I have a 3 year old American Staffordshire and I think he might have some digestive problems. We just recently get the dog, and noticed he strains when he tries to defecate, and that his stools are softer than normal. He also has had gas and burps quite a bit. We are feeding him the same food his previous owners fed him since he was a puppy. So there has been no change in his diet. I tried giving him beef and rice last night to see if that would calm his stomach. It seemed to help, and within a hour or so he had a normal bowel movement. I fed him that again this morning, and again tonite, but he hasnt gone to the bathroom since yesterday. It has now been over 24 hours. Is this something I should be very concerned about??? He is acting fine. Any advice would be greatly appriciated!!!!!!

"Missyb" wrote in message
...
I have a 3 year old American Staffordshire and I think he might have
some digestive problems. We just recently get the dog,
........how long has he been at your house?

and noticed he
strains when he tries to defecate, and that his stools are softer than
normal.
.........yeah, when they're soft, its hard to get out.

He also has had gas and burps quite a bit. We are feeding him
the same food his previous owners fed him since he was a puppy. So
there has been no change in his diet.
..........do you live far away from the original owners or do you have a
well? IOW, is the water different? Sometimes different water can cause a
reaction.

It has now been over 24 hours.
........Hope he's gone by now! No, they can go 2 days, something I found out
when I brought a dog home after surgery and he only got up off the floor a
couple of times a day to pee.

Is this something I
should be very concerned about???

........I'd just keep an eye on him for now. If it continues, the first
thing I'd do is take in a fresh stool sample to look for parasites. If
you've only had the dog a short time (week or so), might be the adjustment
to the new house, you, neighborhood, etc. Especially if this was any kind
of rescue situation where the dog was under stress. New situations could
bring up stress again. Could also be the food, even if it's the same thing
he's been eating all his life. Hard to know at this point, but as long as
the dog isn't losing tons of water with diarrhea, not life threatening.

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Thanks for replying!!!
We have had the dog for about 2 months. I dont know much about his previous owners, they were moving and needed to get rid of the dog. They gave him to a friend of ours, and we took the dog from him. All we knew was what food they were feeding him. I went ahead and started giving him beef and rice to see if that would help, and added some veg. oil to it. He seems to feel better, and he defecated once in the am and once in the pm yesterday. When he goes, he isn't straining like before. So I am assuming, more than likely it was his food bothering him. Im going to try to get him on a different food, that will agree better with his stomache.