diarrhea question
 

Sorry for posting in the wrong forum (really sorry Kimberly), but I'm worried and I was afraid with it being Saturday there wouldn't be many people in Health and Diet.

I started homecooking 3 weeks ago. I am basically following Dr. Pitcairn's book. For dinner they are getting a meat, veg, grain combo with the supplements as the book suggests. For breakfast they were getting egg and cottage cheese or yogurt. Sugar's stools have been on the soft side since we started this. About a week and a half into it I cut way back on the cottage cheese and added fruit but his stools were still really soft so I cut out the cottage cheese completely and he hasnt had any for 4 days. yesterday he stared having diarrhea. Last night he had it all over my bedroom while we were sleeping. A lot of it and its very bloody. He acts completely normal. He has a normal energy level and appetite. What is going on? I don't know what to do but I hate waiting until the vet is open on Monday. Spike and Gracie are eating the same food and their stools are normal.

Okay my vet is open until noon today so I just called. They were worthless. I explained the situation and the lady put me on hold to talk to a vet and came back and said I could bring in a stool sample. Big help. Does the blood make this an emergency situation and she said no but if I wanted I could make an appointment for Monday. I said okay but asked what I should do in the meantime. She said don't give him any food for 24 hours and I said he's only 3 pounds I can't do that. She said why is he diabetic? I said no you just can't with hold food from a dog that small because their blood sugar will drop to which she responded okay I can make the appointment for you if you want. Thanks for the help.:rolleyes: I made the appointment for 5:00 on Monday but I'm calling a holistic vet to see if I can get him in there. The blood is freaking me out.

I am sorry that you baby is sick. Maybe something in the diet irritated his colon and it has resulted in bloody diarrhea. If the bloody diarrhea continues you may have to take Sugar to the er. I hope everything is ok and I hope Sugar gets well soo.....:confused:

you can give your pup some metamucil to help stop it and blood may be from so much poop its making the rear raw there are many nerves back there just make sure he gets plenty of fluids so as nto to get dehydrated like gatorade or toddlers pedilyte i hope he gets better

I'm no expert, but I would recommend a fast also since the blood indicates a very irritated intestinal tract. But if Sugar is too little to skip meals I would just feed him small bland meals - maybe just the rice and meat?

Perhaps PM some of the homecookers on here? Shoot, Yorkiedaze is the only name I can think of right now.

Thanks everyone. I'll PM Yorkiedaze. I think maybe Wylies mom feeds raw but is really knowledgable bout homecooking- I'm just going to do a search of homecookers. I also PMed Myfairlacy since she's a vet student.

Sorry to be gross but it gets in his hair on his rear and he's been scooting a lot trying to clean himself so I don't know if that's caused further irritation. Of course I'm washing him and not letting him scoot but I could tell he did a lot of scooting last night while I was sleeping from the tracks in my room and I also found some on the pool deck which is pretty rough.

I'll definitely do that. It seems like I've heard canned pumpkin is good for diarrhea?

My lhasa Tallulah had bloody/runny stools and it ended up being an intestinal infection and she needed antibiotics for it. Not sure if that is what is going on with your baby, but I'll keep you guys in my thoughts!

diahreah
 

metamucil makes you go to the bathroom. My vet says for minor upsets use keopectate only, pepto and the rest have asprin in it. Good luck hope your baby is better soon

ah well we use keo and meta at work for it you could shave the hinney to keep it clean

Well I was just talking to my mom and she said her vet recommends Pepto but now I'm worried about the aspirin. Maybe I'll get some Kaopeptate. He hasn't had any diarrhea since right after breakfast. I was thinking for dinner I'd maybe give him a little rice cooked in chicken broth. Dr. Pitcairn suggests a broth made from chicken and veggies but it seems like rice cooked in broth would be okay. How much Kao should I give him?

As far as his poor little booty, I've been just holding him over the sink and rinsing it. I probably do need to cut some of the hair though.

Have you seen any yellowish mucousy stools? Usually that in combination with blood means the intestinal tract is irritated. He really does need to be fasted if at all possible to help his digestive tract rest and heal. Canned pumpkin does normally help with both diarrhea and constipation. I'd give him small amounts of canned pumpkin throughout the day, and give a little nutrical or karo to keep his blood sugar up, and leave water out so he doesn't get dehydrated. The main thing will be keeping him hydrated and making sure his blood sugar doesn't get too low. Other than that, his digestive tract probably just needs time to rest and he should be fine.

Some dogs are more sensitive than others - some can handle diet changes with no problem while others will have diarrhea and an upset tummy from a diet change. He may take longer than your other dogs to get used to his new diet. He also may be sensitive to some of the foods you are feeding. What works for some dogs don't always neccessarily work for another (same with people). So it may take you longer to find what works best for Sugar.

So try to take away his food. Give him canned pumpkin and keep nutrical or karo on hand to make sure his blood sugar doesn't get low. Make sure he gets plenty to drink. Once the diarrhea slows down or stops you can try adding back a small amount of food...something bland. I think it was Wylie's mom that posted that chicken and rice is not a good thing to give dogs with upset tummies. Her nutritionist suggested something else to give. I can't remember what all she said right now but I would PM her and ask about it.

I hope Sugar feels better soon

I'd go with the pumpkin over pepto or kaopeptate.

Thank you so much! I will get the pumpkin and stay away from chicken and rice. I actually already PMed Wylie's mom so hopefully she'll get online today. I don't mind semi fasting him (nothing but a little pumpkin). He's never had blood sugar issues but if he ate nothing I would never be able sleep tonight for fear he would.

Oh, poor honey! Both of you! I know exactly how frustrated you are bc I've been there. I would cut out all veggies and grains for now and go very simple. First are you feeding chicken? If yes, cut that out bc that could be the culprit in terms of meat.

If it were me, I'd give whitefish and mashed white potatoe and about a teaspoon+ of steamed/pureed green beans (greens will help alkalize the digestive tract). Nice and simple. Hypoallergenic. Pumpkin is great too to help firm up. The only fiber additive that's considered "safe" is Benefiber - just a pinch. But you could def. try the canned pumpkin first. Yogurt or a probiotic supplement may help re-balance his intestinal flora. I would keep him on a fish diet for at least a week, if not longer, and then reintroduce one meat at a time - and then one veg. at a time if you want to include veggie (though they're not needed).

Please keep us posted, I really feel for you bc I've been in your shoes!! :D

I think it was really crappy for your vet not to get you in before Monday. Whenever mine have had diahrea my vet has got me right in. Especially when Chachi had bloody diahrea. My Vet always had me fast them followed by a very bland diet

I think my vet's office was pretty crappy too. She was zero help. I made the appointment but I am calling a holistic vet first thing Monday and if they can get me in I'm going there. I doubt my vet will be much help if its diet related anyway.

Yay! I've been hoping you'd come online. I know how knowledgable you are about nutrition. Thank you so much for the advice!:) So if I'm understanding correctly, I should start the fish/greenbeans tonight? How much pumpkin and how often? I really appreciate the help!

By the way, I have been feeding chicken. They've had beef the last few days but mostly chicken. It's so hard because I can only get organic chic, beef and pork and I don't do pork for personal reasons. It's very frutrating.

I just took this- doesn't he look sad?

Yay! He loves the Pedialite! Thanks again to everyone for your help and thank you Suzy for taking the time to help me over the phone. Y'all are the best!

My yorkie,Danny gets bloody stools if he eats beef, It took a while to get him on a diet that agreed with him , I home cook for him and the meat I use is ground turkey. I will add a little chicken once in a while but mostly I just vary the veggies. I add 1/4 teaspoon of Prozyme to each 1/2 cup of his food and I think this has helped too. I found vets to be of no help whatsoever their suggestion was Science Diet ID ! I keep Natural Balance Dry kibble down all the time, I also occasionally feed him a little of the Natural Balance Roll(turkey). I hope you will find a solution from everyones post that works for you. I know how nerve wracking it is. When Danny would get sick I couldn't even eat! Best Luck .

Oh, so glad he's liking that! You are so welcome-please call anytime...I'm no expert, but I'm glad to discuss homecooking and what I know and don't know :D

Hope Sugy feels better soon!

How's Sugar doing tonight?

I've been wondering too... How's he doing? Emma and Milli send him puppy kisses to help him get better soon!

Oh, that pic of him, I SO know that look! Marcel used to have that plaintive "hep me, hep me" look too. I hope he feels better soon.

Yes, start the fish as soon as you can (tilapia, flounder, sole, cod, whiting etc.) - how much does he weigh? You want to be a bit more careful w/ amounts when giving fish bc it is such a lean protein, so low in fat. You're using fish oil though, if I remember right? If yes, keep using that for his fat.

So, feed about (if giving 2 meals per day) 1.5 oz fish, 2-3 T potato, and only about 1T of the greens (each meal). The pumpkin you could give 2-3 times a day, with meal or alone - perhaps a tsp. or so. You could even give the pumpkin w/ a bit of yogurt if he likes it - that'd be good for him too.

How's he doing today?

I thought pumpkin would make them go to the bathroom.

It helps firm things up or "loosen" things up. It's more of a regulator, than an "instigator". It's the same for us humans - fiber can both help us "go" or help us....."stay". LOL. It's quite a little miracle substance, isn't it?

I'm happy to report he is much better today. I feel almost certain that I introduced too many foods at once and he is having a problem with one of them. He had started chewing his feet which I know can indicate a food allergy. Now I've got to figure out which one. He was on chicken dogfood before I started cooking so in addition to the Pedialite, I gave him a very small amount of boiled chicken and rice last night. He only eliminated once during the night and though still soft, it was a big improvement and had no blood. This morning I gave him a little boiled egg and he hasn't gone yet which is a bit unusual. I'm going to stick with these foods and if he continues to improve, then hopefully that means I can rule them out as the problem. I definitely plan to do fish and potatoes next since Wylies Mom said they are very hypoallergenic. Should I start with white potatoes or sweet potatoes? I just got a little nervous about adding a new food while his tummy was upset. I am calling the holistic vet tomorrow and hopefully she will be able to see us. I don't think my regular vet would be much help- he is extremely traditional.

He had made quite a mess of our bedroom carpet the night before and my hubby had steamcleaned so sleeping in there last night was out of the question. Sugar and I camped out on an air mattress in the living room since all of the bedrooms are carpet. Not very comfortable and I was up all night checking on him but it was kind of fun having our own Christmas tree campout.:p


Oh yeah- eta- I bought the pumpkin but haven't given it yet. Since he seemed to be doing better yesterday I decided to hold off. If his stool is still soft today when he finally goes, I will give him some.
Thanks again for all of the advice and concern. I can't tell you how much it helped yesterday to not feel alone in this.:)

So glad to hear he's improved!!! I bet it was just too many new foods at once-at least if you know that's it, it's easy to change! I was so worried for you and for him! I am so glad you got that Pedialyte into him...it's not a bad thing for us all to keep on hand, I suppose...maybe I'll go and pick some up for us too!

I'm sure he was so happy to be able to camp out under the Christmas tree with you. It seems they always are extra snuggly when they don't feel good.

Once he's 48 hours or so diarrhea free, make sure to give him just a teaspoon or so of plain yogurt with probiotics. That should help to get his digestive system back on track. I'm not sure about plain or sweet potatoes-I would think the regular potatoes would be better to start with since they're starchy and more bland than sweet potatoes, but that's just my opinion...Wylie's mom, what do you advise?

Either way, until you know if it sits well with his tummy (and with your other dogs' tummies), you may want to make smaller batches when you're introducing new ingredients so you're not stuck with a lot of something that only one of them can eat.

Once again, so glad he's doing better!