Stanley

[Guest poopsie1]

Stanley has pretty much recovered from his bout of gastroenteritis. I ended up going to the vet and picking up some Hill's id diet canned and dry and I found that worked better for him than just the plain hamburg and rice. It took a week for the diarrhea to clear up but I'm happy to report he is pretty much back to the goofy guy I love so much. I'm still feeding him the id but have now started to introduce his regular into his diet. My problem is I have noticed he's drinking unusual amounts of water. I say unusual because he will normally go all day without drinking while DH and I are working. Now it seems the water bowl is empty most of the time. Of course, since he's drinking so much, he's also urinating a lot. He went out for his last run at 10 last night and this morning at 4 he was whining to go out again. This is a dog that sometimes will not get up at 10 to go out but is still fine in the morning. His lab work came back with a glucose of 148 which is considered high by the reference range of the lab. Does anyone know what normal is for a greyhound and should I consider having an FBS done? Does anyone know if the Hill's id diet would cause this since it seems he started drinking more when I put him on this. Thanks,

[MaryJane]

I don't know whether the ID will cause excessive drinking, so I can't help there. Maybe someone else can share their experience.

 

But, if my dog was drinking more and if he also had a high sugar, I would proceed to have a urinalysis (to see if sugar is leaking) in addition to the Fasting blood sugar.

 

Is your vet concerned? What does he/she say to do?

[Guest poopsie1]

I don't know whether the ID will cause excessive drinking, so I can't help there. Maybe someone else can share their experience.

 

But, if my dog was drinking more and if he also had a high sugar, I would proceed to have a urinalysis (to see if sugar is leaking) in addition to the Fasting blood sugar.

 

Is your vet concerned? What does he/she say to do?

 

A urinalysis was done last week when he was sick and the vet said it was normal. He really didn't seem concerned unless the other symptoms persisted. I'm going to call this PM and ask about the excessive thirst.

[CaliforniaGreys]

Misty's been on the Hills script food for years, and it never caused a lot of drinking but not the ID so there could very well be a difference.

 

I would tend to opt for another UA unless the vet thinks it could possibly be the food or the re-intro of his regular diet

Edited April 1, 2009 by cbudshome

[Guest SoulsMom]

Soul is now on the I/D and only the I/D all the time (nothing, I mean nothing else) and his water intake hasn't increased.

 

Isn't high blood sugar associated with kidney issues? Did you vet do some bloodwork to look at his kidney values?

[Guest poopsie1]

I did look at the Hill's id analysis on the bag and it has iodized salt as well as two other "chloride" ingredients. I don't know if that is the cause but he is really drinking copious amounts of water - everytime I turn around the water bowl is empty. His ua came back normal but something is definitely wrong here. Maybe the whole gastro thing has now turned into a uti. I'm calling the vet today because he peed during the night in the front hall and it wasn't just a small amount - the area rug was soaked. He has never peed in the house before. I was starting to feel better but now I'm nervous all over again.

[Batmom]

Can't help on the glucose.

 

Try giving one regular Pepcid (10mg famotidine for the generic) twice a day and see if that helps. If his tummy feels a little off, he might be drinking extra to try to make it feel better.

[Saffron]

Just saw this -- what did the vet say yesterday Anne-Marie?

 

On the drinking: Could be the food or he's making up for fluids lost with the gastroenteritis .

 

I'd have another UA done if this continues, and the fasting blood sugar.

 

High glucose levels + excessive drinking, without the GI issues last week and change of diet, would normally have me checking for diabetes. I wouldn't panic yet though.

 

ETA: I really should use spell-check!

Edited April 3, 2009 by Saffron

[Guest poopsie1]

My vet's office just called and the vet is quite certain Stanley's body is trying to rehydrate itself after having diarrhea for almost a week. He feels quite comfortable letting him go through the weekend and, if nothing changes, calling back on Monday. I know when he stayed the one night last week they gave him sub q fluids but a week is a long time with a gastro upset. He was better last night and I have taken him completely off the id diet so we'll see what happens. Gillian, I hope you're feeling better.