To worry or not to worry....that is the question

[Nicole]

Hello,

I am truly trying not to get upset over every puppy incident, but given my past history it is difficult...my last doodle was sick from day 1 and cost thousands of dollars without ever really finding out what was wrong. We lost her at the young age of 3 1/2 and it has been extremely difficult because it was so unexpected and we were gone on vacation at the time. I can't stand to be without a dog to love so I got a new labradoodle pup.

 

My  now 11 week old doodle pup that we've had 4 weeks came to us with giardia (stool test was positive)...this explained the diarrhea that was slimy and had drops of blood (sorry for being so gross)...then when she went back 1 week later for shots she had bacterial infections in both ears...ok....giving her medicine for that. We have had a recurrence of the giardia and are now on meds again for a longer period and a higher dose since she has gone from 4 to 9 lbs. However, today at lunch I went home and fed her, took her out, played a little and just as I was getting ready to put her back in the kitchen she threw up all of her food and treats she had just eaten.  This is SO REMENISCENT of our other doodle...always having diarrhea and throwing up....

Has anyone had similar experiences? Any ideas what would cause her to throw up her food/treats? No foreign bodies in it, just what she had eaten. This is the first time she's thrown up.....other than that obviously growing, eating well, playing ferociously and with reckless abandon...

Thanks for any ideas :)

[Carol Hanr]

My newest labradoodle has been treated 3X's for giardia. She goes back to vet today with a stool sample. I am hoping that it is gone. The other dogs are fine, just her. She came from a farm, and my vet said it is common. I'm not sure if it was doodle kisses or one of the other boards I'm on, but someone mentioned their dog was sick for several months with giardia. Sorry I cannot help with the vomitting. My shih tzu suffered from bacterial ear infections several times a year, and he is 9. Finally, with the last one the new vet I saw did a culture and found the cause. So far, no more.

Carol

[Nicole]

Thanks...if she gets more ear infections I will ask for a culture! And this giardia is a pain :( We've done two stool samples so far one prior to treatment and one after...now we are going to send one 10 days after finishing current meds...here's hoping!

[Nicole]

We've had NO RAIN for a very long time...ground is actually cracked :( But good to know for this fall when we finally do get rain. We are feeding Blue Buffalo puppy (lamb and oats)...

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Some dogs can't handle playing right after they eat. My Murphy is one of them. He's thrown up his entire meal a few times because he started playing with Guinness too soon after eating. Now I have to watch them to be sure they don't start getting really active until Murph's meal settles. You might try playing first, then feeding to see if that helps. Good luck...it sounds like you've been through a lot.

[Nicole]

Thanks for the suggetion! I will certainly try that! :)

[Cheryl and Eddie]

Cheryl E. (Oliver's mon); What were Oliver's symptoms of the food allergy? Does this sound familiar to you?

Also, playing after eating is very dangerous because of bloat.

Also, for everyone: I spoke to my breeder for the first time the other day and she was emphatic about using raised bowls as they get bigger! Cheryl and Eddie.

[Nicole]

I thought about raised bowls but the ones I want to use she can't reach yet! She's still pretty small but plan on getting raised ones as soon as she's tall enough...but I'm curious why?

[Lynne B]

Beck had a really sensitive digestive tract until he turned one. We had to be so careful with what we fed him, he was sensitive to grains, and many treats were too rich- resulting in diarrhea and vomiting. He seems to have grown out of it and is fine now, but we still don't feed him grain based kibble. Beck also had numerous ear infections and seems to have pretty much outgrown those as well, although I have learned to be diligent about cleaning his ears and keeping fur pulled out of them which seems to help a great deal.

[Nicole]

Thanks for the suggestions about the ears! Here's hoping she outgrows them as well!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

How about feeding her just a little and seeing what happens?

Also, what food are you feeding again?

[Jaime and Barley Barker]

Hi Nicole,

I had a very similar experience with my goldendoodle Barley. Barley had giardia when I got him with the same symptoms you've just described. He was treated, but then got it again because he loved eating grass and soil. After the second treatment, he was fine and I've been much more vigilant about what he puts in his mouth. I also experienced an incident where he threw up his entire dinner during the middle of the night. I think vomiting is a symptom of giardia if I'm remembering correctly, and this was just before he got diagnosed with it again. As long as the pup isn't throwing up every day, it isn't too much to worry about. My vet said to give him some Pepto (I gave him one caplet) and he seemed okay. Barley also had diarhea and loose stools all the time. It was a constant battle so I had him tested again--no giardia! I began to suspect colitis so I changed his food to a brand with fewer kinds of proteins, and probiotics. In fact, my vet had prescribed a dosage of probiotics for three days which really helped Barley and which made me choose a food that had it. Barley has done really well on Fromm's Four Star Nutritionals. He especially loves the pork and apple sauce. Even though Fromm is expensive, I think it's worth it.

Barley has also had an issue with soft treats like Zuke's for example. Giving him one will result in explosive diarhea. Ugh. My pup does better on dried beef treats. Maybe the treats your doodle are eating are too rich for her.

Dogs with droopy ears can be prone to infections. Do you clean your pup's ears at least weekly? Our other goldendoodle had chronic ear infections from eight weeks to five months of age. She's doing better now, but we have to keep her ears clean and dry. Have you ever tried a product called Zymox? That seems to work pretty well.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Fromm is a great food and many Doodle Kisses doodles are eating it. Sometimes it takse a while to get over the giardia. I would make sure you have her eating a good food.