Untitled - Update

[Lisa and Humphrey]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if you could help me, please. It's a bit of a long story, so bare with me!

Humphrey is now 6 months old and he really has been an easy puppy - everything has more or less been a breeze with the exception of food and recently being unwell. From day one he has been hard to get to get to eat kibble. Usually we would just add some tinned food to his kibble once a day and he was ok with that - wouldn't eat breakfast, ate half of his lunch and then he'd gobble up dinner and was still gaining weight and growing nicely. We got back from holiday about two weeks ago (he had been staying with some friends) and he had become unwell the morning before we picked him up. Initially just diarrhea - but pretty bad, that night he woke us up all night long and this is a puppy who has never once woken us at night! We asked the people he was staying with and they said he hadn't eaten anything new so decided it wasn't food related. The next day he started vomiting as well so we took him to the vet and he came home on metronidazole and proviable. Stool sample was clear. He had also become pretty skinny and the vet said he needed to gain about 4lbs (he was about 35lbs at that point). He was instantly ravenous after starting those meds and wanted everything in sight for about a week - needless to say he put that weight on easily. We were topping his food with pumpkin or yoghurt to help with his poops - which have slowly improved, and giving him the tinned meat too, per usual. So, fast forward to Saturday just gone and literally the day after he stops his medications we come home to him having vomited in his crate and take him outside where he vomits a few more times. The first was food, the rest just liquid. He was pretty lethargic the rest of the day, had diarrhea again, felt a bit shivery and ate nothing. Sunday morning we were just discussing what to do with him (he woke up much the same) when he suddenly perks up and wants to play. He proceeds to eat some lunch and his poops start coming right and he seems just fine so we didn't take him to the vet again. He just had a few small meals that day. Ok (sorry this is getting long..), onto the actual problem at hand... Since then, he just WON'T eat. He wakes up and won't even look at breakfast, might eventually have a couple of mouthfuls of lunch and the same at dinner. I can't even entice him with yoghurt anymore - he has definitely gone off this. If I put tinned food in his dinner he will pretty much just pick it out. We've been trying not to create such a picky eater so yesterday went cold turkey on the toppers and offered just kibble which he is less than impressed by. I am pretty sure he is at least a little bit hungry because he wants our food, but still won't go near his own. I'm finding it a bit stressful because of course he is back to losing weight and as his ribs start poking through I feel like I'm starving him! I'm sure he has less energy in the mornings because he is eating so much less - but he is always full of life later on in the day, so I'm struggling with knowing if he has simply just become as fussy as ever or if he is still not feeling right from being unwell. Argh! (he has gone from eating about 4 cups of kibble a day to about 1/2 a cup).

Does anyone have any idea where I can go from here? Humph has never had any stomach issues before and I just have no idea what the solution is. Also, how long does he need to remain on puppy formula for? He is definitely still growing and needs the extra calories but there just isn't a lot of variety it seems - aside from chicken, chicken, chicken! We are feeding him blue buffalo. Originally we had him on nutro but switched him early on. The other thing we did - stupidly, was begin transitioning to a grainfree (bb wilderness - still chicken as that's what's available in puppy) about a week ago (when we thought he was all better (i know, i know, duh!)) as I had read grainfree was more tasty - and the vet had suggested we food switch to hills or royal canin to get him to eat so thinking we knew better we opted for the grainfree bb but I'm not sure that was a good idea either. Don't get me wrong, he DEFINITELY prefers it - if i put down a bit of each (as i did yesterday when I couldn't decide which one I should feed him - he would probably be mostly through his transition if he were eating!) he will always choose the grainfree but still only for a few bites.

Any suggestions please?! I'm feeling desperate and I'm open to anything at all - thank you so much! And I'll even attach a pic as a bribe ;)

Thanks

Lisa

[Robin and Libby Louise]

Hoping that you figure this out, but I would definitely take him back to the vet.  He is adorable and I'm sure you are worried sick yourself!  Keep us posted!

[Lisa and Humphrey]

Thanks again everyone.

He is drinking - maybe not as much as he usually would but then he is not eating as much either. Trying to get hold of my husband who is at work with the car (he must be in meetings - typically!) so I can sort out when to take him to the vet, but in the meantime I called them. He was already booked to have his neuter surgery on Monday and pre-op bloods on Friday so they said he can have his bloods early which will show if anything is going on. Also, I will get him re-examined.

After having him not eat a thing by 2.30pm I caved and gave him 1/2 tin of food (something I know is his favourite) on top of about 1/2 cup kibble - of which he ate the meat and maybe half the kibble. Normally he would've eaten everything and there would've been more kibble/less meat... So it seems the only thing he will really eat is tinned food! Now to know if that is an issue or he has just developed some ridiculous food aversion! I guess we will find out.

Karen - Sorry, HEB is the supermarket here, so their brand of treats - which he has never had previously, and not since he's been back with us either but it sounds like it could have caused the problem. It is so hard when there are so many things it could be! (which I guess is why we have vets...) Is there a certain probiotic which would be better to put him on now?

Sally - I'm not sure about 'normal' quantities but the bb bag definitely says he should be having 3.5 - 4 cups a day for his age/size. Granted the vet told us they usually exaggerate quantities necessary and the only time he has actually eaten that much was when he was on the metro and was instantly ravenous! I would love to try a different brand or bb variety and find something he likes and eats, but I worry I might just be throwing more variables into an already confusing situation - that, and I wouldn't have a clue where to start!

Thanks so much for your help!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

This is not the time to change his diet at all. You need to limit the variables until you get this figured out. Don't add any new foods now. Once this issue is resolved, come see us in The Food group and we'll talk about which formula might be best. 

Proviable is about as good as probiotics for dogs get. Stay with that one. 

[Debb, Lucy & Oscar]

I'm with everyone else on the next step to take... get Humphrey X-rays to rule out a foreign body. If he's not eating, but he's obviously hungry, something isn't right. I'm just curious, did you have Humphrey on plain boiled chicken breast and rice while he was on the Metro, or was he eating his regular kibble? In the interim before getting X-rays, you may want to offer him the chicken/rice combo. Most dogs will eat that. Honestly, I would be more concerned about his fluid intake as dehydration can set in pretty quickly if a dog stops drinking. You didn't mention anything about that. Lucy had gone through something very similar to what Humphrey is going through a week or two after bringing Oscar home. She also had never had digestive issues before. I'm convinced it was the change in routine and the new puppy that sent her sensitive system into a tail spin. It took a month of chicken, rice and sweet potato, as well as a week of Metro and Cerenia (an anti nausea drug) and then very slowly transitioning her back to her regular kibble to get her on track. During that period she also had sub q fluids administered twice. If Humphrey's X-rays come back clear then its my guess that his system was upset from the change in environment/routine that set this off. You are absolutely right. This is NOT the time to be transitioning to a new food. It just adds one more complexity to the intestinal problem. Good luck, and I'm so sorry you're going through this. I know how difficult it can be.

[Valarie]

Lisa,  Our Sophie was 13 months old when we adopted her.  She had a multitude of issues initially related to poor care but even after we got those issues sorted out she continued to have infections of her ears, licking of her paws, among other symptoms, etc.  It took us a while but we eventually found that she had problems with foods containing wheat.  It was a difficult process with two steps forward and one step back around every corner.  After we nailed the problem, she has done so well.  Not suggesting this is Humphrey's problem just saying that finding the problem is the tough part usually.  Sophie and I are sending hugs and thoughts for Humphrey's quick recovery. 

[Robin and Libby Louise]

Libby was on Pepcid for quite awhile, too, and it really helped.  It's so frustrating when you can't figure out what's wrong, but as long as you have an xray and bloodwork done to rule everything else out, you will figure it out even if it's trial and error for awhile!  Fingers crossed it's minor!

[Lisa and Humphrey]

We didn't have him on the chicken/rice combo while he was on the Metro - just regular kibble plus pumpkin, yoghurt and tinned food. I didn't really know to do this but it sounds like it might be a good option. Do you just feed it for every meal (we actually haven't reduced his meals from 3x a day to 2 yet) and it's white rice you use? Any idea what quantity to feed, or where I can find that info? I assume this doesn't count as changing his diet/adding another variable? Thank you.

He is drinking water and his diarrhea has definitely ceased in the last day or two so I don't think he's dehydrated, so that's something.

True, perhaps it could just be Humphrey adjusting to all these changes or developing food issues that that has caused all of this - I hope so! Thanks for all the advice and well wishes, I have a vet appt sorted for tomorrow and I'll request an x-ray as well as blood work to rule out anything further - will keep you posted. Thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

There is only about 200 calories in a cupful of the chicken/rice mixture (use plain boiled skinless white meat chicken with visible fat removed, and plain white rice), which is less than half of the calories in a cup of most kibbles, so feed accordingly. You may want to substitute cooked sweet potato for some or all of the rice.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

I am so glad to hear he is taking in something and is also drinking.  I hope your vet can get to the bottom of this and Humphrey feels normal ago.  Keep an eye on him and if he gets lethargic and is not drinking or eating I would take him to the vet asap, as it could be an obstruction - we had that experience once with a standard poodle and it was very obvious he was in distress and it was an emergency.  Good luck and keep us posted.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Pepcid is a brand name for Famotidine. 

[Lisa and Humphrey]

Great thank you, we will go ahead and start this tonight. And try the pepcid too.

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

Lisa - I can see why your post was long - it's a puzzle and one for a good vet with some solid facts to back up his advice.

Meanwhile, chicken and rice diet only if you need treats give bits of cooked chicken - while awaiting a complete workup from the vet -blood and x-rays.  Pricey, yes.  But you need to know what you are working with - a dog whose growth is slowing and therefore becoming "picky" or a dog whose body isn't right in some way. I would not give pepcid until after the vet visit as you might cover up an underlying issue.  Then discuss pepcid with your vet.

I would guess that there is some physical issue, even if it is only irritable bowel.  Pickiness doesn't cause diarrhea and vomiting.

Fingers crossed and let us know