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Peggy Sick - Two Classes in a Row

8K views 172 replies 27 participants last post by  Mick 
#1 ·
Hoping someone might help me troubleshoot.

Peggy has an ironclad stomach. It's her super power. We go to training classes on Thursdays, and last Friday-Sunday she had uncharacteristically horrid gas and diarrhea. She was otherwise okay, so we assumed it was something she ate. By Monday she was totally fine.

Then again today (the day after class) she's sick, but this time much worse. She woke me up crying in her crate and literally attempting to dig her way out. She NEVER has done that before. When I unlatched the door, she raced to the front door and then the back door, absolutely frantic, and barely made it to the lawn before the diarrhea started. She was so upset, she was begging to be let out of the backyard so she could poop further from the house.

This lasted an hour and now she's sleeping.

It seems like too much of a coincidence that this has happened twice now, the day after class, and I'm worried that it's more severe this time around.

I'm wondering: Could it be floor cleaner?

Our trainer has strict covid guidelines that she has to follow, which includes a lot of deep cleaning. Part of class is often scattering treats on the floor, or tossing a single treat, so Peggy absolutely licks the floor multiple times.

Another possibility: The last two weeks we've had a covid puppy join our class. This is an under-socialized adolescent who barks A LOT. And piercingly. It takes a toll on us humans, and Peggy's ears spend a lot of time in a funny "back" position, even as she's trying to focus on us. Could stress cause next-day tummy upset? Or is that a stretch?

For the first time ever, I'm scared to take her to class next week.

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#2 ·
Poor Peggy! I would definitely bring it up to the trainer. It's certainly possible that she is licking a toxic cleaner. Generally they are not acutely toxic when dry but possibly they are cleaning right before the class. I would be surprised if it is the barking puppy. She has had worse shocks before I'm sure. Misha occasionally gets bad diarrhea if he eats a lot of grass. He has woken me up at night barking to go out when it happened. I know to listen to that bark!
 
#4 ·
I slept on the couch last night because I hurt my shoulder and needed the extra cushioning. Thaaaank goodness!!! Otherwise we probably wouldn't have heard her. This might be a good time to move her crate to the bedroom.

I just emailed our trainer. Thank you. She's such an awesome person, I know she's going to take this seriously and try to get to the bottom of it.

One dog actually wasn't in class this week because she had such bad diarrhea after last class and our trainer gave her work to do at home instead. Really not feeling like a coincidence. :(

Another thing I thought of: We've been doing part of our class outside on a nearby laneway and a long stretch of sad-looking grass. So no fertilizers or herbicides, I don't think. But it's in an industrial park and there's lots of manufacturing nearby. I suppose someone could be dumping chemicals.
 
#6 ·
Yep! Just mentioned that in response to Raindrops before I saw your question. One dog missed yesterday's class because she had such bad diarrhea after last week's class. Our trainer thought it might have been too much stress for her (another under-socialized covid puppy) so she told her to stay home and just do homework this week.

The previous week, a sweet poodle got sick the day after class and hasn't recovered. He hasn't been back. But Peggy was fine after the class he was in, so that might just be a coincidence. Maybe?
 
#5 ·
Could even be both. My guess would be something she is swallowing, though, especially if she is not the only dog suffering. Poppy's tum was always made worse by stress, but it usually only lasted around 24 hours. Since she's been on a strictly controlled diet episodes have been fewer - but of course her life has been less stressful through lock down. I hope you find out the cause soon.
 
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#8 ·
That's what I was thinking, that stress upset would be fairly immediate and short lived. And Peggy was such a stressed puppy but never had diarrhea.

Sigh. She's such a stinky snoozing bundle right now. Breaks my heart.

I know how much you've felt this with Poppy. :( Sending hugs.
 
#12 ·
Poor you and poor Peggy. Cleaner could be a possibility. Suddenly eating a bunch of treats, as one does in training, is also a possibility. I know you said Peggy has a strong digestive system, but these things can change. Standard poodles are a bit more prone to allergies and autoimmune disorders than many other breeds.
 
#16 ·
Our trainer said she hasn't been using any on the floor, but she did notice a dead patch of weeds where we've been walking. She's going to ask the groundskeeper if they were sprayed, and she asked if we'd get a fecal specimen from Peggy over to our vet. She wants to cover the cost.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?) Peggy seems to be done for now, and my husband hosed down the yard this morning.
 
#15 ·
I hope she's feeling better soon. Poor you and poor Peggy Sue.

It does sound like a chemical - I know that both my training clubs had huge discussions about which products would be safe to use around dogs.
 
#17 ·
Our trainer thought maybe we put treats down on a table she disinfected right before class. We did use the table, but only for our treat bags. I can't imagine enough would transfer to our hands to make Peggy sick. Especially since that stuff dries so fast.

Someone also disinfected a clicker for us. But that was just at this week's class. Wouldn't explain last week.

She hasn't been disinfecting the floor.

I'm leaning towards something on the grounds. I wouldn't be surprised if someone sprayed and didn't put a sign up.
 
#21 ·
I've been going back and forth with our dear trainer all day. She's wondering if it might be the hardcore sanitizer she's required to make everyone use at the start and end of each session.

To be honest, there are soooo many possibilities, I'm not sure how we'll ever know. :(
 
#25 ·
We were actually thinking it might be the water at class, as we fill up her bowl from the sink there. But I think bacteria would cause much longer illness.

Even though the diarrhea was more urgent this time around, and there was a LOT in a short amount of time, it was over faster. After last class, she actually leaked a bit in the house a few days later. This time around, she already seems back to her old self, 24 hours from onset.

So mysterious.

I keep coming back to the volume of training treats, as this seems like the simplest explanation. But if it were the treats, I feel like she'd have gotten sick right away. Or at least that night. I'm not sure why it would take until the next day.

Peggy says, "Thanks everyone for helping us try and figure this out! Now can someone please fill up this pool for me?"

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#30 ·
Thanks, Teddy's Mom.

We're going to start ruling out the many possibilities, beginning first with skipping Thursday's class. If it's something like IBD, it could come in waves, so I need to be sure she's not just going to get sick again on Friday, regardless of what we do the day before.

If she's fine, I'll give it another day or two to be safe, then do an intense one-hour training session, with a typical allotment of treats, and see how that goes.

I feel better having a plan in place. It's hard seeing her like this. :(
 
#32 ·
No vomiting, thankfully. And she's got a good appetite, bright eyes, drinking fine, wanting to play—all the signs of a healthy poodle.

When it happened last week, she was lethargic for a few days. This time around it's just the diarrhea (so far). But it's gone from urgent big messy piles yesterday to almost pure slimy liquid today.

TMI, I know. Sorry. ;)
 
#35 ·
It helps when they act fine. Gives u hope that it will b ok and this to shall pass. Maybe vet could give her a small dose of meds to calm to gut. My vet had done that a few times for Teddy when his gut was inflamed and pooped out snotty mess. Looked like an alien. I was up all night googling dog poop. I know way more about dog poop than I ever thot I would. But we love em and we wanna help them feel better. My vet said the slime is the intestine sluffing off the hurt or sick that’s trying to go thru. Sorry for the graphic poop talk. Again it’s been my world lately. 😬
 
#36 ·
Lol. For two people without kids, my husband and I also spend a considerable amount of time talking about poop! Something I always tell friends when they're contemplating getting a puppy: "Just know that at some point you're going to have to pull poo out of his or her butt. It may or may not be attached to a long human hair."

If Peggy's not back to normal on Monday, I'll be taking a fecal sample to the vet at our trainer's request. And if she gets dehydrated again like she was yesterday, I'll ask for a prescription to slow things down a bit.
 
#37 ·
Ah, the Poo Diaries... I'm glad Peggy is feeling more herself. Poppy did a Good Poo this morning, after 10 days or so of diarrhoea paste and 3 days of Metronidazole, but the last four weeks have produced nearly every variation of colour and texture, bar the horrors of actual blood. Since she was showing signs of dehydration earlier in the year I now add a little water to every meal, so her four meals a day now each consist of Royal Canin canned hepatic diet, cooked chicken breast, a dollop of canned pumpkin, a splash of water and a tiny dab of digestive paste, which my sister reckoned looked just like chocolate sauce on a sundae!

If Peggy can't tolerate pumpkin have you tried her with sweet potato? Same benefits, different vegetable.
 
#38 ·
If Peggy can't tolerate pumpkin have you tried her with sweet potato? Same benefits, different vegetable.
It's just pure yellow liquid now, and more frequent, so I've been sticking to the most bulking, digestible, bland thing I can think of: Overcooked white rice, chicken breast, and water. Unfortunately, this morning she's even turning her nose up at that, so we're handfeeding her a bit here and there. She doesn't even want to lick one of her beloved ice cubes.

But! She did just beg for my cinnamon roll, so that feels positive. Whatever this is ran its course in three days last week, so I'm hoping that will be the case again. We're currently on day 3.

Love to Sophy and Poppy from Peggy and me.
 
#42 ·
Probably best to make a vet appointment as soon as they are open - in my experience that often triggers an instant recovery, and if she is still unwell you can pick something up to help settle her. Poppy has now done two consecutive Good Poos...
 
#43 ·
Yellow bile poo is scary to me after Annie's last adventure. If she isn't drinking or eating and is having bad diahrea.... doggy electrolyte solution by syringe in the mouth is what my vet suggested.

1 cup warm water, 1/4 tsp of salt and baking soda, 1 tsp maple syrup or honey is I believe the recipe she recommended.

She also recommended pinching the back of the neck and dropping it. If it is "springy" dog is fine, if "slack" and takes a while to bounce back, dog is dehydrated.
 
#45 ·
Yellow bile poo is scary to me after Annie's last adventure. If she isn't drinking or eating and is having bad diahrea.... doggy electrolyte solution by syringe in the mouth is what my vet suggested.

1 cup warm water, 1/4 tsp of salt and baking soda, 1 tsp maple syrup or honey is I believe the recipe she recommended.

She also recommended pinching the back of the neck and dropping it. If it is "springy" dog is fine, if "slack" and takes a while to bounce back, dog is dehydrated.
Thank you for that recipe! I've gotten some salt into her, via handfed chicken and mushy rice, but we're letting her lick a bit of local honey right now. She says an enthusiastic THANK YOU!

I'm monitoring her closely for dehydration. She seems okay in that regard (better than Friday) but I know how quickly it can come on with those awful liquid poos.
 
#49 ·
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday have all been relatively the same: A ton of urgent morning diarrhea, lethargic with little bursts of energy throughout the day, and then really feisty in the evening before she crashes. (Tonight was the first time in months that she refused to come inside when I called.)

She had no appetite today, which made me think she was getting worse, but then around 7pm she frantically began picking all the chicken out of her chicken & rice to gobble down. So I hope that's a good sign.

If it's like last week's illness, she'll be back to normal tomorrow. I've got all my fingers crossed.
 
#50 ·
Poor Peggy! Her upset tummy reminded me of an incident we had in a dog class years ago. There was a woman who brought two dogs to class... Oprah and Dr. Phil were their names. The woman's voice had only one volume and it was LOUD. The people with more sensitive dogs kept moving away from the woman because their dogs were shaking and cowering. Picture a class of fifteen people with ten of them trying not to get stuck next to the loud woman. Not only was she loud, she was also quite verbose. Her philosophy seemed to be, "Why use one word when ten will do?!" There were only two dogs in the class that were not upset by this woman's litany of shouted verbiage. Yeah, Oprah and Dr. Phil were totally oblivious to their owner. They must have learned to ignore her as a method of self preservation.The rest of us were quite happy to see the class end. We saw a lot of lip licking and yawning from the dogs during that class. Hope Peggy gets back to her normal happy self soon.
 
#52 ·
We saw a lot of lip licking and yawning from the dogs during that class.
1st: Oprah and Dr. Phil made me lol! I can't imagine being able to call those dogs with a straight face.

2nd: Do you think it's possible the loud new barking dog (we'll call her BD) in class could stress Peggy so much it might make her sick?

BD wasn't in the first class of the session, and Peggy didn't get sick after that one. Another dog did, but his symptoms are so severe, the vets are now considering meningitis.

BD joined the second class, after which both Peggy and another dog got severe diarrhea. That dog didn't return for the third class, and I have no idea how she's doing now.

The only other dog in class has been fine, but she's pretty unique. She was imported from overseas and was entirely unfazed by the air travel experience. Confidence through the roof and an extremely hardy breed.

But the barking really is intense. It's so shrill and stressed sounding, it gives me the same feeling as a visit to the Humane Society. And my husband commented midway through class that he's never seen Peggy hold her ears back like that.

She still did her best to focus on us, but it was obviously affecting her. She's never been around a dog like that. Certainly not confined in an indoor space with one.
 
#56 ·
No change. :( We were so excited when she didn't go first thing this morning, but she's since had three urgent yellow mucousy liquid poops and is back to the same low energy she's had for the past three days. I tried scraping up a sample for the vet. Hoping they can work with it.

Was really hoping it would resolve quickly like last week.
 
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