Hi,

I debated whether or not to post this because we are still not 100% certain of the cause but wanted to just warn people to be cautious about giving this.

Last week my White German Shepherd went to stay with my ex while I was away. He had been playing in the sea and this gave him Diohrrea so my ex gave him some Imodioum (Friday). On Monday he was back with me and all this week has been a bit scary. He started acting very peculiar e.g. Growling at me when eating a chew to start with and then progressivly got worse throughout the week. He had a small cut on his side which wasnt healing properly and so I booked him in to the vets yesterday and thought that maybe it was an infection that was causing him to act this way.

My ex then remembered that he gave him this Imodium and did some research, he couldnt find a lot but there were some pages suggesting it can have a bad reaction with some breeds of dog, mainly Collies but more recently WGSD's. http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/depts-VCPL/

Luckily now (typically yesterday as well) my dog has been acting much more his usual self. Like I said We dont know for sure of the cause. I spoke to 3 vets, none of which had heard of this reaction, information seems to be mainly in the US.

Like I said, we still have no idea what caused him to act this way, I just wanted to warn people of this as I had never heard of it before. It's up to you whether you chose to take note or ignore now :)

It may have been the Immodium but it may also have been whatever he had picked up to give him the diarrhea in the first place.  As a human :) I never take Immodium or anything else to stop the bowels working unless I absolutely have to, travelling etc, on the basis that the bowel is evacuating what it needs to ie some unwanted bacteria.  It is part of the bodies defence against these things.

Unlikely it was bacteria, he has always got the runs after going in the sea, just doesnt agree with him. Yes I wondered why he let him go in there too and I also wondered why he was given Imodium but we are past that now. Just wanted to point out a potential risk :)

I would never give a dog Imodium for the following reasons

>it works by temporarily paralyzing the lower intestines in humans

>Recently, a veterinarian at WSU discovered that the cause of ivermectin sensitivity in Collies is a deletion mutation in the MDR1 gene. The MDR1 gene encodes a large transmembrane protein, P-glycoprotein, that is an integral part of the blood-brain barrier. P-glycoprotein functions in a protective capacity to transport a variety of drug substrates, including ivermectin, from brain tissue back into capillaries. Other drugs that are substrates for P-glycoprotein include loperamide (Immodium?)

I use Slippery Elm instead

Believe it or not a lot of vets actually stock Imodium to give to dogs sometimes. Scary

Sometimes it may be appropriate.  All drugs have side effects, including herbal ones, you cannot expect them to have any physiological effect else.

I use Slippery Elm as well for diarrhoea, for everything from young kittens to large dogs. :)

I wouldn't use Imodium because to me it works against the body's natural defences rather than with them.

Having said that, in this situation I'd be wondering far more about how my dog managed to cut himself and what got into the wound than speculating about possible drug reactions.

If you have a dog that runs through woods, brambles, long grass etc etc (like I would think MOST dogs do) and who gets cuts and scratches fairly frequently from this (of course I could always keep him wrapped up in cotton wool ;)) then it could be any number of things. It could have also been a tick that he scratched off and left the head in but as its pretty impossible to know, then of course you think about what it could be.

I also said that I debated whether or not to post this and also that its up to people if they want to take note or ignore. But when a drug has been known to have a reaction with certain breeds then I thought SOME people might like to know of it... Excuse me for mentioning it I guess

Nobody is critisising you for the dog suffering a cut, like you say that happens all the time :) Lillith is just pointing out, a wound that does not heal properly is sometimes due to infection, knowing what did it might lead to more information regarding that, and that this is a possible cause for your dog not feeling himself.  It is fine to point out the possibility of a drug reaction but it also makes sense to explore all the other possible explanations.

Thanks Isabel but I did already mention that I thought it was probaly due to an infection from his cut making him act this way..

Ah! So you just wanted to point out that reactions exist :)  Well I see now, but you must admit the whole story about your dog having the drug did present us with a bit of a red herring :)

Hmm I thought I said on a few occasions that I still wasnt sure why he acted this way, and also dont remember saying he actually definatly had this problem. But ok, sorry for the confusion...

Thank you, Isabel, that was exactly what I meant.

Sorry, Zoe, if it wasn't clear. 

:-)

Our Vet has prescribed Imodium for our Lab to help with her fecal incontinence.  She does not have diarrhea.  It works to bulk up her stools so she can feel a BM coming on sooner and perhaps get outside in time.  It does help, we give as needed.  Of course the key is that it's the Vet's idea, we didn't just give it to her on our own.

but Immodium doesn't bulk up stools in the way that natural bran products like fybogel would - it just slows the process down so more water is absorbed??

I don't know, Jane.  We are not really keen on the idea of drugs.  We did try switching her over gradually to a high fibre diet but once the break-in period was over and she was on the new food entirely (Hill's WD, we are in Canada and don't have access to the same foods you do) she began to lose weight dramatically.  And still needed the odd Imodium.  And she doesn't like it as much.  At age 14 we think long term consequences take a back seat to comfort and enjoyment of life now.  Quality over quantity in other words.  We are now slowly going back to the food she is used to and likes.  It will mean more Imodium and stinkier poops but a Lab that does not enjoy her food is a sad thing.

The only thing I ever used on my dogs is keopectate and that seems to work wonders....