[Sam Koch]

Hi guys, I own Honey, a 13 pound Chihuahua mix.

I currently feed her 2/3 cup Whole Earth Farms food, and was told to switch by the veterinarian to a fish protein food, so I bought Merrick’s Grain Free Salmon and Sweet Potato recipe. I had just bought it and when I came home, I realized Honey had gotten sick for a 3rd time since I adopted her on February 1st. Her foster mom swears she was never sick in the 8 months she had her, but she also had 6 other dogs and no separated crates. Last night she had watery diarrhea (it was like brown water) 3 times. She has done this twice in the past accompanied by vomiting, but she didn’t vomit this time. The first time the emergency veterinarian said it was a dietary indiscretion, second time they said she could be allergic to poultry-based things, hence the food switch. I just started switching this morning and only did a 90/10 ratio. Now the veterinarian wants to do a fecal test, but he most likely said it was a chronic GI thing. I just don’t know if her foster mom lied to me or just doesn’t know if she’s ever been sick. I just need advice, or opinions, on what you think it may be. I’ve spent about $375 the first time (emergency) and just spent $150 the last time, now I’m clean out of money until the 16th of this month, so any advice to get her through these next two weeks would be great. Thank you.

Sam

[Anonymous]

Have you tried a little boiled white rice and boiled hamburger for a few days, maybe stay away from the kibble (it may be too rich for her right now) or just mix a spoonful in. How often are you feeding her?
See General Guidelines for tips
http://www.homeovet.net/dynamic/php/downloads/dog-c8470f2c75dbe4b683205c3919ee2310/dog_diet_complete.pdf

Is the diarrhea and watery stools constant or just here and there, is she having normal formed stools too? Is she drinking enough water?

Maybe she would do better on 2 or 3 small bland meals per day. The white rice and hamburger…or I might even try boiled chicken. See if her stools firm up in a few days, it will take at least 3 days to see a difference imo.

Baby food from the supermarket? Beef flavored mixed with a little rice?
How long have you had this dog? Can you give the foster mom a call? She may have some advice.

PS: The emergency place where I go has 24 hour rule that you can bring them back for another evaluation if they haven’t improved, no charge.
See if that is an option, or call the vet that examined her and ask him what to do next, if you don’t see improvement in 72 hours? They won’t charge you for a follow up call.
You might have to leave your number and wait till he is free to call you back though.

[Anonymous]

It may just be an acute situation that will pass in a few days. Especially if this is a new home for the dog? Stress? Diet changes.
Work with the vet. Tell him your financial concerns. See what the fecal test reveals or rules out.
I have a feeling things will look much better in about a month. Fingers crossed.

[LexiDog]

You can also try some lean ground turkey (rinse any grease off) and plain canned pumpkin. NOT pie filling, just plain canned pumpkin. Or boiled chicken breast and pumpkin. Pumpkin is easier to digest than rice. Once her stool has firmed up you can start to introduce her again to the food.

As always, if it doesn’t clear up you will need to take her to the vet again. Small dogs have a higher risk of dehydration from loose stools. It probably would be a good idea to check with the foster home to see what she was eating there or if they have any suggestions.

[Sam Koch]

I’ve done the rice/hamburger remedy each time. These three incidents have been 3 weeks apart from each other. She’ll go 2-3 weeks with being normal, then will have a day where she is just horrible. Then I’ll do rice/hamburger and she’ll get back to normal, etc. The foster said she was completely healthy and normal for most of the time she had her, except when she first got her and she was malnourished. She said when she fed her it would just go right through her, but she said it passed within a month.
I also give her pumpkin and it seems to help. I feed her twice a day, 1/3 cup each time, and that’s lowered from what I used to give her (1 cup a day which I realized was a horrible thing to do).

My friend is letting me borrow money for her fecal test, so as soon as she poops again I will take it in. I will ask my veterinarian what they can find out from it.

[Sam Koch]

She was eating Rachel Ray’s Just 6 and I wanted to switch her away from it, I just don’t feel comfortable having something my dog eat from a huge commercial chef… Her foster mom also free fed her. She was 16 pounds when I got her and is supposed to be 12.5-14.5 pounds, she was a little overweight. The foster mom also mentioned feeding her cheese, because she really liked it.

[Sam Koch]

Sorry, one more post: I’m just not too fond of the foster mom, and I probably need to contact the rescue about it, because she smoked in her house and Honey REEKED of it when she came to me.

[Anonymous]

Nutrisca salmon and chickpea dry and canned is good for dogs with sensitive stomachs, it has no grains or potato, some dogs find potato hard to digest. Wysong has some nice selections too. (Chewy.com carries them)

It sounds like it’s trying to resolve, at least it’s not constant. Give it time…
She may need the rice and hamburger bland diet for a month!

Also, read up on what the homeopathic vets have to say, you may get some tips http://www.vitalanimal.com I don’t agree with everything he says, but some of it does make sense.
Did this dog get a bunch of vaccinations recently? Sometimes it messes with their immune system, especially dogs that weigh under 20 pounds.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Anonymous.

[Sam Koch]

No vaccinations, and if Merricks doesn’t work out I’ll give Nutrisca a try. I will also look at the website. I just really want it resolved, poor girl (and poor dorm room carpet). 🙁

[Susan]

Hi Sam, join this group on F/B https://www.facebook.com/groups/11164787803 it’s called “Dogs With Inflammatory Bowel Disorder”
I’m finding a few rescued dogs suffer from IBD due to a poor diet & malnutrition from a pup, when I rescued my boy he was doing the same every 12-15 days, we were back & forth vets he was put on antibiotic (Metronidazole) for 2 weeks & a vet diet then everything went good in the end… I found I had to stick with same diet & not give any treats nothing except his vet diet Eukanuba Intestinal low residue kibble that’s low in fat-10% & low in fiber-1.70% to let his bowel rest & heal…as soon as I’d try & change his diet he went good for 4-6 days then back to real sloppy poos & vomiting, he’d have the rumbling, gurgling bowel noises early hours of the morning then his diarrhea….I finally found out Patch had Food Intolerances & Food Allergies..that was causing his IBD, I have him on a single protein hypoallergenic, gluten free, sugar free & dairy free kibble now…with 10% fat & 4% fiber & a good Dog probiotic….

Find an limited ingredient kibble, less ingredients is the best something like “California Natural” Lamb & Rice has only 4 ingredients http://www.californianaturalpet.com/products
there a few diets you can look at… then just feed the new diet & nothing else for a good 4 months, do the Giardia test also if her foster mum swears she was never sick, what was she feeding her, maybe you’re feeding kibbles that are too high in protein & fat, some dogs cant handle high protein diets…

[Sam Koch]

Update: Got a fecal test, it showed the parasite Coccidia. We started treatment and the doctor said it should be cleared up after treatment, but if it doesn’t then it’s something else.
Everything had been normal until today. Her poop has been a little mushy but I think that’s because of me switching her diet up. She didn’t eat all of her food today (maybe about 2/3 of it) and she’s asked to go outside three different times and hasn’t done anything, not even squatted. Now I’m smelling poop, I don’t know if she’s having gas or I’m just paranoid…

[Anonymous]

My rule is not to worry about stuff, unless it has been going on for more than 72 hours, or they are in a lot of pain or discomfort. In example, severe diarrhea and vomiting.
It may be a mild side effect to the medication, give the vet a call tomorrow if she doesn’t perk up. Leave a message for the vet to call you back, when he can, I usually don’t find the vet techs to be very helpful.
PS: It’s okay if she skips a meal or two, as long as she is drinking water.

[weezerweeks]

When my yorkie was like this I boiled chicken and cooked rice and added chicken broth. I had to do for about 2 weeks and gradually started adding her food back with it. What helped me more than anything was the supplement the perfect form fro the honest kitchen. It has slippery elm in it .Good luck

[Author]

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