There’s something rotten going around the dogs of Elwood
In the past few weeks, we’ve seen a huge spike in cases of dog gastro. It’s very likely that this is infectious (as opposed to the very common situation in dogs where they eat something that their body rejects).
Right up front – if your dog has this infectious gastro, you need to expect around a week or more of illness. There are no medical cures for viral infections – the immune system does all the work here.
What is gastro?
Gastro is short for gastroenteritis.
gastro = stomach
enter = intestine
itis = inflammation
It's an umbrella term covering any cause of inflammation of the stomach and intestines. And we generally use it to describe an acute condition rather than a chronic one.
The terms acute and chronic refer to time frame rather than severity. Acute gastro describes the sudden or recent onset of vomiting and/or abnormally liquid stools that resolves quickly (usually within a few days). If it persists for 2 weeks or more, then it's considered chronic.
What’s causing the gastro ‘outbreak’?
It’s possible (if not likely) that the current round of dog gastro is caused by a coronavirus. Now before you panic, dog coronavirus is not the same as the one causing COVID-19.
We don’t know for sure what the cause is in every dog as we don’t have the same ability to do testing as human doctors do. Rather, we can test your dog’s poo for coronavirus but there are three main reasons we don’t do it frequently:
most dogs with gastro get better without much treatment (before we would get the results)
a large number of dogs without gastro symptoms will test positive (they may have been exposed with the previous 6 months or so and still have virus DNA in their gut)
it’s reasonably expensive (labs have what’s called a diarrhoea panel that looks for a number of bacteria and viruses and costs around $200)
So why do we think coronavirus is a possible cause? The ones we have tested are positive for coronavirus, there have been several documented outbreaks within certain dog communities (eg Greyhounds in adoption centres, shelters) and the signs we’re seeing are typical of canine enteric coronavirus.
What are the signs of gastro?
The signs of gastro are:
vomiting
reduced appetite
diarrhoea (sometimes bloody)
lethargy
For most causes of gastro, vomiting often starts a day or so before the onset of diarrhoea. With coronavirus gastro, the severity varies considerably – from not finishing all of a meal to profound squirting from both ends. We’re currently seeing:
vomiting intermittently for 1–3 days (most dogs can hold down water)
reduced appetite for 1–4 days (often a selective appetite, where they’ll eat treats but not meals)
diarrhoea for 1–10 days (sometimes very watery/bloody)
lethargy (which kicks in about day 2 and lasts 3–5 days)
The duration of illness is up to 8–10 days.
How do we treat gastro?
This really depends on the severity of signs. There is no specific treatment for coronavirus gastro.
See basic first aid for vomiting and diarrhoea.
Dogs that appear bright and alert and are not actively vomiting just need rest, time and TLC. More severely affected dogs may need:
medication to stop vomiting (and/or nausea) – the most common one we use is called maropitant (Cerenia®), which is given via injection or as tablets. The injection really stings but is the better option in actively vomiting patients
fluid to prevent or correct dehydration – if there only very mild dehydration and if vomiting is under control, then clear liquids should be given orally (2 teaspoons per kg every 2–3 hours). For moderate to severe dehydration or if vomiting is not under control, intravenous fluids are needed
treatment for diarrhoea – options include dietary change (ie bland food like boiled chicken and rice), medications (eg metronidazole) and probiotics/prebiotics (eg prokolin)
Dogs who do not respond to symptomatic treatment or have severe signs may need diagnostics to rule out underlying disease and metabolic issues that need specific correction (eg electrolyte problems). Diagnostic tests include bloods, imaging and faecal testing.