Dog Intussusception

Dog intussusception can be quite a painful experience for your dog, can be an irritating nuisance cause them not to eat or drink and make the generally feel unwell, and can be easily mixed up with many other more common conditions such as dog constipation or straining to pass feces.

As complicated as the name might suggest this condition is, in simple terms intussusception begins with a mild case of diarrhea or vomiting. This in its self is normally harmless to your dog long term and nothing more would be thought of this in any normal dog home, but as the contractions of the vomiting or diarrhea get worse it is possible that the muscles in the lower intestines contract so hard that they overlap each other or go inside each other.

This happens because within the lower intestines there is a series of smaller muscles that contract and detract so that the food is slowly passed along the intestines. But when your dog has the unfortunate condition of diarrhea or vomiting caused by another none related and usually common condition, it contracts rapidly as the body panics to try and get rid of the offending items or poisons.

After the overlapping process has happened it then causes more trouble because the following food that is being passed through the intestines becomes trapped in the alcove o the overlapped part. Then as you might expect the food pushes and pushes away at the sides making the alcove bigger and bigger containing all the stale and hardened food as well as causing blood flow problems and irritation.

This is not a very common occurrence in dogs but is none the less very irritating and painful for the dog in question and may cause constant retching to vomit and pass waste along with generally feeling unwell and uncomfortable enough to not eat or drink in most cases.

Surgery is usually the way your vet will fix dog intussusception by going into the effected area and pulling the two overlapping part apart and releasing and removing the contained waste to ensure a normal passage in the future.

This procedure should always be dealt with by a vet or professional in the dog health area, if you suspect this then ring your vet and ask for further advice and guidance which usually results in a check-up to identify the condition and deal with it appropriately.