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constantly sick dog
We have had one of our dogs for about two years. In that time, she
has been sick probably 8 or 9 times with several days of either nasty
diarrhea, vomiting or a combination of the two. Right now she is having
bloody poop and this has happened before. She has been to the vet
before for these issues and prescribed antibiotics. But it keeps coming
back.
My husband always feeds her from his plate, so I wonder if certain foods trigger this. My husband thinks it is triggered from stress. I know I can talk to my vet about this, and I will - but I am frustrated that they always just prescribe some meds, give me a bill and send me on my way. I would like a more permanent solution. So just curious if any of you have had any success with special diets, alternate treatments etc for their dogs.
Other than the nasty poop and vomiting, she is totally herself and was running around having lots of fun in the park yesterday.
Re: constantly sick dog
I agree with PP about putting your pup on a restricted diet, and no more table scraps. Both of our dogs have food allergies so they are on very high quality/low ingredient food. It might take some testing with different brands, but there are a lot of quality foods that are affordable, and easy to find as stores like Petsmart are starting to carry better foods. The biggest thing to look at is the ingredient list to make sure that something like "chicken meal" is not the first thing. For example our dogs are on No wheat, corn, soy, as well as No beef, chicken or pork, so their food is salmon based with things like sweet potatoes and blueberries. Make sure to check these things in your treats as well, once again there are lots of alternative options these days other than "Milkbones"...for a long time this was our downfall, at the bank or petstore etc they always want to give our dogs a cookie...well the consequences are not worth it, so now I always carry my own for them to give to the pups.
Good luck, if you want more specifics on brands to try I can give you some more info on that...DH used to work at a petstore, and with all of our furbabies issues we've become quite educated.
Yes, I agree that it is a bad idea to feed table scraps to your dog even if it's not their main source of food. The ASPCA website is a good resource to look up foods that are poisonous to dogs. Some are not fatal but can cause symptoms like the ones you're describing. http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/people-foods.aspx. Additionally, Blue Buffalo Basics is a kibble for dogs with sensitive stomachs and is what we feed our dog. I'm not an expert, but bloody stool never sounds good. I would definitely get a stool sample and make sure it's not a sign of something else like cancer.
Yep, I have a golden retriever that is EXACTLY like this. She is very sensitive to table food. She is almost 4 now and we have had her since she was a puppy and we finally found the culprit - bread. She can't digest any bread. Makes sense because this is not something a dog would come in contact with in the wild. She seems to literally be allergic to it and she gets so sick - bloody stool, etc. She can have raw vegetables, unseasoned cooked meat, etc. but no bread! She has not had an episode in years but the times I see her poo a little runny I give her pepto bismol.
Your dog probably has a sensitivity like this, not necessarily to bread. I would just completely omit table scraps. Tell your hubby he better get on board. Why does he do this when he knows she has issues with her tummy? That is awful. Even if it is stress, there is no way it helps her by changing up her diet with table food.
When it acts up again give her 1 tablespoon of pepto bismol liquid. This is completely safe for dogs and it really helps calm the stomach very quickly. I would also suggest investing in a very nice carpet shampooer
I use 1 cup white vinegar, 10 drops lemon essential oil, 1/4 cup borax, and hot water in my shampooer and it works great for pet stains plus its 100% safe for animals. Best of luck!
You can't blame the vet for something you repeatedly cause. It sounds like the vet does help your dog when you visit, but the habits you have at home are cause the issue to repeat. You can clean a dirty dog, but if you let them out to play in the mud they will get dirty again. Same concept here.
Table scraps is a very very common cause of diarrhea in dogs. If your dog is having frequent bouts of diarrhea the best thing you can do for her is restrict her diet. First step is to just stop giving her anything except her dog food. If she still has frequent issues then look as adjusting the diet she is on.
Yes there could be a deeper issue going on, but you try to eliminate the most likely first and you are not helping your vet find a deeper cause by continuing to fees table scraps
No. You don't know yet if this is a chicken problem. If the dog has no sensitivity to chicken, then "chicken meal" is the best thing to have as a first ingredient!! Actually, a named meat meal of any variety is your best bet as a first ingredient (this is the meat source, minus water content already, since the water in dry food gets subtracted anyway. Basically this guarantees that your pet food is primarily meat-based, and not full of filler.)
Agree that you should look for a high-quality kibble WITHOUT grains. It's highly likely a corn/wheat/rice/barley/etc allergy is at play here, on top of your H's awful habit of feeding table scraps. This is NEVER cool!
If you've cut out grains and table scraps and are still having GI issues, then I'd cut out all chicken sources and try a novel protein.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
False! Beef, and chicken are more common food allergies than wheat, which is relatively rare as an allergy, and even corn. Grain free is a trend that has come from human nutrition fads and its not necessary- or even ideal- for most pets.
Food allergies, and sensitivities are complicated and frustrating. That is why I recommend stopping the table scraps first. Its highly likely the issue and an easy first step.
Allergies aside, dogs simply can't thoroughly digest/don't require the carbs found in grains.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
Again, a very common misconception that correlates to trends in human nutrition (ie gluten free/ south beach diets). Also the carbs in starches-the replacement for grains- are just as bad if not worse than grain carbs.
I'm not getting into an argument about grains with you. I don't subscribe to a gluten/carb-free diet, so I'm not projecting a "trend" onto my pets. I've done my own research, you say you've done yours. Great. Leave me to my deductions. I see all the proof I need in my pets.
B/w 1/8: betas 17,345, progesterone 25.6
I am glad your pups are doing well, I am not trying to change your mind. But I will counter your points when I see misinformation for the benefit of the OP and other readers.
Just because you don't feed grains doesn't make grains bad. That is like saying a vegetarian in great health proves meat is bad.
I agree with everyone else that you should stop giving table food altogether. I understand that this can be difficult since it is a habit, but it is essential in finding what is causing your dog's GI issues. I went through something similar when we were going through trying to figure out what was going on with my boy. He was losing weight, and had recently had random bouts of intestinal upset, since we were in the process of moving across the country I attributed it to that. After we were moved and settled it continued, and he hit his very lowest weight of 42 lbs, and now he is at his ideal weight of 53.
Anyway, we did a fecal that came clean - but we opted to give panacur anyway to make sure that we weren't missing anything since those things shed intermittently sometimes. Well that still didn't solve it, then we did bloodwork to make sure that EVERYTHING was alright, and when that much testing comes back perfect it's pretty frustrating when your dog still isn't doing well. I understand that feeling, however I also understand we had to rule all those things out first.
We've now determined that he has IBD, so his body doesn't digest certain things. This is typically diagnosed with surgery, but in our case he wasn't severe enough to warrant putting an otherwise healthy not-even-2 year old pup under. We assumed that it was chicken that was giving him issues, and decided to switch to on the opposite end of the spectrum with things he's never had before. So herring and sweet potato it is, and he's doing fantastic!
However, I will say slipping him even one piece of bacon, or chicken at dinner will give him a blowout for a day or two. It's crazy how much that little niblet of food can upset his tummy, but it does.
Sorry this is such a novel, I hope it helps!
I strongly agree the table scraps need to be stopped - especially so that you can act if there's a bigger issue going on. I had a dog who had these same symptoms (without table scraps) and a vet who had this same reaction - it wasn't until we saw blood in his eye that the vet did an X-ray and found that it had been stomach cancer all along and he gave the dog DAYS to live.
I have since been paranoid about stomach issues with my dogs. My new vet is very patient and understanding - she's even done biopsies on my oldest dog's fatty deposits to confirm that they are, indeed, deposits of fat without any cancer.
I don't want to panic you, but my point is that this could be something serious and without eliminating the table scraps it's difficult to judge.
Please avoid blue Buffalo food. It's expensive Alpo.
And that website is not based on fact or even logic. It rates foods based on qualities that have little to do with nutrition.
The description you have given doesn't sound like food allergies, but a sensitive stomach. Most likely sensitive to change not a specific ingredient. It's like people who get upset somachs after eating Mexican food, they aren't allergic to corn or cheese or any ingredient it's the abrupt change that upset their stomach. This is why I recommend stopping all table scraps before you start changing your pup's diet.