It's Terrible What A Ham Sandwich Can Do.

[queenwinniesmom]

We got back from the vets this afternoon. Poor Lydia....first it was constant throwing up, then it was constant diarrhea. And it all started with a ham and cheese sandwich. Thanks Doug (DH). He should know better. If it hadn't been Lydia, it would have been Calvin. Last month, the 2 of them stole an entire loaf of bread. And other stuff too. Next time, pay attention!

On Thursday afternoon while I was at work, and Doug was home, he left his food out, and Lydia counter surfed a ham and cheese sandwich. I didn't think this was good, but I was to find out how NOT GOOD it was the next day. We left for GIG about 8 A.M, and Lydia first threw up her breakfast, then twice more. We thought she was probably excited (she adores a road trip). But on the 4 hour trip, she threw up about 4 more times. A couple times in the hotel. A couple times at the vendors. We spent most of Friday night asking for advice, looking for something to help her stomach and keep her hydrated, and contemplating going home the next day. We gave her a Pepcid tablet, which seemed to help, and when she wasn't barfing anymore, gave her Pedialyte, which she loved. She had a normal stool, and was fine all night. The next day, we took it easy on the food, starting with low sodium chicken broth and yogurt. She seemed great on Saturday. She'd never acted sick, though, and was eager to go out and smooze, as usual. But then on Sunday, the diarrhea started. Constant diarrhea. Not in the car, thankfully, but many times after we got home. She got me up 4 times last night, and had 3 accidents in the house. We could get a vet appointment this afternoon, so instead of going back to work (which I didn't really want to do anyway), I took the day off. The vet confirmed what I thought---that ham could be very bad for some dogs, even dangerous if it caused hemmorageaic (sp?) gastroenteritis or pancreatitis. She wasn't at that point, but she got lots of sub cube fluids with an antibiotic. After a 24 hour fast, we'll start her on meds for the stomach and the diarrhea, and gradually start her back on food. Her temp and everything else is normal, she's not acting sick, and I HOPE that this will pass. If it doesn't, we'll need to do bloodwork to see if anything else is going on. I don't want to think of that right now---she has got to be fine. Good thoughts for my precious girl would sure be appreciated. And any experiences and advice would be great too. Thanks.

[Hubcitypam]

Hope Lydia feels better soon!

 

When Poodle had his near fatal bout with pancreatitis it was bacon from my sister that nearly did him in. At the time the vet said "I don't know what it is about pork, but it really tears them up." Ham is obviously not as fatty as bacon but I am now total pork product paranoid.

 

One of my dog sitting clients recently brought a bunch of lunch meat for her dogs and I went and bought anouther chicken like she sent and returned the ham to her unopened as I didn't want to feed them ham even though she does.

[tbhounds]

Ahhh sorry your baby is still ill.. Pardon the pun but, this to will pass! Hopefully, after a good fast she'll start to feel better. Most folks don't realize but, one single fatty meal could cause pancreatitis with some pups. Why is it that they always seem to get sick when your trying to get away?? Feel better Lydia!

Edited May 3, 2011 by tbhounds

[Batmom]

Poor lovely Lydia. Feel better soon, sweetheart.

[sabrina]

Lydia poor poor you to be sick on your vacation. I hope you quickly recover

 

Sabrina

[45MPHK9]

Hoping that the beautiful Lydia is all better in no time. Murray sends a smooch her way.

[sweetdogs]

Oh I'm sorry Nancy that Lydia is still poorly. I hope that she's ridden herself of the offending substance & is on the mend. She is very kewt.

 

FWIW, in the raw feeding community, raw pork is often fed with good results. I've fed it myself to the hounds & it's really great for cats. But cooked pork is usually not recommended. I don't know whether it's how ham & bacon are prepared or just the cooking but when it doesn't agree with your pup, it's not a good thing. Tell Doug to switch to chicken.

[4My2Greys]

Nancy I hope things get settled with Lydia soon and she gets to feeling better. What is frustrating is trying to figure out what and why certain things send their poor systems into such turmoil. I'll be keeping Nadir's special girl in my thoughts and sending her lots of healing thoughts and a big hug for you.

[PrairieProf]

I'm surprised he didn't want to run a cPL to check for pancreatitis -- it's a quick test they can do in-house. Even if it's just mild and she gets better without major intervention, if she's had it you need to know, as modifying her diet may be necessary to prevent a recurrence.

[SIGreyLady]

I never knew ham could be so bad!!

 

Sending a smooch to your pretty Lydia and a hug to you . I'm sure she will feel better soon.

[santannahmom]

I hope Lydia gets well soon.

Keep us posted.

Hugs

[luvhounds2]

Wow, I had no idea pork could do something like this! Poor, sweet Lydia - we hope you get lots of rest & recover fully & quickly.

for you, Lydia.

 

Barb, Tick & Mac

Edited May 3, 2011 by luvhounds2

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Wow... I had no idea that cooked ham can have that effect. Ours have eaten lots of raw pork with no negative consequences but I don't believe they have ever eaten ham (well, maybe a tiny taste at holiday time) I will keep this in mind. Ham is not one of my favorites so we don't have it around often, anyways. I did give them some cooked lean pork chop a couple of weeks ago, though. Nobody got sick from it.

[Batmom]

Wouldn't be any reason that cooked pork would have different effects than raw pork. More likely to do with fat or salt content of ham in particular, or individual sensitivity.

 

Really hope Lydia is back to herself today!

[Guest K9Cookies]

Oh, geesh, Nancy! Watching poor Lydia throw up at the vendor tents was enough for me to know that she really wasn't feeling well. Hope the trip to the vet's office will get her on the mend right away.

[Guest BrianRke]

Like some of the others, I had no idea pork could cause this bad of a reaction. I had always heard it wasnt the best thing to give a dog but didnt realize how bad it could be. No more ham for my troops!!

 

Im sorry you had to experience this, especially while you were on a trip.

[Guest jettcricket]

Poor girlie....hope whatever it is she gets over it quickly.

[Houndtime]

Gee, I hope she will feel better soon.

[nyGreys]

Oh, Nancy, I know how scared you must be.

I hope it's nothing serious, poor sweetie. Get well soon Lydia.

[mychip1]

Thinking of your girl!!! EZ and JJ do fine with a little ham - and love it, in fact. Dustin is so sensitive I don't dare....

 

But my Beagle who is now at the bridge could not touch ANY pork products. She would get violently ill from it. Even the smallest amount of ham. Thankfully, we realized quickly what the trigger was.....but she did get through the two battles that we had from it.

 

Lots of good wishes!

[Guest tinams8]

A vet told me once that stealing a ham off the holiday table has resulted in severe pancreatitis for many dogs. He said ham and cheese are two foods that really are not good because they have too much fat in them. I used to train with cheese sticks and dried hot dogs, but I stopped after that!

 

That sounds like a miserable weekend. I hope she is feeling much better!

[PrairieProf]

It's odd because most deli ham you buy for sandwiches has a very low percentage of fat -- I've always been struck by that. An actual carved ham might well be different.

 

Pork fat is also the main fat source in the Prescription Diet I/D Beth is doing fabulously on now (after coming near to pancreatitis herself, I speculate from trying to add the much-lauded fish oil to her 15% fat food), and other dog foods (when "animal fat" is listed I think it's generally chicken and/or pork). So there's nothing intrinsically dangerous about it. I'm actually happy about her food including pork fat; it's much more species-appropriate fat source than the plant oils that are in many foods now. High in Omega 6, but that's a separate issue.

 

I'm not saying there might not be real problems with pork, just wondering about the contradictions. But the issue may be the added dose of fat in a ham sandwich (and didn't the original post mention cream cheese as well? don't forget about that!) on top of regular food.

Edited May 3, 2011 by PrairieProf

[greysmom]

We have ham lunch meat ocassionally with no problems. Though poor Dorie had a huge bout of Big D here at the beach after getting some regular ham on her dinner. It didn't seem to bother the other four, but Dorito just can't handle any ham at all!

 

Hope Lydia feels more better soon!

[carronstar]

Feel better soon Lydia.

[queenwinniesmom]

It's odd because most deli ham you buy for sandwiches has a very low percentage of fat -- I've always been struck by that. An actual carved ham might well be different.

 

Pork fat is also the main fat source in the Prescription Diet I/D Beth is doing fabulously on now (after coming near to pancreatitis herself, I speculate from trying to add the much-lauded fish oil to her 15% fat food), and other dog foods (when "animal fat" is listed I think it's generally chicken and/or pork). So there's nothing intrinsically dangerous about it. I'm actually happy about her food including pork fat; it's much more species-appropriate fat source than the plant oils that are in many foods now. High in Omega 6, but that's a separate issue.

 

I'm not saying there might not be real problems with pork, just wondering about the contradictions. But the issue may be the added dose of fat in a ham sandwich (and didn't the original post mention cream cheese as well? don't forget about that!) on top of regular food.

 

Thanks for all the good thoughts. She is my heart dog, and I can't bear the thought of anything happening to her. The sandwich was a slice of cooked ham from Easter dinner, and Velveeta (I know---not really cheese)! It was pretty salty, and probably fatty.

I wasn't aware of the in-house test for pancreatitis. I will have to ask about that.

 

She seems to be okay today. We'll see how it goes tonight when we introduce a small amount of ground beef and rice, per vet instructions, then starting the meds.