So, I'm going to do my best to make this long story short. But I'm pretty upset about it so bare with me. Mila got into something 2 weeks ago and I had to take her to the vet. I don't know what it was but she was really sick, straight water (like a faucet turned on out of her butt) diarrhea and vomiting. Took her to the vet, did some tests, blah blah. Vet blamed it on her raw diet saying it wasn't balanced and she needs green beans and vegetables and blah blah. Gave her 7 days of Flagyl, a dewormer, some other things and sent her on her way. Well, her poop never went back to normal. Still squirting yellow liquid so I took her to the vet this morning. A different one close to my house this time. So the first thing he said is it's probably dietary. Nothing was ever said about her being on a raw diet, so he concluded that without bias. After they did x rays and blood work and urinalysis he said he wants to put her on a special prescription diet of dog food. So, long story short we argued about it because it was going to cost like $60 for only 2 weeks worth of food that I knew she wouldn't eat. He said she would eat it. He was totally convinced. And that's great, I know you went to vet school and see dogs all day long. Awesome. I spend all day every day with MY dog. If there's one thing I know, it's about MY dog. So don't argue with me. When I say she won't eat that food, she won't eat it. Don't tell me she will and then *IF* she doesn't, I can bring her in to get a shot to increase her appetite. Really? So how many band-aids are we putting on top of each other at this point? No. If she won't eat it, she won't eat it. Her appetite is fine. Her attitude is what needs adjusting. So unless you have a shot for that we're done talking about this. Ugghh. So anyway, I now have 5 days worth of dewormer and I don't know if I should feed her or not. He wanted me to feed her that food but I refused to get it. So should I feed her chicken in the meantime? Boneless or split breast? Not feed her at all and let her system rest and repair itself? Spend the money on the stupid food she won't eat? If it's not just worms, then what do I do? If it is dietary that's causing the issue, do I starve her for the rest of her life because she'll only eat half a meal every few days? There's got to be another answer to this. I'm just lost and very frustrated because I know what I went through to get her to eat kibble and she never would. I'm not doing that again. Not "I don't want to," I won't do it. I just won't. So now I'm lost, and definitely stuck in between a rock and a hard place, and I certainly don't know what to do. Ugh stupid dog. I kind of hate her right now. She's been nothing but trouble, one thing after another, since we got her.

How long has she been on a raw diet? I don't think that she necessarily got into something, if she's still sick.

And I find if ridiculous that you "won't" feed her kibble again, even is that's what ultimately is the best for her. This might not end up being what you think is best for her, but instead what she needs.

How long have you had her? What did her diet consist of before she got sick?

Aw! She's at it again eh? I would do 48 hours of no food to start, then do a bland diet of hard boiled eggs and green beans until she firms up and then slowly incorporate the raw back in. Also, I'm not sure how hot it is down there, but I'm pretty sure heat can cause or make diarrhea worse. When we had that heat wave up here Dizzy had the same issue, when it cooled down a bit, either all the stuff I was using for his diarrhea problem started working or the cool weather fixed it. Her system probably does need a break and a reset at this point. During the 48 hour rest period, you can also give her a half tablet of chewable pepto every 6-8 hours to help firm things up. The other thing I have recently started using for Dizzy is a supplement called Gastriplex (got it on amazon). Its probiotics combined with some natural stuff to help reduce intestinal inflammation. If she was on metronidazole and wormer the balance you were able to achieve on raw is going to be decimated so a probiotic would probably do her good. I also wouldn't discount kibble entirely because if I remember correctly she had worms at that point and that could have been the cause of her lack of appetite, although I totally understand your desire to keep her on raw. Another thing to consider is an intolerance to chicken. Unfortunately, Dizzy is intolerant to chicken and gets diarrhea every time he has anything that has chicken in it. I took him off raw because the cost of maintaining that diet without a cheap meat like chicken was too high. Anyway, I would definitely start with a 48 hour rest period.

I would stop the meds (if they're for diarrhea) and let her fast for 24 hours, all the water she wants though. What was it that she initially got into that started all this?

Keep her diet simple once you reintroduce food. Perhaps boneless chicken with bone meal so you can control her calcium intake exactly. If you want to try cooked eggs as a bland diet if you think it won't upset her tummy that's an option too. If she'll eat cooked veggies such as greens beans or carrots then there's no harm in feeding them and will add some fiber to her diet.

Katie, there is a long back story with Heathers dog, Mila, so I am going to side with Heather on her decision not to consider the kibble since it'll almost surely be a dead end. Mila has been on raw for quite a while now so it's not that she can't handle it.

Thank you Jen for being helpful! I thought I would give her a rest for a day or two. She's never had an issue with any of the food before, just when I was giving too much. So I'm not sure if it's an intolerance to anything. I really think she just has a sensitive stomach, but this right now is beyond sensitive and is actually an issue. It's fairly hot down here now, in the upper 80's to 90's range (nothing like home where it would have been well over 100 by now!) so maybe that has something to do with it? She doesn't go outside right now except to potty but she is constantly panting so maybe it is the heat. I keep it pretty cool in the house but that may not matter. I've never had a heat sensitive dog (though I'm heat sensitive myself) so I'm not an expert.
And you remember right, she did have worms and I would totally agree with you about that and her appetite except she swiped my food multiple times during that 6 week period or I would chalk it up to the worms. I don't think it was an appetite issue, I truly think it was her bratty attitude. Believe me, if it would fix her problems I would love nothing more than to put her on kibble. I'm just not prepared to make that leap yet based on our last encounter with it.

Someone else recommended a probiotic so we may go on the hunt for one and get some chewable pepto right now. I'm secretly hoping that the 5 days of hard core deworming does the trick and after that she's fine. Cause she was good for weeks and had no issues. Normal poop and no vomiting, but who knows. I just want someone to help me fix my dog instead of lecturing me and telling me I'm ridiculous when they don't even know my dog or what we've been through.

I agree with Jen, fasting for 48 hours is where I would start. I've never done the green beans and hard boiled eggs, only the rice and boiled chicken. Does she have an allergy to grain?

Have you given her any new treat's recently that could have triggered this? Have you given her new meat that she hasn't had before? I know when we first started raw, when we gave new meats it upset their tummies a little bit. Although it is nothing like you are describing with you're girl. The only time my dogs have ever experienced explosive diarrhea and vomiting is when they swallowed something and it was lodged in the small intestine. Not all thing's show up on X-ray, my guy swallowed a squeaker from a toy and it didn't show up. They found it by doing an exploratory surgery, which I found out if I had waited another day or two it would have passed on it's own.  

Just give her a few day's of resting her tummy and she should be back to normal, hopefully!

Good luck!

Definitely start a fast. Between 24-36 hours. When you start back on raw do very easy bland stuff. Chicken, no skin, enough bone- maybe ever err on the side of a bit more bone. Once they get inflamed inside, it can be hard to get their bowels to relax. Odin had this issue a few months back and they actully gave him something to help stop his bowels, fasted him, and started him on something easy after.

Val, you're my HERO!!!! Thank you!!! I'm literally in tears right now because I just don't know what to do and I just want my dog to be better and you definitely get thumbs up for that, thank you so much!
I'm not sure what she got into, either the trash can (not sure what was in it at the time) or my hydrangea on the porch. One of the times she threw up I saw a big leaf in it that could have come from the hydrangea. Other than that I have no clue.
The medicine she's on is something hardcore to kill worms for 5 days. It's a powder and after much argument they gave me some chicken baby food to mix it in, instead of the canned food they were trying to push on me. I've never given her eggs, so I'm not sure how that would go over. The last time I tried to give her green beans she looked at me like I had 3 heads, and I'm not sure on the carrots but I can certainly try. Hopefully giving her a break for two days and then starting over with something bland will help her. We'll definitely start off with small amounts for sure. I'll try the green beans and carrots first and see if she'll eat them.

I'm guessing you have her on heartworm preventative right? Depending on which one you use, that will probably kill most worms, except tape. The first dose I gave Dizzy killed roundworms... THAT was a fun surprise lol. I would just wait on the wormer, especially if she just did it 2 weeks ago. Did they do a stool test? Does it show worms? Also, I had to put Diz on metronidazole about a month ago and a side effect of it can be diarrhea. So its good, it kills the infection, but for Dizzy, it got the sensitive stomach cycle going so I had to do the 24 hour rest, followed by bland diet. I only did 24 hours for him since he's so young, but I think your girl could handle 48.

Hayden_69 wrote:

I agree with Jen, fasting for 48 hours is where I would start. I've never done the green beans and hard boiled eggs, only the rice and boiled chicken. Does she have an allergy to grain?

Have you given her any new treat's recently that could have triggered this? Have you given her new meat that she hasn't had before? I know when we first started raw, when we gave new meats it upset their tummies a little bit. Although it is nothing like you are describing with you're girl. The only time my dogs have ever experienced explosive diarrhea and vomiting is when they swallowed something and it was lodged in the small intestine. Not all thing's show up on X-ray, my guy swallowed a squeaker from a toy and it didn't show up. They found it by doing an exploratory surgery, which I found out if I had waited another day or two it would have passed on it's own.  

Just give her a few day's of resting her tummy and she should be back to normal, hopefully!

Good luck!

She doesn't have any allergies that I know of. I haven't given her anything new in months. Nothing has changed except our house but we've been in this house for 2 months now. Not new anymore. I actually saw the xrays myself today and there's nothing lodged anywhere that we could see. He did comment on the bone in her intestine but I gave no reply. It never came up that I actually do feed raw. I definitely do hear you though that not everything shows up on an xray. I really don't know what she could have gotten though. The ONLY thing that she could have gotten was a popsicle stick that I really think the cat stole to play with (he LOVES straws, popsicles sticks are about the same thing in that aspect) but I found it a few days later half eaten. But that was weeks ago. I don't see why only half a small popsicle stick couldn't have worked itself out by now.I'm hoping this dewormer does the trick! She did have hookworms and whipworms back in like, April maybe? The vet today said if she didn't have 5 days of deworming from the whipworms they may have never gotten rid of them. So here we are again, deworming. Story of my life.

I will definitely be fasting her, then giving her some split breast and boneless chicken to ease her back in. My boneless and split breast is skinless right now.

Jen, she is on heartguard and I'll be honest, in the move and everything I totally forgot to give it to her in June. I did give it to her the other day. I deemed a week of her issues to the flagyl and heartguard. But it's been almost a week since then and hasn't gotten better. So obviously I took her in. They didn't do a stool test, and after this round I'm not deworming her again. If she has something that has survived this many dewormings it's definitely alien. With the move and everything and being to so many different vets, I believe she did get tested for worms when the cat got declawed. It came back that she did have "something" in there that was essentially harmless and I guess benign and would work itself out. That was almost 2 months ago. So it's either working itself out now or has nothing to do with it. Who knows what in the world the problem is at this point, I just want to be able to feed her and her have normal poops. Is that too much to ask?!
I think she'll be fine on 48 hour rest. Hopefully it will calm everything down.

Lol, alien! I've been rewatching the show Fringe on netflix and there are so many episodes about weird parasites... Hopefully its just inflamed and the rest will do it. I know how you feel, Dizzy has had diarrhea on and off since I got him. I seem to have found the right combo for him, knock on wood. I really admire your determination to stick to raw. Don't forget to update!

Honestly it's not even a determination to stick to raw, it's more a determination to keep my dog eating since she's already 10-20 pounds underweight. And I know she won't eat kibble. I'm a firm believer in raw, and all the people telling me it's wrong only makes me believe in it more (heh I'm stubborn, if you can't tell). But if kibble is what's best for her I'm all for it.... if she would eat it. But she won't. So here I am. I'll definitely update!!

If you try the veggies, try cooking them in chicken broth. My picky girl Faith would always snub her nose up at cooked green beans but if you cooked them in chicken broth (drain the broth before feeding of course) then she couldn't get enough of the green beans. Just a tip!

If the meds are for worms then I'd stick with them just to be sure she's free and clear.

Hoping you see some improvement soon and Mila starts feeling better, poor girl. I'll be anxiously awaiting updates.

There's a local market here near my house. It's all local grown in South Carolina and it's open every day. I'll go get some green beans and a few carrots Saturday and see if she will eat them. I will definitely cook them in some chicken broth! I'll probably give her half a split breast for breakfast and some veggies for dinner. Or something. Not sure yet, I'll see how she's doing. The good thing is, besides her butthole exploding multiple times a day (but not in my house, thank god!), she's acting otherwise completely fine. Still laying around like she always does, putting her head in my lap for rubs, and rolling over for belly scratches. Which pretty much consists of all the activities she ever takes part in haha.

Sorry to make assumptions! Definitely shouldn't do that having not read each thread.

Coming onto this thread it looked like you we're throwing out what the vets said (although I totally understand doing that when it comes to raw feeding) and had decided to just forge your own path. Sorry about that! Glad you're getting help and I hope she feels better soon!

It's okay Katie. I didn't want to explain the whole thing because alot of people on this forum already know what we went through to get her to eat dog food and I didn't want to make my post 4 pages long. I'm not discounting what the vet said at all, if anything I wish I could try it! It's just very frustrating because I've had two people in the last two weeks demean my efforts to try and get her to eat kibble and tell me that THEY could get her to eat it by only keeping her for 24 hours, and that would cure her forever. When this dog literally would suck flavor off and spit the kibble back on the floor any time I put anything on it (egg, broth, canned food, etc.). And I tried for a month and a half. And they pretty much were like "Well, you're an idiot, and I am god's gift to everything and I could totally get her to eat it for a day!" Well yeah, no shit. It's new and exciting, of course she'll eat it for a day. Get her to eat it twice a day for a month and then we'll talk.

The main issue is that no one is a) listening to me and taking what I say about MY dog seriously and b) not concentrating on the real issue and are instead lecturing about her diet which is not the root of the problem. We're fairly new to the area and I guess will just have to go through all the vets around until we find one that can look past the dietary choice we've been forced to make and actually help my dog. It's just really upsetting because I only want her to get better and instead I'm getting in a pissing contest with the stupid vet.

I totally understand that. Finding a good vet can be painstaking. Try checking Yelp for vets in your area. People leave decent reviews about their experiences that can give you a pretty decent idea about what the different vets are like.

Give some electrolytes during fasting. Pedialyte or gator-aid will work, not too much 'cuz that isn't good either. Plain active culture yogurt will work as a probiotic if your dog will eat it.
Did they do a culture? I'm not an expert but if someone told me a calf had these symptoms I would think this was a bug of some kind, just doesn't make me think food related.
May I ask how you get your food? could your meat have been tainted or come from a sick animal? Please don't be upset or offended, just running questions through my mind. Really pulling for you and your sick puppy.

Lol I'm not offended or upset, they're reasonable questions. I started to think I accidentally bought enhanced and never noticed it but I fed her 3 different cuts bought at 3 different times so I ruled that out. I can definitely be dense at times but not enough to buy enhanced meat on 3 different occasions.

The reason he said it's food related is because she has had on and off loose stools and some uncontrollable diarrhea since we got her, along with vomiting bile. I honestly think she has IBS or some kind of GI issue that it won't matter what I feed her. And if anything, raw should help her because it will eliminate the fillers and artificial flavors and smells and GMO BS. But good lord, who knows at this point.

Roger on the electrolytes and yogurt.

So Mila has been just fine since Thursday. Drinking normally, acting normally. She hasn't pooped at all so I'm going to take that as a good sign that she didn't continue to have diarrhea even after not eating anything. She was a complete ham and almost hurt herself slipping and sliding all over our hard wood floor with excitement when my parents came to visit. She's been getting her dewormer in a spoonful of chicken baby food and she's been eating it like a champ. Even the cat wants in! I never heard from the vet so I'll take that as a good sign too. He said they would call this weekend if her blood work came back with something wrong, so I'm going with no news is good news.

So just a few minutes ago I gave her about 1/3 of a split breast. I'm going to see how she does on that and then give her either a thigh for breakfast tomorrow or veggies, depending on how she is. I think we'll stick to two meals a day for a while and see if that helps. We may be back to two meals forever, to help her tummy and hopefully put some weight on her (I can feed her a bit more that way). I also am going to order some Gastriplex like Jen suggested, I think it will help her alot. I honestly just think she has a sensitive stomach and GI tract and a little cautionary care is all she needs. Crossing my fingers this chicken does well for her!! I'll update in the morning.

Good luck!

       Mila had solid, formed poop this morning! It was yellow and a little mucousy but it wasn't explosive and I could have actually picked it up if I wanted to without digging up a soil sample out of my yard along with it

So I gave her another 1/3 of the split breast and will give her the remaining 1/3 for dinner. Tomorrow I'll give her a thigh for breakfast and some boneless for dinner. We'll stick to 2 meals for a while, and maybe always now. Hopefully this can get sorted out and I can go back to getting some weight on her. She's back down to 35 lbs  

Thanks everybody for the help!!      

Glad to hear that she's making progress!

Glad to hear things are sorting out.. You know feeding twice a day is working I would stick with it for now. Another option you might in the future consider once a day as she gets older. I know of a couple of sibe owners that feed once a day.. That may help her. My female only wants to eat once a day we still feed twice but she usually skips the morning meal.

Well I had been feeding her once a day for a while and I was wondering if that was causing the problem. And now I don't know. I spoke prematurely about her doing better. She didn't go this morning before I left for work and I just got home and let her out and she squirted at first, nothing. Just squirted a fart I guess. And then very loose and runny but a portion of it formed, and then loose and very liquid. Today was her last day of the deworming. She won't be getting dewormed again probably ever. She had a thigh for breakfast this morning and the only thing I can wonder is if I should have taken the skin off. Skin has never bothered her before. And neither has chicken. And it was only 1/2 LB thigh. So I didn't give her too much. I just don't even know what to do with this dog. I just don't. I'm about to give up, I can't win for losing with her. Can't get her to eat, switch her food. Switch her food and she shits herself all the time. Vet offers a solution, it won't work because she won't eat it. I think I have officially reached the dictionary definition of "frustrated."
noun. frus-tra-tion. a feeling of dissatisfaction, often accompanied by anxiety or depression, resulting from unfulfilled needs or unresolved problems.
Or in layman's terms;