Yet another poop problem...and a question about Orijen 6 fish formula and household plants

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Sorry, but this is going to be a long one.

Last week and the week before Sophie had megha poo problems. Diarrhea everywhere, It wouldnt' stop, a little bit of blood, etc. She had a negative stool sample, so not parasites. Well after feeding a bland diet, metronidazole, panacur and getting her back on her orijen puppy, she seemed to have balanced out.

 

What I think was the problem was the fact that I had switched her to what I thought was the adult orijen, but what happened to be the 6 fish formula ( I was too embarrassed earlier on the original to post about her problem to admit my stupidity and I'm not even going to get into how on earth I could have made such a dumb and absent minded mistake). So anyway, I was certain that the 6 fish formula caused her diarrhea since I did the switch too quickly.

 

Since I had a large bag of the food I figured it couldn't hurt to feed it to Winston. He had been on Nutro from his previous owners, his poops didn't change much while on the antibiotics, so I started switching him (before I realized my mistake with the food). There were no problems, at first he was doing well, but then his stools started getting soft. I attributed it to the after affects of the antibiotics and figured it would sort out, and anyway I was going to go with the regular adult orijen from now on anyway so wasn't too concerned. I was feeding Sophie in her crate, and Winston in the kitchen so they wouldn't get into each others food. Well Winston started getting a little picky about the food, and he was leaving it lying around. I got careless and didn't pick the bowl up, which means Sophie got into it...and then there was more soft stools ...

 

The past two days I have woken up to find diarrhea on the living room rug. I instantly blamed it on Sophie, and started crating her again thinking she just can't be trusted yet. Well last night she started whining in her crate and I felt guilty about having Winston on the bed and her in the crate so I let her out. This morning when I woke up, there was no poo to be found, phew, but Sophie went to the front door and lingered around so I instantly leashed the dogs up and took them out. Sophie didn't poop, she peed only (maybe because I didn't give her much food yesterday). Winston on the other hand, who never poops in the mornning, only in the evening, let loose some foul diarrhea, with a bit of blood in it. To make matters worse, when we came back inside I had discovered that one of the dogs peed on the area rug.

 

Now I realize I have no idea which dog has been soiling the rug, or if it's both. I still think it's Sophie but I'm not 100%  sure. The rug has been cleaned and cleaned and cleaned but at this point it is too gross for me to handle so I'm throwing out my 5 week old $150 area rug. Sophie will be spending a lot more time in her crate, the dogs will both be going on bland rice and boiled hamburger or chicken diets for a while and I am going to call the vet for more metronidozole.

 

Afte this big long story, I am wondering, Do some dogs have this reaction to 6 fish? Is the food potentially contaminated somehow? Or should I do another special giardia stool sample to see if maybe Sophie did have something that was missed in the previous test and has now passed it to Winston. I guess the best bet is to have Winston tested... argh more $$.

 

Another question I have is about plants. Is there a link I can go to to find out what household plants are bad for dogs? I have never noticed any of my guys trying to get into the plants, and they are all generally kept too high for the dogs, but this morning I found Sophie with a leaf from one of the plants and I guess it had fallen off and she got it. She didn't eat it, was just carrying it around and dropped it when I asked her too. But maybe I've been missing something that is right before my eyes... I'd like to check if any of my planst are poisonous. I know ferns are bad and I had had one that I chucked a while back, but I kept the others. The thing is, I have no idea what the names of my plants are so I would need to see pictures and descriptions...

 

So confused and frustrated. you would thing I had some good karma coming my way but no such luck yet... :(

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

This is actually a good point. I've been meaning to ask. There is a recommended range based on weight and it is different for 'active dogs' than it is for lazy bone dogs. so I was wondering what is considered active? If I take Winston for four walks a day, three relatively short ones (10-20 mins) and one long one that usually ends in the park where he plays with other dogs and chases after the ball. Sometimes I take him jogging with me. He also plays with Sophie a lot during the day. I am considering this 'active', and he is 35kg so I have been feeding him 2.5 cups a day, split in two meals plus a 'meatball' of canned food in each meal that contains his meds.

This is what the website says is recommended:

20-35 kg/45-75 lb for active : 275-375g / 2¾ - 3¾ c For Less active: 200 - 275 g / 1¾ - 2½ c

What do you guys think?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Sounds right to me. JD weighs 80 lbs and gets 2.5 cups per day also.

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

I would say that is a proper amount..you are feeding on the lower end of the "active" amount, plus the added meatball..so it sounds fine! Also, dont feel bad, when I was feeding orijen, I also bought the wrong bag..the packaging on the adult and the 6 fish look very similar!
Hang in there!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In fact, Orijen recently changed their packaging because both the 6 Fish and the Adult formulas were in blue bags, so I think a lot of people made the same mistake. The fish is now in a green bag!

[Bonnie and Kona]

Sherri, I didn't see this until now. I am so sorry you are dealing with these added worries and bills. Hoping everything "firms up" at  your house and the indoor soiling stops all together.

[Sherri, Sophie, Winston, & Kitty]

Thanks bonnie. I hope so too.