pancreatitis or sick from boarding kennel? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

kaymo · 07-24-2006, 05:54 PM

I boarded Bentley and ChaCha at my vets for a week while we were on vacation. They both did fairly well after going on a hunger strike for the first couple of days, but canned food mixed with their dry food that I provided put an end to that. I picked them up Sat afternoon and by Sat evening Bentley was vomiting and had diarrhea which continued to get worse through Sunday night. I gave him pepto bismal and he vomited that too. By early this am he was losing control of his bowels even while I was holding him, so I took him right to the vet. She examined him and gave him a shot of penicillin and a shot of reglan to stop the vomiting. Since ChaCha isn't sick the vet is hesitant to think it's an infection contracted during the boarding. On exam Bentley's lethargic and has inflamation in his intestines, but not dehydrated according to the vet. He's lost some weight of course and she's concerned with how thin he is. Bentley is tall but small boned if you know what I mean, he's not solid at all. He weighed 6 1/4 lbs. when we dropped him off there 10 days ago and this morning he weighed 5 1/2 lbs. The vet thinks 6 lbs is too thin for him but no other vet in this practice has ever said that to me. The vet gave me two treatment options, she said Bentley could be admitted to the hospital where he would be observed and cleaned up when needed (which is constantly since his coat is longer). The other option was that I could take him home and not give him any food or water for 24 hours and then tomorrow slowly introduce boiled chicken, boiled hamburger, rice and start oral antibiotics. I chose to take him home with me, but will take him right back if he's still vomiting in the morning. The vet said there is a chance it could be pancreatitis. Since we got home which was about 10 am he has had 4 bouts of diarrhea and no vomiting. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

kalina82 · 07-24-2006, 06:03 PM

i would think he picked up something from teh vet or it was the stress of it all. It was good that you took him home to care for him. Try the rice and boiled chicken thing to harden up his stools. if he stops the vomiting but still has diarrhea in two days try adding canned pumpkin to the boiled chicken and rice. make sure he's getting enough water and just keep a close eye on him. i hope he feels better soon!!

yorkiemalt · 07-24-2006, 06:05 PM

My first thought was a change in food but you said you supplied their own food.

The Vet would have known what dogs were there at the same time and what they were hospitalized for. I would think if it were something contagious she would have mentioned it to you today. So I don't think I'd worry about that!

Perhaps just the stress of boarding????? I know recently when my maltese was in the hospital for 2 days for knee surgery, Phoebi, my yorkie was ill. She ran around the house constantly looking for Chan and the following morning was vomiting and loose stools.

I hope the night goes well and all is OK by morning.

Zeus' Mom · 07-25-2006, 06:02 AM

Stress can cause pancreatitis. My vet said there is a dog at his clinic that gets pancreatits every time he is boarded. So sad and so painful for the dog. Zeus has been battling pancreatits, but we have no idea why his started. I do know that you shouldn't give Bentley a lot of fat or protein, since this makes the condition worse. Zeus is on a very strict diet of prescription food. Hope your little one is feeling better soon!

07-24-2006, 05:54 PM	#1
kaymo Donating Yorkie Yakker Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: NJ Posts: 346	pancreatitis or sick from boarding kennel? I boarded Bentley and ChaCha at my vets for a week while we were on vacation. They both did fairly well after going on a hunger strike for the first couple of days, but canned food mixed with their dry food that I provided put an end to that. I picked them up Sat afternoon and by Sat evening Bentley was vomiting and had diarrhea which continued to get worse through Sunday night. I gave him pepto bismal and he vomited that too. By early this am he was losing control of his bowels even while I was holding him, so I took him right to the vet. She examined him and gave him a shot of penicillin and a shot of reglan to stop the vomiting. Since ChaCha isn't sick the vet is hesitant to think it's an infection contracted during the boarding. On exam Bentley's lethargic and has inflamation in his intestines, but not dehydrated according to the vet. He's lost some weight of course and she's concerned with how thin he is. Bentley is tall but small boned if you know what I mean, he's not solid at all. He weighed 6 1/4 lbs. when we dropped him off there 10 days ago and this morning he weighed 5 1/2 lbs. The vet thinks 6 lbs is too thin for him but no other vet in this practice has ever said that to me. The vet gave me two treatment options, she said Bentley could be admitted to the hospital where he would be observed and cleaned up when needed (which is constantly since his coat is longer). The other option was that I could take him home and not give him any food or water for 24 hours and then tomorrow slowly introduce boiled chicken, boiled hamburger, rice and start oral antibiotics. I chose to take him home with me, but will take him right back if he's still vomiting in the morning. The vet said there is a chance it could be pancreatitis. Since we got home which was about 10 am he has had 4 bouts of diarrhea and no vomiting. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

07-24-2006, 06:03 PM	#2
kalina82 Phantom Queen Morrigan Donating Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: with my yorkie baby Posts: 10,141 Blog Entries: 1	i would think he picked up something from teh vet or it was the stress of it all. It was good that you took him home to care for him. Try the rice and boiled chicken thing to harden up his stools. if he stops the vomiting but still has diarrhea in two days try adding canned pumpkin to the boiled chicken and rice. make sure he's getting enough water and just keep a close eye on him. i hope he feels better soon!! __________________ Kellie and Morgan

07-25-2006, 06:02 AM	#4
Zeus' Mom Enja's Mom too! Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Raleigh, NC Posts: 2,765	Stress can cause pancreatitis. My vet said there is a dog at his clinic that gets pancreatits every time he is boarded. So sad and so painful for the dog. Zeus has been battling pancreatits, but we have no idea why his started. I do know that you shouldn't give Bentley a lot of fat or protein, since this makes the condition worse. Zeus is on a very strict diet of prescription food. Hope your little one is feeling better soon! __________________ Farrah, Zeus, Enja & Riley

07-24-2006, 06:05 PM	#3
yorkiemalt Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Northern NJ Posts: 3,468	My first thought was a change in food but you said you supplied their own food. The Vet would have known what dogs were there at the same time and what they were hospitalized for. I would think if it were something contagious she would have mentioned it to you today. So I don't think I'd worry about that! Perhaps just the stress of boarding????? I know recently when my maltese was in the hospital for 2 days for knee surgery, Phoebi, my yorkie was ill. She ran around the house constantly looking for Chan and the following morning was vomiting and loose stools. I hope the night goes well and all is OK by morning.