[yorkietalkjilly]

My second Yorkie weighed only 3 lbs. when she was grown and early in her life she had G-I problems with vomiting, malaise, painful BM's, pus in diarrhea, blood in diarrhea, irritated anus, swollen anal glands, etc. After I had spent over $500.00 twice at the vet within 10 days during June of 1991 and she had five medications at home which she had been on over 1 1/2 weeks, vet consultation had been obtained and tried to no avail and still was laying around lifeless, vomiting and pooing pus-y, bloody diarrhea, and the vet was talking euthanasia, I had to try something else. I took her off all the cimitidine for reflux/heartburn, the anti-nausea drug, anti-gas drugs and very expensive two antibiotics(actually made her diarrhea much worse within 2 hours of taking them), took her off of ALL canned dog food(even Science Diet Sensitive canned dog food which the vet had suggested) and all human food of any kind -cooked rice, mashed potatoes, canned pumpkin, chicken broth, etc; and treated her with plain old common sense treatment: tiny, titered doses of Kaopectate and fed her only Science Diet Sensitive Diet dry kibble(she got sick on the Science Diet Sensitive canned dog good) for the rest of her life. Her nausea, malaise, vomiting, diarrhea and anal gland problems cleared up within 2 days on this diet and OTR drug and she absolutely thrived from that point on. I could not believe the dramatic change in her condition on this regimen. I stuck with it and soon phased out the Kaopectate. After that, for the rest of her life, she occasionally had a dry-looking stool but never seemed uncomfortable at all with passing it. I occasionally would sort of cook the kibble with water in the microwave, cool it and feed it to her warm, kind of like warm oatmeal. She ate this with relish at one feeding but when the dry kibble was left out in her dish, she never ate much at any one time but would return to her dish during the day until full. Some days she ate very little and other days she fed frequently. Sometimes, I would sort of overcook the moistened kibble until it was almost dired out, cool it and dry it some more on a tray and serve it to her as treats. Most of the time she ate the kiddlbe dry. She loved this food however she got it. Science Diet Sensitive dry kibble saved that little girl's life and kept her G-I tract and anal glands nearly normal for the rest of her 12 1/2 years. I say "nearly" normal since she got terrible diarrhea and gas if anyone else ever fed her ANY human food or regular dog food or treats. She also foraged in the back yard when I turned my back and occasionally had gassy rumblings in her tummy after that for which she got treated with a titered dose of Pepto-Bismol and a warm heating pad which she was allowed to lay on for a while but never left unattended on it. I assumed the gas was from foraging but it could have just been her delicate G-I tract that was just so touchy almost anything could irritate it - even the Science Diet Sensitive kibble, I guess. But her gas bouts were not frequent and she was very rarely constipated on this dry kibble Science Diet Sensitive regimen and she never had further diarrhea at all as I never allowed her to eat any human food. Occasionally an informed guest(I told all visitors of her inability to eat human any human food safely) would sneak her a tidbit and the poor little thing always paid the price by being ill within a few hours after the know-it-all guest was long gone. But I watched her suffer until she got it all out of her system and could return to her benign Science Diet Sensitive kibble and all would be right with the world again. Needless to say, if I ever found out who fed her improperly, that person was so-informed kindly but firmly as to the horrible suffering they needlessly caused the poor little dog and they were oh, so sorry after the fact.

My current Yorkie, Tibbe, weighs 5.3 lbs., can eat ANYTHING and has never vomited or had a loose stool. He has spit up slightly after eating too many treats but has never heaved emisis or had any diarrhea and he is 3 years old. I can't believe my blessed life with this dog after 12 1/2 years of little Jilly's delicate digestion. My very first Yorkie, Scotty, had a delicate G-I tract also and had to eat dry kibble though it wasn't for sensitive stomachs. Good luck working through your little dog's G-I issues but with a little love and common sense, you will both make it through this tough time. And yes, go ahead and do without something else and get your baby to the vet as needed but if you ever get to the point where the vet says the little dog is not responding to any treatment, the consulting vets aren't offering anything helpful and he starts discussing euthanasia due to the severe G-I problems with their resultant miserable quality of life, you might give my regimen a try as a last ditch effort. But veterinary treatment cannot be forgone until there is no further help there.