Upset Tummy

[fullhouse9873]

Neko, my husky, is having tummy problems. Ever since we got him - he's had the runs. When we took him to the vet, we found out he had worms. He's on the dewormer - but it doesn't seem to be helping. My vet recommended putting some rice in with his food. Has anyone tried this before? Does anyone have any other suggestions?

[Dawn]

How long has he been on the dewormer?

[Dawn]

The rice should help if he'll eat it. If it doesn't start getting better soon, I would get another vet opinion.

[fullhouse9873]

Thursday will be his 3rd and last round of meds. So it'll be 3 weeks tomorrow.

[fullhouse9873]

He seems to do OK eating the rice. I mix it in with his dry food, a little warm water and a heaping spoonful of wet dog food. I'm just waiting for it to kick in now......

(I'm done with the wormer now! Yeah! - no more fighting with dogs to take their meds!)

[fullhouse9873]

Even though Neko was eating the rice - it didn't seem to help. So I took him to the vet's office again. They ran a whole bunch of tests - and found that he has another type of worms, and that he basically has irritable bowel syndrome. They put him on hill's prescription diet i/d - which is starting to work great. His stools keep getting a little more solid each time.

The good news is that with all this diharrea - he's still been growing. He gained 10 pounds last month!

[fullhouse9873]

Update on Neko. He's been on a prescription diet - and Friday night, for the first time - he had normal poo. You know you've lost it when you come inside yelling - "he pooped normal". Plus my neighbors must think I'm ready for the loony bin - since I'm out at night checking his poo with a flashlight!

What I won't do for that dog!

[Lou]

Many years ago we took a tiny, tiny chihuahua mix female from a bad situation....really don't think she was actually old enough to be weaned. She wasn't eating and got listless and weak. A neighbor was a vet and since she was too weak to chew and swallow (she would fit in the palm of my hand)...broke your heart! Anyway, he suggested that I give her honey a little at a time about every 15 min. I had a house dress with two big pockets... I put her in one and a container of honey in the other and as I went about my housework I would stop and dip my finger in the honey and put it on the back of her tongue...he said she would assimilate it rather than digest it that way... whatever... it worked. She became a joy. (Mitzie) We had to move a lot those early years with work, so my mother took her. She had her for about 17 years... fat as a little pig. The vet said he thought the honey helped...but it was the love that saved her. I have also had good results from chicken broth with rice. Also, cottage cheese has helped to firm up stool, as does cheddar. Any good protein they will eat that is not abrasive to an upset tummy is a good "firmer-upper". In later years I resorted to the honey remedy again and it got them over the worst and then on to more traditional doggie food. All of our dogs have lived to their late teens without a lot of drugs and chemicals. But, oh so much love.

[fullhouse9873]

It's been a roller coster ride with Neko. He firms up - then he has the runs, then he firms up - then he has then runs. We talked to a breeder - who said that this is a very common thing for huskies - and that he will probably grow out of it. For now we're staying on the prescription diet - since it seems to be working. My husband thinks I'm nuts - I've spent more money on this dog in the last couple of months than I care to remember. But Neko is my baby - and I'd do whatever it takes to have him healthy. It's only been a couple of months since I put my angel, Wilson down. Didn't think I could love another dog half as much as him - but Neko won me over!

[kmtell]

Perhaps that's something we should try with our dog. He tries to poo every time he gets the chance (like it might be the last time for the rest of his life) and it is usually a just a bit on the solid side of runny. ALso, he eats grass like crazy. We always stop him immediately, but he's sneaky about it. We didn't really think there was much we could do to firm up the poo, but maybe some cheese would help..and I bet he'd really like it too.