problem could be the gastrointestinal system causing flatulence for very long time.

I gave the dog a 500 ml IV drip, antibiotic and anti-spasmodic and boarded overnight. I recommended the Prescription i/d canned diets for 1 month. No treats and any other food. Just the i/d 1.5 cans per day.

Now 5 days later, the husband answered my phone at 4 pm (Air Asia plane to Bali delayed as it was to leave at 4 pm, so I typed this story).

The husband said first: "The stools are solid for the first time. Where can I buy it? It is not sold in the shops."

Performance counts. This is what I always tell my younger vets. Stop the vomiting and flatulence. I did not give anti-vomiting injection at all. Just treat for chronic enteritis. You get good clinical outcome after the visit, you get referrals. As simple as that.

The stool sample showed blood but no white cells or parasites. The blood test was not significant. I/d for one month and go on good quality food and treats. The cheap treats sold at Singapore's pet shops should not be fed to your dogs as they are cheap for one reason.