I'm so relieved to hear this. Please know that I am here any time you need some support. If I'm wth my kids at work or just can't talk at the time, I'll let you know. Middle of the night phone calls are always fine with John and me. I wouldn't take you away from Tibbe to call your home, but I am definitely here if you want some support.

If you ever decide to home cook if the right prescription food isn't working, it's very easy. I do it every day fresh, and it takes little time, but you could easily make a batch for a month and freeze it in portions. Using BalanceIt supplement, all nutritional needs are met. It is the supplement recommended by many American College of Veterinary Nutritionists.

I hope today is much better for both you and Tibbe. I am praying so much for you.

Well, as his vitals and gums stayed normal with the frequent checks and he really only had a single runny stool at 4:25 pm or so yesterday, the vet said "he's just not that sick" in so many words when she didn't want to see him yesterday - having spent the day with him all Monday and having expected the diarrhea was to follow on, not knowing I was going to feed him pure hepatic canned and likely bring on additional GI trouble through my mistake, thinking I was "helping" by easing up on his protein levels and not realizing I was subjecting his little GI tract to that extra fat.

Every single time he has these bouts I take him to the vet multiple times until he's well and he's often at the vet's all day for observation until this time and I'd have been there if they would have taken him yesterday! But, clearly, the vet thinks this is normal for him and thinks it's time I learn how to manage these lighter bouts at home and knows I check his vitals hourly, knows I keep hydrating and getting some food into him if he's not vomiting and that I'm having him at the appropriate facility w/in 7 mins. if he gets lethargic or starts showing much of anything really worrisome. I don't call first usually - we just go if he's symptomatic in any way! This one time I wanted to try to get him through this without full on panic and over-reacting for once if I could and it looks like we got through it - though w/o Crystal and you all I probably would have gone on in to the ER last night just to be sure, had he not demanded his dinner and had that evening rally.

The vets have all told me over and over that he doesn't need to come in every single upset of this kind and that these can be managed at home as long as his gums/vitals are WNL and his fluids replaced, parameters they've set out followed for how to manage. I've been carefully shown how to test him out and what to look for showing he's needing further medical support and that we can manage this at home as long as he's stable and his bodily needs met. And told in many kind, gentle ways by his 3 or 4 vets(including both ER vets) that I probably need to learn not to over-react and over-treat and over-stress. I tried that this time but it was so hard! I lost it once or twice - once when I started this thread! So I think we finally got it right - though I say that somewhat shakily. This was his first bout of this liver/GI combo that we haven't been to the vet at least twice or six times or more for!

Thankfully, his late evening rally has held and no more diarrhea since his yesterday's late afternoon very loose stool. He ate some breakfast (wouldn't let him have much - about a third of his regular portion for now and the rest in the next 2 hours or so in halves), drank from his water bowl voluntarily and has peed this am but no stool yet. He slept through the night and is acting fairly normally this morning!!! He's not playing but many mornings he doesn't - he sleeps after his breakfast if I'm just lying about and after his restless day yesterday, I'm proud to see him sleeping peacefully on my legs. Just checked his vitals and he's spot on this morning - all WNL/gums firm, shiny and pink.

He's dreaming now - his eyeballs are rolling under his eyelids and his paws are all 4 going and he's kind of yipping in this tiny voice. I think he thinks he's chasing a squirrel or something. The vet tech just called to check on him and was given an update.

Praise God for great prescription medicine and vets and praying and caring support people on YT. Hopefully, this bout of troubles is past the worst part and we're on our way to "normal" for Tibbe. Now if we can just get a normal, firm stool and he won't have constipation or something. He can do that after one of these bouts - have a day or so of constipation and then I sweat that part out!

Now, if I could just have that long, long talk with his breeder and vent all my frustrations for her feckless breeding program! I wonder if she ever gave all of this Tibbe's been through in the last 1 - 2 years a single thought before she bred Tibbe's mom to his dad? I'm pretty certain I know she did NOT!

Sweet Tibbe, please get better soon!!! Jeanie, I'm sending good thoughts, hugs and prayers for you and Tibbe. Valerie

Bless you and thank you.

How's DH doing?

Oh, Valerie, thank you. I think this might - might have been a big step forward for us. We made it through an episode with only one vet visit, about $100 in meds with the Cerenia injection, Cerenia tabs for home and the Metronidazole and so far, so good.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!

I just realized - it's Tibbe's 6th Birthday today! I had totally forgotten that as he started the week feeling bad, had those good 1 1/2 days in between and then the bad last 1 1/2 days.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR, DEAR, DEAR LITTLE BRIGHT-EYES, MY SWEET TIBBE BOY!!!

Oh, I'm going to have to start him a birthday thread! He's made it 6 years! Yea!!!!!!!!!!!

Lisa, you call just any time - any time at all - but I really think maybe we've gotten through this. Knock on wood! I'm so sorry to be a nag worrier and panic so and drag you all into it. But seeing a dog suffer is just so awful to me. I'm hopeless when a dog gets sick around me now - just go to jelly inside.

I'm going to look into home cooking and see how I can manage it when I'm having bad times myself if it is time to cook and I'm not up to it. Wanting to see how we might manage those times so his diet isn't interrupted. I've a couple of back/hip & colon procedures on the horizon in addition to the 2 eye surgeries so have to think how to get us through the down times if he runs out of homecooked food.

Hope the birthday boy is feeling better today.

BTW I used to home cook for my 4 and did big batches and froze in freezer bags, and it worked out very well. Eventually I found a good small kibble that all 4 could eat, and they are thriving, so don't need to home cook now.

Will keep praying that he recovers quickly.

I am keeping your dear boy Tibbe in my prayers to get well.

Happy Birthday to you Tibbe!!:)

So so glad he is feeling better this morning, yay Tibbe :-) these little pups sure know how to fight xoxo

So far, so good. No vomiting or diarrhea - no stools at all. He's hungry but am just letting him eat very small portions and he's unhappy w/me for that reason. Boy oh boy, I wish he didn't have to go through this every so often. Just hope this holds once he comes off his Rx.

Here's hoping he's on the the mend and there won't be any further issues, he has to enjoy his birthday:)

Best wishes being sent to Tibbe for a speedy recovery.

Now that this bout is over with I did want to mention that although flare ups will be life long they don't have to happen this often with the correct management. Diet is really tricky in these cases and it will take some time to figure it out. However, his vets need to figure it out sooner rather than later. It almost sounds like they are accepting that this will happen all the time...?

If they are stumped then it woud be time or a nutritionist. It sounds like he gas failed RC LF, SD ID, SD LD, and ID/LD mix. Metro is a good drug, but when food is setting the problem off it isn't a good solution to use every couple-few months.

I took years to get E's diet figured out, but now that we have she has had no major rlares in well over a year. You don't have to settle for this every other month episode stuff. Oh and no edible chews, no treats until he settles on a food.

I know you have got to be stressed and scared. Don't worry about calling if you want to talk.

He had been doing great for 4 mos on his half canned Hill's I/D Hepatic and half kibble Hill's I/D GI and then he spit up that bile Monday morning and wouldn't eat all day, just lay about and then that evening he rallied after coming home from the vet and a shot of Cerenia. He did well until night before last when he wouldn't eat and began having those little bits of mucus-stool, which got worse until that loose stool late yesterday afternoon, after having already started him on the Metronidazole. As I'd confessed in a previous thread, he'd been doing very well until he scooped up two kernels of corn in some soy milk I splashed on the floor when making soup. Could that have set him off like this and caused the spitting up of bile and then my panicking, thinking oh, his liver is getting bad and that I'd better go right to the full hepatic for his liver - which his GI system couldn't handle, due to the fat? Could it might just have been that series of events that caused this, since he'd been fine until the corn/soy milk and then the going too quickly into the canned hepatic diet for two days, which seemed to bring on the mucus stools/diarrhea? The vet seemed to think so. With Jilly, just one bite of a piece of cracker or a pea or tiny bit of meat could almost destroy her. She'd start running diarrhea and days of illness from just any little thing. She had to live only on her special kibble and treats made from her kibble. Tibbe normally, when he's not vacuuming the kitchen floor of a spill as he did the corn/soy, gets nothing other than his special food. Even his treats are just softened Hill's I/D GI kibble.

Yes, a small bite of anything can set off an intolerant pup.