Help!!???!!!

Our female lab, Holly, suddenly can't keep her food down. Threw up this morning before Todd went to work. He took her to the vet and they did tests. Nothing so far. She seemed a bit better and he fed her tonight. On the way upstairs she threw up her whole dinner. (Of course, on my newly cleaned carpet.) :)

Here's the rub: we're taking them to the boarding kennel tomorrow night because we're headed to New Mexico for Christmas with my parents. Somehow I have to get her able to keep something down by 6PM tomorrow night.

Anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

A desperate Kathy

How old is Holly? I have heard of labs having digestive problems at certain ages (easily fixed by giving them a pill of enzymes).

I can't offer any insight or advice, Kathy, as we've never had a dog.

Just wanted to say that I hope Holly is doing better soon!

We've only got kitty cats, but hope Hollly feels better soon!

Bummer, Kathy. I'm no expert but my dogs (past and present) frequently get/got the whoopsies for no apparent reason and then recovered just as suddenly.

If you have a health food store that carries UltraClear products, I have found that even when my dog is sick to his stomach he can keep down UltraClear Sustain, which is designed to nourish the lining of the human gut. If your vet approves and you can find this product, it might get Holly over the hump until she heals whatever's ailing her on her own. It's full of glutamine and fructooligosaccharides which I understand are helpful in these situations.

If you can't get hold of a canister of UC Sustain, maybe your vet would allow you to try a little pepto bismol.

I hope she gets well pronto.

MarnaLou

My Daisy will Throw up for no reason. We give her people Pepcid AC and keep her full of treats several times a day, but she only heaves when her tummy is empty.

Gizmo throws up when he's eaten something forbidden.

You can give them Pepto Bismol or Imodium. I have a special syringe to give them the liquid. About 1 tsp for my 16 lbs dogs.
The soft diet they get when they are sick is Boiled Hamburger (full fat kind) or Chicken with the skin (they need the fat) with cottage cheese and boiled rice. Rice must be the long grain kind - not Uncle Ben's or Minute Rice. They need the starch. Equal parts. Or also make 2 cups of rice and throw in a 4 eggs while making the rice and then mix with cottage cheese (about 1 cup. Can add garlic but never ever onion.

Thanks for the advice on UC Sustain.

Thanks so much, everyone. Isn't it funny how we've all started to turn to this board when we're desperate? Even for the non cruise stuff? And everyone always comes through with great suggestions and much appreciated support.

Lawrence, Holly is eleven. Does that sound like the age when you've heard of them developing digestion problems?

I'm going to get a cannister of the Sustain and keep it handy. I'll start calling around as soon as the stores open to see if I can find it.

I think I'll try the rice with the egg and cottage cheese to see if I can get her to keep something down, Kathy. She loves eggs usually. Maybe the smell of them will tempt her to eat.

Thanks again for all the ideas, support, and "just being there".

Kathy

Here's hoping the suggestions work for Holly.

Please let us know how she's doing.

Keep an eye on the situation....dogs can develop something called "bloat" that can be dangerous if not caught soon enough. It is often caused if they gulp their food too fast and trap air down in their stomach. This caused parts of the stomach (if I remember correctly) to twist.

I am not trying to scare you, just giving you a heads up on a remote possibility.

The nausea shouldn't last but a day or two...otherwise I would take him back to the vet.

You might also want to check your housplants. Poinsettias are poisonous, and other plants and Christmas decorations can make them sick too.

Good luck, and keep us updated!!

Sheri

Actually I just read an article about the Pointsettia. It would take a big dog ingesting over 50 plants to have problems. Still, lots of dangers during the holidays for dogs.

Luckily, I didn't buy a Poinsettia this year. So, at least I don't need to worry about that one. The only plant we have is a ficus tree in the living room. (I have a totally black thumb.) :(

I'm heading home at 3PM to give her a small meal of rice, egg and cottage cheese. That'll give her several hours before I need to take them to the kennel. Here's hoping....

Thanks again,

Kathy

Kathleen: Our 12-year-old Border Collie will also vomit at times. He's been diagnosed with a huge gallstone and is now on Hills Canine I/D food and also takes 1 Pepcid daily as well as Actigall (human gallstone dissolver) for the long-term. He's fine except when he has an occasional "episode", then he will suddenly vomit a yellowish/greenish stuff (sorry for the graphic description, but it's what distinguishes this condition) and he will have a loud tummy "gurgle" for about 18 hours. When that happens we withhold all food & only offer water if he wants it. He usually shows signs of wanting to eat after that (standing in the kitchen near me, looking up at the counter!) So ask your Vet if this could be the problem, as it can develop in older dogs. I hope your FurBaby gets better soon!

Kathy,

Yes, 10+ is unfortunately the age range where labs sometimes develop digestive problems. My friend was able to treat her lab with a regimen of enzyme pills which cleared up the condition pretty quickly. Another friend was able to his lab back to normal simply by switching to an older dog formula of Eukunuba. If the diet change doesn't help and if your local vet still can't diagnose the problem, I'd suggest going to the University of Pennsylvania Small Animal Clinic (yep all dogs and cats are considered small animals). UPenn has what is probably the best veterinary hospital in the world. They are so specialized that their canine vets will only treat dogs of different sizes (so a large dog vet won't treat small dogs and so forth).

Success! Holly kept down the egg/cottage cheese/rice mixture. I couldn't find the Sustain, so I had the pet sitter give her pepto at lunchtime. Then, I gave her the food about 3. As of 5PM, when it was time to go to the kennel, she had kept it down. (And didn't get sick in the car either, thank goodness.)

Todd ran to the vet and got a case of the Canine ID since we can't expect the kennel to cook for my baby. :) We left 4 cans with them so they can give her that the first few days, then move her back to her regular food.

I'm definitely going to check into the enzyme test, Lawrence. I work in Center City Philadelphia, so it wouldn't be a problem to take her to Penn, if it becomes necessary.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone!

I'll be missing the boards over the next few days. We're off to New Mexico first thing tomorrow to celebrate Christmas with my parents. (And I don't think their DSL is hooked up yet.)

Happy Holidays!

Kathy

So glad Holly got better so fast! Have a great trip and a merry Christmas.

MarnaLou

Great hearing that Holly is doing so much better!

Have a safe and enjoyable trip to New Mexico. Happy holidays and New Year to you, Todd and your parents!

Merry Christmas - glad she was doing okay, Kathy. Even have recipes for our "babies" on LCT!

So happy for the good news on Holly! Kathy, you have recipes for everything!

So glad to hear that Holly's doing better!!

And welcome to kwaj girl to LCT!

Masaki