Sick puppy, heading to the vet soon

Buster has a nasty case of diarrhea.

With the worms, he's never been completely normal on that end. So when I saw "pudding" Wednesday it raised some red flags but did mean must see the vet right this minute.

Yesterday he seemed to be firming up a little, still "pudding" though. Activity level was "off" but he ate and drank normally. His energy rebounded towards bedtime, when he decided he really wanted to play. I was in the middle of picking up stuff the girls left out, so turned my back to him while putting the UNO cards away. Brat boy nipped me in the butt and then raced around the house. Not the best response, but I couldnt help laughing at his antics.

5am this morning my husband woke me up "Buster had an accident". This concerned me, he hasnt had an accident over night since the 3rd night he was home...today is 7 weeks since he came home. Since Rob was getting ready for work, I was the lucky one that "got" to clean up the mess (my puppy, my responsibility). As soon as I was done there, we headed outside (normally walk him early on the days Rob is up early anyway). Instead of his normal pee stop as soon as we hit the grass, Buster drug me to the back of the yard (his potty area) and let loose with projectile liquid yuck (Of course thats what the vet wants a sample of...). At that moment we went from "watch the pup" to "get the pup to the vet NOW". As soon as my clock said 730, I was on the phone.

Prayers/thoughts its nothing serious would be very much appriciated.

 

My sweet boy has what the vet calls "garbage gut". Basically an upset tummy. He was tested for intestinal worms (that we've been battling since he came home), giardia and coccidia. ALL PARASITE TESTS CAME BACK NEGATIVE!!!!!

There's the nasty stuff thats tested for and another, middle "pool" of ickies that can cause the same symptoms but arent tested for since they respond to treatment so easily...this is the spot we're in. He's on Flagyl for the next 7 days to sooth his tummy & get rid of any nasties still hanging around and probiotics. We should see a difference in him by tomorrow.

 

Glad it wasn't anything too serious!!! Good luck cleaning up the ICKS though...

Sara

 

Aww poor baby. I know what you mean tho. puppies get into things you don't always catch and can make a nasty upset stomache. What i reccomend to help your sanity and pocket, is next time don't freek out sooo bad. I wouldn't rush him to the vet unless its something thats occuring over and over. (lasts more than a day or two). Sometimes these things work themselves out and its best to let them do that so the pup's immune system builds up against it to fight it himself.

HOwever, if its causing fever, lasting for more than a day or two and his activity level drastically changes, a vet trip is in order.

Every now and then mine get a case of the "runs" and I'll monitor them for the day and make sure they stay hydrated and feed them a very bland supper and usually its gone by the next day.

 

Clean up isnt going to be fun. As usual, he's being such a good boy about it all. The vet said Flagyl is a nasty, bitter medication. I smeared it with a little peanut butter and Im not sure he realized it was there, he was VERY interested in licking every bit of PB off my fingers.

I was taking a more wait and see approach, since we have a scheduled appointment Wednesday anyway, but this was day 3 and he was continuing to get worse. The "pudding" poo only stressed me the first time, after that I chalk it up to being related to the worms.

I treat Buster just like the human kids, medically anyway. If I'd take them in for the same issue (symptoms & amount of time its been going on), he gets seen too. To me, the peace of mind knowing he's not suffering with something really evil is well worth the money spent. While my husband doesnt care for the amount spent at the vets office, he knows keeping Buster healthy (and alive) is something thats important to me (and my mental health...losing this boy is not an option).

 

ooh ok. i misread what you said. Sorry bout that! LOL

I know my pups had the pudding poo after worming for a bit. Amazing what you can learn from just a bowel movement...

 

I just figured I didnt type clearly enough. I was very stressed this morning along with running on not nearly enough sleep. 4 year old had me up at 1am, pup was up at 5am and I never went back to bed after that (usually I head back to bed until the girls get up)

Only with parents or dog lovers can you talk about poop and not gross anyone out.

His energy level is back. We were back to total chaos this evening. Im not sure who was having more fun, the pup, the girls or my brother in law. Buster was running circles through the house with a chewy (looks like rawhide but made from something else...too lazy to go get the package) in his mouth growling. Then he'd stick his face against Shays (my almost 11 year old) chest and shake his big ol' head trying to get her to play with him. Run off, drop the chewy, race back into the room and slide across the carpet. If he hadnt just been to the vet for feeling icky he would have gotten a walk (lots of rain tonight).

His appitite is through the roof. He lost at least 3lbs since getting sick so Im guessing he's attempting to make up for that. Every time I have put food out for him today (4, 1 cup feedings), he's gone after it like he hasnt eaten in months. He loves food, but Ive never seen him attack it the way he has today.

Now we have the opposite issue, he hasnt pooped since 10am (almost 12 hours). Im really hoping I dont have to clean up poop at 5am again....not in the house at least.

 

my Molly has always had intestinal issues. IBS is basically her culprit. But now and then she squirts rather than dumps. I can always tell it's going to hit cause she'll be off her food for a 2 or day and then the squirts hit.
She's almost 4 and been like this since day one.
I have started giving her Activa yogurt. About 1/2 cup every evening and it's made a huge difference for her. Yeah she's had an episode but only a day and she firmed right up again after fasting for 24 hours.
She self fasts actually so I can start right in with the boiled burger/cooked white rice for a day.
Good luck to the pup....Molly can tell him the squirts ain't fun!!! And I can tell you the cleanup is even worse!!!!

 

Im beginning to wonder if this boy has a food allergy and thats what's really causing his tummy trouble. It's been 2 1/2 weeks since we saw the vet for the last episode. He firmed up while taking the meds but once those were discontinued he started getting softer & softer, yesterday he started up with the pudding poo again. He's getting itchier too, chewed 2 sore spots on the base of his tail, chews his paws/lower legs, scratches the backs of his front legs, he loves his face rubbed (if I dont rub it, he'll rub it on me, especially if Im wearing jeans). The newest development is his chest seems itchy the last few days...nothing new used on him, around him or fed to him in over a week. He's always been somewhat itchy (backs of front legs mainly), but the tail base & chest are new this week.

Corn is my top suspect. When he came home he was eating canned Alpo (yes, I should have run from this "breeder" but I'd have missed getting my sweet boy...). It was 10pm by the time we pulled into town that night, so we put him in Iams puppy for a few days...he didnt like the Alpo, refused it after the first night...until we could head to the feed store. The following week we switched to Exclusive at the recommendation of someone we know at the feed store. I didnt realize the food had corn in it until we bought the 2nd (current) 35# bag of food...no sense buying smaller when you're feeding a horse. I spent several hours researching foods I can get locally. We're heading out to the feed store in a few hours to decide which of 3 brands he's going to, a lot depends on price...unfortunately. Idealy he'll switch to Taste of the Wild, I like what Ive read on this food and we can get him away from all likely allergens. Next choice is Canidae, I like that I can go grain free for him and still most likely get away from all possible allergens. 3rd choice is Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lovers Soul, I'll get away from the corn but with him being on a chicken & rice food now if its the chicken bugging him...

 

Most likely it's not the chicken, it's the grains... Most if not all allergies to food comes from the grains rather than the meat.

I'd research raw feeding if you have the time and whatnot for it. Generally feeding raw is cheaper than feeding those really high quality foods and you really end up with no food allergies to that. I'd recommend waiting till adulthood unless you can research it enough so that you know that what you can feed with raw will have enough calcium to support bone growth in a growing giant breed etc... Many people feed puppies raw with no trouble but to begin with definately research etc... Sam has lots of info on it as well as I. Feel free to shoot me an email if you want to know of some starter research pages to go to. You could probably even find a saint breeder who feeds raw.

slrobbins13@gmail.com

Sara

 

Im uncomfortable with raw...raw meat <shiver>. 4 kids, a dog thats afraid to eat from a bowl...raw doesnt sound like such a great choice at this point. That said, I wont completely rule it out for the future.

We're working on desensitizing Buster to eating from a bowl. Peanut butter smeared on the bottom of a bowl sized more for my nephews Pomeranian. Next step is to toss a couple pieces of kibble into that, slowly increasing the kibble and decreasing the PB. Then put the itty bitty bowl inside his big bowl (identical to the one he drinks from), get him used to eating that way and eventually remove the little bowl. Lots of work, but he's well worth the effort. He gives back far more love than we'll ever be able to put into him.

 

I got my top choice for his food and Im only paying about 20 cents a pound more. Buster is now transitioning to Taste of the Wild High Prairie. We took him with us to the feed store. He ignored all the other foods but kept going back to the bags of Taste of the Wild and sticking his nose in them as far as he possibly could. Yep, the pup picked his own food.

When we got back home I gave him a handful of food, he couldnt have gobbled it much faster without me losing fingers! He's normally one to sniff anything new for a while before deciding its acceptable to actually eat. I think its safe to say he likes the new food. He was very eager to eat lunch & dinner tonight, 3/4 cup of the old food & 1/4 cup of the new.

 

My boxer/lab turns out has a food allergy and i have played around with different foods with him because of his runs!!! He also has Addison's Disease so it was dangerous to him being soo stressed....

I now have him on Natural Balance sweet potato and fish but most of all it is grain free so allergy free since it only has a few ingredients and he is doing great on it!! no more runs!!! I've looked into the raw and for me it isn't a good route but it works for alot of folks...
good luck

 

We're seeing progress already! Buster has had issues with loose stool since coming home at 9 1/2 weeks, he'll be 5 months on the 17th.

With the Exclusive, he'd be soft but formed first thing in the morning and progress to pudding (or worse) by bedtime. We're 1/2 way through switching foods and he's now solid all day! I was expecting some trouble with diarrhea while we switched foods, thankfully he's not having to deal with that.

I'd say his tummy issues have been food related. The only changes we've made were to start switching him to a grain free food and ditch treats containing corn...bad news, we lost a favorite treat (Lean Treats) though he doesnt seem to have noticed. Taste of the Wild kibble seems to work just as well for training treats...he's really liking this food.

He's now behaving more like a normal puppy (I'll decide later if thats good or bad lol). Typical puppy misbehaving, into anything he can get his mouth on though he's still not destructive. Stole part of my husbands dinner last night...we've never had an issue leaving food on the coffee table, until last night when my husband put a plate of spaghetti down and Buster thought it meant daddy wanted to share. All this means to me is he's feeling good enough to start getting naughty so its time to up our training and teach him behaviors that dont allow the naughty ones he comes up with.