# I could really use some guidance!



## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

I need some advice and after spending almost two years reading here on the forum, I'm confident you guys will be an incredible help. My Havanese, Bentley, will be two years old in November and weighs 8 lbs. He became ill on Tuesday...wouldn't eat anything, had an episode of diarrhea with some mucus in it, some trembling and even whimpered a couple of times. After the trembling and whimpering I loaded him in the car and took him to the vet. The vet said he had colitis from something he ate and gave him metronidazole and told me to feed him chicken and rice. He also did bloodwork which came back normal. He started feeling better and stools firmed up but now his last two stools have been very, very soft. I may have caused this because I started to mix in a little bit of his normal kibble with the chicken and rice yesterday and even increased it a little more this morning. I thought since he was doing better it would be ok but I guess I should have given him more time on the chicken/rice diet. What would the ratio of chicken/rice be and how much per day for an 8lb. dog? My vet said to use my best judgment (ridiculous!). I had been feeding more rice than chicken but I called the vet's office today and asked again and the girl that answered the phone said 1/2 cup chicken and a handful of rice twice a day. She sounded like she was kind of guessing so I wanted to check with you all. As a sidenote, I am switching vets for numerous reasons, but the vet I want to go to is out of town for two weeks. I really hope you all can help me-I feel like a mom with a newborn when there is something wrong with Bentley!

Thanks so much! ~Stacy


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## MyLittleHavanese (Jan 15, 2013)

We just had an episode of throwing up and diarrhea with both of our havanese. The emergency vets first question was did they get into anything. We were away visiting so they were on leash at all times so we knew they had not gotten into anything so we thought. Come to find out where we visited had buried mothballs around the outside of the house and their dog had identical symptoms the week before. Just a thought, think about anywhere Bentley could have been exposed to chemicals, on walks or visits. We wash our dogs paws after walks now.


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## Suzi (Oct 27, 2010)

That sounds like a lot of chicken. What kind of kibble do you feed?


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## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

Suzi said:


> That sounds like a lot of chicken. What kind of kibble do you feed?


He is on Wellness Small Breed Super5 Mix Adult Health. I thought it sounded like a lot of chicken also.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

I do think that the return to loose stools is because you started to transition him back too quickly. I've made that mistake myself in the past. Now, if Kodi needs to go on a bland diet, he STAYS on it, for at least a week past the last symptoms.

I think the vet wasn't far off with the "use your judgement" comment here. Your eally do have to play it by ear, and it's not an exact science. My rule of thumb is more rice/less chicken if there are any signs of intestinal problems, slowly increasing the mount of chicken if all is well. I also ad a spoonful of *plain* canned pumpkin or squash (not the pie filling...) to his food, as this helps firm things up too.

An adult dog who is otherwise in good health can easily go several days on just rice without it hurting them, (though they'll be more likely to eat it if there is at least SOME chicken mixed in!) and can easily go a couple of weeks on chicken, rice and pumpkin without it hurting them. So don't be afraid to take your time weaning him back onto his regular food. And if he's a little loose after one meal, step back a bit at the next.


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## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

krandall said:


> I do think that the return to loose stools is because you started to transition him back too quickly. I've made that mistake myself in the past. Now, if Kodi needs to go on a bland diet, he STAYS on it, for at least a week past the last symptoms.
> 
> I think the vet wasn't far off with the "use your judgement" comment here. Your eally do have to play it by ear, and it's not an exact science. My rule of thumb is more rice/less chicken if there are any signs of intestinal problems, slowly increasing the mount of chicken if all is well. I also ad a spoonful of *plain* canned pumpkin or squash (not the pie filling...) to his food, as this helps firm things up too.
> 
> An adult dog who is otherwise in good health can easily go several days on just rice without it hurting them, (though they'll be more likely to eat it if there is at least SOME chicken mixed in!) and can easily go a couple of weeks on chicken, rice and pumpkin without it hurting them. So don't be afraid to take your time weaning him back onto his regular food. And if he's a little loose after one meal, step back a bit at the next.


Thanks for the information! That makes me feel better to know that I can keep feeding him the chicken & rice for a while with no problems. I just don't know how much is appropriate to feed him. He eats 1/4 cup of kibble twice a day normally but that is probably a lot different than mostly rice with some chicken. I don't want him to be starving or over-eating (he seems to really like the chicken and rice!). Can you give me some input on an approximate amount?


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

sda said:


> Thanks for the information! That makes me feel better to know that I can keep feeding him the chicken & rice for a while with no problems. I just don't know how much is appropriate to feed him. He eats 1/4 cup of kibble twice a day normally but that is probably a lot different than mostly rice with some chicken. I don't want him to be starving or over-eating (he seems to really like the chicken and rice!). Can you give me some input on an approximate amount?


Kodi eats about 1/4c twice a day too, and I probably fed him a LITTLE more chicken and rice than that, but not much. Maybe a rounded 1/4c. Remember, the whole idea is to REST his digestive tract. As long as he's normal weight to start with (and most pet people keep their dogs on the pudgy side) he won't starve in the length of time he needs to be on it!


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## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

Thanks so much Karen-I really appreciate your help!


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## sda (Jan 19, 2012)

MyLittleHavanese said:


> We just had an episode of throwing up and diarrhea with both of our havanese. The emergency vets first question was did they get into anything. We were away visiting so they were on leash at all times so we knew they had not gotten into anything so we thought. Come to find out where we visited had buried mothballs around the outside of the house and their dog had identical symptoms the week before. Just a thought, think about anywhere Bentley could have been exposed to chemicals, on walks or visits. We wash our dogs paws after walks now.


Thanks for your response! So scary to think of all the things they can get into without us realizing it. My neighbor just told me about a friends dog (3 yr old lab) that got into some toxic mushrooms in their back yard and died. So many things to look out for!


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