***Tibbe Back To Vet Again Today - A Puzzle!!!***

[yorkietalkjilly]

I'm so down. Tibbe started isolating about 2 hours after he ate dinner last night - about 3 1/2 T. Hill's I/D, going to bedroom, lying alone on the bed, or going into his covered carrier at the end of the couch, acting sad. We neither slept much. Saw him belch 2-3 times overnight, followed by swallowing, licking. He hacked 4-5 times like something was in his throat over the wee hours. Had a long bout of reverse sneezing. Ears out, tail down, standing up occas. with his head sort of hanging down - just not looking good at all. I saw a spot of yellowish spit-up on the den floor this morning & he had pottied overnight in the bedroom at the foot of the bed I discovered when I got up. Tibbe is totally clean in the house & will bark & scratch on your arm to wake you if he needs to go out to potty & I'm not that hard to awaken, so I think he is just not himself when he is feeling bad. Stool normal as it usually is. He ate 4 T. Hill's for breakfast within a minute or two this morning. Today he's still clingy, not frisky or happy though if you use his code words such as squirrel or garbage truck, he perks up, runs around, looks outside, but returns to his lethargic ways soon.

Made a vet appt. for tomorrow to see what to try next. He shouldn't have to live like this - every other day or so is bad for him.

[kjc]

Prayers for Tibbe... hoping for some answers tomorrow...

How much does Tibbe weigh?

[lillymae]

Have you tried some digestive enzymes in his food ? I'm not talking about ProBiotics, but enzymes .

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by kjc

Prayers for Tibbe... hoping for some answers tomorrow...

How much does Tibbe weigh?

He was 5.9 lbs. after being on the 11 doses of Prednisolone but last vet visit he was back to his normal 5.3 lbs. Vet thinks he's a good weight so far.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by lillymae

Have you tried some digestive enzymes in his food ? I'm not talking about ProBiotics, but enzymes .

No, not yet. We'll see what vet says tomorrow about what to do next.

[Harrysmum]

Of course it goes without saying that we're thinking of you both Jeanie....I truly hope all goes well at the Vet's this morning. With love from Harry + I x

[yorkietalkjilly]

Tibbe had another bad night last night with loud bowel sounds, restlessness, some hacking and a partly mucus-partly very, very dark stool & had an accident in the living room overnight, so we traded tomorrow's appt. for today & I took the stool & Tibbe in for an exam by the vet. His regular vets were both out today & a covering vet was there, the 5th vet he's seen since May. Took her forever to read his file. Said the stool was not tarry at all - no blood, just the mucus & we had a heart-to-heart about how he is fed & when, etc. since his apparent fall in May, when he was started on 11 doses of Prednisolone & a lot of the tummy trouble started, though he had had a bit of some this year - some previous gassy, distended tummy & belching/reflux.

The long & short of it it is, after I told her all about his diet, when he switched to what, etc., how he'd had quite a few Beef Jerky treats late winter, had some bits of human food at times before his May incident & I found out that when the vet said "Start him on the Iam's I/D or the Royal Canin GI, at first I mixed his old food combination of Iams Proactive/Science Diet Sensitive stomach with the new but that Tibbe would pick out only the new food to eat and me, thinking since it was Rx diet, made for bad tummies, why not just go ahead & fully switch. So we had too abrupt switching of food too often recently & before that, too much extra's accounting for his earlier troubles.

She started him on Fortiflora today to pour over his Hill's I/D, will keep him on Pepcid AC & thinks if we do no more switching, he should straighten out. She still thought that even though he had been on nothing but Hill's since Sunday, had a bad night last night, had that awful dark, dark & half-mucus stool today & an overnight stool in the living room - definitely indicating he is not himself. He's been perfectly clean in the house except since he got sick. So we'll see if this works.

[yorkieusa]

I hope little Tibbe will do better after your visit with the vet today.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Thank you! At first he turned up his nose to the Hill's with the Fortiflora on it but after hand-feeding him 3 or 4 pieces, he began to eat it all by himself. Now he's over here politicking for more! Sure hope it helps him digest his food easier.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Tibbe just dog-laughed. He used to go that all the time & haven't seen it forever!

[yorkieusa]

I know that makes you feel much better. I hope Tibbe feels even better tomorrow. It's good to know he's feeling more like Tibbe again.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

I know that makes you feel much better. I hope Tibbe feels even better tomorrow. It's good to know he's feeling more like Tibbe again.

He had a very good day today, was dog-laughing, chasing squirrels outside, playing alot. He had a long nap this afternoon & was quite hungry tonight. It was great to see. Couldn't get enough of it.

I haven't used any more Hill's canned food today, just the kibble. He will not approach the Hill's GI I/D kibble on his own or show any interest in it until I mix warm water with it & mix it up until gravy forms or heat it some in the microwave - then he eats it quite readily. But he will walk up to the bowl of just kibble, sniff it & jerk his head back like he's offended. I think he's become a fussy eater over this past few weeks with all the fussing over him & food changes peaking his interests! Now he's come to expect his food to be more than just plain old kibble. Once he's had a few weeks of good tummy, we'll have to work to overcome that.

[Connie]

I'm so glad to see that Tibbe is feeling better! I got a kick out of you telling about his dog laugh. You'll have to get that on video for us to see! I hope Tibbe continues to feel well and back to the happy little guy he was and stays that way!

[kjc]

Yay! Great news!

[yorkietalkjilly]

He went potty just a while ago before going to bed, came in all happy & dog-laughing again. Normally, that is how he spends his day. Life is one big party for Tibbe & he dog-laughs regularly & just bounces through the day. Well, after he came in, he searched out two of his chewies - those flat rectangular white rawhide things - that he never chews, just throws around & hides CONTINUALLY, and he kept hiding them on the couch right beside my hip - first both & then run off to the living room with one of them -then, he'd run back, hide that one, take the other one & run off, come back, hide it & get the other & run off. He did that over & over several times. Then, he just flopped down on the end of the couch & went to sleep after sticking them down between the couch cushions. He was really enjoying himself. I was just taking it all in like it was Christmas Day.

I'm thinking maybe the Hill's I/D GI kibble and/or the Fortiflora maybe helped him turn the corner, if he really has. But he's gone 2 days now acting pretty normal - I think that is the first 2 good days in a row since 5-23-12.