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SOMETHING seems to be going around!!!

5K views 58 replies 24 participants last post by  krandall 
#1 ·
OK, now KODI has a tummy bug!:sick: Yesterday late afternoon he asked to go out, didn't potty, but my son let him eat a couple of mouthfuls of grass sticking through the snow beside the garage. (this is not unusual... we call him our little cow because he eats so much grass... always has) The one came in, and immediately puked all over my brand new couch. Cleaned that all up with Resolve.

He seemed to feel alright after that, and was his normal, chipper self. So when he started begging for supper, (a little late, but not TOO late) I fed him some chicken and rice, which he wolfed down, and gave him half a Pepcid.

He seemed fine all night, so this morning, I fed him normally. He ran downstairs and asked Dave to let him out, then ran back up to get in bed with me, as usual. One smell, and I realized we had a problem. Into the shower for a butt bath, with clear evidence of diarrhea down his legs and tail. Got him cleaned up, but it happened twice more. (so two more butt baths) I feel bad for him running outside with a wet butt in this weather, but I don't know what else to do. He certainly wouldn't appreciate me dryer-ing his butt numerous times today!

He seems fine otherwise... not acting sick. So I think it's back to chicken and rice and Pepcid, and I'll add some pumpkin and double his probiotics too, for the next few days. If he seemed to feel sick, I'd take him to the vet. But without other symptoms, I know she'd just say to do what I'm doing.

I'm not sure if he picked something up at the trial, (though I never let him touch noses with other dogs at trials, and he ONLY drinks his own water out of his own bowl) or whether he ate something that didn't agree with him. (though I don't know what) But we skipped class this morning for two reasons. One, if he's got a bug, I don't want him "sharing", and also, I don't want him even eating training treats. That's actually the hardest part... staying home isn't bad, but he LOVES to work, and we usually have short training sessions several times a day. I don't dare give him anything extra until his tummy is back in order. Maybe he'd work for grains of rice?!?!:biggrin1:
 
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#5 ·
Thanks, everyone. He doesn't seem to feel awful, though I'm letting him lay low today. And he hasn't had any more diarrhea since this morning. I think I just made a BIG mistake thinking the vomiting last night was just a one time thing, and feeding him his usual breakfast. Chicken and rice tonight, for sure!!!
 
#6 ·
Don't know if this is of any significance, but last winter canine flu appeared on the Cape. All doggie daycares, groomers, vets, etc. we're encouraging flu shots for dogs who came in contact with other dogs. It was, initially, a series of two shots followed by yearly boosters. I just received Tyler's reminder card that he is due for his booster and made an appointment for him. Don't know if tummy upsets are part of this particular flu, but I do know that respiratory issues are - just like humans. It's worth a thought.
 
#7 ·
He has no respiratory symptoms at all, and is not acting sick, so I doubt this is flu. I talked to my vet about the flu shot, and she didn't recommend for vaccine sensitive breeds that were healthy, normal adults. I suspect they may have suggested it for Tyler because a respiratory infection in an old dog could be very dangerous... just like older humans.
 
#10 ·
So sorry Karen! Do you think that the Havanese is a breed particularly susceptible to sensitive stomachs? I'm beginning to think so after reading the frequent entries like yours on diarrhea and also my own experience with Henry. He is on a Sabine diet - home cooked - and still I have to be really careful otherwise he is runny stools and vomity too. Sigh. It's a tough life but someone has to love them!!! lol. Hope all returns to normal soon.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Actually, Kodi hardly ever has had loose stools. The only other time was also after several trials in a row. Dogs that show get exposed to a lot more germs than dogs who stay home... sort of like kids in school. The last time, he actually acted like he didn't feel great the day before obvious tummy trouble started. Not terrible, but just a bit sluggish. He still won his classes that day, and other people thought he seemed fine, but I could tell the difference. He didn't have his normal bounce in his step. We were also traveling at the time, which made it harder to deal with.

This time we weren't actually AT a show when his first symptoms came on. He seems pretty happy, but nothing much is being asked of him either. Fortunately, having had our previous experience, I put him right on the chicken and rice, upped his probiotics and gave him some Pepcid. He has had no vomiting since the one time last night, and no diarrhea since this morning. But I won't make the mistake I did last time of putting him back on regular food too soon. I'll give his tummy several days to settle down first!

So, back to your original question, based on the other competition dogs I know, I don't think he has any more problems than any of the others. It has only happened to us twice in 3 years. Can't say about Havanese in general, because he's the only one I've got! :)

Oh... I forgot about his BIG "tummy trouble" that put him in the hospital. But that was a blockage cause by swallowing a big piece of a Greenie. That was just a "dumb dog eating something he shouldn't" thing ;-) The ER docs told me that Greenies are the number one reason for intestinal blockages they see, even more than raw hide.
 
#12 ·
hope he's doing better.
 
#15 ·
Thanks, everyone! He seems to be "resting comfortably" this evening. No more vomiting or diarrhea, and was THRILLED with his "fancy" supper.:biggrin1:
 
#19 ·
He's still not 100%. He's eating fine, and no more loose poop (thanks to the chicken and rice!) but he is WAY too interested in eating grass. I had to pick him up and carry him back into the house (at 6:30 in my PJ's!) to get him to stop eating grass this morning. THAT'S not normal. He doesn't seem to feel awful or anything though. I think it just needs to run its course.
 
#20 ·
After looking like things were improving over the last couple of days, Kodi had a MISERABLE night last night. He started by a huge diarrhea in the evening, followed by the obligate butt bath. But then near bed time, he started crying, licking his lips and pacing, which lasted most of the night. He asked to go out over and over, but when I took him out, he would just hurry around in circles, looking like he wanted to find a place to go, but didn't. FINALLY around 4AM, he had yet another bout of diarrhea. After that, he seemed more comfortable, and slept the rest of the night. But then this morning, he kept asking to go out and just peeing. The first one sounded like gallons, but then he KEPT asking, and just made little dribbles.

This morning I decided he really needed to see the vet. It turns out he has a Clostridium infection, poor guy!:( She sent us home with antibiotics and some very powerful probiotics that I'm supposed to give him 3 times a day for a few days, then taper to 2 times a day. He can't have ANYTHING to eat for 24 hours (which he really isn't complaining about, so I don't think he was very hungry anyway) and then she wants me to switch him from the chicken, rice and pumpkin to boiled chicken (or turkey) and sweet potato. So I did a bunch of dog food cooking this evening. Felt like Tammy!:pound: She said she thought it was most likely that he just doesn't know WHAT is making his tummy uncomfortable, so is trying anything he can think of, and that's why he keeps trying to pee.

He slept a lot this afternoon... I think he was as exhausted as I was! But this evening, he's licking his lips a lot, asking to go out over and over, and doing the peeing over and over thing. I've gotten two doses of probiotics into him so far, and one dose of antibiotics. I'll give him another dose of antibiotics just before bed. I have to give the two meds at least an hour apart, so it will be a bit of a juggling act for the first few days. The vet said they usually start feeling better pretty fast once they are on the antibiotics.

Hope my poor little guy feels better tomorrow!
 
#38 ·
I'm going backwards and am now reading this. How do they test for Clostridium infection ? I'm going to have to look it up. When Zoey was about 7 mo old she got diarrhea at a dog and other dogs were getting sick too. My breeder friend gave me a bottle of pills that were suppose to help I don't remember what they were but a lot of show people bring it with them. She said Its what the vet would give but you can buy it at feed stores too. I never gave it to her because I didn't really know what it was. Do you have any idea what it may have been? Or anyone else?
Any way I'm going back to continue reading about poor baby Kodi.
Maddie has still been eating grass and then throwing it up but her poops are fine.
 
#22 ·
hope he's feeling better soon, Karen. Yeah I still think the best thing for diahrea is a twenty four hour fast. Keep us posted.
 
#23 ·
That will, hopefully, help his insides settle down. But it wouldn't have, in itself, solved this problem. The good news is that she told me it isn't contagious. I guess there are two different types. One is present in a dog's gut all the time, but under certain circumstances, they can have an overgrowth that crowds out good bacteria and makes them sick. The other (and I think this is the one that also causes C. diff. in people, though it's not as bad in healthy dogs) comes from either bad meat OR rotting vegetation of all things.

I know he didn't get ahold of any bad meat... unlike Linda's Scudder, Kodi hasn't had the opportunity for scavenging in a while!:biggrin1: But he is ALWAYS eating grass in the yard. He has always done it, and I've never thought anything of it. It never seemed to do him any harm. But I'm wondering with all the freeze/thaw weather we've had this week, whether he might have picked up the bacteria that way. I guess it doesn't really matter. Both respond to the same antibiotics.

BTW, to anyone else whose dog might come down with this, the vet told me that as soon as I told her how foul smelling his poop was, (it usually has only a very mild, and not unpleasant odor) she knew exactly what we were dealing with. She also checked his fecal sample under the microscope to confirm, but she said Clostridium is known for making their poop smell really bad. She said the same thing that caused the smell so bad also caused them to have really bad gas, which is why they get so painful.
 
#24 ·
YAY for you (and the Vet) for figuring it out. And now I hope poor Kodi is on his way to feeling better and that both of you are on your way to SLEEPING!!! Sounds like quite a workout. You are a wonderful Mommy and Kodi is so lucky to have you. Sleep tight tonight hopefully.
 
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