Advice?
 

Hi, I'm new here but I've had my two yorkies for a few years now. Peyton and Riley are both 3 years old.

Riley's been having some issues for about a week now. They are not new issues as the occasional diarrhea OR vomiting. Well last week he's had diarrhea, that got better in a few days with some rice and pumpkin. Then after that, yesterday for the first time I've seen he had some jelly-like orange and brown substance in his stool. Then today, after I fed him a vet-prescribed food for gastrointestinal issues with steamed brown rice, he threw up (clear and foamy as well as [separate spots] brown chunky liquid with rice) all over the cage. There wasn't any stool today except maybe one piece and that was very small and solid. The thing is, he isn't acting abnormally. He's still hyper and happy all the time. He sleeps his normal schedule and he has a normal appetite.

I'm thinking this isn't normal anymore though since it's been going on for much longer than usual and I've seen some stuff I haven't seen before, and I am trying so hard to find some time out of my very busy school/work schedule to take him to the vet but that can't be done today or tomorrow. I will though, soon but for now, I was wondering if anybody had any advice or do you think he's caught something?

I know pumpkin helps the diarrhea, but I does it also help vomiting? Do I need to feed him some sugar (I read somewhere that yorkies need some sugar when they're sick sometimes)? I think the medicated food was what made him throw up but I'm not sure...it's just a combination of an entire week of him having symptoms, getting better, having weird other symptoms, and I don't know if it's just him recovering longer than usual this time from the occasional illness yorkies get or what.

I'm wondering if it is bc he likes to go outside and lick and chew on leaves and grass. I try to stop him but he won't stop until I physically go to him and make him stop. And he likes to lick spots where Peyton urinates... I really hope this is all just because of his bad habits and not some sort of parasite.

Sorry for the huge novel, thanks for taking your time to read this.

I went through an issue like this back in July...all 3 of mine had giradia...they all had REALLY soft sticky, stinky poop that was jell like...Bentley had blood in his...Lillie vomited once...they also had a bacteria in their guts...they were on meds for a month...1 week of canned (vet) food ....I tried the pumpkin and that didn't work...I tried boiled hamburg and white rice...didn't work...they were on metronidizole for a month...5 days of panacur and 1 month of fortiflora (probiotic)...I would bring a stool to your vet and have it tested for girardia....Girardia is a VERY tough parasite to get rid of...Hope all turns out ok for them...

Thank you so much for the reply. Well I feel better at least knowing your dogs are okay. I'm going to go look what you said up and will be collecting a stool sample to take to the vet hopefully on Saturday. I'll keep him on rice and chicken for tomorrow (started it already today) then see what's up on Saturday.

I'll update later.

Edit: Did your dogs have blood in their stool? I just saw his stool a few minutes ago, it had liquid in it, some jelly-like texture, but it had some solidity to it. It had little bits of bright red blood in it.

some dogs can't eat chicken, of course nothing I fed them at that time helped..I bought really expensive hamburg and boiled the heck out of it! I broke it up into little pieces while it was boiling to make sure all the fat was out of it then rinsed it with cold water...you are supposed to feed 2 to 1...meaning 2 cups white rice to 1 cup hamburg/chicken...

just an FYI....Giardia can be very contagious (if this is what they have) IF they do have it you will need to disinfect everything...YA....it's a pain in the butt! but, you don't want it coming back...

My dogs actually don't tolerate dark meats very well. They do well with white meat chicken. Thanks for the info. Now I'm curious if Riley has Giardia. If it's contagious, Peyton hasn't gotten anything. Her stool is normal, very healthy in fact, and she hasn't thrown up either. She hasn't experienced any of Riley's symptoms since he's been like this for about a week now.

yes, Bentley did. the other 2 didn't. did you get a stool to the vet yet?

What is the vet's diagnosis for the GI issues? It doesn't sound like the current treatment plan is working well. The jelly like substance sounds like mucus and I believe I would have a current vet exam with full labs. Take a stool sample in with you. Video any vomitus or take a picture of it before you go in if you can.

I went through something similar with one of my girls a few years ago. It started out with the diarrhea and then vomiting. Then the blood in the stool came. The next thing I know her stool was straight blood. She was very sick when I took her to the vet. She had some kind of "bug" I guess because they gave her an antibiotic. She also got a shot. Within a few days she was back to herself. I really think your baby needs to be seen by a vet as soon as possible. It is always better to take them in instead of taking any chances.

Thanks for all the responses! I am currently collecting his stool. I'm going to do it for a few days because I read online that sometimes you need to collect stool samples over a course of a couple days. I am scheduling his appointment for next Saturday, which is my earliest convenience. For now I've fed him chicken and rice, then pumpkin and his regular dog food today since he upchucked the chicken and rice. His stool is still liquidy but the mucous (jelly-like) substance is gone and no more blood. His stool isn't consistent so I'm observing and collecting his stool for the next week. I'll be sure to update this after I get him to the vet.

Hi I went through something similar too. Mine started to get loose stools about 3 weeks after I got her. Started to settle with boiled chicken and rice, plus a vet prescribed paste called 'Canikur pro paste' (which helps to heal the gut)...as soon as I started to transition her to her dry food (Orijen) it started again...she also developed an intolenrance for chicken and rice too and this is when she started orange jelly like bits - freaked me out! After many trips to the vet they came to the conclusion that she has a hyper sensitive tummy and she has now been on Hills I/D wet food for the past month or so and she's doing great. I hope your little one gets better.

I would go ahead and take him to the vet. They don't need that much stool to help your baby start to feel better. The stool just gives them so much info anyway. Usually they obtain their own samples rectally as most people don't bring them. But a Yorkie that is having symptoms should probably go ahead and be seen by the vet sooner rather than later just to be safe and some labs and an examination done. He could be in the beginnings of a disease process and catching things as early as possible is always better. I pray it is nothing but still with the history he has, one won't know till he's seen and worked up. Hoping for the best report possible! :)

In my opinion, a week is a long time to wait to get in to see the vet. I understand a busy schedule; however, please be aware these little ones can go down quickly. I would get in sooner if it was me.

If there is blood @ the end w/jelly like mucous, it's probably colitis. Colitis can be triggered by stress or feeding high fat foods like table scraps. It can be monitored w/a high fiber low fat diet, but also needs medical attention, as the bacteria can spread.
BUT he's also vomiting, it can be pancreatitis. This needs medical attention asap. They can get dehydrated very fast, please take him to the vet asap, as this needs blood work, not his stool sample.

BTW, brown rice is very hard for them to digest, esp if it's not cooked just right. My vet always recommends a bland diet w/white rice & plain boiled chicken breast.
Giving them all these different foods can also cause tummy troubles, hope he'll feel better soon & you don't need to collect any more poopies loll!