HELP!! Almost 4 YO, 7lb Petey vomiting/diahrrea

[agroller]

Originally Posted by kjc

Thanks for the clarification... if he's vomiting a small amount of bile in the morning... and it's a food issue... a snack late at night will stop it from happening, can be a treat or two or a small meal.

Eating less could be a problem.... at 4 years of age (or between 3-6) some Yorkies develop sludge in their bile ducts... this throws off the liver enzymes in the bloodwork and can cause a decrease in appetite.

Has a Bile Acid Test been done? That will give a clue as to how well the liver is functioning.

Not yet, but I will be sure to ask about that! Thanks so much!!!!

[agroller]

KJC, if it is the bile sludge, how is this treated?

[matese]

Originally Posted by agroller

Thanks so much for your thoughts. I always, always do what my vet recommends, but like to hear other people's experiences as well. I will update in a separate post. Thanks again!!

absolutely ALWAYS, ALWAYS follow your vets advise, I do, what works for one baby may not work for another, I just told you about the chop meat in case you needed a change, but always ck with your vet, last week I ran out of chop meat, could not get to store always have boneless chic cutlets in freezer for my baby, so I boiled chic cutlet grated that and added to his rice. Chic has less calories then chop meat, I am also weight conscious when it comes to my dogs, I hate to see FAT dogs that no longer look like the breed their supposed to be, besides over weight is bad in so many ways. It's always good to gather other info. good luck. yes plz update us

[kjc]

Stool color can also be an indicator:
From: Topic: All about POOP! - EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

The short list of stool color-condition possible indication are as follows:
1. Mucus indicates a possible imbalance in the colon, or possible lining shedding.
2. Tarry black stools indicate bleeding in the upper part of the intestinal tract.
3. Red blood in the stool indicates problems in lower intestine or rectum/anal area (blood in the stool can indicate parasites, ingesting something sharp and un-digestable, or infections, polyps,cancer and allergies.)
4. Gray (or pale yellowish-grey) stools may indicate liver problems. Not enough bile production.
5. Yellow or orange stools usually indicate an imbalance. Most often it means there is not enough good bacteria. (possible SIBO). Other causes cab be certain foods, medications, and/or supplements.
6. Green stools may indicate decreased bowel transit time and/or not enough good bacteria.
7. White stools may indicate too much bone material passed unabsorbed.
8. Large volume of stools indicate improper absorption of nutrients. (Unless you are feeding your pet a vegetarian diet or one high in fiber, which will normally result in a larger volume of stools).


The biggest concern with an EPI dog is yellowish poop that is “usually” indicative of SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) ... but sometimes, there are other benign reasons.

[kjc]

Originally Posted by agroller

KJC, if it is the bile sludge, how is this treated?

A pill given for a predetermined amount of time... Ursodiol or similar.

[agroller]

Thank you again for everyone sharing their thoughts! I really appreciate it and makes me NOT feel so alone in this!!

Well, I am glad to say after a not so great night last night (he was up twice 10pm and 2am having to go to the bathroom), his stool is finally getting more solid and normal coloring!!!! I am so relieved!!! I think we may be past the worst. I even was able to give him a bath yesterday...hate to do it when he's feeling sick, but he had a poopy butt LOL, so I had to do it. He seemed grateful actually and actually seemed to enjoy the low hair dryer too! He's got a brighter pep in his step this morning and am praying he's on his way back to normal!!

As far as his diet, we continue the presciption low residue for the next week and if he does well, we either keep him on it (and add in the dry food as well) or try to transition to a lower fat, lower protein food. Not sure how I feel about changing again, but will take it one day at a time. Just glad he's on the mend!!

[agroller]

Originally Posted by kjc

Stool color can also be an indicator:
From: Topic: All about POOP! - EPI * Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency

The short list of stool color-condition possible indication are as follows:
1. Mucus indicates a possible imbalance in the colon, or possible lining shedding.
2. Tarry black stools indicate bleeding in the upper part of the intestinal tract.
3. Red blood in the stool indicates problems in lower intestine or rectum/anal area (blood in the stool can indicate parasites, ingesting something sharp and un-digestable, or infections, polyps,cancer and allergies.)
4. Gray (or pale yellowish-grey) stools may indicate liver problems. Not enough bile production.
5. Yellow or orange stools usually indicate an imbalance. Most often it means there is not enough good bacteria. (possible SIBO). Other causes cab be certain foods, medications, and/or supplements.
6. Green stools may indicate decreased bowel transit time and/or not enough good bacteria.
7. White stools may indicate too much bone material passed unabsorbed.
8. Large volume of stools indicate improper absorption of nutrients. (Unless you are feeding your pet a vegetarian diet or one high in fiber, which will normally result in a larger volume of stools).


The biggest concern with an EPI dog is yellowish poop that is “usually” indicative of SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) ... but sometimes, there are other benign reasons.

Thanks so much for this post...this is very informative!! Although, he had one or so poops with a yellowish/orange tint, it went right back into the brown so I am not worried it something serious. And again, with no other symptoms, I tend to agree with the vet saying it's the Purina one or Purina canned that did it. Too high in protein/fat for him. Thanks again!!

[agroller]

Update:
Petey stopped eating the Low Residue food so I had to go back to the vet to get ID, which he has had before. Happy to report he's eating that fantastically!!

Also soooooooo happy to report Petey slept through the whole night last night!!!!!!!!
He hasn't pooped since yesterday afternoon so I am anxiously waiting to see the consistency, but am guessing the diarrhea will be gone. I will be so relieved when this happens, but am glad he slept thru!! Thanks again for everyone's advice and sharing!

[kjc]

So glad he's feeling better!

[agroller]

Last Update: So Petey slept thru the night again. He's doing great on the ID food so looks like that's the winner!! Ding, ding, ding! LOL! We'll slowly mix in the dry to the canned and I think we are good to go! He did poop a little this morning, which was harder and back to dark brown so we are good there too. Thanks again for everyone's advice, sharing and support! I love this forum!!