Taking Stew to ER vet!! liquid stool & horrible guarding incident

[Jess & Stewart]

I finally found a job & started this week, on Wednesday!! I was worried about leaving Stew while I was at work but he was fine in his crate & was a perfect gentleman for the new dog walker. He also had started going in his crate on his own & hasn't guarded in a long time. He's been AMAZING recently, the PERFECT dog & I thought we'd really turned a corner. Great dog, great new job & I'm on a Waitlist for a great new apartment!

Then Thursday, he FREAKED out when I tried to put him in his crate & leave. Wouldn't go in, growled when I tried to lead him to it & guide him in, then snapped & came for me (biting at my boot & ankle , I could even feel his teeth through the boot but he didn't go through it or break any skin on me). He just stood in the middle of my apt, growling, I didn't know how to reprimand so I just practically ran from my apt & left him out. According to dog walker, he was fine, didn't get into anything, she found him on couch eating his KONG, was able to get him in his crate no problem.

Friday was even worse, I changed morning tactics & put his food in his crate thinking he'd walk in on his own, he wanted nothing to do with his crate. So I led him to the door, tried to put his EW harness to then guide him to the crate & take the harness off. This usually works & he walks right in when I said "in the crate!". He wouldn't even let me put his harness on, I knealt down to try, he growled, which started me (I spook unexpectedly VERY easily, even sneezes, fire alarms make him jump) & I dropped the leash. He dove for it & started guarding it. Wouldn't even leave it for a piece of hot dog. He just kept growling & would charge me when I'd try to get the leash. I left him out & left my apt in tears.

SO, my dog walker said he didn't get into anything except he chewed the loop on his leash in two. She said it didn't look like he injested any of it because it looked like he just chewed it straight thru. He was of course perfect for the dog walker, went in crate perfect. To be on safe side, I gave him hydrogen peroxide when I got home, nothing but dog food came back up so I figured we dodged a blockage!

He's been fine (normal appetite, energy etc) but Friday night had very loose stool, it's now completely liquid, brown water. I gave him chicken/rice on Saturday with pumpkin thinking it would resolve. Last night he had liquid poop 3 times in the middle of the night. This morning, he vomited his chicken/rice. I'm thinking I'll walk to the vet hospital ER after I get dressed. I'm SO worried now....

I ALSO HAVE AN APPT WITH PENN VET BEHAVIORISTS FOR 2 WEEKS FROM NOW, BUT THINK I NEED IMMEDIATE HELP. I'm really distraught & thought we'd turned a corner. I'm worried he'll never view me as his leader & I'll need to get rid of him. I don't want a dog I'm scared will snap & attack me.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

So glad they were able to help him before it became a much bigger problem! Very smart rushing him to ER!  Hope he has a fast recovery and now for the training... good luck!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I think he must have been extremely uncomfortable if not in outright pain, and the lashing out probably stemmed from that. Being ill or in pain makes dogs fell very vulnerable. I do think you should consult with the trainer, but Stew's behavior makes more sense in light of what was found. 

Hydrogen peroxide won't bring up everything; it depends on where in the digestive tract the objects are, and how big they are. 

I hope Stew's recovery goes well. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Glad this over and he'll certainly be feeling much better.  I second what Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom said about sending all the paperwork up front....they've always required two years of medical records for my claims at PetPlan.  If I send it all up front with an invoice and proof of payment they turn it around really fast.  I'm also happy that you'll be working with a trainer on these behavior issues.  Best of luck and keep us posted.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am glad Stew is n the road to recovery and that you have a trainer to work with.

[Ginny Nightingale]

Glad you got help and that they found something in his tummy and got it out! Maybe he was "acting out" because he felt sick, but no excuse to attack you--sounds like you are getting plenty of help with this though--good news!!

[Gail and Bailey]

Glad to hear Stew is ok and hope he has a fast recovery from his surgery! 

[Jess & Stewart]

Stew bounced right back after the endoscopy. He came out of anesthesia, alert, happy, energetic and was playing with the vet assistants. We walked home, he peed twice & pooped. I put him in his crate, he went right in after I put his diarrhea pill in a small pill pocket. No whining or barking when I left to go get more rice and chicken.

I came back & he was asleep in the crate. I took a shower & got some stuff ready for work tomorrow while he slept. I just fed him some chicken/rice with a little chicken stock. I'll keep him on the bland diet and his meds for the rest of the week. According to vet, I should expect 2 more days of loose stool while everything gets back to normal.

I'm just glad Stew is ok, the vet bill was much less than expected & we can get back to our normal routine!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Good news. But clearly he can' the left out of his crate anytime you leave.

[Jess & Stewart]

The vet prescribed Tylan powder, it smells awful & Stew wants nothing to do with it. Any other way I can entice him to eat more of his food with the powder on it?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm surprised they didn't compound the Tylan and give you capsules. It's vile. Some dogs won;t even eat it if it's mixed with canned food, but that's your best bet; try hiding it in wet food, maybe mashed sweet potatoes? 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I can usually get Murphy to eat his food with the Tylan on it, but keep the compounded capsules as a "back up".  Call your vet and tell her that you want the capsules.  If they don't have a local compounding pharmacy they can call in a prescription and they'll send it to you.  I got the capsules through the mail three days after my vet made the call.

[Jess & Stewart]

He gobbled up the chicken/rice this morning with the Tylan. I mixed the Tylan with some chicken broth, then put in the chicken and rice so there isn't the vile Tylan poured over the yummy chicken and rice LOL.It smells awful-I can't imagine what it smelled like to Stew.