# Panda's not feeling well :( Any thoughts??



## Pandabear96 (Mar 19, 2015)

Panda's having a sick day with his mommy! Good thing I don't work today (I work at a doggy daycare, and he comes with me to work to play with everyone!) so he's just snuggled into my lap right now. He had a bit of diarrhea this morning, and then he refused to eat his breakfast. He is on primal raw food. Currently the chicken. Although we just switched over a week ago. He hasn't had diarrhea since starting this new diet until now. He's 15 lbs, and a healthy weight. He is a very active dog (hence doggy daycare) so he eats 3-4 nuggets in the morning, a chicken neck for supper, and 2-3 nuggets at night. I do 1 day a week without the chicken neck and that is also our big teeth brushing day. Although I usually end up at least spraying a spray on tooth paste on his teeth every night. For treats he only eats pure 100% dehydrated duck and also max and ruffy's organic vegan treats. They include no grains. Only 5 ingredients per bag (banana, coconut, coconut oil, buckwheat flour and cinnamon) although there are other flavours. 

Anyway I'm not too concerned yet, he's only skipped 1 meal and only had a bit of diarrhea, however does anyone know what could be wrong?? I'm not sure if I should offer him supper tonight or just let his tummy rest and offer him breakfast tomorrow morning?


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## Pandabear96 (Mar 19, 2015)

My poor boy


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## whimsy (Apr 3, 2010)

Aww poor baby. I would contact your Vet and see what he thinks. But that's just me


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

I would start a bland diet and see if that helps. Molly had an upset tummy recently with diarrhea. We did a bland diet, probiotics and Metronidizole prescribed by the vet. All is well now.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

who knows . If he doesn't eat by tomorrow, I would take him to the vet. Watch that he drinks.


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## Pandabear96 (Mar 19, 2015)

I will bring him to the vet tomorrow if he won't eat for sure! Having diarrhea every once in a while is not really out of the ordinary for Panda, he may have got into another dogs food at daycare. The eating is definitely more concerning. 

Like I said, I will take him to the vet, however my vet and I don't see eye to eye on the whole raw thing. She was even against me going "grain free", she thinks the only good food is from the vet. I'm sure all of you have ready the ingredients in a vet formula, but I sure don't think that's the best food for my baby. Especially being that he has allergies. I'm just not sure how to find a good vet that knows more about nutrition and more natural ways of vet care. So bringing my baby in, telling her I've recently switched to raw, wouldn't go very well, she'd tell me to take him off of it right away, when raw is the only way I could get rid of his allergy symptoms.


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## davetgabby (Dec 29, 2007)

forget about finding a vet that is knowledgeable about dog food. They're few and far between I would strongly recommend a nutritionist once you find out what's wrong here.


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## Pandabear96 (Mar 19, 2015)

I'm super excited, I just found a local vet who not only thinks raw feeding is ok, but actually encourages it, maybe she even helps with raw meal plans, it says she took a lot of nutrition courses and such but I'm not sure if she actually calls her self a nutritionist. Anyway I will definitely try that vet out tomorrow if Panda doesn't improve. 

Although he is acting more normal now. I just let him outside and he barked at everyone who passed then rolled in then snow! I need to work on the barking, but right now it's good to hear!

I think I'm going to offer him a small bland meal for supper. Maybe just 1 chicken primal nugget and see how he goes from there, or maybe 1 chicken neck. We'll see how he's feeling about supper tonight!


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## Heather's (Jun 18, 2012)

I think I would stick with a little cooked chicken breast, rice and cottage cheese for a day and see how he is feeling tomorrow. Feel better Pandabear!


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## Zoe093014 (Jan 27, 2015)

So glad to hear he's acting better. If it were me, I'd probably just offer him some boiled chicken tonight. Maybe in a little warm water.


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## Pandabear96 (Mar 19, 2015)

I can give him some boiled chicken but I can't give him rice because he's allergic to a lot of grains and I think rice might be one of them (although he hasn't been tested) but he gets rashes and itches when fed certain foods. I'll try some boiled chicken tonight!


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## Pandabear96 (Mar 19, 2015)

Panda's feeling better to update, he ate 2 chicken necks for supper. Although he doesn't want any primal chicken patties at all, I think he may just be getting a little picky. So it's tough love for him for a while. I'm going to hold back on the chicken necks for a while since he seems to love those more than anything else. Although I am planning on going totally homemade raw after I speak to a nutritionist and buy some books! So hopefully he'll enjoy that more. For now though tough love to have him eat what I choose to feed him. I have duck, lamb and beef in the freezer as well, but i don't want to spoil him and let him get away with not eating the chicken all of a sudden!


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## gelbergirl (Jun 9, 2007)

Hope Panda is feeling better.
Drinking enough water?


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## Pandabear96 (Mar 19, 2015)

Panda is 100% this morning, he ate most of his breakfast (I think i've been spoiling him with chicken necks, so the primal nuggets aren't as good to him anymore.) Tough love for him though, he'll just have to get over it and eat his nuggets! He did eat most of it this morning though. He is drinking lots of water so thats good. 

I'm actually and work today, (Doggy daycare), and he's running around like crazy out there, circling all the others, so i'd say i have my Panda back!


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## MarinaGirl (Mar 25, 2012)

Great news about Panda; glad he's feeling better and is super lively today. 

If he gets diarrhea again, here's some good info from Dr. Becker on what to do and why she recommends pumpkin over rice as the foundation of a bland diet.

What to Do When Your Dog Gets Diarrhea

The Perfect Bowel-Soothing Food for GI Upsets and Diarrhea

And on another webpage she lists the numerous reasons your dog or cat gets diarrhea:

• Most often the cause is *dietary indiscretion*, which is a fancy term for when your pet eats something she shouldn't, causing GI upset.
• A sudden *change in diet* can also cause diarrhea.
• *Parasites *can cause intermittent GI upset and loose stools.
• *Food allergies* are another common cause. We typically think of food allergy symptoms as involving excessive itching and scratching. But actually, what most vets call inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are food allergies. Both IBD and IBS have intermittent loose stools or diarrhea as a side effect.
• *Ingestion of foreign bodies*. If your kitty swallows a rubber band, though it may not block his intestinal tract, it can still cause quite a bit of diarrhea. Similarly, if your dog eats sticks or tree bark, diarrhea or intermittent loose stools can be the result.
• *Pancreatitis *(inflammation of the pancreas) and feline hyperthyroidism have diarrhea as a symptom.
• *Stress*. Stress-induced diarrhea occurs when peristalsis, which is the wave-like motion of the GI tract that moves food through the intestines, up-regulates due to secondary stress.
• *Infection*. Viral and bacterial infections in the GI tract can both cause diarrhea. These infections can range from mild to life threatening.


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