princesst1
New member
This is my first time posting here so I will try to be as comprehensive as possible.
Our one y/o rescue mix has been on a raw diet since we got her at 4 months. Her diet has mostly consisted of raw chicken, beef, and sometimes pork (not super interested in it, and does not like turkey); cheese; sweet potato; carrots (but never peas); and treats here and there (freeze dried chicken heart, duck/beef liver, salmon, etc.). Her protein is always mixed with a food supplement called Food Fur Life.
Her poops are generally hard, but sometimes a little soft given she gets plenty of water, especially since the supplement is mixed with water that creates a sort of gravy. When she has an upset stomach or diarrhea, we give her a dose of either slippery elm bark or s. boulardii depending on her symptoms. That usually clears things up quickly.
Up until the last few weeks, she would eat 3-4 times a day, and eat all of her food. Now, she has exhibited much more pickiness on when, what, and how much she eats. Specifically, she has been refusing chicken when we offer it to her, but seems more preferable to beef, so she has been getting that more regularly. We figured it was her diet changing with her age, and that she didn’t need to eat as much now that she’s grown up (about 16 lbs).
Last Thursday, I took her out in the afternoon and she had a bout of diarrhea—her poop in the morning, though, was normal. Didn’t think much of it, but considered giving her some s. boulardii later that day (but did not). The following morning, she had diarrhea again.
Saturday morning at around 4:30am, she woke us up with vomiting. It wasn’t much, but looked to be the remains of a freeze dried salmon treat I had given her the night before. It was a new brand and new bag we hadn’t tried before, but she was acting fine that night, playing, etc. before bed. Anyway, she climbed back into bed and laid down. About six more times, over the next few hours, she hopped back off the bed, threw up (stomach acid, meaning empty stomach), and slinked back to bed. We figured she was hungry, but she wouldn’t eat anything. She also had a few bouts of very dark diarrhea during this period.
We were concerned that she was at risk for dehydration given the amount of liquid she had thrown up/pooped in such a short time, so we took her to a local emergency vet who took a look at her. We explained to the vet that she didn’t have any irregular food the night or few days prior (other than the new brand of salmon treats), she didn’t get into any other food, didn’t get into the trash, doesn’t eat her toys, or anything of the sort (no goose poop, other dog poop, etc.). The vet’s exam resulted in normal breathing but tightness in the abdomen. He gave her a shot for the nausea and a liquid iv pack for the dehydration, and gave us something for her diarrhea to give her over the next couple of days. We left the vet and our pup’s behavior completely changed (tail up, sniffing everything on her walk, saying hi to other dogs). We monitored her closely and fed her boiled chicken with rice for the next couple of days, and she seemed to be doing much better and getting back to her usual self. Her stool sample came back negative for ova or parasites.
Fast forward to this morning, again at around 4:30am, our pup crawls up to us and wakes us up with some licking. Strange as she sleeps through the night. After a few pets and belly rubs, she hops off the bed and throws up. Shortly after, she has two bouts of dark brown diarrhea. As my SO cleans up, I take her outside where she has some more diarrhea (not much) and chomps on some grass, which makes her throw up. She slept for about an hour before waking up and dry heaving a few times.
Again, last night she didn’t eat anything out of the ordinary. She had beef for dinner, and we have been keeping treats to a minimal (we got rid of those salmon treats just in case). We played before bed and she seemed fine. I don’t want to take her back to the vet only to get the same result (she’s fine, but has a stomach ache), but I don’t want her to be nauseous or have diarrhea. What is most puzzling is it’s not just vomiting or just diarrhea, but both. We can’t seem to figure out if it’s even diet related. It’s been getting colder out and so the heat has been on more—could it be environmental?
Anyway, any advice, thoughts, or anecdotes from dog owners who have had similar experiences are greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Our one y/o rescue mix has been on a raw diet since we got her at 4 months. Her diet has mostly consisted of raw chicken, beef, and sometimes pork (not super interested in it, and does not like turkey); cheese; sweet potato; carrots (but never peas); and treats here and there (freeze dried chicken heart, duck/beef liver, salmon, etc.). Her protein is always mixed with a food supplement called Food Fur Life.
Her poops are generally hard, but sometimes a little soft given she gets plenty of water, especially since the supplement is mixed with water that creates a sort of gravy. When she has an upset stomach or diarrhea, we give her a dose of either slippery elm bark or s. boulardii depending on her symptoms. That usually clears things up quickly.
Up until the last few weeks, she would eat 3-4 times a day, and eat all of her food. Now, she has exhibited much more pickiness on when, what, and how much she eats. Specifically, she has been refusing chicken when we offer it to her, but seems more preferable to beef, so she has been getting that more regularly. We figured it was her diet changing with her age, and that she didn’t need to eat as much now that she’s grown up (about 16 lbs).
Last Thursday, I took her out in the afternoon and she had a bout of diarrhea—her poop in the morning, though, was normal. Didn’t think much of it, but considered giving her some s. boulardii later that day (but did not). The following morning, she had diarrhea again.
Saturday morning at around 4:30am, she woke us up with vomiting. It wasn’t much, but looked to be the remains of a freeze dried salmon treat I had given her the night before. It was a new brand and new bag we hadn’t tried before, but she was acting fine that night, playing, etc. before bed. Anyway, she climbed back into bed and laid down. About six more times, over the next few hours, she hopped back off the bed, threw up (stomach acid, meaning empty stomach), and slinked back to bed. We figured she was hungry, but she wouldn’t eat anything. She also had a few bouts of very dark diarrhea during this period.
We were concerned that she was at risk for dehydration given the amount of liquid she had thrown up/pooped in such a short time, so we took her to a local emergency vet who took a look at her. We explained to the vet that she didn’t have any irregular food the night or few days prior (other than the new brand of salmon treats), she didn’t get into any other food, didn’t get into the trash, doesn’t eat her toys, or anything of the sort (no goose poop, other dog poop, etc.). The vet’s exam resulted in normal breathing but tightness in the abdomen. He gave her a shot for the nausea and a liquid iv pack for the dehydration, and gave us something for her diarrhea to give her over the next couple of days. We left the vet and our pup’s behavior completely changed (tail up, sniffing everything on her walk, saying hi to other dogs). We monitored her closely and fed her boiled chicken with rice for the next couple of days, and she seemed to be doing much better and getting back to her usual self. Her stool sample came back negative for ova or parasites.
Fast forward to this morning, again at around 4:30am, our pup crawls up to us and wakes us up with some licking. Strange as she sleeps through the night. After a few pets and belly rubs, she hops off the bed and throws up. Shortly after, she has two bouts of dark brown diarrhea. As my SO cleans up, I take her outside where she has some more diarrhea (not much) and chomps on some grass, which makes her throw up. She slept for about an hour before waking up and dry heaving a few times.
Again, last night she didn’t eat anything out of the ordinary. She had beef for dinner, and we have been keeping treats to a minimal (we got rid of those salmon treats just in case). We played before bed and she seemed fine. I don’t want to take her back to the vet only to get the same result (she’s fine, but has a stomach ache), but I don’t want her to be nauseous or have diarrhea. What is most puzzling is it’s not just vomiting or just diarrhea, but both. We can’t seem to figure out if it’s even diet related. It’s been getting colder out and so the heat has been on more—could it be environmental?
Anyway, any advice, thoughts, or anecdotes from dog owners who have had similar experiences are greatly appreciated. Thank you!