I got to work today and got a call from my fiance about an hour after punching in. Loki had diarrhea the night before, and all day today. Well he vomited twice after i went to work so my fiance called me. I told her to call the animal hospital and they told her to bring him in. She called me back so i went racing home. Between the time she called and when we brought him in he vomited 3 more times, and my fiance said it had a very light pinkish color to it.

So we got to the vet, and they looked him over. His breathing and heart rate was all fine, and his temperature was also fine. However his stomach had what seemed like a thunderstorm going on, it was awfully noisy and you could hear a lot of gas. The Vet wanted to run a whole host of tests, but we just had them do the x-ray to see if he had an obstruction. (typically vets will run all the tests at once, instead of in a more pragmatic order so they can charge you more before you leave. It was most likely we would see a problem on the x-ray, and if we did not we would have gone ahead and done the blood work) Well they came back and showed us the x-ray, they seen no obstructions in his stomach but his colon was inflamed and they seen quite a lot of air bubbles in his intestines. They were leaning towards an obstruction, but the diarrhea and vomiting was confusing us.

He was also quite dehydrated from vomiting so they gave him fluid under his skin (never seen this before, poor guy looks like the hunchback of notre dame) and beryllium balls and told us to return in 12-24 hours. They want to make sure things are moving in his GI tract. Obviously if he has an obstruction we will need to do surgery, but my fiance and I are obviously freaking out over this.

As far as i know he has not eaten anything he should not have, but with such a curious and active puppy its very hard to say. Even with us being ultra helicopter parents he still can give us the slip in the back yard and grab a stick or something to grab hold of. My fiance did give him cheese on monday, and maybe that flipped his GI bacteria and caused these issues. I guess will tell what the situation is, but other than him eating a cat toy, and having him puked it up (at the same vets) this is the first serious issue we had and of coarse its worry some. I don't mind over reacting and wasting some money at the vets, but is this something we could have overreacted to? Could he just have an upset stomach and things should clear up? He eats TOTW prairie puppy formula 3 times a day, but he only really ever gets diarrhea when he eats something he is not supposed to. Like the cats food. Thoughts?

Relax......I know easier said than done, but, I had the same issue in February with my 6 month old. I held off until her liquid poo was a light pink tint. They ran a few tests to rule out parvo and distemper, and giardia. They never ran any other test, felt her tummy and decided no obstruction. Gave her fluids, 2 types of antibiotics and some probiotics. An obstruction can have severe liquid diarrhea and vomiting, so it was wise to take him in. I am confused tho that no tests for coccidea (I never spell it right) or giardia weren't done, and I may opt for that if this continues. I would take him off the kibble and go a bland diet for a few days until his stools firm back up, or they conclude it is an obstruction, again not sure why they didn't recommend a bland diet. What were the beryllium balls supposed to do? Did they tell you to not feed him for 24 or more hours, which is typical in severe cases of GI problems, to ease up the upset, and give plenty of water. So did they tell you not to feed him? My girl they said to wait a day from the visit, so I had her go almost 36 hours without food, then a bland diet, which I can share with you, but would like to know if they said no food.

Yes, they gave him a very mild antibiotic and told us to just give him water and no food. They told us to come back in 12-24 hours for another x-ray, the beryllium will show up on the xray so that they can see if things are moving in the GI tract. They did ask if we wanted to do bloodwork, but no mention of a fecal smear to test for coccidia or giardia. I will let my fiance know if he goes to the bathroom to collect a sample to bring in the vet tomorrow. They made no mention of a bland diet, just to fast him until we bring him in tomorrow. I am interested in the bland diet, and i will mention it to the vet when we bring him back. Its just re-assuring to hear that this kind of thing happens and as long as we are cautious he will be ok. Without going into a very long story, for my fiance and i this is in all ways our child and while we do have 2 cats, this is our first animal we got together and i guess we put a lot of stress and pressure on ourselves to make sure he is healthy and happy.

I even took him for a good walk in the morning and played outside with him for a few hours before we went back to sleep. But once i went to work he started vomiting and at that point we rather be safe and bring him into the vet.

Hey no problem, we don't have kids, have had 4 cats over the course of the years and now our 2 girls Miya and Sofie. I really understand. The vet will either try to pawn off hills science diet to you or recommend chicken or hamburger, from my personal experience.....this is my go to and usually will shake my head in understanding to the vet when it comes to food and politely say I don't need their kibble and other foods, haha. Everything sounds spot on as far as no food, and the beryllium and x ray. Take the sample in if no blockage they can check. With us, my older girl ended up with the same symptoms 2 days later, and we concluded that they drank from stale water that was in the kiddie pool, yuck......If no obstruction, hold him off until evening if possible.....I boil turkey burger (if you haven't read this from me, I have posted a few times lately, lol) turkey is a bland protein, sits well in tummies, and if any issues with protein allergies turkey isn't normally one....Boil turkey burger with enough water to make it soupy, they need liquid anyways, double cook white rice (not the minute type and not brown), after both are cooked mix together. feed a half cup for the first 2 or 3 meals and can increase to a cup per meal (how old is he? I can give a better amount knowing how old) add 1 tablespoon of pure can pumpkin (not pie filling) to the half cup, along with 1 tablespoon of plain greek yogurt or kefir, mix altogether. If going to a full cup you can go a tablespoon and a half of the pumpkin and yogurt. Use the broth for the mixture, so probably a half cup broth with the half cup serving. I swear by that meal. Feed about 2-3 days once his poops are more normal go back to half cup and add kibble, you can soak kibble and it is perfectly fine for him, and gradually increase kibble and decrease mix. I did this for almost a week before back to all kibble.

Let us know how it goes at the vet.

MiyasMomma wrote:

With us, my older girl ended up with the same symptoms 2 days later, and we concluded that they drank from stale water that was in the kiddie pool, yuck.....

We had the kiddie pool filled so that he could play in it! Maybe that is the cause of the problem? I will mention it tomorrow when we go to the vet!

He is a little over 17 weeks and 37 pounds right now. We weighed him at the vets so i know the scale is correct. Thank you so much!

Wishing you guys and Loki the best! Just to say, I put fresh water out day after day only to find it hasn't been touched. I could fill his bowl with FIGI water and Fen would still rather go outside and drink from his darn kiddy pool, lol. Leaves, algae... doesn't matter. I try to keep it clean but..... well. It doesn't matter what I do, he still drinks from that nasty pool. In fact, the only thing prefers more is toilet water :/ No problems with his stool to date... same ol land mines, lol.

Steve, with Sofie I was feeding 3 meals a day she was 6 months and 46 pounds, so 1/2 cup serving may be a little much for him, so with her I fed 1/2 cup 3 times the first day, then 3/4 cup 3 times the next and then the third day about a cup 3 times. On the fourth day I fed half cup with about a half cup kibble and worked back to all kibble, so it did take about a week. Kibble was introduced once her poops were fairly solid.

The pool water, ummm, well, it sat from October until February, without changing it, nor cleaning the pool. We had snow, and some cold weather, but, we normally dump the pool for winter. We also didn't have the sub freezing temps we typically do, so some days below freezing other days 50's. Think it was just a right combo for bad stuff in the water. I see nothing wrong with them drinking pool water as long as it is changed out on a regular basis, and the pool clean out occasionally.

Let us know how it went at the vet!!

Ok well the pool water was only sitting for 2 days, so maybe that was not the cause. Anyways, he pooped this morning, it was watery at first and then some mucus. The barium pellets also came out, so i called the vet immediately to find out if the mucus meant things were getting worse, but they said to wait and bring him in later. We ended up calling our normal vet and taking him in instead of the ER.

Our vet took a look at him and the x-rays and as we thought, no blockages. We told him about the barium and mucus, and he thinks that he might have picked up a stomach bug. I guess he has treated quite a few dogs in the last few weeks for the same thing. As expected he gave us the hills science diet special food, but i think we are going to follow your advice Renee and do a bland diet for him.

He really did not want to drink today, and was quite lethargic but had some flashes of puppy exuberance. I gave him some water via syringe and he pretty much slept all day until we went to the vets. The vet gave him 2 shots and some pills to help build up his stomach/gi lining. Now i gotta go out and buy the ingredients for the bland diet, but he has been looking and acting better today. Hopefully by tomorrow he is back to his old self. I will update this if anything changes, and Renee, you are a lifesaver. Thank you so much for your wisdom. It is very much appreciated. And thank you for your kind words Kenneth. My stress levels are through the roof and only when i log in here do i get some reprise.

I really hope Loki gets to feeling better. I hate to read when one of our dogs are ill especially when we can't pinpoint a cause. Please keep updating us on his progress.

With the pool water, in my opinion, it wouldn't necessarily have to be standing water that's been in there an amount of time that could make our dogs sick, if our dogs are going in the water, whatever their paws came in contact with before they went in ends up in the water too. I'm also thinking, similar to humans and plastic water bottles or thermos type containers where the plastic gets hot from the sun, and makes us have upset stomachs after drinking the water, the same could happen with plastic pools that really weren't designed for drinking water at all. No scientific data of course, just seems like a possibility to me.

I think I am talking to Steve, or Mrs. You are welcome. As Jimmy said there is nothing worse than hearing of one of our pups sick. happy to help out. As far as water, make his mush as if it's a soup for him, that way the water is turkey flavored and he will lap it up. If his water intake is still not perking up, buy some pedialyte, totally safe for him (avoid grape since I know grapes are not safe for dogs, and not sure if there is actual grapes in it).

To give you a breakdown why this diet is good for tummies.....white rice is bland, but it naturally absorbs excess liquids already in the gut that is bad for the gut. Turkey is very lean so no excess fat  or grease to upset tummy. Pumpkin is a natural fiber, binds up the nasties, and yogurt/kefir helps bring in good gut flora (along with the probiotics). I keep rice, pumpkin and turkey on hand for just in case, that way yogurt is all I ever have to get for those times when we have tummy troubles. Keep us posted.

Oh and one last thing....the pumpkin is a natural poop firmer, and if constipated will loosen up things, although it seems our huskies rarely have constipation issues.....

MiyasMomma wrote:

I think I am talking to Steve, or Mrs. You are welcome. As Jimmy said there is nothing worse than hearing of one of our pups sick. happy to help out. As far as water, make his mush as if it's a soup for him, that way the water is turkey flavored and he will lap it up. If his water intake is still not perking up, buy some pedialyte, totally safe for him (avoid grape since I know grapes are not safe for dogs, and not sure if there is actual grapes in it).

To give you a breakdown why this diet is good for tummies.....white rice is bland, but it naturally absorbs excess liquids already in the gut that is bad for the gut. Turkey is very lean so no excess fat  or grease to upset tummy. Pumpkin is a natural fiber, binds up the nasties, and yogurt/kefir helps bring in good gut flora (along with the probiotics). I keep rice, pumpkin and turkey on hand for just in case, that way yogurt is all I ever have to get for those times when we have tummy troubles. Keep us posted.

Yea, i gave the mrs. the account information to post here but she is pretty shy so i will just tell her if she decides to post, to say (Steves fiance Jennifer here).

I am at work, but i have been talking to Jenn (who is home with Loki) and he is way better already. His energy levels are up, and he is drinking more on his own. We did not have a chance to go to the store and get the ingredients for the bland diet (one vehicle) so for tonight he had the royal canin digestive care food. I had her soak the kibble in water as well to give him some more hydration and it will be easier to digest. Hopefully i can run to the supermarket and grab the ingredients for the bland diet.

There has been no more vomiting or diarrhea, and his stomach sounds like it has settled. I think all is on the up and up, but just i will keep updating this with whatever news i have.

Thank you again for all your kind words and support and help. I am still very new to this community and you have treated me so incredibly well, like part of your family. This is so incredibly rare (for me at least) in today's day and age and I feel honored to be part of this amazing community.

Glad to read that Loki is feeling better! Hope he keeps improving. We all stress when pack members are not feeling well.

If you are using some sort of probiotic, make sure to store it in the fridge. This is something that's really easy to forget and not a lot of companies put it on the label. Some probiotics come as mixes, but the primary bacteria in yogurt is nearly entirely Lactobacillus acdiophilus, which is good enough and fibrous material catalyzes regrowth of the bacteria anyways. Additionally, probiotics and the gut microbiome are something we barely understand in humans, let alone dogs. The largest variation in studies has been found between breeds though, and in some cases certain breeds have populations that no other breeds do. Makes me wonder if this is why huskies seem to have "sensitive" stomachs, and if this is somehow the mechanism that causes strange incidents like this.

Regardless, a dog being sick is terribly stressful since we can't exactly communicate clearly. Doing your best and being there for him is more than enough, though. Wishing you and your dog the best.

So Loki seems to be back to his bouncy goofy self. I was home with him all day and i made him take it easy, which with a puppy I'm sure you all know is nearly impossible. He wanted to run and play and be crazy but for now i just want him to avoid too much jumping and running that could upset his stomach. Of coarse he was not too thrilled about it but i would rather be safe, and i know they can be really good and masking and ignoring things that upset them, so i am not looking at his behavior as an indicator that he feels better, but at the same time he is eating/drinking fine and everything appears good.

As far as the pro-biotics, we would definitely store those in the fridge. Gonna try to keep things calm this weekend the best we can, and maybe i can finally get some yard work done. I have been neglecting it due to the fact that when the weekend comes, we are doing 101 things with Loki and trying to keep him exercised and entertained, which usually wears us down pretty good too. Thanks everyone, Loki says roo roo for all the help and support!

^Huskies LOVE to help with yardwork

I'm so happy to hear he seems to be on the mend!

Good news Steve and Jenn...Glad Loki is feeling much better.