Diarrhea

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

Hello! (As I write hello my auto correct is trying to change it to "Help!" Which is also extremely appropriate haha)
I was wondering if anyone with experience or knowledge could help me out with the protocal on diarrhea. I know it can be caused by a multitude of things, however what I'm fuzzy on are the exact measures to take when experiencing a bout of loose stools with your dog. I also know that diarrhea can mean some potentially serious medical issues, so it's best to have your puppy checked out the the vet if it lasts a certain amount of time. I've tried to search DK to see it there was already a similar post, which I'm sure there is, but for some reason when I search a topic I can one get a few hits to come up. I've made a list of questions I'm curious about below.
1. Is there a food I can have on hand incase of a random bout. I know pumpkin is good, and ultimately sweet potatoes and chicken is our go too if he starts having a series of loose stool. Is there anything else I can have ready for him to have? I've heard green beans are good for diarrhea. How much do you give him and are they okay to maybe give him as a snack?
2. Water. I'm terrified of a dehydrated puppy. I've been up every 2 hours tonight with Yeti being sick. I've been really encouraging him to drink water after each potty trip. Is that okay or will it upset his tummy even more? Is forcing him to drink a bad idea?n
3. How long would you wait to take your dog to the vet when it comes to diarrhea? As I stated earlier I realize it can be pretty serious, but sometimes I feel I don't let it try to "run its course." (If that's even a thing for dogs haha)
4. When dogs have diarrhea, do their tummys get upset? Is there anything I can give them to help ease the tummy ache? I feel so bad when he is having to get up throughout the night to go.
5. What little I could find in my "dehydration or diarrhea" search told me we need a high fiber food without grains. Yeti eats wellness core puppy (he is 6 1/2 months old and weighs ~30lbs). Is there a better food for him to be on? We have had him 4 1/2 months and this is our 4th (if I'm remembering right) bout of diarrhea. I feel that is probably not normal.
6. Is there anything to do at the first sign of soft stool to possibly prevent it from turning into full blown diarrhea?
7. What are signs of dehydration? I know our vet looked as his gums the last time we went in for this problem. Is there anything else I can lookout for and be aware of? I know what he eats and how much exercise he gets plays a huge factor, but is there any set amount of ounces of water he should be drinking a day? When he is sick I do mix water with his meals to make sure he's getting at least a little.

I know this is long, but I find myself completely unprepared when he gets sick and I want to be able to help/comfort him as best as I can. Thank you to anyone willing to read this long post and willing to offer advice or share their experiences!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

That's why Haley should get it now, before there is any "condition" diagnosed. 

But even when there are pre-existing conditions, I firmly believe people should still get insurance, because there can always be something else coming. When Jack was diagnosed with Atopy, ($1000 to diagnose plus about $800/year to treat, for life) I didn't get insurance thinking that his allergies wouldn't be covered anyway. Then it cost me more than $4000 to get his IBD diagnosed, and treatment includes drugs and supplements, plus special diet, for life. Sure would have been nice to have had that insurance. But then I still didn't get it, because now he had 2 pre-existing conditions that wouldn't be covered. And 10 months after the IBD, he was diagnosed with a herniated lumbar disc. The MRI alone cost $2500. Surgery would have been about $6000, although we opted for other treatments. Those are ongoing and run thousands per year. If anyone reading this is thinking they couldn;t afford this happening to their dog, they need to sign up for pet insurance ASAP, because the fact is, it could happen to any dog. 

[33bn7f8evnuyd]

Lucky got diarrhea from Heartgard Plus. It only lasted for one day. I posted it in the Health Group discussion only a few days ago. 

[33bn7f8evnuyd]

I've had Healthy Paws dog insurance for all three of my dog all their life. I've also had Embrace, which was terrible because their policy changed. Then I decided to quit because you spend way more on insurance than on actual vet bill over the dog's life. It cost me about $200 a month to insure our three dogs. Remember that dog's insurance cost goes up with age. The only situation I would recommend pet insurance is if your dog is 1. very sickly all the time and requires maintenance.  Remember specialty dog food is not covered. 2. If you don't have $5,000 for worse case scenarios.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I disagree. One bout of pancreatitis can cost you $3000+ at the vet, and this has happened to a few members here with otherwise healthy dogs. Ditto one swallowed sock. Either of those things can happen to any dog, not just those who are "very sickly all the time". There have been several dogs here on DK who were perfectly healthy until they were diagnosed with cancer at the young ages of 5 or 6 years old, and insurance paid the majority of the $20,000 treatment in several cases. Any dog can tear a ligament and need knee surgery. It would be very difficult for many people here (maybe the majority) to lay their hands on $5000 at a moment's notice, and payment is required upfront.

Then you have the very common situation of a doodle who gets diagnosed at a relatively young age with epilepsy or Addison's disease, or an immune-mediated disease like myositis. Perfectly treatable, and the dog can go on to live a normal lifespan, but the medications cost $250+/month indefinitely, and require regular bloodwork. For many young families, that additional expense is not do-able. I know this, because DRC regularly gets rehome applications from doodle owners in this exact situation. Poodles, Goldens and Labs are all prone to lots and lots of health conditions, and the same diseases show up in doodles all the time.  

[Debbie and Toby]

I would highly recommend insurance before you end up with "pre-existing" conditions. We had over $5,000.00 in vet bills just in the first 5 months of this year for a torn ligament. Two months ago he had an endoscopy which ran over $800 for "foreign object" which was also covered in full, minus our $50 copay. Our insurance has paid off so many times, if your dog gets sick all the time, then you would already have pre-existing conditions when you do decide to get insurance, and those would not be covered. Unfortunately, we did not have insurance when Toby starting having seizures 8 years ago, so nothing "seizure" related is covered...that is a huge annual and monthly expense with routine blood labs, daily meds, etc  which averages over $300 per month for us. Wish we would have gotten insurance right away, then it all would be covered. Our insurance has covered everything for Toby, except for the $50 copay we owe for incident, and when he had the ligament surgery and 12 weeks of hydrotherapy they covered everything except for a $50 copay and the cost of blood labs to check seizure med levels before surgery. We were so grateful we had the insurance. You just never know when your furbaby will become sick or injured or something will happen. And once it happens or is diagnosed it becomes "pre-existing". We were fortunate that we could provide proper care, but not everyone is able to come up with that kind of money in an emergency.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Amen. 

[33bn7f8evnuyd]

Lol I'm sure the insurance companies love hypochondriacs. It's a great business

[Debbie and Toby]

I know how much we have had in medical bills since we have had him, and insurance has paid out far more than we have ever paid in....it's your choice to have insurance or not to have insurance, it's personal preference.... I just know for us it has paid off! There are different companies offering many different plans,  so even with small monthly premiums you still have some coverage.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

I disagree, too. My insurance for one dog is around $350/400 a year. You can pay this monthly if you want, but one bad accident, one devastating diagnosis, and you may have to make a heartbreaking choice because you cannot afford to treat your dog. I think insurance is essential for pet ownership and the sooner the better.

[Haley, Yeti, and Phin]

If you don't mind what company do you go through?

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Pet Plan.

[Debbie and Toby]

So true....looking at some of the claims paid out by the insurance companies, there are many people that would have no way to come up with that kind of money in an emergency.  You just never know when something will happen...