# Very worried!



## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

Hi again, I posted the other day about Bentley's "colitis" and a question about the chicken and rice. Well, he is still having some issues that are really worrying me. Of course it is Sunday so I can't just call his vet. Don't know if I should take him to ER or just keep observing. I have been keeping a log of all of his symptoms so I am just going to copy and paste it here-I'm sorry it is so long and detailed. My main concern is the pain he is having immediately after eating or while eating. That happened on Tues, Sat & today. He had a 24 hour fast since yesterday morning and had the pain again this morning while eating. I now know I messed up earlier in the week with adding kibble way too soon and probably with the canned chicken.

Bentley Illness Log:

Tuesday-
•Wouldn't eat 
•3 stools by early afternoon, each softer, 3rd diarrhea with some mucus. 
•Finally was willing to eat some egg but after a few bites did weird posture and whimpered/came back for another bite or two and then did the posture thing, whimpering, curled up on floor and was shaking. 
•Took him to vet/vet said colitis/RX 'd Metronidazole and chicken and rice. 
•Vomited yellow bile and scrambled eggs on way home (always gets carsick)
•Once home was interested in previously filled Kong toy but I took it away. 
•Gave a little bit of rice with Wellness 95% chicken mixed in and he gobbled it up. 

Wednesday -
•Seemed fine, ate several small servings of rice with Wellness 95% canned chicken mixed in.
•Got ahold of a Kleenex and ate it. 
•No stools. 

Thursday-
•Husband said he had a more normal stool in a.m. but that it ended with the Kleenex mixed in and a little mucus. 
•Ate Wellness canned chicken and rice with a very small amount of regular kibble mixed in. 
•Had a stool that started out normal but ended soft (very typical for him normally). 
•Acting fine. 

Friday-
•Ate Wellness canned chicken with rice mixed in and a little more kibble. 
•Had a very, very soft stool in afternoon. 
•Called vet said to do boiled chicken breast and rice only for 5 days and continue on RX and call if stools still soft on Monday. 
•Fed boiled chicken and rice in evening. 
•Acted fine. 

Saturday-
•Fed boiled chicken/rice and immediately after finishing he did the strange posture/whimper/tremble thing (he seems to recover fairly quickly but did just snuggle a lot all morning. Was playful in the PM. 
•Called vet right after the strange episode and he said to withhold food for 24 hours. 
•No stools. 

Sunday-
•Fed a very small amount of boiled chicken/rice and he stopped eating after a few bites and did the strange posture/whimper/trembling. Cuddled for a while and recovered. Was Interested in the food again so ate it and was fine for about 15 minutes but then got up to follow husband and started acting strange again. Snuggled and recovered for awhile and then when my son came in he went to see him and then did strange behavior again. All of this so far happened over about 2 hours. 
•Snuggled and slept for an hour or so and then got up and was playing with some toys and walking around seeming fine. 
•Stool first thing this AM was firm at the beginning but a little softer at end but still formed. 

Should I take him to ER? Should I try feeding a small amount again? Could the stomach acid from empty stomach be contributing to the problem? Any help is greatly appreciated!

I should add that he had blood work done on Tuesday and it came back normal.


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## Beau's mom (Oct 6, 2011)

I'd take him to his regular vet first thing tomorrow morning. If that won't be possible, then take him to the ER today.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I agree. He's obviously still sick, but doesn't seem to be significantly MORE sick than he has been. If her were to be in continuous pain, or had other, more severe, long lasting symptoms, I'd be the first to say to take him to the ER vet. But this seems to be more of the same. As long as it remains so, I'd keep the food on the REALLY light side, with LOTS of water mixed in to make sure he's staying adequately hydrated, and get him to your regular vet in the AM.


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## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

krandall said:


> I agree. He's obviously still sick, but doesn't seem to be significantly MORE sick than he has been. If her were to be in continuous pain, or had other, more severe, long lasting symptoms, I'd be the first to say to take him to the ER vet. But this seems to be more of the same. As long as it remains so, I'd keep the food on the REALLY light side, with LOTS of water mixed in to make sure he's staying adequately hydrated, and get him to your regular vet in the AM.


Do you have any ideas why he'd have pain right after eating?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

sda said:


> Do you have any ideas why he'd have pain right after eating?


Sorry, I don't, but it doesn't sound right. Hope he's feeling better soon!


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## lfung5 (Jun 30, 2007)

Poor little guy! I hate seeing these guys in pain. I would take him in tomorrow. Did the vet tell you to give him pepcid? I am fostering a little guy with tummy problems. He is on pepcid, but I don't know if it would be ok for your guy. I hope he gets better soon!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

Kodi has been prescribed Pepcid for tummy trouble in the past too. (one half tablet)


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

is there any chance he could have a sensitivty to the CHICKEN???
is there anyway you can try beef with rice?? even a lean ground beef?? see if anything changes??


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## Pucks104 (Aug 16, 2012)

Or it could be the rice. One of our past dogs could not tolerate rice which took me a while to figure out and blew a hole in my boiled chicken and white rice remedy for tummy issues!


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## bearydiva (Jul 3, 2013)

Do you have a phone that you can take a photo of him after he eats and is acting odd?
It might be helpful for the vet to see how he acts.
Could something me stuck in his throat?
Please post Monday after taking him into the vet. I'd be interested to know what
the vet says.
I also give my doggies Pepcid for upset stomach.


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

Tyler doesn't tolerate chicken very well. Something that took me years of soft stools to discover, so I switched him to fish which he loves and stools are good.

Hope you figure it out soon and your little one feels better. It's an awful thing to see them in pain and not be able to tell you where it hurts.

The hamburg may be worth a try, as Tammy mentioned. I remember years ago when my Afghan Hound at a stomach issue, I was told to give her hamburg and rice. It worked!

Good luck and keep us posted.


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## rokipiki (Oct 15, 2010)

Colud be gastroenteritis, pancreatitis, giardia... Giardia produces soft sto and cramping. To the vet tomorrow morning.


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## Laurief (Nov 7, 2006)

Are you still giving the Metro?? If so, then having no stool is normal for a bit. The acting sick after eating is unusual. I would withhold food until you get to call the Dr tomorrow to be sure it isnt a "food" issue. Just be sure to keep up the water!!


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## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

Thanks everyone for your input/ideas! I ended up taking him to the ER this evening. They did an x-ray and didn't see any blockage but there was a lot of gas and some soft stool. She said if things don't get better then the next step would be to get an ultrasound. 

He did end up vomiting around noon and it was yellow liquid and the rice he had eaten previously this morning. Right after that he appeared ok and was sitting on his rug in the kitchen like he does when he wants to eat. I waited a little while but then did give him a spoonful of rice. He seemed to tolerate that fine. I had to leave for a while so my husband was watching him and said he just stayed on the couch with him. At 3:45 I gave him another spoonful of rice and he seemed to do okay with it. He was up moving around some but not his playful bouncy self so I decided I just wanted to take him in. He gets carsick every time we take him in the car so he ended up throwing up what I had fed him at 3:45. 

The vet gave him subcutaneous fluids and injection of Pepcid AC and and injection of Cerenia (anti-nausea). She told me to withhold all food and drink (even his dose of metronidazole) until tomorrow and then offer small amounts if he tolerates it. Also to give him 1/4 of a 10 mg Pepcid AC twice a day or if I can't break it into quarters then to give him 1/2 of a 10 mg once a day at night. She diagnosed him with gastroenteritis.

I feel like the empty stomach could be possibly adding problems because of the acid but maybe the Pepcid will help with that.

At least he got some fluids and there was nothing obvious on the x-ray. I'm still so concerned though-I just want my happy, silly puppy back! 

Thank you all for your thoughts, I appreciate it a lot!


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## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

I asked the vet about the rice possibly being a problem and she said she didn't think that was it. I didn't mention the chicken because he's hardly had any chicken for a few days plus his regular food has chicken in it. I'll definitely keep that in mind though if things don't turn around.


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## Beau's mom (Oct 6, 2011)

Good luck tomorrow. Please keep us posted!


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## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

Just wanted to let you know that yesterday and so far today have been much better! He's been back to his silly, playful self. He's been eating small frequent meals of rice and this afternoon I'm going to add small amounts of boiled chicken. He hasn't had a stool since Sunday AM so don't know how that's doing yet. I'm wonder if it is coincidence or if the Pepcid made a big difference. Hopefully he will continue in this positive direction. Thanks again for your help!


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

sda said:


> Just wanted to let you know that yesterday and so far today have been much better! He's been back to his silly, playful self. He's been eating small frequent meals of rice and this afternoon I'm going to add small amounts of boiled chicken. He hasn't had a stool since Sunday AM so don't know how that's doing yet. I'm wonder if it is coincidence or if the Pepcid made a big difference. Hopefully he will continue in this positive direction. Thanks again for your help!


The Pepcid DEFINITELY made Kodi feel better when he had a tummy bug.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

I hope he tolerates the chicken and has a poo soon. Glad hes a bit better.


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## puppy-love (Nov 9, 2012)

Poor pup. I've used instant mashed potato with ground beef or ground turkey when chicken and rice didn't seem to help. Just an idea. Hope he takes a turn for the better soon!

Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Oakley (Feb 16, 2013)

I just hope your baby feels better soon.


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

Any more news on poor Bentley?? Only just looked at this thread, and the last post was July 17th, so I was wondering how he was?? Cuba says 'get well soon' if you aren't well already, Bentley!


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## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

Lalla said:


> Any more news on poor Bentley?? Only just looked at this thread, and the last post was July 17th, so I was wondering how he was?? Cuba says 'get well soon' if you aren't well already, Bentley!


Thanks for checking on Bentley! He's doing better now-had a rough few weeks in July and lots of vet appts/testing. He either has a food issue or he may have irritable bowel disease. We are in the process of switching to a home prepared diet so I'm hopeful that will take care of things.


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## Lalla (Jul 30, 2013)

sda said:


> Thanks for checking on Bentley! He's doing better now-had a rough few weeks in July and lots of vet appts/testing. He either has a food issue or he may have irritable bowel disease. We are in the process of switching to a home prepared diet so I'm hopeful that will take care of things.


I'm sure you've checked out all the dietary stuff and don't need me to add my prejudices to the mix, but please, please do consider keeping all grain out of Bentley's diet. Irritable bowel syndrome in any animal (including humans) can so often be eradicated completely by giving up gluten. For some people even oats are a problem (I am doubled up if I eat oats, and have been gluten free for several years now). Neither dogs nor humans need grain; we've only had agriculture (selected modified grain) for 10,000 years or so, we are not evolved to deal well with it. There are lots of people on this forum far more clued up on home cooked diets for dogs than I am, but I have been there and tried everything when my first dog was catastrophically ill for two years. She managed well on raw, but neither of my present dogs will touch it, and I worry with not including the right proportions of vitamins and nutrients in home cooked. I've just this week discovered Ziwipeak - it's an air-dried raw diet that looks, on the face of it, to be very expensive, but the quantities you give, because it is very high protein, are tiny. Both my incredibly picky dogs are thrilled with this new food. Even my raw-obsessed trainer I go to advocates Ziwipeak. Might be worth it? It's really transformed my life, in terms of ease of managing food, seeing the dogs eat happily, and i hope will prove to be good for them health-wise. I just wish I'd had it with Pamba, my poor little sick Coton. Ziwipeak looks nothing like kibble, it's more like little bits of jerky. They gobble it up, there is far less poo to deal with, and so far so very good. The myth that high protein is in any way bad for either humans or dogs is just that - myth. Even for dogs (and cats) with kidney problems. There is some really good proper research out there that says it is simply untrue that high protein causes trouble - it may, if not introduced slowly as with any change of diet, cause temporary diarrhoea or other kinds of upset, but doesn't if you introduce it slowly over a week or so. Might be worth considering?


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