Need help ASAP! 4 out of 6 dogs sick! Any advice?

[Cimarron]

It started thursday nite/friday morning. One of our Corgis Madison threw up all over her crate in the nite. We didnt think much of it, then she did it again last nite friday/Sat. morning. Then this morning we discovered our 16 year old golden had diahrea all over our kitchen! That was a mess and my husband and I were about sick when we got done cleaning it up! Then later we discovered that Madison also had diahrea now too. So we knew we had something going! We gave both of them baths and doses of pepto bismal. Checked the other 4 dogs butts and they were clean till tonite when we let them in to eat. Blazer, another corgi got to his food dish before I knew he had it and scarfed down 1/2 bowl of food before I could get it from him. Buddy our younger golden retriever had diahhrea and I got his food away before we ate. We gave everyone doses of Pepto and a small amount of cottage cheese which we also gave the first two earlier in the day. Poor Blazer just threw up a ton! So I don't know whether to give him more pepto or just wait. Any advice? WE are especially concerned about the 16 year old and will certainly call the vet if she isnt better by morning. We have put the two corgis that are not acting sick outside and have the sickies inside watching them. HELP!!!!!! Sheila

Just as I was finishing this Blazer threw up again. Any advice!!!

 

[Sixstardanes]

Have you been having any rain or wetness that has left standing puddles?

If so your babies *may* have contracted giardia.

This is a very common thing going around currently.

Even tho the symptoms don't commonly list it this can cause vomiting as well.

I've know of several dogs who vomited when they were positive for giardia.

If not this I would still recommend collecting fresh stool samples and having them checked especially since multi pooches are effected.

Have you been feeding any new treats or foods...

or using any new products/cleaners,etc in or around the house/yard?

If you can its good to fast dogs who have the runs so that their innards can rest some.

If you have any simethecome (Phazyme) you can puncture the caps and give them a few per dog if you feel they are uncomfortable due to gas/pressure.

All the best to your babies.

 

[Minimor]

Are they current on their parvo vaccines?

 

[Charley]

Are they acting depressed? That is a big sign of parvo along with the diahrea.

Call the vet and follow their instructions. This is not something to home treat without the vets guidance. Especially the older dog can go down very fast.

Hope they are feeling better soon.

 

[River Wood]

Are they at any time during the day/nite exposed to lead based paint? Just had a story on the news a month ago about that...dog chewed the walls and got extrememly sick from the paint. Just a possibility??

 

[Jill]

Three of our dogs have had diarrhea. We took one, Winston, in to the vets and they gave him some meds (Endosorb) then the next day, two others had it and the vet gave us meds for them. They are all doing much better now but seems to last about 5-6 days. They are currently on a chicken and rice ONLY diet for the next several days. Vet said they are seeing a lot of this.

Additionally, immodium is okay for some dogs, but it is not okay for some herding breeds. It falls into the same catagory as Ivermectin for some hearding breeds (about 1 out of 3 collies cannot tolerate it for example). It's a medicine, like ivermectin, that can cross the brain/blood barrier in certain dogs related to collies.

 

[Candice]

It sounds like a tummy virus. I agree with Jill they should be put on a bland diet of chicken and rice. I only have my one girl now, but when we had the three and more than one got sick like this I called the vet and she prescribed meds, especially when the pepto isn't working.

Hope they feel better soon.

 

[Cimarron]

Thanks for the advice everyone. We were up several times during the nite letting dogs out to go that still have the runs. Also one threw up during the night we are not sure if it was Sandy the old golden retriever or the young golden they were the only ones not crated. Sandy had diahrea twice during the nite. We put down papers so she used those so cleanup wasnt as bad. I called the vet on call this morning and about all he told me was to not feed them for 24 more hours and make sure they drink. He thinks since they are not acting really down that it is just a tummy thing. Says if they still have it to bring them in tomorrow morning for stool samples. If they get worse he said we could bring them in today. They really arent acting sick. Blazer the corgi who threw up 5 times in 2 hours last nite jumped in his pen this morning looking for food. So anyway we will continue to watch them and hope the other 2 outside dont get sick. We're tired of wiping butts and cleaning up messes! Oh well thats what you do when you are a dog mom huh. I need a nap! Sheila

 

[Jill]

I hear you, Sheila. We have been cleaning plenty of dog butts the past week or so and it's the pits. Ours also have been acting normal and playful. Demanding food, etc. Really makes me think my next dog may be a short haired one, though... Urgh.

 

[Sixstardanes]

How are your kids doing?

 

[HGFarm]

Giardia is very common and should be taken care of with medication from a vet, and it's very contagious. Also coccidia... parvo- there are SEVERAL things it could be! (sorry about any spelling errors)

I understand people can get Giardia also! It does not go away on it's own....

Hope they are doing better, but something has sure gotten into them, or they got into something!!

 

[RJRMINIS]

I sure hope they get to feeling better soon!!!!

 

[Jill]

Sheila --

How are they doing now? I hope they are over whatever it was!!!

Jill

 

[mininik]

I hope your dogs are doing okay... With so many adult dogs coming up sick it almost sounds like some sort of poisoning.

 

[Cimarron]

Sorry I didnt report back sooner! The dogs are all fine. Madison (corgi) had to stay at the vet overnite on monday and get IV as she was dehydrated. We put them on a pill for the diahrrea on monday and everyone cleared up. I kept Madison and Sandy (16yrold) on rice and eggs till friday and now they are on regular food again and everyone is well!!! Yah!!!

Now for the cause. Our vet was totally baffled! Could not find anything wrong in fecal sample or blood work. My husband finally figured it about wednesday. We have been giving our old cat packeaged food once a day to put weight on him. He is so finicky tho he has stopped eating it really well. Well my husband had been taking what he wasnt eating and dumping it into Sandys dish when he gave him new food. Of course evreyone cleans up the old dog dish! WEll the food was fish etc and probably grew bacteria whatever and Poof our dogs were sick! It has been a very expensive mistake! One that we did not need but atleast the dogs are better and we know better!! My husband felt so bad!

Thanks for asking! Sheila

 

[Jill]

I'm happy they are doing good, Sheila!!! We don't know what was wrong with our guys, either. We have 6 dogs and 4 of them "got it" but are now fine.

We had one odd thing happen, though. One of our dogs that got it, my baby, Winston, was on rice / chicken like all the other dogs. He kept getting so bloated but the vet said keep him on the bland diet. We finally OH! OH! OH! concluded that odd as it sounds, rice doesn't agree with him (a shih-tzu). He was over the diarrhea for several days but so bloated and uncomfortable. Put him back on his food (he's on prescription for kidney stones) and he was back to his old self. I'll need to remember if anythng like this happens again, he needs pasta and meat or something other than rice.