Toy poodle-"gel"-like poop?

[cherylsmom]

My 5.5 year-old toy poodle's poop looked very much like it had the consistency of a gel or mucus the other day... She is a rescue I've had for 2 yrs (Katrina) so I don't know about her past.

She has been having issues with not eating--and I'll hear her stomach gurgling and growling across the room. I have started feeding her one meal daily of cooked ground beef, brown rice, carrot or sweet potato, spinach or broccoli, yogurt and a little added fiber, and then dry food the other meals (she barely touches that but LOVES the cooked food).

Any advice? Whenever I take her to the vet, he can't tell what's wrong but says maybe she could be developing kidney disease. What can I do to lessen that possiblity

[ginger899]

I would suggest you ask your vet if they can run a Senior Blood Panel screening on your dog. That will give a pretty good cross-section of your dog's general health, and whether anything is raised above the normal range.
This is always a good thing to have done routinely every year, for senior dogs, over the age of 8 or 9. I had my dog's bloodwork done this last year.

[jay137]

My golden retriever is 10 years old and started with diarrhea 3 days ago, its is yellowish gel type, and started vomiting the next day a yellow bile with white mucus in it.  The vet did a stool sample and found nothing they have kept her over night.  when I called to check on her this morning, they told me she is eating id with no vomiting, but still having the gel like diarrhea.  Can anybody help me to help the vet diagnose my dog???  No lab work has been done.

[Katrina880]

You obviously are one of the attending vets who MISDIAGNOSED my pet and referred me to an internist whose reputation is questionable at best and who also MISDIAGNOSED my pet.

     http://www.stopanimaltests.com/f-auburn.asp

This is ONE of the three diagnoses I got from competent vets, including the veterinarian of this organization.

Lethargy, anorexia, panting, hind leg weakness, gastrointestinal problems, vomiting, and hair thinning, were the symptoms that forced you to take your dog to the vet initially. These symptoms can be signs of endocrine disorders, specifically Hypoadrenocorticism (Addison's Disease), Hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing 's Syndrome), and hypothyroid.

I think that your dog may have had undiagnosed Addison’s disease Hypoadrenocorticism). The cause of Hypoadrenocorticism is unknown, although immune -mediated destruction of the adrenal gland is suspected in most cases. Addison’s disease is a deficiency of hormones normally produced by the adrenal glands. However, your dog’s the blood work was atypical for Addison‘s, so Addison’s disease would have to have been diagnosed with additional tests such as: ACTH stim test or Low dose dex. test, and unfortunately it is too late for such tests so we must just speculate.

The enlarged heart and poor eye sight may have been congenital or developmental and may not have been related to the endocrine disorder. Your dog had already been on heart medications for 3 years prior to this episode. However, electrolyte abnormalities secondary to Addison's disease can disrupt heart function and cause arrhythmias, which could worsen an existing heart condition.

Addison’s disease can also cause seizure and coma due to hypoglycemia. Your dog’s last listed glucose level was 29. A glucose level of 29 is extremely low and is considered to be hypoglycemic. Hypoglycemia by itself can cause seizures and coma. Addison’s disease is not the only cause of sudden hypoglycemia, though. Other causes that could have occurred in your dog’s case include Insulinoma (a tumor of the pancreas that produces excess insulin) and overwhelming infection (possibly secondary to the surgery, in your dog‘s case). There was a sign of possible infection in your dog: “SQ emphysema” in the integument at the suture site, this can be indicative of infection.

Though there is no way to be definitive about the cause of death for your dog the following are possible: Surgical complications secondary to Addison’s disease, Surgical complications secondary to heart disease, Infection following surgery, Adrenal carcinoma causing adrenal failure, or Pancreatic cancer (Insulinoma), among other possibilities

[Katrina880]

Please ask the vet to check for Addison's disease.  The symptoms could be suggestive of this disease.  I wish I knew what this disease is all about before I lost my pet to Addison's. Even the vets misdiagnose this condition which is called the "great pretender"!

[suzi-q]

My poodle had that mucusy diarhea but she was 12 years old.  My vet first gave her an antibiotic which did the trick for a little while, however, it came back. I had to bring her to the vet for other reasons, but in routine blood work she was in the beginning of kidney failure.  I had to put my dog down, but the reason was because she also had advanced heart disease and it was her time.  However, as Jaybay has said, there are ways of treating kidney disease for long term.  It can be treated so don't give up hope!  

I would also ask the Vet to do a complete blood work up...focusing on the kidneys.  Best to you and let us know!

[Jaybay]

What was his basis for kidney disease?  Did he run some lab work and urinalysis?  Here is an article about kidney disease in dogs and how to manage it long term.  It was extremely helpful to me when my dog developed it.  The entire article runs about 40 printed pages.  http://www.dogaware.com/kidney.html