Diarrhea and Vomiting
 

Please help !! My dog has diarrhea and vomiting a few times over the past few months.

Had steroids for flea allergy this past summer and once to promote eating after the same problem as now. He eats kibbles n bits but has "treats" of people food everyday. Has always been eating people food along with his dry kibbles. But since this summer when he got treated for flea allergy with prednisone (middle of July), he's had this vomiting, diarrhea problem about 5-8 times. This time and another time, he had blood in his stool. Hes currently on day 2 of illness, vomiting stopped thankfully, still strains though not much comes out now. Gave him reglan as per vets orders that I had on hand. And have been giving Imodium for diarrhea.

Us and vet have attributed it to over eating people food but now think it might be pancreatitis. He hasn't been diagnosed, this is only an assumption on my part. I read that dogs whove had corticosteroids are more prone to pancreatitis. is that true? Anyone have any similar experience? Is pancreatitis curable? Going to the vet tomorrow and will make sure he checks for this- what exactly should the test include? Any other recommendations of things to do/check for? I've realized kibbles n bits are not best out there and since I plan to overhaul his diet and eliminate people food, I want to change his dry food as well. Any recommendations? He just turned 9 but he has a very young attitude :aimeeyork

Honestly, I would get him off the Kibbles and Bits and stop feeding him people food. K&B is pretty horrible... I would get him on a grain free diet or home cook for him using an established diet with a nutritionist. Good luck. I hope your vet can help you out!

I agree, I think a serious food change is in order, KB is nothing but junk food.

Totally agree with you.
I will suggest you get him on a raw diet if you can premixed with all the correct nutritional qualities, but to start feed him some boiled chicken for a couple of weeks.
also get him a probiotic to help create a healthy intestinal tract and a digestive enzyme to help his body break down the foods.
I use a brand called AOR don't know if that is available in your area they have probiotic 3 and DPP zyme.
you can give him a bit of pumpkin to help with the runs.

Unfortunately steroids shut down a dogs immune system and the best thing to do is get his body to repair itself. Kibble is much harder for a dogs system to digest as it human food (slapping you on the hand for that one). Don't give him rice it's a grain and again hard on the system.

Poor muffin, you can PM me if anything I have suggested is useful to you and you'd like more info. It's all about getting the wee muffin back to healthy and happy.
Horrible fleas, hate them

Very well said Sandra!:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Update
 

Hi Guys. Thanks for all your help and advice! Nicky and I appreciate it. We've had a rough week trying to figure this all out. Several visits and stays at the vets have yielded some information finally. He had X-rays, contrast X-rays, full bloodwork, fecal work, and urinalysis. He does not have pancreatitis but he does have ulcerative colitis. His urine is more alkaline than acidic and this morning he had blood in his urine for the first time ever. I thought it was from the catheter testing but vet says its because the ph balance is off. He has slightly elevated fats and cholesterol in his blood but all other organs are fine (except the colon). The vet prescribed prednisone, metrodinazole, and a couple others I will check the names of when I pick them up- one for the ulcers and another for blood in his urine. Also, he must be on hills ID wet and dry mix for at least 6 months. He is still refusing to eat. He's eaten once since he fell ill last friday- only a bit of the ID. It's starting to worry me that he's not eating at all. He has been drinking and has had IV though. Any thoughts, suggestions, anything at all would be appreciated. It's been a rough, heartbreaking week for us all. I really hope my baby gets better with all this. Sorry for the long post. Thanks guys!

I don't want to come off as a know it all but steroids are really bad for your dog. Do you a holistic vet in your area that would be able to provide something more natural and less devastating to your dogs immune system

See if you can find canned tripe that will make any dog eat

Not at all please dont worry, I really do appreciateyour advice. I'm just so confused with all the different advice I've been getting. I will look into a holistic vet but to be honest have no knowledge of how holistics works. What holistic treatment would go in place of the anti-inflammatory effect of prednisone? Its supposed to calm his colon but I am weary of giving it to him. If it makes any difference its only 10 mg/day then decreases by half every week for 3 weeks. Thanks again!

Cheers there are natural ingredients that work as anti inflammatories. Probiotics aid in healing insides. Let me see if I can find you some information. My holistic vet is highly respected and has been around 50 years

Thanks so much teegy. Will try and find a holisitc vet and explore our options. I will deff be in touch =]

Colitis can be managed w/a high fiber, low fat diet...absolutely no table scraps. Princess got very sick couple of months ago bc my aunt was giving her pieces of seasoned steak. She is now on a very strict diet & is doing great.

The Honest Kitchen has a natural supplement which supports the digestive tract called perfect form: Pet Nutrition Supplement | Pet Digestive Track Support | Perfect Form | The Honest Kitchen

Steroids are bad, but if in large doses and long term. What the vet gave for the flea allergy was probably a minute amount. Uni had a horrible reaction to a flea allergy earlier this year and she was ripping out her hair and making her skin bleed. A steroid shot and then pills tapering off in the dosage amount gave her immediate relief. That gave her body a chance to heal itself. I believe in natural and holistic as well, but sometimes you still have to give a drug. You have to factor in all the variations and see what the vet and you the owner think it's the best. I would never say to never give a steroid, sometimes it helps immensely.

The kind of steroid shot you are talking about is short acting and temporary. It would not cause the kind of problem you are dealing with. Please get him on a good quality of grain free dog food. I feed raw but there are a couple of decent kibble foods out there. Keep him away from the people food. Buy some or make some quality treats and give only on a limited basis. I would not give any treats until he is totally well.

All Natural Pet Products | Homeopathic Remedies for Dogs & Cats | Only Natural Pet Store
Be careful even buying things that are labeled "all natural." Read ingredient lists. If you can't identify an ingredient easily then don't use the product.
Look for companies that only use grass fed stock that have not been injected with steroids, antibiotics, or hormones. Sorry to say that most of the meats being sold for human consumption do have these items in them.

Steroids are absolutely necessary in some cases. We all must be careful not to assume they are always bad...and be careful about stopping them just because someone thinks they are bad.

My Cookie has lymphangectasia, a protein losing enteropathy, and she has been on a low dose of prednisone for a year now. It is given every other day now so that she will not develop the signs of cushings. She also is on a special home cooked diet that was formulated by a veterinary nutritionist. These two things are keeping her alive!!

OP, please be very careful about making decisions at this time regarding the meds your vet has suggested. I would suggest that you sit down and discuss the meds with your vet rather than to assume they are bad and then to off to a holistic vet. I am not saying there is anything wrong with holistic viewpoints....just saying that conventional med is sometimes very necessary.

Sure, steroids have their issues, but what they can do in terms of healing is phenomenal. I have had other pups on steroids who suffered NO ill effects from them.

OP, also, Hill's ID is a good food for now for your pup. After your pup is doing better, I am quite sure your vet will discuss other foods with you. It might be a good idea for you to do a consult with a vet nutrionist. Here is a great website about dog food that is published by a vet nutrionist...there is some very helpful information on this site!

Welcome to Pet Diets

Good luck and please keep us posted.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

Here is a list of healthy dog food that another YT member started. I hope Nicky feels better soon.
http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ganic-etc.html

Thank you all for Nicky's well wishes and for your advice!! You guys are the best!

I have stuck to what the vet recommended- he's on Prednisone, Lomotil, DLM, Metrodinazole, and Amoxycillin. Very low doses of all (Pred is 5 mg).. While I agree that meds can have terrible side effects and are deff not something I'm happy about giving him, sometimes the good outweighs the bad. I couldn't watch him in pain and suffering if a few pills could alleviate/fix the issue.

We've seen a marked improvement thankfully! Blood in urine and poop has stopped and our little scavenger has his full appetite back. It suffices to say that I am not feeding him people food anymore, nor will I ever - lesson learned!! I'll have to show him love in other ways. It is a HUGE adjustment for him though- he's only allowed to have the I/D and hes deff not happy about it! But I plan on making huge natural changes to his diet when his vet allows him off the I/D. Hope all your little angels are doing well!! Thanks again everyone! :animal36:animal-pa

i am glad your little one is on the mend :)

I am so happy to hear that he is feeling better!!

Once this is past, perhaps you might want to do a consult with a vet nutritionist. I have done that with my pups who have medical conditions and have been very pleased...as have the pups! :) You can find a vet nutritionist at American College of Veterinary Nutrition

Glad to hear somewhat back to normal yayyy. Dr Karen Becker has published a book on nutrition and diet.
You may be interested in purchasing that. It's about $15

thank you all! I will deff check out your recos =] :animal36:)