Arthur is sick

[AKB]

Arthur isn't feeling well. We just got back from the vet. For the moment, we're on a bland diet and keeping quiet. I am a smidge neurotic, I always think worst case scenario with my pets, and this morning Arthur was not behaving normally, and his stomach was three times its normal size. So I was worried about bloat, or a blockage, or twisted stomach. He had a bit of an upset stomach when we went outside, not like when he had parvo but his stool was way looser than it should have been. He wasn't standing oddly or trying to vomit but we went straight to the vet anyway. He doesn't think it's anything serious, his temperature was a little high but he doesn't like riding in the car or going to the vet's office (he especially hates the scale for some reason), so that alone could be it. He does not think that any of the three issues about which I was concerned are the problem. So that is good- he suspects that because he had such a rough start in life with the parvo and months of neglect before that Arthur may always have a bit of a sensitive stomach. I'm not sure what to do about this exactly. I of course plan to read up on the subject but does anyone have experience with this? Should I maybe add yogurt to his diet and see how that goes? Would smaller meals help? He eats Wellness Lamb and rice, once his stomach is settled shoudl I try switching his diet? Although that could create a whole new set of issues. I'm just worried right now.

[2 Devils]

I know some dogs with sensitive tummies have done great when probiotics have been added to the diet. One in particular is a sheltie a friend owns. When the original owner had the dog, the sheltie had diarrhea if he just looked at food that was not in his diet. When my friend took the dog, she changed the food to EVO from raw food, added probiotics and salmon oil and now this dog can actually have food that he finds without being sick for a week. She still tries to limit what he has to only what she gives but he is a sheltie afterall and he can find anything that may be edible.

[AKB]

Thanks- This is probably dumb, but do the enzymes in yogurt count as probiotics or did you mean something else?

[nancy in AZ]

Yogurt containing *active* bacteria cultures that will replenish useful flora to the gut. It's generally best to get plain yogurt, not flavored, and minimally processed or organic . Sometimes dogs (and horses and people) that have been on a course of antibiotics will experience upsets due to the good gut bacteria getting killed off along with the bad. Also, feeding several smaller meals rather than one or two larger ones is easier on the digestive tract.

[AKB]

Yeah, I've been thinking of switching him back to several smaller meals anyway. We fed him two cups of food split between six meals when he first got here, because he clearly hadn't been fed regular meals. Actually I doubt he had been getting many meals at all, from the looks of him. I switched to feeding him twice daily because he would stress himself out trying to get more food by digging through the cabinet door. He doesn't do that anymore though. Poor baby. On the upside, he has gained ten whole pounds since we found him.

[Guest WoobiesMom]

Woobie had parvo as a pup as well and we continue to struggle with diet and allergy issues. He is currently on Hill's z/d with a bit of success. His stools are slightly firmer and he hasn't had an ear infection. There's still some issues with his anal glands but we're dealing with them. You may find you have to do a strict elimination diet and only feed that for 3 months to clean out his system and then selectively add one little thing at a time to determine what's upsetting him. I've been a little weak in that area because I'm trying to desensitize Woobie and train so I'm giving him cheese cubes. Good luck, it can be a real challenge! I'm starting to really think that the Parvo must set them up for digestive problems because of the number of people I've heard from who've had these issues in dogs who've had Parvo.

[AKB]

While I'm not glad Woobie gets sick too, it's sort of encouraging to know that he has a similar issue and you guys deal with it well. I think for now, rather than an elimination diet I may start with small meals and yogurt and see where that goes. My vet said that he has seen a lot of dogs who had parvo early on struggle with stomach sensitivity, so there's a correlation, but there's no way to know scientifically if this is the problem unless we cloned five or six Arthurs and compared them. I told him that as much as I love Arthur, if I had five or six of him I would have to move into the apartment above the clinic and give him a stack of blank checks.

[Guest WoobiesMom]

It's not fun but it is manageable. I'd much rather have this than some of the skin issues I see dogs dealing with where they are absolutely miserable. Woobie's health is great, he's in good shape, LOADS of energy and a good coat. He just has smooshy poops, clogged anal glands and a tendency towards ear infections. My vet said I could try using probiotics from the health food store instead of yogurt if I wanted to since dairy and chicken are two of the most common food sensitivities/allergies dogs can have. But since I'm giving him cheese, I guess any dairy would probably be fine. The thing I struggle most with is finding a good motivator for training while dealing with his diet restrictions. I used Ball Park Franks for a while and they were GREAT for training but whoa, what a mess! Everyone I know except Woobie gets constipated when they eat alot of cheese. Go figure! LOL

[AKB]

That's good. Arthur hasn't manifested any skin issues so far either (knock on wood) so I'm hoping yogurt won't be a problem.

[sweet_ceana]

Pumpkin makes Ceana more solid when she needs it.

[Guest WoobiesMom]

We tried pumpkin for a while too. Firmed up only slightly for about a week, then back to mush. The only thing that produced really firm stools was Science Diet for sensitive stomachs and he really hated it. He would literally suck the pumpkin off of it and then spit it back out! Raw turkey w/bones ground in it worked for a little while, but again, not really firm. We'll see how the winter goes and determine if it's diet or environmental allergies and then I may just give up and accept a life of expressing anal glands! Oh joy.