Tummy issues (again) - Any advice

[Julie & Wrigley]

My 7 month old Wrigley has always had a sensitive stomach (see many of my previous posts). We had a hard time finding a food for him but settled on Orijen large puppy back in November and since then his bowls have been regular, solid and he's been fine. Last week he started having bad diarrhea and then vomitted 2 days in a row. We took him to the pet hospital Saturday night as he woke up throwing up and with diarrha again.  They were great - did xrays, blood work etc and couldn't find anything wrong so they sent us home w/ some antibiotics and anti-nausea meds. He's been on a white rice and boiled chicken diet since last Friday.  It was looking up yesterday morning as his poops were almost solid again, but then yesterday afternoon they were back to loose and last night and this morning it was diarrhea again. We're going back to vet today for a stool sample to check for parasites etc. I don't think his Orijen food could be causing this since he was doing so well with it for 2+ months. I think he probably ate something at the dog park (he has never eaten poop so I doubt it was that) but it should have cleared up by now I think. He has been acting normal, playful and hungry, except he isnt' sleepign well at night and has started to chew our baseboards/furtniture. Has anyone experienced anything simlar or does anyone have any advice? I'm so frustrated, stressed, worried and just exhausted from trying to figure out what's wrong with my baby. Thanks so much!

[Melissa]

I sure hope Wrigley gets better soon.  We switched Buddy to Orijen probably 5 or so months ago (he is one year old now).  He was having issues on California Naturals.  After the switch there has been 2 occassions where he had gotten loose stools.  After we had such an issue before switching his food (loose stoool for a month) we opted to try canned pumpkin in his food during both of these bouts.  In a day or so the loose stools cleared up.  Buddy never did throw up in conjunction with the loose stools.  But my guess is that Wrigley must have gotten something that made him sick.  The tough thing about taking stool samples to the vet is that there might be something in there but not in the part that you took or that they test.  It is good that they gave him antibiotics.  When we were also going through the month long bout the vet also gave us some worm medicine just as a precaution (it was only a 3-day medicine).  But I would try to give him some pumpkin and see if that helps also.  Good luck!

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

I have a chihuahua with a SUPER sensitive stomach. Any slight change, such as getting into something outside, eating a different treat, etc.... could cause a bout of throw up/ diarrhea for him.  I know it is not his food because his bouts of sickness have calmed considerably since putting him on Soild Gold. 

 

I would wait and see what the vet says about the stool sample. If medically nothing is wrong, I would feed chicken and rice for a few more days and slooooowly mix kibble back in.  You could also add some plain yogurt to the kibble, which aids digestion (after he is better). 

 

Have you changed anything about his treats???  Think about every little thing....

[Chelsea and Bailey]

Julie, I just posted something on this that might be of some help to look into. My vet stated that foods are not regulated and what may have been in one bag and your dog may have been fine on may not be the same as what you get in the next new bag.  I dont know if you have recently picked up a new bag of kibble, but something to think about..

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That may be correct regarding grocery store foods and things like Science Diet or Nutro that are manufactured by large corporations and contain imported ingredients. But it is not true of Orijen.

[Jane, Rooney & Stuart]

Rooney also gets Orijen puppy and was in the hospital last week with stomach problems.  They treated him with anti-nausea and parasites meds.  They could never find the cause although he didn't have diarrha, just vomiting, stool sample was clean.  Two things that we think might have caused this - eating something (he isn't a poop eater) at our dog park - dirt, acorn, etc   or he overdosed on his treats at his training class.  Rooney eats organic chicken jerky for treats, hard as a rock.  I'd stop all treats if you haven't done so.  Feed Wrigley itty bitty amounts of his rice & chicken and slowly work up to larger portions.  Hope you can get if figured out.  I feel your pain, I was so worried - I sat at home and just sobbed.  Crossing out fingers.

[Julie & Wrigley]

Thank you everyone for the replies! It just helps hearing that others have had similar issues. We have stopped all treats and he's been eating rice/chicken for about a week. We had started mixing his Orjien back in, partly because he's been starving. Going over to his bowl and sniffing/licking the empty thing constantly. I have actually never seen him so interested in his food before (he lovessss the boiled chicken). I originally thought that eating the dirt/wood chip pieces at the park could have been the issue since I'm sure that the poop/pee that gets absorbed into them isn't good for him. He chews tennis balls and sometimes digs but I try very hard to watch him/tell him not to eat it. A lot of the dogs at the park dig in the same few spots so I'm sure they like something they're smelling. I'll update once the vet hopefully can rule some things out or give us meds for something diagnosable!

[Kimberly Keenan]

When Bindi has darrha we give Bindi this can of pumkin for dogs but you can also use the plain pumpkin at the supermarket. Just make sure it doesn't have any sugar or spice. The guy at the pet store said it is better than the rice.

[Julie & Wrigley]

I tried that a while back when he had it but my doodle is the only one who hates pumpkin! He wouldn't eat it in his food, off a spoon or from my hand! I even tried putting some on a piece of boiled chicken but he wouldn't eat it! He's a funny boy. Thanks for the tip :)

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

No, Wrigley has company...JD hates pumpkin, and just about any other food that didn't once have a face.