Guest Scarter55 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Yesterday, Lady got an upset tummy. She had (and still does) pretty extreme diarrhea and threw up, possible twice. In the whole time we've had her, I've only seen her throw up once before, usually she has a pretty solid stomach. It seemed to start Sunday evening, and she actually woke me up in the middle of the night to go outside, which should have been a big clue. The vet has us giving her Pepcid AC and a nice bland diet of boiled chicken and white rice. We were trying to figure out what may of caused it. On Saturday, we took her hiking in this nature preserve nearby that has a "lake". It was really more of a pond. There was a mostly dry creek nearby, so perhaps it gets more lake-like when it rains. Lady had never been to a lake and explored the shallows, definitely drinking some as she went. It wasn't the freshest looking lake. The other thing that came to mind was a number of horse droppings on the trail. Lady stopped to smell them and may have gotten really close/made contact with one of them. Has anyone had experienced anything similar and come away with a sick dog? Just trying to figure out what did it so we can avoid it in the future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrairieProf Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 (edited) She could certainly have Giardia. Or a host of other things, who knows what kind of bacteria. Drinking dubious lake water is very risky for causing such problems. I would strongly recommend going to the vet and getting her on metronidazole (Flagyl), the go-to antibiotic for GI stuff. If she continues to vomit or have diarrhea, she should be fasting for a day or two until it settles down. Edited April 23, 2013 by PrairieProf Quote With Cocoa (DC Chocolatedrop), missing B for Beth (2006-2015)And kitties C.J., Klara, Bernadette, John-Boy, & Sinbad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feisty49 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Yah, strange water makes me very wary. I've pulled Annie away from more than one water source because it looked unsavory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BlueCrab Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Leyland's tummy gets upset if he drinks the water in our house up in NY. We have to use bottled or bring from our MD home whenever we travel, so yes, I would say whatever she drank from the pond may well be the culprit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kudzu Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 People, dogs & horses can have odd reactions to strange water even if it isn't contaminated. So it could just be a bad reaction to a new, even if safe, water source. I've had multiple dogs with a penchant for horse apples. Oddly none have had bad GI outcomes from it. If it doesn't clear up in a couple days or if it gets worse then I'd be suspicious of something like giardia. As a human who made the mistake of drinking river water & contracting giardia I can tell you it is a most unpleasant thing to have. Wouldn't want my dogs to suffer from it for long. But at this point you could certainly give it a couple days to see how your current conservative treatment works. Hope it's very, very temporary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoduck Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 My dogs got sick after drinking from our birdbath. Flagyl and Cerenia helped them get over it.Also ask your vet about canine Pythiosis. This organism killed a friend's lab after swimming in a suburban pond. Quote Freshy (Droopys Fresh), NoAh the podenco orito, Howie the portuguese podengo maneto Angels: Rita the podenco maneta, Lila, the podenco, Mr X aka Denali, Lulu the podenco andaluz, Hada the podenco maneta, Georgie Girl (UMR Cordella), Charlie the iggy, Mazy (CBR Crazy Girl), Potato, my mystery ibizan girl, Allen (M's Pretty Boy), Percy (Fast But True), Mikey (Doray's Patuti), Pudge le mutt, Tessa the iggy, Possum (Apostle), Gracie (Dusty Lady), Harold (Slatex Harold), "Cousin" Simon our step-iggy, Little Dude the iggy ,Bandit (Bb Blue Jay), Niña the galgo, Wally (Allen Hogg), Thane (Pog Mo Thoine), Oliver (JJ Special Agent), Comet, & Rosie our original mutt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scarter55 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Wow, thanks for all the great advice. She hasn't vomited anymore, but still has loose stool, so I'm bringing her into the vet this afternoon. I'll now be well armed with the names of many nasty sounding bugs that I know nothing about. Thanks for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Bad water can cause quite a bit of sickness in dogs including the "watery" stool and vomiting. Chances are, it will not clear up by itself and you'll probably need some Flagyl and maybe something for the nausea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Scarter55 Posted April 23, 2013 Share Posted April 23, 2013 Thanks for all the great advice, we just got back from the vet and it turns out she does have Giardia, likely from the water. Though the vet said it can come from a variety of places. We have pills for her so hopefully it shouldn't last long. We'll definitely keep her away from water in the future! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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