Tayda and Lenny are sick and I'm out of town

[Tayda_Lenny]

So my husband and I are in the Czech Republic until Sunday…. we have a pet sitter staying at the house with Tayda and Lenny. She is excellent and taking great care of them.

In the last 2 days, both Tayda and Lenny have vomited up their food 3 or 4 times and now they are acting lethargic and not eating much. They are eating, but not their usual amount. Tayda seems to be getting back to normal... she is usually a picky eater but it seems like she at least has an interest in food again. Lenny on the other hand, who is normally a voracious eater, is probably eating a quarter of his normal daily food intake, and not very enthusiastically at that. They have both peed and pooped since this all started, though Lenny has not peed or pooped in the last day. I will say that it is cold and rainy at home right now so even when they are in perfect health, he will hold it for days. So its hard to tell if he's holding it because of the weather, or not going because he is sick. He has not vomited up any of the food he's eaten in the last day.

My first concern was an intestinal obstruction. We have been through that before with Lenny. However, he is eating and drinking and not vomiting.... so is that a good sign that that is not the case?

The only unusual thing that has happened is that apparently they were outside a few days ago and found something really smelly and pasty to roll around in... likely some small animal feces. Our yard is completely fenced in so it must have been something that could climb over... possibly a squirrel or skunk or something like that. Since I wasnt there I dont know for sure, but I suppose its possible that they injested some of it?

They have both been vaccinated for DHPP but not for Lepto.

Any ideas? We will be home on Sunday but if a trip to the vet is warranted for this I suppose Id prefer the pet sitter to take them today, friday, rather than wait until we get home on Sunday. Weekend visits to the vet always mean going to the emergency vet which is crazy expensive.

any ideas would be appreciated?

[SyberSade]

OH MY GOSH MICHELLE! I'm so sorry! You are half a world away from home…...you must be going nuts! I have no answers for you, but I'm sure someone on here will! I just came online to post something to the Basenji Forums, too. You've gotta read it.......it'll blow your mind!

I hope Tayda and Lenny are OK....and that you guys can salvage some fun from your last few days there.....and have a safe trip home! Keep us posted!

Love,
Sadie

[Tayda_Lenny]

Hey Sadie,

Yeah, I'm worried about them. It's hard not being there to really see whats going on, though our pet sitter is giving us a very thorough play by play. I hope they are on the mend, Lenny hasn't thrown up since Wednesday night, and he's eating a little, but things are definitely not normal.

[SyberSade]

P.S. You are the only person I know personally on the Basenji Forum….and you are a million miles away......and we were both posting to this forum and to the Health Issues area at the exact same time. AND I had just been thinking of sending you a copy of my post. Bizarre!

[SyberSade]

Ohhhh…..........I really hope they ARE on the mend. I feel bad for your poor pet-sitter, too!

[vickilb]

I know whenever I go away, both my bs don't eat much. No matter who's staying at my house or where they are. I hope they just miss you and they'll be back to thier crazy b-self's upon your return!

[nobarkus]

Have the pet sitter take them to the vet today.

[Quercus]

It is hard to give advice over the internet, especially when we are all so far away from what is actually happening. I would probably tell my dogsitter that at any point she felt like they weren't improving to go ahead and get them into the vet. That being said, my dogs occasionally go thru that, where they will barf up their food, and seem like they have the flu. If I am pretty sure they don't have an obstruction, then I usually wait at least 24hours before I take them to the vet. But…it is so subjective...if they barf up one meal, I pay attention...if they barf up two meals, I watch them obsessively. If they seem weak or dehydrated they should immediately go to the vet. I hope they feel better soon...and I hope you can relax and enjoy your trip

[Tayda_Lenny]

thanks for the replies! they are under strict observation and are seemingly doing better. still not 100% but both are starting to eat more, and both are peeing and pooping so hopefully that rules out my major worry of an obstruction. pet sitter made an appointment with the vet for today but then by the afternoon they were both eating a little more and chasing imaginary squirrels in the backyard so we cancelled the appointment. so maybe they did eat some of the unidentified feces in the backyard while they were rolling in it and got a bug. they do seem to be on the upswing now…. they are being watched like hawks though....

[nobarkus]

Sounds like what ever they ate they are coming out of it. I pull more crap out of Buddy's mouth on walks! I almost lost my first Basenji in 1977 on a camping trip. My mistake in letting it run around loose off leash and she ran around the camp grounds eating all kinds of crap. She really got terribly sick and spent the weekend at the town vet. Back then there were no credit cards used only check and cash. I only had a check and not enough cash to pay up front. Being some small town up in N CA he was hesitant about my check being good having been ripped off by people. My Bs life was at stake and he agreed to take care of her.

[DebraDownSouth]

I have pet sitters take immed to vet if ANYTHING seems wrong simply because they don't know my dogs like I do and I don't trust them to make a call– and I do trust my vets. I'd rather be out money than lose one of my guys. That said, if they are doing better, probably just ate something awful. I'd have worried some sicko threw something poisonous though. I think the issue for me is that toxins and pancreatitis and many things get worse with time and waiting ends up with something you may no longer be able to get ahead of. I can help but think of an online person who waited, only to find out the dog had been given antifreeze. By the time she decided the dog wasn't improving, too much damage was done. So if there seems to be ANY relapse, please get the sitter to take them in.

[SyberSade]

Hi Michelle!
Let us know how the "kids" are when you get home….......and how your trip was!
Travel safe!
Love,
Sadie