Dog eat his poop, why?

Here's what to do when your beloved pooch has a taste for the unthinkable.

Q: My older female dog has begun to eat her poop and we cannot figure out the cause. She gets the same amount of dog food that she always has. Why is this happening?
A: There comes a time in every dog owner’s life when poop dominates the conversation. Welcome to not-so-nice aspects of dog ownership. While my dog Lulu does not share your pet’s particular problem, she has taken extreme measures to hide evidence of “accidents” every now and then. With such a strong sense of smell, she still seems to forget that poop leaves an odor.

Since your little poop eater leaves the crime scene squeaky clean, she may have a condition called coprophagia.

Crazy in love with a dog

Lots of pet owners shared with me the names of their sitters after I wrote that Dog wasn’t invited on a vacation with Husband’s side of the family later this summer.

Better than the recommendations was confirmation that I’m not the only lunatic out there when it comes to worrying about the health and happiness of an animal.

A Mount Laurel reader speaks for a lot of us. She’s hired a sitter to check on her dog midday now since the commute to a new job is too far to get home at lunchtime like she used to.

“It is an added expense, but well worth the cost. Dog loves her pet sitter and vice versa. Friends and family may think we’re crazy, but so what!”

Other readers had a warning. Dogs can’t talk, they reminded me. Be sure you’re getting the care for them you’ve paid for.

“My neighbors recently hired a dog-sitting group for the two weeks or so that they are on their vacation. They asked me to come over and feed the cat and scoop the poop. No problem.

Bacterial Infections in Dogs

In dogs, bacterial infection can be treated by antibiotics; but to determine which antibiotics to administer, the vet will have to carry out a proper diagnosis. On your end, having a rough idea about the condition can help you carry out a preliminary diagnosis and take your pet to a vet well in time.

Dogs are susceptible to a variety of bacterial and viral infections, some of which can even prove fatal for them. Skin, eye, ear, urinary tract, kidneys, nervous system and even the respiratory system of the dog is vulnerable to such bacterial infections. Even minor infections can lead to severe dog health problems when left untreated, and therefore it is necessary to identify the problem and initiate treatment at the earliest.

Bacterial Skin Infections: Staphylococcal pyoderma is a skin condition in dogs caused by a Staphylococcus sp. infection. This bacteria is in fact a part of the dog's normal skin flora. However, in case of wounded skin, or skin that has aberrations and cuts, the bacterium may enter under the skin and cause skin infections. A staph infection in dogs is characterized by itchiness, crusted skin, pustules and small, raised lesions. As the severity of the infection increases, there is loss of hair, and dried discharge is given out in the affected area. Most of the time, it affects the superficial layer of the dog's skin. However, if there is deep laceration then the inner folds of the skin are also affected. To treat skin infections in dogs, topical medication along with antibiotic doses is prescribed, especially to eliminate recurrence of the disease.

Dermatitis in Dogs and Cats Caused by Bacterial and Yeast Infections

Dermatitis is general term that refers to inflammation in the skin. In dogs and cats, dermatitis may be caused by yeast or bacterial infections in the skin.

How Yeast and Bacterial Dermatitis Happens in Dogs and Cats
Skin infections caused by yeast and bacteria rarely happen alone. Under normal circumstances, both canine and feline skin provides a defensive barrier that bacteria and yeast are unable to breach. However, when your dog or cat's skin becomes damaged, the environment on the surface of the skin changes. This change gives the normal yeast and bacteria living on the surface of the skin the opportunity to avoid the skin's normal defense systems and cause further damage to the skin.

If your dog or cat has been scratching excessively or has been losing his hair, it is possible that his skin has become infected by either bacteria or yeast. Various skin diseases can cause changes in the skin that can allow yeast and bacteria to invade and infect the skin. Potential underlying causes include:

• allergic skin disease, such as flea allergy, food allergy or atopy
• infectious skin disease, such as Demodectic mange
• metabolic skin disease, such as that caused by hypothyroidism or hyperadrenocorticism in dogs

LEPTOSPIRA BACTERIAL INFECTION IN DOGS

Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is an infection of bacterial spirochetes, which dogs acquire when subspecies of the Leptospira interrogans penetrate the skin and spread through the body by way of the bloodstream. Two of of the most commonly seen members of this subspecies are the L. grippotyphosa and L. Pomona bacteria. Spirochetes are spiral, or corkscrew-shaped bacteria which infiltrate the system by burrowing into the skin. Leptospires spread throughout the entire body, reproducing in the liver, kidneys, central nervous system, eyes, and reproductive system. Soon after initial infection, fever and bacterial infection of the blood develop, but these symptoms soon resolve with the reactive increase of antibodies, which clear the spirochetes from most of the system. The extent to which this bacteria affects the organs will depend on your dog’s immune system and its ability to eradicate the infection fully. Even then, Leptospira spirochetes can remain in the kidneys, reproducing there and infecting the urine. Infection of the liver or kidneys can be fatal for animals if the infection progresses, causing severe damage to these organs. Younger animals with less developed immune systems are at the highest risk for severe complications. The Leptospira spirochete bacteria is zoonotic, meaning that it can be transmitted to humans and other animals. Children are most at risk of acquiring the bacteria from an infected pet.

Disorders of the shoulder joint

How can I tell if my dog has a shoulder joint problem?

There are many disorders affecting the shoulder joint that can affect all ages of dogs and which can occasionally also affect cats. Limping is the usual problem noted at home. There is usually no specific gait abnormality suggestive of a shoulder problem (as opposed to an elbow problem, for example). Some shoulder problems are developmental and affect young dogs that have not been subject to trauma. In some cases, problems can be associated with an external injury, whilst other shoulder conditions are the result of repetitive strain to the muscles around the shoulder joint.

Here is a list of some of the common conditions affecting the canine shoulder joint:

Osteochondrosis (OC) and osteochondritis dissecans (OCD)

In dogs that grow very quickly, the rapid cartilage growth can outstrip its own blood supply. This causes abnormal cartilage development and subsequent osteoarthritis. In some cases, flaps of diseased cartilage become separated from the remaining cartilage surface. This is called osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). Genetic factors are the most important cause of OC and OCD, with strong breed predispositions, particularly in Labradors and giant breed dogs. Different breeds appear to be predisposed to developing the condition in different joints. For example, the shoulder joint is most commonly affected in Border Collies, Great Danes and Irish Wolfhounds. Various other factors such as dietary or nutritional problems during the first few months of life, hormonal imbalances and joint trauma can also increase the risk of developing OC.

OC lesion

OC is typically diagnosed by a combination of examination by an experienced orthopaedic surgeon, radiography of the affected joints, and arthroscopy (examination of the joint by keyhole surgery). Because OC can occur at the same time as other developmental orthopaedic diseases (such as certain manifestations of elbow dysplasia), some dogs may require additional tests such as CT or MRI scans.

Various treatment options are available for shoulder OC/OCD. The best treatment option for each dog can only be recommended following thorough clinical, radiographic and arthroscopic assessment. Non-surgical management is occasionally appropriate for dogs with small cartilage defects and minimal discomfort. The majority of dogs are treated surgically. The following options are available:

Surgical removal of the cartilage flap: Certain types of small cartilage defects in specific locations are treated arthroscopically (keyhole surgery) by flap removal and debridement of the defect bed. This allows the cartilage defect to heal by scar cartilage formation over the course of several weeks. Scar cartilage (fibrocartilage) is less robust than healthy joint (hyaline) cartilage, so although this allows some of the joint inflammation to resolve in the short-term, the joint will remain abnormal, with ongoing development of osteoarthritis and cartilage wear. We currently recommend this surgery for very small or shallow disease lesions.

Principle of OATS and a synthetic graft in situ with preparation of an adjacent site for another synthetic graft.Osteochondral autograft transfer (OAT): Over recent years, we have adopted the OATS™ (Arthrex, Naples, FL) system for use in the canine shoulder joint. This system has been used for many years in human joints to resurface cartilage lesions including OCD, with positive long-term results. It involves collection of a cylinder of bone and cartilage from a non-contact area of a healthy joint (usually the knee) and transplanting it into a joint affected by OCD in order to resurface the cartilage defect with healthy hyaline cartilage. In some cases, it may be more appropriate to use a synthetic resurfacing graft instead of a cartilage graft.

Shoulder instability

There are several different forms of shoulder instability. Some dogs experience a low-grade repetitive sprain injury to the shoulder ligaments or a strain injury to the muscles of the rotator cuff. Affected animals are often middle-aged athletic large breed dogs. Lameness in affected dogs is often worse after exercise. Dogs affected by high-grade sprains and strains of the shoulder joint may experience an obvious permanent limp.

Prosthetic stabilization postoerative radiograph.

Diagnosis of shoulder instability is made using a physical examination test that is usually performed under sedation or general anaesthesia. We will often perform radiographs to check for the presence of osteoarthritis. Occasionally, advanced imaging using MRI can be helpful when assessing dogs with suspected strain injuries. Most dogs are assessed under general anaesthesia using arthroscopy. This is a keyhole technique whereby a fibre-optic camera is inserted into the shoulder joint.

Treatment of shoulder instability depends on the grade of sprain and strain, and the degree of instability. Low-grade injuries are often treated non-surgically with anti-inflammatory medication, exercise modification and physiotherapy. High-grade injuries can be treated using prosthetic stabilization, shoulder fusion, or total joint replacement.

Prosthetic stabilization: The surgical technique for shoulder stabilization is modeled on the techniques used for the management of rotator cuff tears in humans. We have pioneered the application of human implantation systems to dogs, with excellent success.

Post-op shoulder arthrodesis.Shoulder fusion (arthrodesis): In animals affected by the most severe problems affecting the shoulder, including severe instability, dislocation (luxation), articular fractures, and arthritis, arthrodesis may be the best option. This is called a “salvage” surgery because it is used as a last-resort where other techniques to save the joint would have a poor probability of success. We have excellent experience with shoulder arthrodesis, and have published the largest case series describing this technique in dogs.

Postoperative radiograph of a total shoulder replacement

Total shoulder replacement: The technology and implants for canine total shoulder joint replacement have been pioneered at Fitzpatrick Referrals. The first clinical cases were operated here, and we are currently the only veterinary hospital offering this procedure worldwide.

THE SHOULDER IN THE WORKING DOG

Dog breeds are usually grouped—often arbitrarily or erroneously—into from five to ten categories based on function, superficial appearance, or geographical origin, depending on the registry organization. Just because it may make more sense to assign them to groups based primarily on ancestry and then on historical function, does not mean that such will be the case. In most dog circles, the “working” breeds have always been considered as those that originally did such work as herding or guarding livestock, pulling loads, and protecting property. Even though other breeds had specific occupations in the service of man, they are not known as working breeds: sighthounds running down prey or predators, gundogs flushing food for the table, terriers and toys terrorizing vermin — these were more or less doing what they would do without human ownership, anyway, so their jobs were considered less like “work.”

Many dog organizations split the huge Working Group into two, with the ones that had historical development for tending, driving, or bunching flocks and herds being called “Herding breeds.” Never mind the confusion about whether the reindeer-herding Samoyed is hardly much different from the sled-pulling Husky—that’s a puzzle for another time. Most of the Group that did not resemble the mastino-type wagon puller or the bear-fighting wooly flock guardian type were once employed to trot around the animals raised by man for his food, and assigned to the herding subcategory. These latter were specialists in trotting, in covering much ground with the most efficiency (least effort). This meant that success favored those with the most shoulder angulation over those with the stiffer, more vertical front ends.

Shoulder Joint Ligament and Tendon Conditions in Dogs

Bicipital Tenosynovitis, Brachii Muscle Rupture, and Supraspinatus Avulsion in Dogs

The shoulder joint is a “ball-and-socket” joint. In four legged animals it is made up of the scapula/shoulder blade bones, and the humerus/upper bone of the front leg. These bones are supported by ligaments and tendons. A ligament is a band of connective or fibrous tissue that connects two bones or cartilage at a joint, and a tendon is a band of connective or fibrous tissue that connects a muscle to a bone.

Shoulder-joint ligament and tendon conditions make up the majority of causes for lameness in the canine shoulder joint, excluding osteochondritis dissecans (a condition characterized by abnormal development of bone and cartilage, leading to a flap of cartilage within the joint). It is a disease that occurs in medium to large-breed dogs when they become skeletally mature, around one year of age or older. The average age for development of this condition is between 3 to 7 years of age.

Shoulder Injuries in Dogs

Your dog's skeletal system works in conjunction with the muscles, tendons and ligaments, allowing the dog to move freely. When your dog suffers an injury to its shoulder joint or to the adjacent tendons from a jumping impact, muscle strain or a trauma to the joint, it may limp or refuse to put pressure on its front legs.

Features

Unlike humans, dogs have no collarbones connecting to its shoulder blades. The humerus bone fits directly into the shoulder socket and provides a greater range of angulation, allowing the dog to stretch its front legs out when leaping forwards or running. The front of the shoulder joint in most healthy breeds is in vertical alignment with the dogs' forepaws. Numerous muscles connect the shoulder blades to the forelegs, the spine, the exterior ribcage and the neck.

How to Measure Your Dog

How to Measure Your Dog Or My Dog Is Bigger Than Your Dog!

All recognized breeds of dogs have official Standards - a word picture of the ideal dog of that breed. A Standard includes such things as acceptable colors, structure and size. The Great Pyrenees has one of the largest ranges of acceptable heights - from 25 to 29 inches for females, from 27 to 32 inches for males. These ranges were originally set by measuring the available dogs when the Standard was first written in France and, except for small errors caused by metric translation, have remained the same ever since.

How does one accurately measure a dog? The height in all cases is taken with the dog standing on a level surface, his front feet directly under him, his hind feet in the accepted show stack position for the breed. If a dog is measured officially at a show, a U-shaped wicket is used. Both legs of the wicket are placed flat on the ground, and a moveable bar is adjusted to fit firmly on top of the withers. (See illustration below.)

The vertical line below the arrow illustrates the line dropped from the point of shoulder to the floor that gives the true height of the dog.