A change, or different food usually isn't enough to cause that kind of reaction. She probably got a 'bad' bully stick…those things can grow bacteria pretty quick. Or maybe she got a little virus. It happens occasionally.
I think your plan sounds good, withold regular food...bland diet...plenty of water. She should be fine in a day or so.
Interesting to know about the bully sticks growing bacteria. I usually buy them 3 - 4 at a time, which lasts about a month. Do you think it would be better to not do that and only buy them as I need them? I keep them in a dry place and I only use the Red Barn ones…they don't stink as bad as the cheaper ones :D. I tried some organic bully sticks but Ruby wouldn't touch them...not tasty/smelly enough for her :rolleyes:.
Unfortunately, bully sticks seem to be the only chew thing that Ruby will touch...I've tried every chew toy under the sun at this point and she's not interested in them at all.
Interesting to know about the bully sticks growing bacteria. I usually buy them 3 - 4 at a time, which lasts about a month. Do you think it would be better to not do that and only buy them as I need them? I keep them in a dry place and I only use the Red Barn ones…they don't stink as bad as the cheaper ones :D. I tried some organic bully sticks but Ruby wouldn't touch them...not tasty/smelly enough for her :rolleyes:.
Unfortunately, bully sticks seem to be the only chew thing that Ruby will touch...I've tried every chew toy under the sun at this point and she's not interested in them at all.
I have never had a problem with the bully sticks from Red Barn.. but "stuff" happens… gggg... I would just chalk it up as a tummy upset... happens....:)
So far, so good today…I fed Ruby a small amount (about a 1/4 cup) of rice/boiled hamburg around 10am...no problem. I fed her about the same amount around 1pm (this time with a tiny bit of pumpkin) and still no problem. I'll feed her again in another 3-4 hours. She ate like she's never had food before :D, so there's nothing wrong with her appetite. She is still drinking water occasionally and always with food).
It's freezing here so she's just been lying in front of the fire most of the day (normal when the stove is running). She's been outside a bunch and has pee'd but no poop.
I'm crossing my fingers (and her paws :D) that the worst is over.
I'm crossing my fingers (and her paws :D) that the worst is over.
Sounds like you've had your share of mess, I hope the worst is over for you too.;)
Sounds like you've had your share of mess, I hope the worst is over for you too.;)
Thanks!!! 
So far, so good today…I fed Ruby a small amount (about a 1/4 cup) of rice/boiled hamburg around 10am...no problem. I fed her about the same amount around 1pm (this time with a tiny bit of pumpkin) and still no problem. I'll feed her again in another 3-4 hours. She ate like she's never had food before :D, so there's nothing wrong with her appetite. She is still drinking water occasionally and always with food).
It's freezing here so she's just been lying in front of the fire most of the day (normal when the stove is running). She's been outside a bunch and has pee'd but no poop.
I'm crossing my fingers (and her paws :D) that the worst is over.
Sounds good, one thing however… I would use ground turkey and/or ground chicken... it really is easier on the gut then hamburger....
Sounds good, one thing however… I would use ground turkey and/or ground chicken... it really is easier on the gut then hamburger....
Thanks, I plan on getting some tomorrow. However, today I needed to use what I had in the house as I didn't want to leave her (even for an hour to go to the store considering how quickly it all went wrong yesterday). The only other thing I had was ground bison…but I was afraid to use that. Trust me, I was lucky I had rice in the house ;).
I'll have some emergency supplies in the future. :rolleyes: that's for sure.
I'm curious how long the soft stool continues once they are on the bland diet (I switched to boiled ground turkey instead of ground beef)…so boiled brown rice & ground turkey and a spoonful of pumpkin. I've been feeding her 3 times a day (1/4 cup amounts). The last 2 nights she woke me up every 3 hours to have me take her out. The stool is very soft & runny, but not water like was the original problem...could the pumpkin keep it runny? The poop is pumpkin coloured. She's still eating fine, taking water, running around and acting normal.
I'm wondering if I should still be doing the small meals...she is normally fed once per day.
Just a reminder of the timeline of this...the whole water diarrhea was Tuesday & Wednesday, Wednesday I didn't feed her at all. Thursday - Saturday I fed her bland diet (3x day, 1/4 cup amounts).
I'm planning on taking her to the vet on Monday just to be checked.
In the meantime, I thought I'd ask...should I be seeing more improvement by now, or because it was so bad Tuesday & Wednesday might it take longer.
I just don't know. Thanks!
I would not be feeding the pumpkin at this point at all… just the rice and turkey.. and really because it has no fat, you should have very little stool, however that said they will usually be to the soft side... Also I never agreed with feeding once a day, I believe that twice is much better for them.. and small amounts, I do at regular feeding times...
I would not be feeding the pumpkin at this point at all… just the rice and turkey.. and really because it has no fat, you should have very little stool, however that said they will usually be to the soft side... Also I never agreed with feeding once a day, I believe that twice is much better for them.. and small amounts, I do at regular feeding times...
Thanks Pat…I was hoping you were online this morning ;).
Yes, there is very little stool, so I'm glad that is normal and that being soft is ok as well. I'll stop the pumpkin. Do you think I should add cottage cheese, or just keep it at the rice/turkey.
And yes, I had planned on switching her to 2x per day feedings but just had not done it. So thanks!
I'm curious how long the soft stool continues once they are on the bland diet (I switched to boiled ground turkey instead of ground beef)…so boiled brown rice & ground turkey and a spoonful of pumpkin. I've been feeding her 3 times a day (1/4 cup amounts). The last 2 nights she woke me up every 3 hours to have me take her out. The stool is very soft & runny, but not water like was the original problem...could the pumpkin keep it runny? The poop is pumpkin coloured. She's still eating fine, taking water, running around and acting normal.
Small, soft stool is not unusual on a bland diet but the waking you up every 3 hours to go out is not usual. It sounds like she picked up a stomach bug.
Small, soft stool is not unusual on a bland diet but the waking you up every 3 hours to go out is not usual. It sounds like she picked up a stomach bug.
Good to know…thanks! Does it seem odd, that she would still have the bug 5 days later? BTW, she has not vomited at all.
Yeah, I think I would take her to the vet on Monday. That is a lot of days to have loose feces. Especially the kind that requires to be taken out in the middle of the night. She may have a bacterial thing going on in her gut.
Yeah, I think I would take her to the vet on Monday. That is a lot of days to have loose feces. Especially the kind that requires to be taken out in the middle of the night. She may have a bacterial thing going on in her gut.
Thanks Andrea!! I'll definitely take her in on Monday.
Good to know…thanks! Does it seem odd, that she would still have the bug 5 days later? BTW, she has not vomited at all.
It is not odd that this still could be going on, especially if she has Giardia which is the most common bug…. medication will put her right pretty quick...
It is not odd that this still could be going on, especially if she has Giardia which is the most common bug…. medication will put her right pretty quick...
Thanks again Pat…I'll be taking her to the vet tomorrow.
Let us know how she is doing…. good news is that she is eating and drinking... leads me to think Giardia...
In true typical form, almost as soon as posted my last post in this thread, Ruby stopped having diarrhea. 
She went most of yesterday without needing to go poop and did a small one last night right before bed…still soft. She slept thru the whole night without needing to go out. This morning, she pottied but would not poop. I called the vet in the a.m. and got an appointment for tonight.
My brother stayed home with her all day today and she drank water and pee'd. Tonight when I got home, she pooped, and it was small and well formed...not runny at all and if anything even a little dry. I grabbed it and took it with me to the vet as they wanted a sample.
The vet says they think she has turned the corner. Her temp was good, everything was good, she's not dehydrated at all. They are sending out the fecal sample and should have the results on Wednesday. They aren't ruling out giardia, but indicated that it might not actually show up when the sample is tested. They wanted to hold off giving any meds for now...they think she is on the mend. They said to not be surprised if she misses a day or two of pooping and that if that happens not to worry and don't give her the pumpkin as it may be too much for her (seeing as it may have made things a little worse in her case). They said it was actually pretty infrequent for a dog to get constipated, especially on a good diet (she's on Innova Evo), so I shouldn't worry that it will go in the opposite direction. If all goes well, I'm going to start introducing her regular food back in a little on Wednesday...and we'll see how that goes. If the diarrhea starts up again when I start adding her food back in, then we'll put her on meds.
We still have a few days before the holidays and they told me not to worry that if I needed to come back in they'd get me in.
So, I REALLY, REALLY want to thank you all for all of your advice. I've been seriously stressed and worried. Everything you told me to do they said was perfect and they wouldn't have suggested anything different.
I'm going to call and get the test results on Wednesday and will keep you posted if anything changes.
Thanks again...I could hug you all !!!!!! Kim
Yay! Glad she has turned the corner!
That is great news.. and yes Giardia is sometimes very hard to detect… if she has another bout within the next two weeks, if it was me, I would insist on meds...
