All rights reserved. May not be reprinted without permission. May be printed out for personal use. Most often, the condition is inconvenient but brief, lasting only a day or two.
Diarrhea refers to any condition that results in an increased fluid component to the stool.
Small intestinal diarrhea is characterized by large volumes of watery stool and can be accompanied by the other signs of illness described above. In contrast, dogs with large intestinal diarrhea produce small amounts of stool and have increased urgency. Large intestinal diarrhea is often referred to as colitis, which means inflammation of the colon. The mucosa, as the name suggests, has numerous mucus glands that protect the colon from injury and lubricate the passage of feces. The main functions of the colon are to absorb water and store feces until the animal defecates.