Guest SillyIzzysMom Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Izzy still has the runs and today had blood in her stool. Took her (and the poo) to the vet. He checked her out (sent the poo off for better tests) gave her some new medication sent her home with some prescription food. . . Then he told me not to feed her tonight. The only problem is that Izzy doesn't know her tummy is having troubles. She thinks that it is just sooooo empty and sad. It's just now getting close to dinner time and she's pacing and whining. Just how hard and fast a rule is the "fasting" rule? Really? Nothing? Nothing at all until tomorrow? (except water of course). Last time they told me to do that she really was feeling crummy so she didn't seem to mind not eating at all. But today she is feeling fine and certainly expects some chow RIGHT NOW. I suspect we will get very little sleep tonight if her tummy stays this empty until morning. So how do you "fast" your dogs without going nuts? Or, alternatively, have you ever fudged a little on a "fast" edict by giving just a smidge of food?? Thanks m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mommydog Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Yes, I have relented on occasion and given just a little food, but you really are better off starving her properly if that's what the vet says to do. It's tough I know, but it'll be better for her in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sighthounds4me Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 As much water as she wants, but NO FOOD. Trust me, dogs can survive for 24 hours without food. They have you trained to believe otherwise, but they will live. And really, this means NO food. Not even a treat. If her stomach is that messed up, it needs the rest that a fast will give it. Quote Sarah, the human, Henley, and Armani the Borzoi boys, and Brubeck the Deerhound.Always in our hearts, Gunnar, Naples the Greyhounds, Cooper and Manero, the Borzoi, and King-kitty, at the Rainbow Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest luckydog Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 She'll be fine missing a meal tonight. You're spending hard-earned cash on that test, so you want it to be accurate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaliforniaGreys Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 As much water as she wants, but NO FOOD. Trust me, dogs can survive for 24 hours without food. They have you trained to believe otherwise, but they will live. And really, this means NO food. Not even a treat. If her stomach is that messed up, it needs the rest that a fast will give it. They may be able to survive 24hrs....but will their mom??? Quote Missing my little Misty who took a huge piece of my heart with her on 5/2/09, and Ekko, on 6/28/12 For the sick, the lost, and the homeless Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sighthounds4me Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 As much water as she wants, but NO FOOD. Trust me, dogs can survive for 24 hours without food. They have you trained to believe otherwise, but they will live. And really, this means NO food. Not even a treat. If her stomach is that messed up, it needs the rest that a fast will give it. They may be able to survive 24hrs....but will their mom??? YES! Think of it this way - in extreme cases, dogs that are allowed to train their owners are much more likely to be overweight: "But she looks so hungry!" as the human passes the treat cabinet. Just give her one. But this goes on several times a day, and every treat adds unwanted, empty calories. Eventually, the dog has you trained, and trying to work off those excess pounds becomes even tougher, because not only do you have to trim excess calories from the diet, but you have to look at those sad, hungry, brown eyes all day. Do you really want this ahead of you? My dogs are fasted once in a while, if their stomachs need it. Yes, I get sad looks, but I cannot let it get to me. They also know that it does not work on me, so they rarely try. They have learned that I am not easily trained to their wants, rather they are to be trained to my needs! Quote Sarah, the human, Henley, and Armani the Borzoi boys, and Brubeck the Deerhound.Always in our hearts, Gunnar, Naples the Greyhounds, Cooper and Manero, the Borzoi, and King-kitty, at the Rainbow Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SillyIzzysMom Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 I don't know if I'm going to make it or not!! Her supper is only an hour late at this point, and she's already progressed to eye rolling and sighing. I'm sure you guys are right. Even though she is a little underweight, it's not like missing a meal is going to kill her. It's just that look she keeps giving me, like, "Don't you see the clock? Can't you hear my tummy?" The vet said colitis, hopefully a bad cycle from stress, worms and food change. When I first took her in a couple weeks ago they have me flagl and high fiber food to firm her up. Now they're trying sulfasalizine (sp?) and very low fiber food. Weird. Hopefully this will work better Thanks for sage advice. m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest WYOwhy Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I might not be right in this (those of you who know better feel free to correct me), but you might be able to give her crushed ice as well as water. As silly as this is, the act of chewing and swallowing the crushed ice is more like the act of eating and might convince her that you gave her a bit of food even when you didn't. Not that I'm saying she won't know that ice isn't food, but sometimes the psychological comfort of chewing and swallowing helps ease the feeling of hunger. It works in humans - might be worth a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sighthounds4me Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 If I'm not mistaken, sulfa drugs are a no-no in sighthounds? Please correct me if I am wrong. I know this is the case in some sighthounds, and I can't recall off the top of my head if this is the case in Greys specifically, of if I am thinking of what I learned in another sighthound breed recently... Quote Sarah, the human, Henley, and Armani the Borzoi boys, and Brubeck the Deerhound.Always in our hearts, Gunnar, Naples the Greyhounds, Cooper and Manero, the Borzoi, and King-kitty, at the Rainbow Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SillyIzzysMom Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 you know. . .I have to admit, as soon as I got home with the bottle (before I gave Izzy a dose) I did a search on greytalk of that medicine to make sure I didn't see some post that said, "no matter what, don't give your dog. . ." and actually found several posts that talked about greys being treated with this med. So. . .I have less worries. Of course I googled it and saw a thing about how sometimes it can give dogs permanent problems with "dry eye" and freaked a little--but all medications have their weird spooky rare side effects. I actually just switched to this vet because so many g-hound owners in my town use him. So I'm thinking he's a grey-savy as I'm gonna find here in the Piney woods of East Texas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sighthounds4me Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Good - I don't mind f I am wrong, if it means your hound is safe! I don know that Scottish Deerhounds do show some tendancy to sensitivity to sulfa drugs. That is probably what I was thinking! Quote Sarah, the human, Henley, and Armani the Borzoi boys, and Brubeck the Deerhound.Always in our hearts, Gunnar, Naples the Greyhounds, Cooper and Manero, the Borzoi, and King-kitty, at the Rainbow Bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SillyIzzysMom Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 But thanks for the heads up!! I always feel like with my animals (and my kids) I walk that fine line between informed patient advocate and wack-job woman who calls and asks a million questions about every treatment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onrushpam Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Yes, fasting is a good thing! A lot of greyhound farms fast their dogs one day a week... usually Sunday. It serves two purposes... gives any upset tummies a chance to settle and also keeps the dogs interested in their food. If it is colitis (does she have jelly-like substance in her poop?) fasting will really help everything get calmed down. Then, start back with bland, easy-to-digest food. We had an Afghan hound with terrible chronic colitis. I could always tell when it was flaring up. She'd have loud "gurgles" coming from her tummy. At the first "gurgle", we would switch her to boiled hamburger or chicken and pasta. Rice is too high fiber and hard to digest. Quote Pam GPA-Tallahassee/Southeastern Greyhound Adoption "Fate is unalterable only in the sense that given a cause, a certain result must follow, but no cause is inevitable in itself, and man can shape his world if he does not resign himself to ignorance." Pearl S. Buck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest charmsmom Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I'm really surprised. In humans, sulfa drugs are REALLY hard on the system, particularly the stomach. I had to take one and I was out for a week after ONE pill! Anyway, I agree with the ice. If necessary, you might be able to give her some chicken broth. It's a clear liquid for people and doesn't really count as "food". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SillyIzzysMom Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 well, we survived our fast, but when Izzy woke at 5:30 this morning I went ahead and got up with her rather than making her wait until 6:15. Yes, there's jelly looking blood in the poo. . .and her belly has been making WEIRD noises for a couple weeks. Crazy stuff. The first time it happened a couple of weeks ago it was after a CET chew. . .obviously she's not having any of those any more. But even before that she was a little "soft serve" Now I'm wondering if I should have started her back on boiled meat and pasta rather than the stuff the vet gave me. It's some kind of prescription diet for tummy trouble. We'll see! I fed her this morning and she ate, and when we went outside after she didn't seem to need to poo (very unusual) I guess because she didn't eat last night she had nothing to go. I figure that's a pretty good sign. Maybe the food will hang around long enough for her to get some nutrition out of it--she needs a few pounds. She is at her listed racing weight and you can see 4 and a half ribs. She needs a bit more flesh! It was cute though. Since I had to leave her at the vet for the exam (they worked her in and I had a million things I had to get done) when I was paying at the desk, Izzy wouldn't even look at me but her tail started wagging just a little. She even tried to jump in the car herself to go home (generally she goes statue-- I have to grab her chest and muscle her STIFF front legs in then lift the back end and push her in--this time she at least got her own front legs in the car). And when we got home and back in the house she just ran around silly silly wagging her tail, like "Whew!! I really AM home!! (Of course all that happiness was before she figured out that I was a mean mommie who wasn't going to give her supper--haha) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marion Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 My Soldi just had bloody colitis and vomiting...as in my experience vets often make things worse filling up the hounds' organism with lots of meds which interfere the natural healing process, I just waited keeping an eye on her temp and hydration. She fasted for 3 days...yesterday she started eating again and now she's completely back to her normal self... If the hound drinks sufficiently and has NO fever I would wait at least 48 hours to give the organism a possibility of recovery...in most cases the colitis issues resolve on their own just with fasting. Quote -------------------------------------------- Marion, Ivy & Soldi Perseverance is not a long race... it is many short races one after another. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SillyIzzysMom Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Now I'm annoyed. I took the time to look up the food the vet prescribed for Izzy's tummy (on that dog food review site) and it's a stupid one star food all full of rice and corn (hard to digest). Why do vets push crappy food? I understand the first presciption diet he gave me, which is specifically supposed to be high fiber, being mostly bulky carbs. . .but this one is Purina EN especially for dogs with digestive issues. Sigh. So some advice--should I ditch this crappy (possibly litterally "crappy") food and start her on some boiled hamburger and pasta? I don't mind doing it for my sweet girl if we can JUST get her poor tummy straightened out. I know myself well enough to know that taking up raw feeding is not going to happen unless all other options are exhausted. But I'm certainly up to some creative kitchen work for awhile to get her straightened out. so if you think I should start making her some special dinner--can someone tell me what exactly (low fat hb? regular?) and what proportion hb to pasta. Add any other stuff to it?? I would change the topic of this post to "advice please" but I don't know how to do that!! Hopefully folks will find this question way down here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest luckydog Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 I"m wondering why you fed her before the vet appointment this morning. Doesn't that negate the whole fasting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SillyIzzysMom Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 She went to the vet yesterday (and took her poo with in baggie) they mailed it off for more testing. Then checked her over and sent her home with instructions to not feed until this morning. So that's what I did--it ended up being 24 hours of fasting. . .I guess I could fast her longer. . .but it's not like her appetite is depressed. She obviously doesn't feel too bad because she scarfs food down like there is no tomorrow then starts pacing around the pantry hoping to snag some extra food for desert. I'm going to see what this food does to the poo--if seems icky I may try a few days on hamburger and pasta (or rice?? which is calmer for tummies?) m Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Javagirl Posted February 28, 2008 Share Posted February 28, 2008 Hiya, First off, I'm a new grey mom, so I want to volunteer that my experience is limited but I've been haunting this site for weeks absorbing as much info as I can. I thought my limited experience might help though. My Ladd has been having stomach issues for the past week as well and it can get very worrying - hang in there. If your pup is having stomach problems my adoption group highly suggests white rice and boiled chicken (I did a 2:1 cup ratio) for 3 days to get their stomach down to just those basics. (Although basic for us also includes a lot of peanut butter - the DBF is a sucker). It has really helped clear up the loose stool and that awful gas. He was getting really lethargic and he seems much more playful now after 48 hours on this diet. I was also warned that Ladd might lose some weight bringing him down to the basic food for a while but it shouldn't be an issue if it is temporary. After this week we are moving him to a gentle but good quality white fish dog kibble (Fromm's White Fish and Potato). Nutro has a 'sensitive stomach' kibble which his foster mom used and he responded well to that as well, I just can't find it around here. As for selection and finding all this stuff - I found that the big pet stores only carry the major brands but their online stores have a much wider selection. I often have to scour the area for small independent stores which carry Eagle Pack, Fromms, Evolution... I hope this helps a bit. Update us! Kristyn P.S. I had him eating Merrick 'Turduckan' but it was just too rich for him and he ended up getting sick and nearly dehydrated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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