At my wits end....please help
I'm hoping someone can help me figure this out, because I'm at my wits end. I've got an awesome 2-year old OES who, just about every couple of months, has horrible, terrible, diarrhea and vomiting. It's so bad, he can't hold his #2s, resulting in lots and lots of cleaning up of ikky diarrhea off carpets. This is not fun, and happens all the time. Most times, I can usually trace it to something he's eaten and then subsequently thrown back up. Oh, did I forget to mention, he will eat ANYTHING. I know many dogs tear and chew on things, but he will actually ingest them. I have puppy-proofed my house over and over, but live with roommates, and invariably, he manages to get into something. He usually throws it back up a few days later, but then the diarrhea nightmares begin. Other times, however, I have no idea what gets him started. I've switched him food NUMEROUS times, and he's currently on the basic Orijen, which I'm told is one of the best foods to be on. He doesn't get any table scaps, and only one type of treats. He doesn't act lethargic, has an apetitite, plays, etc. No sign of actually being sick, except for the fact that he poops all over the house. This is happening way too often, and I'm really at my wits end as to what to do. It's not just that I'm cleaning my carpet every couple of months, yes, that sucks, but I'm also now mortified to every have anyone else watch him, in case this happens. I really don't know what to do, and how to get him to stop eating things. Whenever I catch him at it, I yell at him, but so far, it hasn't worked. Any suggestions? |
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I think you should get him to the vet for a complete exam including stool and blood work. And request cultures. It could be a type of worm or there is a particular disease, which I can't remember the name of  which causes them to eat everything in sight. I had a St Bernard that would eat anything including windshield washer fluid, ant posion, rip the chrome strips off of the car, and wood handles off of tools. My vet said she was part goat. Hang in there. I know it is very tough for you but also your your baby. Good luck. Nancy |
Nancy, thanks for your reply. I've already taken him to the vet a couple of times, they've done all the tests, and everything came back negative. It's also frustrating taking him to the vet and paying a lot of money every time this happens, only to have them tell me the same thing (basically, he prob ate something and now has indigestion). I'm now just trying to ride it out by giving him chicken and rice and taking him out at all hours... Buy it's just crazy to me that this should happen so often. And, again, he doesn't even appear sick! He plays, he eats, etc. I was hoping he would grow out of it by now. I'm very, very frustrated at the moment  |
| My daughter's sheepy is much the same-they put him on a mixed lamb and beef meal with no grains in it-just veg. He does one very soft poop a day and all the rest are firm,rather than 1 soft and the rest runny.X |
| Tell your roomates to stop leaving stuff out where the dog can get at it. Simple as that. |
| I think Mark has a point- ask the room mates to watch what they leave around, but also maybe can he be crated when nobody can be watching him? The fact that he gets into stuff may never change. It is a very hard habit to break especially the times he isn't on someones radar. As far as changing foods many times... that may be part of the issue. I never had a problem changing over foods until my most recent dog. Many OES have very tender digestive systems and a very slow change over may be necessary. This issue may not be obvious even the first or second day too. Good luck- it's not easy! Shellie |
| There is a reason. You have to be a detective though to find it. Is it possible that your roomies are giving him something behind your back? Is EVERYTHING put out of dog reach? My dog likes hand soap(  ), grass, bird seed, squirrel and rabbit poop, mud,cardboard, heck paper of any kind including but not limited to paper money(again ), mulch, rocks, sticks. Simon shreds, Gar eats...everything. Nothing is safe if he can reach it and that includes paws on the counter.It may also be an allergic reaction to food, or something outside. It may be a good investment to visit an allergist. Something is going on, its not normal to have the runs so often. Maybe getting down on your hands and knees, at dog level, can point out something you may have missed. He has to be watched like a hawk, and in the crate when you can't keep your eyes on him. Roomies told to not give him ANYTHING, or leave anything around that he can eat. NO TREATS OF ANY KIND. Yelling at him WON'T help. He can't help it. If you keep yelling at him, it may just make him nervous and hide when he feels it coming on. |
| We have another member on the board whose dog wound up in the ER because he ate a sock. Since then, she puts a basket muzzle on him so he can't pick anything up. They can still drink with the basket muzzle. You might want to think about that. |
| Is he ever digestively stable on this current food, with solid stool, no vomiting, no tummy rumbles? If so, then it would seem that there is something he is getting into periodically that is causing him trouble. Simon's Mom has some great suggestions on that score. If he isn't ever really stable, to me that indicates that there is something else happening, either ingredient sensitivities, allergies, an underlying immune/ digestive condition, or a combination of any of these. Oscar came to us at ten weeks old with chronic diarrhea, vomiting, vomit burping, and constant tummy rumbles. After months of vet visits, stool samples, blood testing, a dozen food switches, and finally an endoscopy, we discovered that he has a form of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. His flare-ups sound alot like what you are dealing with. The only thing that worked for us was prednisone. He started out on 10 mg per day, and we tried for 2 years to wean him off, but every time we did he got sick again. He has taken 5 mg per day for the last 7 years. Prednisone is not to be given lightly, as it has many adverse effects and can really do permanent damage, so vets do not prescribe it lightly (I would be concerned about a vet who did.). I need to run, so I will finish Oscar's medical history later today.  Laurie, and Oscar, the digestively challenged |
| Summer has a very sensitive tum. She usually produces 2 normal stools, and one a bit runny almost every day. When out walking she will eat bits in the street, and then next day I know she will have the runs. She cant eat treats but I often bake brown bread and she can eat that. You do need to get to the root of the trouble though for your own sanity, Please dont tell the pup off some of them are just greedy and think everything has to be eaten. Summer also hoovers her food up so I moisten it and it lasts a tad longer. |
| My follow up to the above post: Your dog's behavior sounds alot like Oscar when he was really inflamed. He was constantly begging for food, and it would run right through him. Though he never ate inedible things, he was ravenous, and could never get enough food. He was also very, very thin. Is your pup maintaining a healthy weight? Some general info on IBD: there are two types of IBD. Eosinophilic IBD, can be diagnosed with a blood test, but the type that Oscar has, Lymphocytic/Plasmacytic, requires an endoscopy. To manage his IBD, he takes the low dose of prednisone, metronidazole (antibiotic that balances the digestive flora), and amytriptyline. In addition, he takes Pepcid AC to decrease the acid in his digestive system, and diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for his allergies. As I mentioned above, pred was a last resort for us, after all kinds of tests, and ultimately diagnosing the IBD (doc found severe inflammation in his small intestine). Once he was on the pred, it was easier for us to find a protein source that was easiest on his tummy - venison. You mentioned that you are feeding Orijen. It can be the best quality food in the world, but if it has an ingredient that he is sensitive to, then he will continue to get sick. We fed Oscar many top tier foods, but found out that he could not tolerate beef, bison, chicken, fish, duck, or lamb. I swear, I would have fed him the cheapest dog food available if it would've helped him! Oscar gets no treats. None. Zero. He gets canned venison for his meals and venison kibble for his "treats". (Many treats have hidden proteins, so we gave up trying to find him a treat that didn't throw him into a digestive tailspin.) Some folks here on the forum have solved their dog's digestive issues by feeding raw. It is an option for many dogs, but not for Oscar. (IBD is just one of many health issues he has, as he has an underlying autoimmune disorder. We cannot risk the bacteria exposure.) I know it has worked for some, so I thought I would throw it out there. We know your pain! As Pam (Simon's Mom) said, it might take a bit of detective work to get to the bottom of this. With Oscar, it took a long time, but everything we've done has paid off. He just turned 9 years old this month, which none of us, vets included, ever thought we would see.  Keep us posted. Laurie and Oscar |
| oy...Alfie's Mom...I almost thought my daughter wrote this post...this is Alfie's Dad...apparently another Alfie...another awesome pup with almost the same issues. Difference is my Alfie is almost 11 months |
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