Can a change of food make my baby sick??

[Remieandpolo]

Hello everyone... I am new to the forum and am glad to be part of this community. My little boy Polo was born a day after my birthday (05/06/09) so I know we were meant to be. I did not bring him home until July 4th when he was 8 weeks. \He is the most energetic little guy around!! He just went to the vet on -7/23/09 for his 2nd round of parvo boosters. I was feeding him the Purina puppy chow brand, the version for teeth. He loved that stuff. Two days ago I was not close to my local grocery and I had to go to another store. I looked for the same flavor but they only had the "healthy morsels" purina puppy chow. I fed it it to him that night he didnt really seem to like it but he ate it. He has been eating it for the last couple of days and has been his normal self. When I left for work this morning he was fine. My little brother stayed at my house today and said at about 10:30 am he started throwing up and sleeping. When I got home he was not himself he was very distant and quiet. He had diarrhea and his nose was dry. I called his vet and she said bring him in. She ran a Parvo test which was negative, gave him fluids via an IV, a reglan injection, and sent him home with antibiotics I believe Flagyl. Does anyone know what is wrong with him and if he will be ok... What should I do???

[kalina82]

Hi and welcome to YT! I'm sorry your new puppy is sick. It was most likely due to the food change. Also Purnia is not a good puppy food so you might consider changing to a better quality now while he is on the antibiotics. There are many threads on good foods here that you could do a search on. Wellness and Solid Gold you can find at Petco and are both excellent foods.

The reglan was for the vomiting and that should help. Flagyl is also known as metronidazole which is an antibiotic for the stomach. your pup should be feeling better soon. Glad to hear its not parvo

[xoxodoglover89]

Originally Posted by kalina82

Hi and welcome to YT! I'm sorry your new puppy is sick. It was most likely due to the food change. Also Purnia is not a good puppy food so you might consider changing to a better quality now while he is on the antibiotics. There are many threads on good foods here that you could do a search on. Wellness and Solid Gold you can find at Petco and are both excellent foods.

The reglan was for the vomiting and that should help. Flagyl is also known as metronidazole which is an antibiotic for the stomach. your pup should be feeling better soon. Glad to hear its not parvo

I agree. These little puppies can have such sensitive tummies that the slightest change can cause them to not feel well. I would definitely consider looking into different brands of food though. Purina has corn, wheat and by-products in it, not very good things for a puppy!

Like Kalina82 said, search some of the threads on here and you're sure to find TONS of information about foods. There's even a sticky in the food section that lists many of the higher quality food companies. Many of them will send you free samples if you e-mail them.

I hope your furbaby feels better soon!

[Remieandpolo]

Originally Posted by kalina82

Hi and welcome to YT! I'm sorry your new puppy is sick. It was most likely due to the food change. Also Purnia is not a good puppy food so you might consider changing to a better quality now while he is on the antibiotics. There are many threads on good foods here that you could do a search on. Wellness and Solid Gold you can find at Petco and are both excellent foods.

The reglan was for the vomiting and that should help. Flagyl is also known as metronidazole which is an antibiotic for the stomach. your pup should be feeling better soon. Glad to hear its not parvo

Thanks so much for replying!! I am soooo worried about him. I will get him a better quality food this weekend. He actually just threw up again and I am on the verge of tears. The throw up looks like slimy saliva. Before the doctor came in the vet's assistant said something about giving him Pedialyte and Pepto Bismal. Has anyone tried this on a sick puppy? I am so thankful to god it was not Parvo but I know we are not out of the woods yet. It's gonna be a long night.

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by Remieandpolo

Thanks so much for replying!! I am soooo worried about him. I will get him a better quality food this weekend. He actually just threw up again and I am on the verge of tears. The throw up looks like slimy saliva. Before the doctor came in the vet's assistant said something about giving him Pedialyte and Pepto Bismal. Has anyone tried this on a sick puppy? I am so thankful to god it was not Parvo but I know we are not out of the woods yet. It's gonna be a long night.

i'm not a fan of giving pepto to dogs so i wouldn't recommend it. the Pedialyte can be given to prevent dehydration which can happen if your puppy is vomiting a lot and has diarrhea.

How often do you feed your puppy? is there certain times when he's throwing up or is it random (ie morning or night)?

[Remieandpolo]

Originally Posted by kalina82

i'm not a fan of giving pepto to dogs so i wouldn't recommend it. the Pedialyte can be given to prevent dehydration which can happen if your puppy is vomiting a lot and has diarrhea.

How often do you feed your puppy? is there certain times when he's throwing up or is it random (ie morning or night)?

He just started throwing up today. I think its more random then anything. He gets up and starts somewhat gagging then the slimy saliva stuff comes out. The thing that has me baffled is how his condition can change drastically in such a short amount of time???? I feed him twice a day and he always has fresh water. (bottled if that matters) Is this sufficient? I sometimes have to take his water from him because he gets carried away and will drink too much.

[Remieandpolo]

Originally Posted by xoxodoglover89

I agree. These little puppies can have such sensitive tummies that the slightest change can cause them to not feel well. I would definitely consider looking into different brands of food though. Purina has corn, wheat and by-products in it, not very good things for a puppy!

Like Kalina82 said, search some of the threads on here and you're sure to find TONS of information about foods. There's even a sticky in the food section that lists many of the higher quality food companies. Many of them will send you free samples if you e-mail them.

I hope your furbaby feels better soon!

Thanks so much for your support. That is my mission for the weekend. I really did not know that it was that bad. I feel bad for feeding it to him. Especially how much he likes that other flavor.

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by Remieandpolo

He just started throwing up today. I think its more random then anything. He gets up and starts somewhat gagging then the slimy saliva stuff comes out. The thing that has me baffled is how his condition can change drastically in such a short amount of time???? I feed him twice a day and he always has fresh water. (bottled if that matters) Is this sufficient? I sometimes have to take his water from him because he gets carried away and will drink too much.

Since he is so young i'd feed him 3 times a day. If he's throwing up white/yellow foamy/saliva stuff then it means his stomach is empty. This could also lead to hypoglycemia in such a young dog. How much does your puppy weigh? Also lift up his lip and check the color of his gums. Normal gum color is pink.

[Remieandpolo]

Originally Posted by kalina82

Since he is so young i'd feed him 3 times a day. If he's throwing up white/yellow foamy/saliva stuff then it means his stomach is empty. This could also lead to hypoglycemia in such a young dog. How much does your puppy weigh? Also lift up his lip and check the color of his gums. Normal gum color is pink.

He is a bigger boy he isnt a "teacup". On 07/23/09 he weighed a little over 4 lbs. That was when he was his usual chipper self. What should I go get him to eat? I dont want to force him to eat but he is just not interested right now and I know he needs to eat before I go to bed. The vet said no food tonight only water.... What do you think about that? She said a "bland" diet tomorrow. I have white rice, what should I prepare for him? Sorry if I am asking too many questions I am 20 and don't have a lot of experience with furbabies. I am just very scared he could make a turn for the worst. I just checked his gums. The are pink

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by Remieandpolo

He is a bigger boy he isnt a "teacup". On 07/23/09 he weighed a little over 4 lbs. That was when he was his usual chipper self. What should I go get him to eat? I dont want to force him to eat but he is just not interested right now and I know he needs to eat before I go to bed. The vet said no food tonight only water.... What do you think about that? She said a "bland" diet tomorrow. I have white rice, what should I prepare for him? Sorry if I am asking too many questions I am 20 and don't have a lot of experience with furbabies. I am just very scared he could make a turn for the worst. I just checked his gums. The are pink

Ok, well thankfully he is a bigger boy. I'd feed him a little something tonight just cause he is a puppy. I was a vet tech for years and in all the places i worked we didn't like to withhold food from such little young ones. Do you have anything chicken you can boil up for him tonight? you can give him that and a little rice just so he has something in his tummy.

You are doing a great job with your puppy so far. You are asking questions and learning all you can. I am 26 and got my first yorkie puppy 3 years ago. granted i've fostered dogs before and have lots of dog experience, but i've never really owned a dog of my own. Parents never let me have one growing up.

So tomorrow you can go and get him a better quality puppy food. There is nothing good in the supermarket so skip that. At petco they sell Wellness, Solid Gold, and Natural Balance. I feed my yorkie Wellness (and my cats too). I have always liked this food. I've also fed Solid Gold which is great as well. The natural balance i used once when she was a puppy and it just made her poop a lot. don't remember which formula i purchased but i haven't used it since. Many others here do tho and they like it. If you have a small non chain pet store around you may be able to find Innova, Merricks, or California Natural. I fed Merricks when morgan was a puppy and she loved that. These are all great foods.

[Remieandpolo]

Originally Posted by kalina82

Ok, well thankfully he is a bigger boy. I'd feed him a little something tonight just cause he is a puppy. I was a vet tech for years and in all the places i worked we didn't like to withhold food from such little young ones. Do you have anything chicken you can boil up for him tonight? you can give him that and a little rice just so he has something in his tummy.

You are doing a great job with your puppy so far. You are asking questions and learning all you can. I am 26 and got my first yorkie puppy 3 years ago. granted i've fostered dogs before and have lots of dog experience, but i've never really owned a dog of my own. Parents never let me have one growing up.

So tomorrow you can go and get him a better quality puppy food. There is nothing good in the supermarket so skip that. At petco they sell Wellness, Solid Gold, and Natural Balance. I feed my yorkie Wellness (and my cats too). I have always liked this food. I've also fed Solid Gold which is great as well. The natural balance i used once when she was a puppy and it just made her poop a lot. don't remember which formula i purchased but i haven't used it since. Many others here do tho and they like it. If you have a small non chain pet store around you may be able to find Innova, Merricks, or California Natural. I fed Merricks when morgan was a puppy and she loved that. These are all great foods.

Thanks so much you have helped me a lot! I don't feel so alone. I have a bag of natural chicken breast in my freezer that I usually use to top my salads. Should I just boil one and join it with white rice?? I will probably end up helping him it lol.

[kalina82]

Hi, sorry i didn't answer you last night. I went to bed.

How's Polo doing this morning?

[Remieandpolo]

Originally Posted by kalina82

Hi, sorry i didn't answer you last night. I went to bed.

How's Polo doing this morning?

Hello, he is doing a little better. He didnt really want to eat the chicken breast and rice last night so I didnt make him. He was drinking water though. He ate this morning and is moving around more. I think he is still sore from the needles yesterday. How long should he eat the chicken and rice??

[Suzy Q]

My 'Slightly" was doing the same thing yesterday. Gagging, throwing up, and laying around lifeless. I had changed his dog food too. The breeder told me to always use Purina Puppy. Last week I changed his food to another puppy brand. At the time it didn't seem to bother him,but now after reading these posts, I will buy a better food. I live in the country so I will make a trip to Beckley today for his food. I gave him a bit of honey last night where he had not eaten at all. The sugar thing concerns me since I am not familiar with sugar and Yorkies.
Hope your baby is feeling better today....

[Remieandpolo]

Originally Posted by Suzy Q

My 'Slightly" was doing the same thing yesterday. Gagging, throwing up, and laying around lifeless. I had changed his dog food too. The breeder told me to always use Purina Puppy. Last week I changed his food to another puppy brand. At the time it didn't seem to bother him,but now after reading these posts, I will buy a better food. I live in the country so I will make a trip to Beckley today for his food. I gave him a bit of honey last night where he had not eaten at all. The sugar thing concerns me since I am not familiar with sugar and Yorkies.
Hope your baby is feeling better today....

He is now pretty much back to his regular self. I gave him 1cc of the FLAGYL at about noon. My boyfriend was wondering did the vet trip help or would he have gotten better on his own? he is still napping more often but we played a game of tug~o~war and he enjoys eating the cooked chicken breast and rice. He still has not had a bowel movement yet this afternoon and evening. Should I be concerned? I hope slightly is feeling better too