Willie has colitis
 

And I feel helpless. Last night was a long one. I pretty much stayed up all night checking to make sure he was still breathing. He woke up this morning and was straining to poop but producing little to no results. I took him back to the vet. She gave him more fluids. He pooped a small drop of blood while we were there. She said she is quite certain its colitis and I am to call her this afternoon to let her know how he's doing.

He drank a pretty decent amount of water about an hour ago. I have been putting little drops of yogurt on his nose so he'll lick it off. I'm not sure if I should or not.

How long does it take them to recover? Other than making sure he's hydrated, what should I be doing?

He is definitely not his perky self, but the vet felt comfortable with his alertness.

Poor Willie. I have never dealt with colitis. Did the vet recommend a diet change or medication, diagnostics to determine the cause of the colitis?

Canine Colitis - An Inflammation of the Colon in Dogs

Sending best wishes for your little guy.

She said there were no parasites or bacteria in his stool sample. She thinks either stress or the dog food change (I had started mixing his food with blue buffalo when this started.) Right now she just wants us to keep him calm. She said to try to give him a small amount of yogurt or baby food. He drank some today on his own. He is peeing on his own. But he strains to poop pretty often still. Small drops of blood in his poop. He hasn't thrown up since yesterday.

Good news about the stool sample. Sounds like maybe it was the food change.

I'm glad he hasn't thrown up. Sometimes the bowels can take a few days to recover. Not sure if this would be the same or advisable with colitis: my Teddy has had a few bouts of unexplained diarrhea and he required a chicken/rice diet to return to normal.

With probiotics to help the intestines, some sources say that yogurt doesn't supply enough to make a difference in dogs since they cannot eat enough of it (too much yogurt would make a dog sick). The sources think a powdered probiotic supplement is more effective. Might be something to consider if he continues having problems.

Definitely hold all other treats and watch for dehydration. I hope he recovers soon because I understand worrying.

I think she said she mixed probiotics in one of the meds she gave him. She gave him an antibiotic and another med for upset stomach. The yogurt was just to try to get him to eat something. He only licked a few drops off his nose. I bought some baby food today, chicken and rice, and sweet potatoes. I am hoping that he will be interested in trying some tomorrow.

The vet has been great. She called to check on him before her office closed a few minutes ago. She would rather do a phone consult than stress him out with another office visit. She did xrays also and said there was no obstruction.

He is still peeing. I hope that's a good sign. But he only drank twice today. She said he should be fine on fluids since she put some under his skin.

Sounds like your vet has all bases covered. I would think too that with fluids under the skin that you would see less drinking. Hopefully someone with experience in that dept can confirm.

Still peeing sounds good.

I'm so sorry to hear he has this!!! I hope for a fast recovery. Please keep us updated.

I'm so sorry he is sick :(. Poor little feller.

Can you add some coconut oil to his diet? What does she think about a laxative of some sort?

Thanks so much, Buddybear. After reading some of your past posts, I am wondering if maybe this is HGE instead. I spent last night with him on my chest just feeling for him to breathe. He still gets up and walks around, but he is not active at all. Still no desire to eat or drink. I am taking him back to the vet this morning and going to ask her to please admit him and put him on an iv. I'm not sure how dire his situation is, but my nerves are torn to pieces. I accidentally dozed off during the night and woke up terrified that I had lost him. However, as soon as I rubbed his tummy, he flipped over for a belly rub. So he definitely has some kick left in him.

I don't know if this is good or bad, but he is still peeing. He peed quite a bit at 330 this morning. He pooped a small puddle of dark colored poop. His medicine is purple so I am hoping that it is causing the color. But in the back of my head, I know that there are other possibilities.

I feel so guilty. Saturday night we were watching the football game and it was a wild one. He was on my lap and I was acting like an idiot. I wonder if I didn't cause this by upsetting him. On top of that, I changed his food. I begged God all night to please let him make it through this.

He's resting peacefully beside me now. 730 cannot come soon enough.

This sounds worse than colitis...my heeler got that and there were minimal symptoms, except urgency and frequency increase (she acted as though it just fell out of her like it was a surprise, poor darling).

I hope your little guy gets better soon.

I am very sorry to hear that Willie has not improved. How was you trip to the vet today?

Keeping Willie and you in my thoughts.

Just got back with Willie. She kept him there on an iv all day. She wanted him to come home tonight because he would be alone there. He ate one teaspoon of food at their office and has kept it inside all day. He is doing pretty good right now. When we walked in the door, he was wiggling to get down and ran up to my son. Then, he ran to my husband. He has peed quite a bit. Still no poop. He seems to be hungry. He sniffs at our food. But I can't get him interested in his food. I bought baby food sweet potatoes and chicken and rice. I am not pushing anything. He is much more alert than he was.

She said all of his blood work was normal. He was mildly dehydrated and his sugar was borderline low.

No idea what caused this other than food change and stress. I am one terrified mommy right now. I'm scared to let him do anything and I am trying to keep things quiet and "normal."

I will feel better when he is drinking again. But I know he has plenty of fluids in him.

Unfortunately, he had no problem pooping. He just couldn't quit pooping. I am praying we are out of the woods. I know one thing, I am not cut out to be in the medical profession.

Happy to hear he is alert and happy to see your husband and son.

I'm guessing that he won't drink much after having the IV. Pooping -- if he isn't eating much, he won't produce. Teddy has gone 48 hours without pooping after a bout of diarrhea. Takes awhile for the system to fill up again.

You are a great mom to Willie. Hoping he will recover quickly now and put your mind at ease.

Thank you so much. I have been second guessing my every instinct. I am actually very happy that he isn't pooping. Hoping that he will produce something a little less scary next time.

He just ate a few bites of cheerio crumbs! I hope this is ok. Barney and Anna were doing tricks and he walked over beside them and sat pretty for his. I crumbled up a tiny bit of one and gave it to him. He also drank several drops of water from my fingers! Praying that he is finally on the mend.

I don't think Cherrios will hurt him......they are bland. He might eat plain white rice????

Please keep us updated.

He is turning his little nose up at everything. He did lick about a teaspoon of chicken and rice baby food off my finger this morning. He drank a small amount last night. He has licked very small amounts of water off my fingers this morning.

Something odd, I noticed that now that he is active again, he is only walking the perimeters of rooms kind of up against walls. This is not his typical behavior.

Poor Willie.

Walking the perimeter of the room, hugging the walls, can be a sign of nausea. I don't want to cause you more concern, but watch for other unusual behavior like circling, head tilting, stumbling. These can be caused by an ear infection or other things and should be reported to your vet.

Praying that Willie has something simple that is causing the wall hugging, but something you should be aware of: Vestibular Disease - VeterinaryPartner.com - a VIN company!

Oh dear...this poor little baby! I just hate it when they have tummy issues :(.

Do you go in again today to the vet?

Will he eat simple carbs, like bits of white bread or cracker? Carbs can help settle the tummy and can absorb nauseous juices too.

We have all our fingers and paws crossed that he will start feeling very obviously better TODAY :love:!

Do you have a small eye dropper you could get him to lick the water as you drop it into the side of his mouth? I saved two syringes from when Buddybear was fixed to give liquids or otc meds if necessary. He took water that way for me when he was very sick.
Did the Dr. Suggest any otc items for an upset stomach?
Here's wishing he recovers quickly!

He has improved so much. He has not gone back to the vet today. Although she did call twice to check on him. He has drank out of the water dish twice. He is peeing, running, barking somewhat like normal. He wants to eat his old food but we are still withholding it. He has eaten one small jar of baby food--turkey and rice. We've offered him more, but he turns his little nose up at it.

I might try giving him crackers. He is very interested in what we are eating.

He and Barney had a pretty good tug of war session with a toy pig. This stimulated him to drink.

I actually slept last night without feeling the need to check his breathing. Thank you all so much for talking me through this.

Very happy to read the great news! Sounds like Willie is finally on the mend.

Becky it sounds like he is on the mend. Yeah! I hope he continues to eat, tussle, and playing with his buds.

I gave him boiled chicken this morning. He couldn't get enough. I will call the vet today to see when he can start wet food. I feel like we are safely out of the woods. He's drinking fine on his own. Everything that goes in is staying in.

I just went thru something similar with my little girl and it lasted a few days. I know how upsetting this can be. Yorkie Talk talked me thru it too, health and diet forum. She's on Flagyl and much better. I hope your baby is continuing to get better. Have you ever tried NutraCal to stimulate appetite? Prayers for both of you.

Oh I am so sorry I didn't know he was still not feeling well; but happy to read that things are improving. I had thought he was better from the other thread, and didn't do anything the past few days but check my subscribed threads.

Wonderful news! I am very happy for Willie and you.

I almost messaged you because honestly I felt I could have trusted your opinion better than the vet. At this point, I have complete faith in her, but at the time it just seemed like he was getting worse and worse. I honestly thought I was going to lose him. He was pooping blood and coughing up clear fluids. It was awful. But the IV did the trick.

He is now back on his dog food, drinking water, and kind of being a stinker (stealing Barney's toys). You would never know that he was fighting for his life a few days ago.

HGE is a nightmare! I absolutely do not have the fortitude to do what you do. I can only imagine how many times your heart has been ripped apart when you have had to manage the critically ill pups in your care.

Sending you a PM....but please message me any time. I seriously doubt I know more than your vet, but having been through so much, perhaps I could have helped in some way even if only an ear.

I really don't think this was HGE....they usually must be hospitalized and on IVs. He just really had a bad time and my guess is it was from the food change.

Yes, sometimes my heart does get crushed but fortunately so many of the pups in my care are saved because of the totally awesome vets we have in this area. There is a specialty hospital in Houston that is beyond awesome. I always say if they cannot save a pup, then no one can. I wish everyone had such access.