Search forum
Back to German Shepherd Dog
Liked top 20
ForumsGerman Shepherd Dog > Nikki is sick ... diarrhea .. any suggestions would be appreciated ... (32 replies)
Nikki is sick ... diarrhea .. any suggestions would be appreciated ... by NIKKI04 on 17 February 2012 - 03:36 |
| Last Friday morning Nikki vomitted ..it had a few bright red blood spots in a clear liquid.. I took her to her vet at 1pm that day ... he thought she may have wretched too hard and popped a vessel ... he did give her a stomach "coater" Carafate Sucralfate .. one pill every 8 hrs ...and a very bland diet ... wanted to give her Science Diet ID food .. but I told him no.. that I will cook for her .. I boiled chicken and rice .. she was fine .. she still has a great appetite and she did not throw up once after the vet visit .. she is not lethargic .. but as of this morning she has diarrhea ..bad .. total liquid .. light mustard color ... is there anything else I can do for her ? she is drinking water and still eating .. she is hungry .. I'am going to call the vet tomorrow if it does not stop ... what else can I do for her .... :((((( I'm getting nervous ... is this just a virus .. or something else ?? she is never sick like this ... she is 7 yrs old any suggestions you can give me would be very much appreciated ... Thank you ... Lisa |
NIKKI04 by TingiesandTails on 17 February 2012 - 04:07 |
| could be many things...get a thorough vet check as early as possible! Change from tap water to bottled water, if you can. The acid of light black tea in (cold) water will be good for stomach and intestines. Don't do any experiments though... |
TingiesandTails by NIKKI04 on 17 February 2012 - 04:13 |
| Thank you TingiesandTails .... she did have bloodwork done last Friday and it came back perfect ... I'm hoping it's just something working it's way out..... I will change to spring water .. thanks for the tip ... |
by starrchar on 17 February 2012 - 04:32 |
| Could she have eaten something that might have caused the diarrhea?There are many things that can cause a dog to have diarrhea and since Nikki had a problem last week it probably is a good thing you're taking her to the vet. What I normally do if one of my dog's has diarrhea is I stop giving food and let the digestive system rest for 12 to 24 hours, depending on the severity of the diarrhea. I then start feeding small meals and add Tylan powder. I may add some pumpkin to the meals because it is supposed to help firm up the stools. I feed raw, so I don't usually change what I am feeding. My sister's dog recently had a bout of diarrhea and she normally feeds kibble. After fasting her dog for almost 18 hours, she started feeding her small meals of boiled chicken and pumpkin. The vet also had her give the dog pepcid for a week. I sure hope Nikki is ok. Please keep us posted. |
starrchar by NIKKI04 on 17 February 2012 - 04:51 |
Starrchar, Nikki is on Nature's Variety Raw (beef) .. at dinner time and I give her Innova (kibble) in the morning ... I hate to stop the food ... but I think I will .. tomorrow I will not feed her and see how it goes .. it's going to be hard .. but I will .. she is hungry .. (which I think is a good sign ? ) I just switched to bottled water as suggested by TT above ... I just don't know .. my yard is fenced in and I know nothing is back there that she can get into trouble with ... on our walks she is right by my side so I would have noticed if she picked up anything . I just feel so bad .. she now keeps licking her butt because its sore from the diarrhea .. ugh.... :( ... I should have just kept her on the complete raw and not the Innova kibble in the morning .. my vet did suggest pepcid and I didn't give it to her because I was kind of fearful of that for "dogs" ..so I'm glad you mentioned it too .. I'm going to hold the food for tomorrow and she how she does .. I'm still calling the vet first thing in the morning just to see what he thinks .. she looks fine , nose is good and gums are good and the bloodwork was great ... but I'm still nervous Lisa |
by Kalibeck on 17 February 2012 - 05:15 |
| I give pepcid to my dogs too, it soothes the stomache by decreasing the amount of acid the stomache produces. Resting the stomache also helps soothe the digestive tract. Has Nikki lost any weight? And is she ravenously hungry? Or just hungry as usual? When you go back to the vet, ask about EPI, just in case. EPI stools are usually kind of gray-yellow, & the consistency of thin pudding, sometimes with mucus. And your dog would be dropping weight like crazy. So, it doesn't really sound like EPI, but it doesn't hurt to ask. I hope Nikki feels better soon, jackie harris |
Kalibeck by NIKKI04 on 17 February 2012 - 05:52 |
Hi Jackie , |
by jdiaz1791 on 17 February 2012 - 06:37 |
| Yoghurt,as natural as possible,any flavor..she probably swallowed something |
jdiaz1791 by 1GSD1 on 17 February 2012 - 11:35 |
| Her weight is great, doubt it's EPI and this happened after the owner cooked her chicken. My guess is it could be the chicken that is giving her the diarrhea. She had it the day after eating the chicken and rice and cooked chicken was not part of her normal diet. |
by Dog1 on 17 February 2012 - 14:12 |
| Mustard color? Does it really smell? Chances are she has cocciddia or giardia, possibly both. If this is the case, give her Albon and deworm her with Safeguard for 7 days. Clean up all ther poop in the yard. She will recover in 2 to 3 days but continue the treatment. Never feed I/D and find a new vet. |
Dog1 by Nans gsd on 17 February 2012 - 16:19 |
| Maybe try adding plain canned pumpkin a couple of tablespoons in her food; if that does not help her then it is probably bacterial; you may need to give her a dose of something like panacur but I would wait until stools firm up somewhat. Could be like a giardia or coccidia or whip worm; they can all play havoc on a dogs system yet they will still eat. BOL Nan PS: if you are feeding her kibble, make sure it is fresh and has not go bad on you. N |
by starrchar on 17 February 2012 - 16:19 |
How is Nikki doing? I know it's hard not to feed them when they are hungry, but it's best to let the digestive system rest a while. It is something that any vet will recommend to someone who has a dog with diarrhea. Many vets also recommend giving Pepcid to dogs with diarrhea, so yes, it is very safe. My sister's Border Collie (40lbs) was getting 20mg twice a day. |
by Kalibeck on 17 February 2012 - 19:01 |
| Hi Lisa, How is Nikki today? I hope she is feeling better. I switched from yogurt to kefir a few years ago because it has more probiotics, but it is still dairy, which can upset a dog's stomache. Ask your vet, there are probiotic compounds that are coated to survive the stomache juices & actually get to the intestines, where they are needed (which yogurt & kefir probably don't survive to get all the way to the intestine unless fed in large enough quantities, which would also make most dogs sick) if your vet thinks Nikki needs them. I hope Nikki is doing better, but it does make you crazy, doesn't it? If only they could tell us what hurts! Kali is hanging in there, she has good days & bad days, but she is still a character! Thanks for asking. jackie harris |
by Kalibeck on 18 February 2012 - 00:30 |
| Any update? jackie harris |
by Rik on 18 February 2012 - 02:27 |
| anytime I have an otherwise healthy dog have sudden diarrhea, I treat for giardia, regardless of vet outcome. I am speaking of severe cases, not soft stools. Giardia can be missed in stool exams. jmo, Rik |
by NIKKI04 on 18 February 2012 - 02:58 |
| Hi Everyone, Nikki is doing better today, so far only 1 little mess early this morning @ 5am .. and nothing else, I'am giving her little meals thoughout the day and she is drinking spring water. I picked up Metronidazole (250mg )that the vet prescribed today for her. The chicken I'm feeding her is all natural from my butcher and she has been eating the chicken and rice since last Friday and the diarrhea just started yesterday .. so I doubt that is it .. it would have happened within a couple of days. Jackie: Thanks for thinking of Nikki today and all your suggestions :) Dog1: no need for a new vet , he is a great vet.. we have our differences and he knows I hate "big brand" foods that are filled with crap .... well that is really our only difference, and I'm sure everyone has some sort of disagreement with their vet at somepoint .. As for my yard it is fenced in and her poops is picked up immediately.. it never sits out there I hate that..the other vet in his office is up on all the natural foods /medications... raw in particular .. she is great .. I speak with her often. Her bloodwork came back great so I'm thankful for that. She definitely picked up something wicked along the way and it seems to be moving on out .. thank God. I have been very lucky with her .. never had a bout to this degree ... that is why I posted, just wanted to be sure I was doing everything I could for her. I'am going to try the probiotics .. not too happy with Metron.. but if she needs it .. she needs it.. it's not long term and I'm lucky enough to say she has never needed medication before. Do you have any thoughts on this medication? My thanks to all who replied... I really do appreciate it .. you are all wonderful people .. I will keep you posted .... Lisa :) |
by Jenni78 on 18 February 2012 - 03:01 |
| Why was it prescribed particularly? I mean, I know the diarrhea, but did he suspect giardia or ???? If giardia, I would use fenbendazole instead. Metronidazole can have some wicked side effects. |
Jenni78 by NIKKI04 on 18 February 2012 - 04:15 |
Hi Jenni, |
by starrchar on 18 February 2012 - 15:53 |
| Glad to hear Nikki is feeling better! I don't like giving Metronizadole either, but I have given it on occassion when I wasn't able to get the diarrhea under control, although I haven't needed it in years. Thankfully my dog had no side effects, but I have heard of some very scary experiences with the drug. You seem to be on top of things, so I'm sure if you decide to give the Metronizadole and Nikki starts to exhibit any type of side effects you will stop the medication. Metronizadole is the drug vets always seem to prescribe and if Fenbendazole if just as effective, yet safer, I wonder why they don't prescribe it instead. Something I'm going to look into myself. Please keep us posted. Hang in there! THe best, Char |
by Bhaugh on 18 February 2012 - 16:43 |
| I hope your dog is better. Metro is a decent drug fungal/ antibiotic for a wide scope of things. The problem though is that vets prescribe it too often and are too lazy to look for and or offer other alternatives. I think personally it just covers the problem. Most dogs that I've used it on worked for a short time, but the condition came back once they stopped taking it. Actually I wanted to comment on the probiotics. Not sure why yogurt is always suggested as a probiotic maybe because it is cheap and readily available. Yogurt makers state that probiotics are buffered to not inactivate when added to food but articles I've read say otherwise. Your best bet to know that your dog is getting what your giving is go to the health food store and buy it in the refrigerator section. They work much better. You wont use nearly the same amount and it does the job much quicker. The suggestion that your dog threw up blood because she threw up to hard is crazy. If your feeding raw I would suggest that she be tested for coccicidia/giardia as previously suggested. I've gotten bad batches of meat (from Walmart in the tubes don't feed anymore) that has made dogs sick. I've learned the hard way over the years .... unless you know specifically what your dealing with then your throwing your money down the drain and the dog suffers because of guessing. Test the dog if she doesn't get better then treat accordingly. |
Bhaugh
Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!