# Is Gastroenteritis Contagious?



## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Brand new question now that my HD quandary has been solved - :wavey:

Is gastroenteritis contagious? Have you experienced this with your multiple dogs?

The only reason why I'm not calling my vet (yet) is I just told the head vet that Jack's stomach and bowels seem to be clearing up. I've been talking to them way too much this week. Three vets today alone. Hip xrays, thunderstorm phobias, and funky stomach... Ugh. Too much. :uhoh:

I got home from work and the little guy went outside and immediately had diarrhea in three different spots. Right now he's back to shifting around and looking like his tummy's bothering him - again.

That tells me his upset stomach and loose stool don't have anything to do with the new joint supplements as I initially suspected. I stopped using them after Monday morning, so they should all be out of his system. 

That's Jack. :wavey:

Our collie (Arthur) threw up his cookies today and he also had a major diarrhea accident. He was healthy until today. He is now going around with dull eyes (like Jack was all this week) and a hunched belly. 

I have no idea if both dogs got into something. I'm suspecting gastroenteritis (dog flu)... or something that is passed from dog to dog. They do not eat the same food, because Arthur has been on a vet-diet since we brought him home (he has to have a super bland diet). 

Arthur's now on his usual flagyl, which will hopefully settle his stomach down. I will probably have to have Jack checked out and get amox and/or flagyl for him.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

Gastroenteritis is just a generic term for stomach/intestine inflammation. Whether it's catching or not depends on the cause. Is it a virus? Did the dog eat something it shouldn't have? If both dogs are exposed to the same thing, then it could be "catching" or appear so. With both your dogs sick, I would guess they both have the same thing. Some Flagyl for Jack sounds like a good idea!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*sounds like both dogs got into something*

It sounds like both dogs got into something.

I googled Gastroenteritis in Canines:

http://www.helium.com/items/1050849-gastroenteritis-in-dogs


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## Megora (Jun 7, 2010)

Oh - that's right. *blushmarks* I googled it to check my spelling and noticed the definition for the human version and assumed it was the same for dogs. 

Quick question - would it be a very bad idea to give a dog flagyl that is a little more than a year old? I have some leftover from the last time Jacks went through something like this. He and Danny kept passing something back and forth so I had a couple bottles on hand.

Forget that. *goes to throw the old prescriptions out*

*** I checked that link and see that one of the causes is 'stress'. Now I'm wondering if the dogs might be coincidental. Arthur getting into the toilets or kitty litter and Jacks dealing with too much stormy weather.


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## IowaGold (Nov 3, 2009)

Flagyl would be just fine for a dog that age. My youngest had her first dose at about 7 weeks! I always keep some on hand because it works soooo well for about any kind of diarrhea. It will even help stress diarrhea as it is anti-inflammatory in the gut.


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