Update - tummy troubles

[Faith]

good news and bad news -

good news -

the palpated her belly and felt around for quite a while - he's almost positive there's no foreign object in there. especially since i told him she's had no problems with pooping.

bad news (kind of) -

i really don't have an answer as to why she might be getting sick. the vet does not currently believe it's anything serious since she is still gaining/maintaining her weight and she is still interested in eating most of the time.


he suggested a few things -

she might have acid reflux problems, which causes her to throw up a bit, and would unsettle her stomach and make her not want to eat. he said i could give her (1) pepcid ac a day for a while and see if it helps.

she might not be tolerating her food well. as we know, not every dog does well on every food, so even though i'm feeding her a good food, it might not be the right one for her. he also suggested it might be a food allergy, and that i might want to consider changing her food to one that is specifically made to be easier to digest.

she might just be a dog who has a sensitive tummy and there's nothing much we'll be able to do about it.

he suggested that i start a journal of when she gets sick, how she gets sick, and the days that she doesn't want to eat to see if i can figure out any kind of pattern that i am currently missing.


any other thoughts? or things i could ask him for follow up?

[bernicesmama]

I am so sorry to hear you still have no answers. I hope it is something as simple as acid reflux. give faith a little hug from me.

I wish I could help, but I have no suggestions.

[Moo]

Inconclusiveness is crummy.

Have you ever changed her food?

[Blaze]

I'm sorry they couldn't give you an answer. I don't have any ideas either, but hope it is nothing serious!

[Deb's Tiny Dogs]

Maybe it's time to consider a specialist. I hope she gets better soon.

[Faith]

that's just it - it's so hard to know if i need to continue with a specialist.

her energy level has not changed. she does get a bit mopey after she gets sick, just like any of us would. but, it's not like she gets sick consistently.

she'll get sick, and then we won't have any problems for 2 or 3 weeks, then she'll get sick again.

the obvious answer would be she's getting into something outside, but i am always with her outside and i don't see any pattern where she's eating something off the ground and then gets sick. she usually just gets sick out of the blue.

[mara]

Are you going to try the Pepcid to rule out reflux?

[Faith]

yes, i am. we purchased it last night, and i've already read the packaging. now i wish i had asked him a bit more on the timing of when he would recommend to give it - i.e. - with food, before food, etc. i'll call them later today and find out.

i am going to wait until monday or tuesday to start with the Pepcid though. i know you guys would understand this - i don't know how she's going to react to it, and we're scheduled to get whollopped with like 14 inches of snow today/tomorrow.

i couldn't handle it if she had a bad reaction and i couldn't drive her anywhere or if the vets couldn't get in to look at her.

[mara]

Sounds like starting Monday or Tuesday is a good idea! I'm interested to hear what the vet says about what time of day to give it.

[Moo]

How many meals does she currently eat a day?

Maybe eating smaller amounts in more meals would help?