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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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#30 ·
He did have one bout of diarrhea last night (and another butt bath!) but he then settled down and slept comfortably the rest of the night. We both slept until 10:00 this morning!!! He's not really hungry, so it hasn't been a problem withholding food. He LOVES eggs, and even when we made eggs for breakfast, he wasn't hanging around waiting for them. Got another dose of abx and probiotics into him and now he's sleeping again. The only thing that worries me is that he hasn't peed since last night, which says to me that he's not drinking enough. He did drink some this morning, but I can't get any extra into him.
 
#35 ·
The vet's office isn't open on Sunday, and I really don't want to give him anything that could get his tummy going again. He did pee this evening, so hopefully he's drinking enough!
 
#36 ·
Oh I am sorry to read this Karen. But I know you and Kodi are in good hands (I <3 our vet) Are you you using the probiotic in the metered syringe?

I hope he gets back yo normal soon.
I love her too, Missy! Yes, it's the probiotics in the syringe. And fortunately, he likes the tase enough that he'll lick it off my finger. Looks AWFUL though!:biggrin1:
 
#39 ·
I found this on pet meds site:
Your veterinarian may prescribe a week’s worth of oral antibiotics if the Clostridium perfringens toxin is found. Dogs that are being treated for long-term cases of diarrhea may need to be given antibiotics for a longer period of time.

Dietary management is also helpful in the treatment of this condition. High-fiber diets and diets formulated with prebiotic and probiotic ingredients (like lactobacillus) can help to balance and maintain the intestinal flora of the gastrointestinal tract.

Living and Management

This disease is treated and managed in long-term cases by switching your pet to a high in fiber diet, which reduces Clostridium perfringens and enterotoxin production in the intestinal tract. Your veterinarian might also recommend that you supplement your dog's high-fiber diet with psyllium, a soluble source of fiber. Prebiotic and probiotic diets might also be recommended by your veterinarian in order to try to maintain the normal balance of good bacteria in your dog's intestine.
 
#40 ·
Yup. That's pretty much it, Suzi. There are several species of Clostridium, but since they all respond to the same type of antibiotics, it really doesn't matter which one the dog has. It can be dx'd from a fecal sample. (which I brought with me when I took Kodi to the vet)

There are lots of things that can cause a dog to have diarrhea, so I'm not sure what your show friends were trying to treat. People who are not trained veterinarians should NEVER be passing around antibiotics, and I doubt you can buy them in feed stores, so I'm not sure what they were giving their dogs. I think you did the right thing NOT giving it to Zoey.

Kodi had a little chicken and sweet potato for supper. He's still licking his lips as if he's slightly nauseated, but (knock wood) so far this evening we haven't had any more diarrhea.
 
#43 ·
Just an update...

Kodi seems much better today. After two nights wanting to be in bed with me, he's decided he's well enough that he wanted to sleep in his OWN bed last night.:)

He slept a lot this morning, but this afternoon was SO-O-O beautiful (sunny and almost 60F) that I decided to see if he wanted to go for a short walk. We ended up going farther than I had planned, because he was bright and chipper, and leading the way. He did spend longer than normal finding a poop spot in the woods, and looked like it was a bit uncomfortable to go. His poop was MUCH more formed than it was, though a little still got on his legs. We went through enough muddy stuff that I figured a bath would be in order anyway when we got home!

So I gave him a FULL bath (rather than the butt-only baths he's had for several days!!!:biggrin1:) and blew him out. He looks great, and had a few minutes of RLH around the house when we got done.

He just finished his turkey and sweet potato supper (with probiotics added) and acted like he hadn't eaten in a week. A BIG change from the dog who was indifferent about his favorite foods for the last several days! I think he's on the mend!

I had to take a picture because he looked so pretty and fluffy after several days of "bed rest" (bed mess!:pound:)
 

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#45 ·
good stuff, back to training, we want more ribbons lol
 
#51 ·
Not much yet... the poultry/sweet potato stuff is a bit messy for training treats!:biggrin1: Besides, my obedience trainer is out with the flu too.

Tomorrow is agility night, and if he seems REALLY fine, I may take him for that... It's rewarding enough in itself that I don't have to use many treats.
 
#53 ·
He's definitely feeling better, Robbie. It's hard to figure out how much wet sweet potato/turkey mush equals his normal serving of kibble. He seems starving, but I don't want to feed him too much and cause problems, either.

The good news is that since we had to do the fecal anyway, they sent it to check for parasites (always another danger with show dogs, as I'm sure you know) and he was clean from that perspective.

The vet was right, and just a couple of days on the abx and probiotics, and he's a different dog. I just want to keep him on the turkey/sweet potato until I'm SURE we are well past all of this!
 
#57 ·
I am just getting back to the Forum and am glad to read that Kodi has recovered from his bout with Clostridium. From what you wrote, it was no fun at all. I have 3 dogs (of 4) trying to eat grass on the lawn whenever we go out, and it is really difficult to stop all of them. They are really sneaky about it. They look as if they are sniffing, and then they nibble some. Fortunately, nobody's tummy is upset.
 
#59 ·
I'm not positive that's what it was, Starr... Kodi eats grass all the time. Too. (we call him the little cow dog!:)). I'll probably never know how it happened. I guess some forms of Clostridium they have un their gut anyway, and it's only bad if they get an overgrowth. That kind can even be brought on by stress. So who knows?
 
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