When should I begin to get concerned enough to make a vet appointment?

[Don & Gracie]

Hi all,

Sorry if this is a little long-winded. My question is basically, at which point should I call the vet? Here's the situation.

Gracie (my first dog ever in my life), 1-1/2 years old, has, for the most part, been wonderfully healthy. Since she came to me at 8 weeks she had a few bouts of diarrhea, and it always cleared up after a few days on a bland (chicken, rice and pumpkin) diet, slowly transitioning her back to her usual food.

On Saturday (two days ago) after no symptoms before hand -- or any change in her diet or routine -- she had very liquid diarrhea (outside, she's a good doggie!). I immediately took away her food and twice more in the day her stool was liquidy, the third one of the day came out like it was a fire-hose.

Sunday, after one more loose stool she was her usual self at my mother's house, playing with her toys and enjoying the attention from my family. She ate a little of the boiled chicken, but wouldn't touch the rice and pumpkin (I mixed it all together ... she carefully picked out the chicken pieces eating as little of the other stuff as possible). In the past she gobbled it all up.

Today she's quite listless, but she does perk up and her tail starts wagging when she sees people she likes. She won't eat anything today, not even chicken ... but as I'm writing this I offered her two teeny pieces of her favorite cheese and she happily ate them. She's also drinking water. Not a lot, but she is drinking.

SO ... I'd like to avoid a costly vet visit just for him to tell me to feed her a bland diet and wait ... and try to sell me cans of bland food he has on hand. But I'll gladly race her over there to avoid this turning into something serious.

I appreciate any suggestions from the more experienced doodle parents on this board.

Thanks in advance.

Don

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Don, she needs to see the vet, and as soon as possible. The vet will examine her, do a fecal exam, and probably prescribe metronidazole. They may also give her fluids under the skin, as she may very well be dehydrated. 

You can refuse the Rx food, just tell the vet you will feed her your own homecooked diet. (Try equal parts boiled white meat chicken and mashed cooked sweet potatoes instead of rice & pumpkin. She'll like that better.)

But she really should be seen. 

[Don & Gracie]

Thank you, Karen, I'll take her first thing in the morning.

[AndySharon BoomerShaynaMariner]

Good - let us know what the vet says.  I hope she feels better.

[Hazel & Chester Wayte]

I echo Karen- I would take her to the Vet.

[Lynda Kamrath]

I would say vet too, as soon as possible.

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

If she is listless, I would suggest taking her in today.  You should at least call your vet and tell them her symptoms and they will tell you what to do.  Good luck.

[F, Calla & Luca]

I often advocate watchful waiting but i do not like the listless part. I have put my dog on chicken and rice etc. and waited longer than this but not eating and listless were not part of the equation. So i too go with bring her to the vet.

[Don & Gracie]

Thank you all so much for your advice and concern.

I did call the vet at 6:15 PM NY time (it's 7:57 PM here now as I write this). The vet closes at 6 PM, sometimes they're there later, but today was not one of them. I have the vet's cellphone, I just called and got her voice mail ... if she doesn't call back I'll take Gracie to the clinic the minute they open at 9 tomorrow morning.

I hope "listless" is the right word ... she's sleeping a lot and is not playing with her toys. I take her to work with me every day and today on the way home she stopped at the doorman's post because he always gives her treats. She did her usual tail-wagging-and-thumping-the-ground-and-tushie-wiggling routine and he gave her the same treat she always likes ... today she took it in her mouth then spit it out!

[Susan and Bentley]

I agree with everyone.  I would take her to the vet.  Bentley had the same thing, 2x and he needed a fluids and medication bc even though he was drinking water he was still dehydrated.  The fluids made him feel so much better.

[Christine & Camus]

I agree - absolutely time for a visit to the vet!

[charlotte bednarsh]

I agree with karen.  I would take her to the vet asap.  A dog can dehydrate very rapidly, and you want to make sure she has't picked up any kind of bacteria.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Don, My dog had the same symptoms last month and ended up on 24 hours of IV fluids for dehydration. Can you get your doodle to an emergency clinic?  I did not wait as long as you have to take in our Owen and he was very dehydrated. I hope Gracie recovers quickly and is not as severe as Owen was. Please keep us updated. We will be thinking of you both.