Tummy Troubles - any BTDT? and graphic

3732 Views 23 Replies 9 Participants Last post by Bella's Momma, Dec 3, 2009

Bella's Momma

Discussion Starter · Nov 18, 2009

Week before last I took Bella for her rabies shot. A few days later I took her to visit a 'pet resort' for an hour or so for a meet & great. 2 days after that she had diarrea. Then some somewhat normal BM. Then an awful one (in the house, OMG, that was not fun to come home to). So now I've left her outside whenever I leave (I come and go a lot throughout the day) b/c I just cannot handle that again. Things got normal again, she went to pet resort for 2 days. They reported no problems. She came home, things are normal. Then one slightly runny BM so I had Dh take a sample to the vet yesterday AM (which looked normal) to the vet. They said it came back 'negative.' When I was cleaning up the yard today I notice both of the BMs were again, not normal.

So, diet. She eats grain-free Natural Balance. Her treats are the same. We WERE mixing kibble with plain yogurt and freezing it in a kong for whenever we left. We've not done that since the first incident. She used to get raw tripe but we've not given her any in a couple of months. She does get some supplements but I've experimented with getting rid of those in the last two weeks also. I can't directly attribute her problems to the times she has had them. I also cut back on her serving sizes during this time and soaked the kibble extra long.

The vet recommends rice (can't, it's a grain), plain yogurt (dairy seems HARD on an ill tummy to me, no?) or boiled chicken (I've not done this. We don't keep chicken in the house so I need to go and get some) as somewhat easier to digest foods. I'm wondering if we should push the raw trip and skip the kibble for now? But she's not had it for a few months so I worry about starting it, would IT be harder on her tummy?

What gives?! And ideas? I was concerned it was giardia but the vet didn't detect any.

Thank you!!

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bigpoodleperson

· #2 · Nov 18, 2009

Ask your vet if he ran a float or a direct test on the sample. If they only ran a float then take another fresh one in for a direct. Floats only really check for parasites, while the direct checks more for bacteria and other small protozans.
It could be that she just got stressed and that is causing the diarrhea (and now that she has diarrhea her gut cant get back to normal so it is causing more diarrhea, etc). Is there a reason she cant have grains?
I would feed her either hamburger/rice or chicken/rice (white rice, isnt hard at all on the stomach and not many dogs have an allergy to just plain white rice). This bland diet will give her tummy time to rest and restore it, and then you can Slowly add back in her normal food. I would add the yogurt as it will reintroduce good bacteria back into the gut to help stabilize things. It is not that rich. I would Not start the tripe at this time! Too rich and too much of a change right now. Stick with bland, basic things. Good luck!

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bigredpoodle

· #3 · Nov 18, 2009

Good Advice . this is the diet i use when we have tummy troubles. Works everytime

Bella's Momma

Discussion Starter · #4 · Nov 18, 2009

Thank you! I don't do grains b/c I've known two people with Standards who had trouble with grains. And the one time I decided to "losen up" a little and let the vet shove their treats down her she got sick as soon as we got home. So you think plain white rice, might be fine? We will try it then. Do you think white basmati is as good?

Good point on the probiotics (in yogurt). I do have some straight probiotics that I give her and did the first day she was sick but haven't since. I will make sure to give her soon this morning.

I assume you mean cooked hamburger or cooked chicken? I think I do have some hamburger in the freezer. We're a half-omnivorous family and I'm the other half so I don't pay a lot of attention to what's stashed about. LOL.

bigredpoodle

· #5 · Nov 18, 2009

boil the hamburger if it quite fatty

bigpoodleperson

· #6 · Nov 18, 2009

Yes, cooked/boiled meat, and make sure to rinse the grease off the hamburger. I think white rice will be just fine for her. Im not sure what the other stuff you mentioned is, but i personally would stick to plain white rice.

wishpoo

· #7 · Nov 18, 2009

Unfortunately - if vet. results did not show anything it will be more or less "try and error" thing : (((. Same as with babies , I guess.

First thing that I would do would be to change food. I think that rice advice is wonderful advice that your vet. gave to you and I know it worked for my friend who had a Bierdy. Her breeder told her to try it and it worked like a charm !!! He was on premium food anyway , but had a sensitive tummy. So she would cook rice , drain it somewhat and than mix with the kibble . It would moisten kibble and gave it nice consistency and she would serve it nice and warm (room temperature). Diarrhea was gone immediately. She would put just a little bit of rice (maybe 2 tbsp per serving ). It made an immediate difference and puppy was happy and thriving

KPoos

· #8 · Nov 18, 2009

Could she be picking up something viral from the pet resort? Do dogs even pick up things like that?

Fur Elite

· #9 · Nov 18, 2009

If the dog checks out with the vet, my bet would be a nervous stomach. Probably gets excited and nervous from the visits. Pumpkin is a great way to help solidify matters. Two teaspoons (natural pumpkin...not the pie filler) does great at both correcting the runs (absorbs liquid) as well as defy constipation (fiber). Call it the jack of all fruits.

Bella's Momma

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 19, 2009

Okay, so the vet does both tests and it was negative. hmm..
Doggie got a nice warm meal of boiled chicken and white rice. At first she just stared at it, then her stomach took over and she inhaled it. I also gave her probiotics in a kong when I left, so here's hoping. Thanks for the advice, everyone.

wishpoo

· #11 · Nov 19, 2009

ELITE - how do you use pumpkin ??? Do you use canned puree or you cook it yourself ??? Thanks in advance

Bella's Mom - I am keeping my fingers crossed :rainbow: !!!

Fur Elite

· #12 · Nov 19, 2009

Just buy the natural canned pumpkin (remember, not the pie filling, but just natural pumpkin). Put it on their food or just feed it to 'em straight.

wishpoo

· #13 · Nov 19, 2009

Thanks Elite !!!! It is always good to know about natural remedies for our dogs (pets in general ) :thumb:

Olie

· #14 · Nov 19, 2009

wishpoo said:
Thanks Elite !!!! It is always good to know about natural remedies for our dogs (pets in general ) :thumb:

Yes, thanks. I was just told this the other night and I am getting some of this for the shelf along with going to try the yogurt in their food as well. When Coco had an upset belly we did rice and he threw it up with in an hour. So I stay away from it with him. I am sure Bella will work it out.

Mandycasey'smom

· #15 · Nov 19, 2009

I like to spoon pumpkin on to cookie sheets and freeze it then when frozen toss it into a ziploc baggie to keep for when needed since the can is so big I through most away before.
My guys love the frozen pumpkin and want it as treats

Bella's Momma

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 19, 2009

Thanks everyone. I do have some of the pumpkin as well (Trader Joe's always has it this time of year if anyone is looking). She's loving the warm chicken and rice of course. LOL.

I love the idea of making pumpkin treats, too!

I'm going to be gone a few hours again today so I'm leaving her outside (which, as an aside, is funny b/c I put her crate out there with her bedding so she wouldn't have to lay on the cement if it gets chilly - it's in the 70s still here but I never find her in there outdoors). Hopefully all will be well.

So my next question is for how long would you do the rice and chicken diet?

bigpoodleperson

· #17 · Nov 19, 2009

Feed the chx/rice until her stools are consistantly solid, and then Slowly mix back in her regular food. How were her stools today?

puppylove

· #18 · Nov 19, 2009

Thanks, BellasMom, that is a great tip.

Bella's Momma

Discussion Starter · #19 · Dec 2, 2009

Well, my mind keeps going back to giardia b/c she gets better, then it starts again. Poor thing has been out in the yard (when I'm away) for three weeks now. I bought her a dogloo b/c I feel so guilty.

I am wondering, if it was giardia, and the sample we took to the vet was from a 'normal' day, would they still find something or do we have to wait to an abnormal day?

The chicken and rice did it's trick. We mixed back in the kibble and then when she was on full kibble (b/c Tripe was defrosting. I should note the breeder told me to just do tripe and no kibble as a remedy as she's a big tripe fan and thinks processed food is too hard for digestion...we were compromising by doing 1/2 and 1/2 since we got her) it started again. We threw out all our kibble wondering if it could be a bad bag since I bought it at a new store and it was bigger than our usual ones, and started over. Yesterday, on 1/2 kibble and 1/2 tripe she had a loose stool again. So for the rest of yesterday while a new tripe was defrosting she had chicken and rice. Today she is on full tripe and we will see how it goes.

Could she have suddenly developed sensitivities to a kibble she's been on since she started solids?

Also, what do you all think about dried duck jerky? Her kibble and "cookies" (made of the same stuff as the kibbles) are what we stuff a kong with so if I'm going to try eliminating those for a while, I am wondering what else I can stuff it with that would have some crunch. Poor dog got an ice cube covered with probiotics in her kong today. And yes, I realize the ice cube could kill some of the probiotics but I was at a loss.

Aside from the loose stools, her demeaner, behaviors and appetite continue to remain normal.

Dh wants to take her into the vet.

Thank you everyone!

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bigredpoodle

· #20 · Dec 2, 2009

Bella's Momma said:
Well, my mind keeps going back to giardia b/c she gets better, then it starts again. Poor thing has been out in the yard (when I'm away) for three weeks now. I bought her a dogloo b/c I feel so guilty.

I am wondering, if it was giardia, and the sample we took to the vet was from a 'normal' day, would they still find something or do we have to wait to an abnormal day?

The chicken and rice did it's trick. We mixed back in the kibble and then when she was on full kibble (b/c Tripe was defrosting. I should note the breeder told me to just do tripe and no kibble as a remedy as she's a big tripe fan and thinks processed food is too hard for digestion...we were compromising by doing 1/2 and 1/2 since we got her) it started again. We threw out all our kibble wondering if it could be a bad bag since I bought it at a new store and it was bigger than our usual ones, and started over. Yesterday, on 1/2 kibble and 1/2 tripe she had a loose stool again. So for the rest of yesterday while a new tripe was defrosting she had chicken and rice. Today she is on full tripe and we will see how it goes.

Could she have suddenly developed sensitivities to a kibble she's been on since she started solids?

Also, what do you all think about dried duck jerky? Her kibble and "cookies" (made of the same stuff as the kibbles) are what we stuff a kong with so if I'm going to try eliminating those for a while, I am wondering what else I can stuff it with that would have some crunch. Poor dog got an ice cube covered with probiotics in her kong today. And yes, I realize the ice cube could kill some of the probiotics but I was at a loss.

Aside from the loose stools, her demeaner, behaviors and appetite continue to remain normal.

Dh wants to take her into the vet.

Thank you everyone!

We had one like this and our vet had us strt her on Fiber pill and it worked. So dunno ... Could it be that our dog foods do not have enough fiber?
The giardia test is pretty simple to do BTW.

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