Anyone else experience a $300 tummy-ache?

[IZ]

Hi all - our 13-week old Newf is having tummy trouble. Grainy VERY loose stool, and he has thrown up 5 times in the last 48 hours. We took him to the vet on the first day. They did x-rays - no obstruction (thank God), and she said he was filled with gas. His fever was 105 and his blood work was a little all over the place. The vet said his GI tract was all "confused" and we needed to calm everything down. (don;t really know the cause - we did have him on a new diet of Wellness). She prescribed an anti-biotic given with yogurt, gas-x, a diet of rice mixed with tuna for a week. I'm worried because he still has diareha, threw up last night - and his tummy is still making horrible sounds. Anyone else experince this??? Am I just an impatient Mommy?

[greek4]

All Rocco's (Newf mix) costly stomachs were caused by something he ate that obstructed his bowel.  I wish I could help more.

[patrick]

I give my dogs Pepto Bismol for upset tummies and add some pumpkin to their food.  You can also add some Metamucil to help his stools to form up a little and continue with the rice by all means.  With a temperature of 105 it sounds like an infection not an allergy to foods or intolerance to a brand of food either

[newflvr]

I've got to agree with Patrick....it does sound like an infection of some sort!  Rice, boiled chicken or turkey in very small meals several times a day would be best.  Is he on an antibiotic?  After having just gone through severe tummy problems with Cowboy, I would be VERY careful of your baby!  Have the done an ultrasound?  Is there any blood in the vomit or diarrahea?

[shangrila]

Zoey has had a middle-of-the-night emergency room visit from an upste tummy like the one you described. In her case, it is pancreatitis from chewing on a hambone (she didnt swallow the bone or anything, just the saltiness of it hurt her stomach or something). Anyways, our vet had us fast her for a day, then put her on small meals of boiled hamburger and rice with some pepto. It worked perfectly.

I am suprised that your doctor didnt prescribe a fast for the GI tract, and tuna is an interesting choice of protein for the bland diet. If the diahrea doesnt go away I would call the vet again.

[IZ]

He is on an anti-biotic. The vet said we could mix rice with either chicken, tuna or ground beef. Since we are planning to do a homecooked diet that said beef isn't ideal for a newf - we didn't choose the beef on this. The vet did not recommend a fast - which I thought was strange too - but he does want to eat....
He is gobbling up his food - and he is a DEVIL today so he obviously is feeling better. No blood in the stool or vomit at this point. Stools are still grainy and orange in color - very strange....

[mastiffmommy]

Ohhhh poor baby Iz, I hope he gets to feeling better soon. I have to agree with Mari, that rice and chicken is the most common for a bland diet. Also the pepto bismo is good, I use that on mine when their bellies are upset. It doesnt sound like something thats stuck, but sometimes it is almost impossible to see with x-ray and need to be carefully ultrasounded. A good sing that he acts like a brat again 

Good Luck and please keep us updated
Marit

[ozzysma]

ozzy went through this at about 4 months and vet never did find a problem it just got over it.  but i might add that i dont know how busy your house was over christmas but sometimes is throws them off or they get into something or are given something.  we try not to feed ozzy stuff but i know last night my son was in and out and knows not to give ozzy stuff.  ozzy came down with a large piece of pork that was left on the counter to cool.  i thought he had gotten up on the counter , which he has never done, but no my daughter tells me my son gave it to him.  so you never know?  oh and also your iz , is adorable!!!!

[IZ]

Thank you - we think he is adorable too! We had another bought last night - and was back to the vet today. It's now a $600 tummy-ache!
X-rays are still clear, no fever anymore. They are now testing for parasites etc...
We have had a very busy holiday. The vet made a good point today - we live on a heavily wooded piece of property - with lots of wildlife. It's possible he ate something or picked up a bug of some kind on one of his walks. I know he hasn't had any food he shouldn't have we have been very diligent wiht him and with everyone coming in contact with him.
I hope you are right -- and that this simply goes away.....

[nostaw]

Hi,

if I can give a UK point of view, our local vet has an attitude that you should try everything possible before throwing money at a condition. He worries about the risks involved in sedation of big paws to obtain xrays etc. he also has the attitude that if it goes in one end and comes out the other there isnt a blockage.

We've had a couple of scares of this type with Annie, Bell and Hovis and I'll be the first to admit, the first time, I was scared to death. In the vast majority of cases, if its coming out the back of the dog and there's no blood, its a food thing.

Our vets advice every time has been, starve the dog for 24 - 48 hours giving constant access to water.
after this re introduce food gradually ideally with a tinned food designed for sensetive stomachs, if it persists after this then give him a call as the dog might need antibiotics.

Having said this our local vet is a star, he also adds that if there is any change for the worst, contact him straight away and he will see the dog immediately. he is also available to chat to should you have any worries. On the monetary side I've never once been charged for phone calls. Sometimes I think you have to be cruel to be kind.

[Senghe]

Poor baby - he looks so sweet too. Glad he's feeling quite perky in himself as that must be a good sign.

I'd avoid tinned tuna actually as a lot of brands have too much salt or oil and that will only aggravate things even further. I'd stick with chicken, turkey and white fish with his rice.

I had a bit of trouble with Flynn as a puppy which I'm sure would have cost me an arm and leg had I gone to the vets with. He was fine in himself, but his poo was vile (sloppy, smelly, black) and his coat was scurfy. I tried him on two expensive foods for large breed puppies and it was the same. I put him on a 21% protein adult food that was half the price when he was about 5 months old and both problems cleared up in a week. The puppy food was just too high in protein, but I can imagine the cost of the stuff/food the vet would have given me after the experience of one trying to flog me some kidney diet for my shar-pei a few years ago - long story as she wasn't even in kidney failure. It does sound like your boy needed to go to the vets, though. Mind you, I think I'd have had a heart attack if my vet had suggested x-raying a young puppy!

[newflvr]

 I didn't think about the wood issue.   We have that problem with Chester when we are at our mountain cabin as well.  He LOVES to eat wood, chew on branches, and all-in-all pretend he's a termite....the n he throws the whole mess up at about 3:00am!  I'm at a loss of how to stop him short of a muzzle and I just don't have the heart to do that.  I keep hoping it's a puppy thing and he's going to out grow it.  That said, Cowboy will eat the wood chips that are on the path....maybe it's a Newf thing???

[Anky]

At much urging, I have been asked to share my story.

Araby (ie the Harpie) is Matt's baby, and our firstborn.  As such she went to the doctor for any little ailment and our vet often laughed at us from behind the wheel of her Lotus.  (No S*** our vet really drives a Lotus).  Well one night she was in pain, her stomach really bothered her and she walked around fussing constantly.  First thing I thought of was bloat and we rushed her to the vet.  They took X rays and found nothing, they did blood work and nothing showed up.  She was obviously in pain and they wanted to keep her for observation.  Matt and I were beside ourselves and drove the hour round trip drive twice a day so we could visit her.  It was horrible to see her in that much agony, big amber eyes wide and scared.  She was there for three days when we got a call from the vet.  Bracing ourselves for the worst, Matt and i both picked up an extension. 

Vet: "You can come pick her up now."
Me:  "She's OK?  Or do we need to bring her home to....."
Matt:  "To what?  TO WHAT?!?!"
Vet:  "Oh no no no, she is better now."
Me:  "Thank God!"
Matt"  "Yay!"
Me:  "What was it?"
Vet:  "Ummmmmm"
Me:  "Well?"
Vet:  "It'll be best if iexplain at the hospital"

So we fly down to the hospital, and are greeted with a $1,238.48 bill for all the tests and boarding and stuff.  We were so happy that we were getting our baby back we whipped out the plastic (Even though it would put us over our limit, but our baby was safe!).  The vet came in , took us to a room where they brought Araby out who was jumping off the walls like she hadn't a care in the world.  We were so happy to see our little girl, so I asked the Doctor (Miracle worker that I thought she was) what had happened. 

The vet hemmed and hawed and said that the pressure build up in the abdomen was was relieved by a flatulence episode this morning.  Matt was happy with this, but I have a Doctorate in BS, and said "SHE FARTED?!?!?!"  The vet blushed and explained that Araby had been doing very poorly and a vet tech had been sitting with her non stop.  There was a "Puff" and an "Odor" from her cage and then she was bouncing around.  I made this face    "You mean to tell me we spent over a thousand dollars on a God D*** F***ing FART!?!?!?!  All your Bull S*** degrees and equipment and tests, you couldn't tell me that my dog had a F***ing GAS BUBBLE?!?!?!"  No wonder they gave us the bill first. 

This story has since, been referred to as the Thousand Dollar Fart.

[IZ]

Thank you SOOOOO much for sharing your story! I know it was horrible at the time - but your story is hysterical and makes me feel a lot better! Why can't we make our dogs fart on command? My husband swears he can do it! If he can - why not dogs? Ha ha ha Thanks again - and I hope that is all this is... Funny - they did say that on the x-ray it looks like he is filled with gas. I would think that by now - with all of the gas-x and pepcid he is having - it would have passed... but who knows.

[DixieSugarBear]

About 9 months ago we had the same type thing. After two days and two different vet, Sugar Bear just needed Gas-X.