We have been taking Bo to a kennel to "try it out" before we go on holidays in January. There's just one problem ... when he comes home he tends to have diarrhea for 2 or 3 days after. This could be because the kennel is out of town (on well water instead of city water), stress or ?

Has anybody had any experience with sensitivity to different waters? We've noticed the same problem when we take him over to my in-laws who are on a different water system.

Is there anything we can give him to help him (like a Keopectate for pups)? I really don't want him suffering while he is at the kennel for 9 days. At the very least we may take a supply of bottled water and ask him to use that (since he hasn't reacted to bottle water in the past).

Ya ... they are really good about activity: he gets 2 45-minute walks and play time every day. It's a large, professional kennel, not a mom & pop operation.

They said he was a bit more timid this time than the first. He is very much a momma's boy so it could have been that he wasn't getting the one-on-one time with us that he is used to.  That's why I was thinking it might be stress.

My husband is getting stressed about leaving him now... but we really have no other options since I don't want to foist this bundle of energy on anyone not used to dealing with pointers.

Packing water or asking they use bottled water certainly isn't a bad idea if the change in water causing a problem is a pattern you notice.  Obviously you should keep the food the same also. And of course make sure he's wormed.

However.... it could be that Bo is simply more prone than others to stress diarreah. "Bad" stress isn't the only thing that can cause it- if he's really amped up at being in a new place with new dogs to play with, that can be a trigger too. In that case I'd maybe make a habit of giving the dog probiotics (yogurt, probios, whatever) and more certainly start adding a teaspoon of physillium a day into the food dish.

Physillium is the 'grit' found in metamucil, and YES for the dog you want it plain ol' instead of in some concoction. It is amazing stuff. Anya kept having bad bouts with the runs and with the vet we went through worming, changing food, a round of antibiotics, etc. The physillium was what finally made a dent.

Thanks Megan and Marie for your advice. We will definitely follow-up on your suggestions. As a note, his energy level has NOT changed at all, which is why I'm not rushing him to the vet.

The other thing I'm wondering is that we regularly give him carrots, apples and yogurt at home. We didn't ask the kennel to do this ... I'm wondering if this could have been a problem as well?

I personally wouldn't be giving him apples or carrots if he's having a 'blowout episode'.

My experience is that this is a condition that doesn't just turn itself off immediately when the offending circumstance is taken away. It can easily take a week or more to get a bad bout under control.