Mystery Gastroenteritis

We have been experiencing a larger number of cases of gastroenteritis in dogs at Allambie Vet over the last 3 months. These patients have been presenting with acute onset vomiting or diarrhoea, inappetence and occasional lethargy with no obvious identifiable cause. The gastroenteritis is mostly self-limiting, with some cases needing supportive care in hospital on intravenous fluid therapy. 

If your dog has any of the above clinical signs, it is best to have a veterinarian perform a health check as early intervention can help prevent progression and rule out more serious disease that can present similarly to this mystery gastroenteritis. Depending on the presentation of your dog, your vet might recommend faecal testing, blood testing or abdominal imaging and in some cases hospitalisation (particularly for those dogs who are dehydrated and/or not eating).

Some things you can do for your dog in the very early stages is feed them a bland diet, feed them smaller but more frequent meals throughout the day (i.e. 5 small meals instead of 2 normal sized meals) and call Allambie Vet as early as possible for advice on how to proceed.

Prevention is difficult as infectious disease spreads through close contact of animals, contaminated environments or from pet owners on clothes and skin. The best recommendation would be for owners to practice good hygiene by washing hands before and after handling animals as well as avoid high traffic areas for the time being.