Last weekend, my darlin doggin was sick — with diarrhea, no less.

Now you might think that’s no big deal. That doggins get little stomach upsets all the time. That they act “puny” for a day or so, then perk back up.

Well, a dog’s digestive system is pretty short, but that doesn’t compensate for the aggravation such upsets cause.

You see, my Sheltie is a long-haired boy, with full “skirts” on his backside. Yeah, even in males, that fluffy fur on the hind legs is referred to as a “skirt.”

Skirts and diarrhea don’t go together, trust me!

I’ll spare you the details — be glad you didn’t have to smell it, either. What concerned me was what he got into. Could it be:

• Medication. Giving too much medicine at once can make doggins sick. I gave him his monthly heartworm pill on the first, as usual, and waited until the following day to administer his anti-flea treatment.
• Food. I’ve learned you can’t simply switch a dog’s food from one brand to another. You need to taper off the old and gradually introduce the new to prevent stomach upsets.
• Chemicals. We don’t use chemicals on our lawn, and I keep him off laws that I know use them. Unfortunately, I can’t watch everybody 24/7!
• Wildlife. We’ve got our share of squirrels, cats, and bunnies that regularly traipse across the back yard. What, they don’t smell the dog, for pity’s sake?

Of course this was over a weekend — a holiday weekend — and the vet’s office was closed. But when I finally did reach them, they said dogs, like people, get viruses. Or maybe he found a baby bird and scarfed it up.

Watch him, they advised. Sometimes doggins can get worms from eating wildlife. Yuck!

It’s been a week now, and the good news is, No worms! The not-so-good news is, I still don’t know what caused him to be sick.

My guess is chemicals. So I’ve taken to using a wet wipe to swab his paws after our walks, and I’m going to space his monthly meds out a bit more come August.

And pray that will keep the sickness at bay!