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

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Lisa, is it possible that Humphrey may have ingested something he shouldn't have while he was staying with your friends? Or possibly they gave him something to eat that he doesn't normally get? A lot of what you are describing sounds like he may have a foreign object in his GI tract, or possibly an inflammation. Did your vet do any Xrays? Any blood work? 

I think he needs to be seen again. Ignore the advice about Hill's and R.C., they are not medicinal, contain no therapeutic ingredients and won't cure or fix anything. But it does sound like there is a malabsorption issue. 

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

One way to decide if he's not eating because of nausea versus just being picky is to give him a Pepcid AC and see if after that he will eat (his regular food). How much does he weigh?  If he does, then you would know that he probably wasn't eating because his tummy is upset.  If he still doesn't eat he may be "holding out for something better" and that's a different issue.  I would be tempted though to ask the Vet why she didn't check for a blockage before going any further.  I would want to rule that out first, as Karen suggests.

[Lori, Quincy & Frankie]

Hoping Humphrey is better soon!  Wish I had answers, but will keep good thoughts.  

[Julie and Max]

I know that Karen, Jane and others will help you, I just want to say that Humphrey is one handsome little doodle and I hope you get this all figured out soon. 

[Lisa and Humphrey]

Thank you for your responses :)

Karen - It is definitely possible he ingested something - just nothing anyone was aware of unfortunately. Also, when we picked him up he had some cheap HEB treats that they had been giving him (we had given them lots of good ones to use but mustn't of mentioned not to buy him any cheap ones) but when we asked them, they said they'd bought them quite early on so he had been having them at least a week before he got sick which we concluded must be unrelated? Anyway, nope, no blood work or xrays, just the exam and stool spec.

Does the metronidazole/proviable temporarily stop any malabsorption issue? If he had a foreign object would the medication somehow have stopped the issue while he was on it too? So confusing! But thank you for the advice, sounds like we should take him back in.

Jane - Today Humphrey weighs 37lbs. He seems to be losing about a lb a day :( When we picked him up just over 2weeks ago he was 34-35lbs and before he got sick again (Friday just gone) he had got up to about 40lbs and was feeling really healthy size-wise. Where can I get pepcid AC? Is that usually for dogs or humans? (sorry, I'm not from the US so I'm still learning what's what!) Thanks for your help!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm not sure what HEB treats are, but there are some ingredients that could definitely cause nausea and an upset stomach, especially if it is something the dog doesn't tolerate well, and it wouldn't necessarily happen immediately after one treat; quantity and repeated exposure could have a lot to do with it. 

Nobody is really sure how metronidazole works in terms of temporarily "settling" digestive issues in dogs that are not known to be caused by a protozoal parasite like giardia. Even the veterinary literature reflects this. It is very, very common for symptoms to get worse after the meds are discontinued. For this reason, it's important to continue probiotics well after the antibiotics are discontinued.

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

He needs xrays at minimum and then bloodwork.  This sounds like what happened to my Chihuahua 7 years ago with tainted treats (not to alarm you).  I hope its not that, but the vet MUST rule out foreign objects and inflammation.

And switch vets to get another opinion if you think that might help. Helped us years ago.

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

I agree, xrays and bloodwork asap. So sorry this is happening.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It is for humans but it's fine for dogs.  It's an over the counter med.  I give one 10 mg tablet a day for my 60 lb dog so I would cut it almost in half.

[Sally S Miles]

Not to add to the issue, but a lot of pups have had trouble digesting BB.   It's been discussed on here before and altogether, You have a lot on your plate with this and I just sort of wonder about that - four cups of anything sounds like a lot for a dog less than forty lbs, (I assume that was before the food switch), but yes half a cup is ridiculous. 

Metro kills bacteria and does mess with the system, but it seems odd to be ok on it and then not ok when off of it if it were a foreign object the metro would do nothing much.    Wishing you the best, hope he is better soon.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Blue Buffalo is a brand, and within the brand, there are dozens of different formulas, so I don't think you can say that some dogs have trouble digesting the brand itself. They may have trouble digesting certain formulas, those  that contain grains perhaps, or trouble with one or another protein source. But BB also has LID grain-free formulas that are very easy on a dog's digestion. 

[Linda, Charlie Brown and Beau]

Lisa ~ Is Humphrey drinking water - I did not see anything in your post?