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Old June 20th, 2010, 11:48 PM
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Nanook-black stools

Hi guys,

I'm hoping this is nothing to worry about, but I'm not sure. Nanook has had chronic diarrhea since we've had him. He's had some medical issues and is on steroids and antibiotics (clyndamycin) for almost 2 weeks now and has been fine. Today is the first day he has had solid stools. He did have one very soft movement earlier, but 3 solid. The las one he had was completely black (almost a blue-black). No foul odor like they have been. The problem is he eats everything he can get in his mouth which includes black bark chips, wood chips, pebbles and he even took a bite out of the neighbors plastic bag that had grass clippings in it (it was a run-by bite and swallow!). If I try to take it out of his mouth he will swallow whatever it is whole.

I know he did eat some black bark from around the tree, but he does it every chance he gets and his stools have never been black. My mother in law did give him some blueberries today, it was a good handful, as well as a couple of strawberries. Could that make his stools appear black? Otherwise, he is acting normal... happy and playful! Should I be concerned about the color?

Thanks to anyone who can help
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Old June 20th, 2010, 11:55 PM
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Definitely keep an eye on his stools... It could have been the blueberries, but blood from the upper end of the GI tract can also make stool black. If it's still black tomorrow, give your vet a call.

Steroids are an appetite enhancer, so with luck, when he's weaned off them, the gotta-eat-everything-I-see behavior will taper off!

Might not be a bad time to start "Leave it" and "Give" training, too.
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Old June 21st, 2010, 12:06 AM
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Thank you Hazel! He just had another, also black. I guess I'll wait until morning and if it's still black I'll call the vet.
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Old June 21st, 2010, 08:35 PM
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How was he today, Rgeurts? Hope you didn't have to call the vet!
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Old June 21st, 2010, 10:01 PM
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Nope! He was fine this morning. His stool started out blackish then turned a nice normal brown. I'm sure it was the blueberries lol.
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Old June 21st, 2010, 10:05 PM
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Yay! How is he doing otherwise? Still improving?
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Old June 23rd, 2010, 08:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hazelrunpack View Post
Yay! How is he doing otherwise? Still improving?
Thank you for asking!
So far so good! He's done with the clyndamycin now, has 1 week of the lower dose of pred and he went back to daycare today and got to play with his bulldog buddy

that everything continues to go well!
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Old June 23rd, 2010, 08:24 PM
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Yay!
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