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Permalink Reply by Charlie on March 10, 2008 at 4:06pm

I'm sorry to hear about Little Bear! I don't have any experience about gastroenteritis, but it sounds like Little Bear should be able to live a long healthy life with diet management.

My last dog was diagnosed with food (and plant) allergies to 70% of everything in the world. I had been giving him a little bite of whatever I ate until the diagnosis, and his dog food had a couple ingredients he should not have had. Once I found a food without any of his allergens, he ate nothing but kibble - ever - his whole life. He lived a long healthy life. I'm just saying all this to say that your dog doesn't really need all the treats and human food to be "spoiled", happy, and healthy.

I hope Little Bear feels better soon. Keep us posted!

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Permalink Reply by Kate on March 10, 2008 at 4:37pm

I'm so sorry to hear about Little Bear! And I'm also very sorry to hear that they were assholes to you. I worked as a vet tech for a little while and that upsets me to hear that you were treated that way. Sometimes they forget that their job has a very important customer service aspect to it. Anyways, more importantly, gastroenteritis is found in all breeds of dogs. However, corgies in particular seem to have more food allergies (which can be associated with gastroenteritis) than other breeds of dogs. Some seem to be worse than others. If you feel you must feed your dog human food then I would pick one thing that he truly enjoys. Watch him after feeding him that particular treat and see if he gets ill. Obviously, if he does, don't feed him that treat. I don't feed my dogs any sort of human food and boy is it ever tough not to (even if they don't "need" it)! Also, I don't know what kind of dog food you feed Little Bear but it's possible that that may be the source as well. But the first step is to cut down on or better yet eliminate the human food. Best of luck!

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Permalink Reply by Corgi Mom on March 10, 2008 at 6:50pm

I'm sorry to hear about Little Bear. Mostly as a veterinarian assistant I am very disappointed that the vet and staff treated you so poorly. I wouldn't be working for my boss if I were to behave toward our clients or their pets in that manner. Let me assure you most vet offices aren't like the one(s) you went to.

Digestive system (stomach & intestines) of dogs and cats are highly sensitive to any type of food change. Some can tolerate it better than others. Some can't tolerate change of any kind. The best thing to do is cut out all types of people food. Moonmystic and I feed our dogs Bil-Jac dog food and are very selective on what type of treats they get. They get only 1 or 2 doggie biscuits at bed time. They may get a small amount of training treats during training sessions or when we go to our monthly Paws For Patients meetings.

We belong to a therapy dog group covered by Covenant Hospice here in Mobile, AL and we visit nursing homes and the like. Right now Tank is the only one we go on visits with. We plan on also taking Moira and eventually would like to add Maddie to the rotation.

Anyway, I'm glad that Little Bear is doing better. For the times that he does have an upset tummy you can also give him a child's dose of Keopectate (or the generic) until you see a normal poopy. The day before he has a normal poopy after loose or bloody ones he may/may not have a bowel movement at all. That's how you'll know Bear is just about better. Hope this helps.

Blessings,
Patti

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Permalink Reply by Sam on March 10, 2008 at 6:59pm

First may I say it sounds as if you need to find a new vet that you feel more comfortable with. One should be able to feel good about their vet, feel confidence in their ability to treat their dogs and feel well informed about what the problem may be. This can be difficult at best depending on the knowledge you possess.
I do agree that some dogs just can not tolerate the high fat levels in human food. If this is the reaction they get it makes good sense to stick to a specific diet that your dog tolerates. Sometimes adding yogurt (plain, lowfat) daily can be helpful to manage good bacteria in the dogs stomach. Sometimes people have good luck using digestive enzymes. Feeding a highly digestible, premium quality food is also helpful to some. Some choose the allergy diets....I use Natural Balance fish and sweet potato for two of my seniors. While this is called an allergy food the basis is primarily a protien and carb source that your dog has probably never eaten and not developed and immune response to.
Dogs beg because we teach them to. They have little clue if you are eating steak, beans or potatoes but they want it because they have learned if they act just a certain way they will get some. Do remember that dogs also happily eat things (ie feces, dead animals and rotten food) that we find disgusting. Our tastes and dogs tastes have little in common. Many dogs would be most happy to get a piece of kibble from you as a treat. While dogs are most interested in food that does not equate to love. Spending time with him, exercising him and interacting with him frequently is what will develop a good bond. I might also add that I do not feel the corgi breed is more susectible to stomach issues then other breeds. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on March 10, 2008 at 7:31pm

I'm sorry to hear that little bear is not feeling well lately, I agree that the vet and staff should be sensitive to your feelings as well, don't blame yourself for what happen, lets focus on what you're going to do from now on.

In my experience, as soon as I stop feeding human food to Mocha, he doesn't throw up. Vienna on the other hand have never had any problems with any human food that we fed her. So it really depends on their tolerant level. What did we do after all that? We stick with simple treats like carrots sticks or ice cubes, they're just as happy and never begged us for food anymore.

Give it a try, strictly dog food and no human food for a period to see if he stop throwing up :)

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Permalink Reply by Greg Zaffuto on March 13, 2008 at 12:06pm

Sorry to hear you are having so many problems with your Little Bear.... Since no one in the replies have suggested this... I will mention to you that my son's Corgi Ein had similar symptoms going on for quite a while back in the fall and they suspected that Ein might have swallowed something that he couldn't pass thru his system. The suspicion of a blockage was only after the Vet mentioned all the human food cautions, and food allergy issues you are hearing now, but the symptoms kept re-occurring after food was changed and human treats eliminated. Xrays were done and all they found were pockets of air in his digestive system, and nothing that showed on the xray as solid. His symptoms would come and go, but the vomiting and more serious symptom was not being able to keep water down. He would have a bout of this and after a few hours of observation at the Vet, he would start eating normally again and be his old self again. Well, guess what eventually came out of his rear end.... a big piece of something that apparently would position itself in his digestive tract and cause his symptoms, then be moved around and the symptoms would vanish until it eventually got eliminated. Apparently, it was made out of something that did not show up on the xrays. To read the full discussion, search for "Nicole" with a picture our our cutie Ein in the members section and read her posts on the entire event. Since Ein has passed this piece of "whatever it was", he has not had a single occurence of vomiting or loose stools or being in the least ill. He has resumed his regular diet with treats and sometimes a human food treat. In the earlier vet visits... they also suggested it might be food allergies, etc. etc. Since you said he might have eaten something he shouldn't have, it could be a partial blockage. I hope that if it is, it eventually passes on its own as the alternative is some surgery to remove it... and if they don't see something, it could be exploratory surgery which was mentioned early on in Ein's case. We are all glad that it came out on its own. Good Luck and I hope Little Bear gets better soon ..... Greg Z.

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Permalink Reply by Avyon on March 16, 2008 at 12:30am

I personally don't have this issue but I'm sorry it's happening to you :( Everyone loves to pamper their puppy every now and then..

but I think its good you finally learned what it was especially if it can be life threatening.

as for the vet/OAs.. you couldn't tell me twice.. I do the help desk/IT for a medical transcription company so I have to work closely with doctors and their OAs from facilities all over the US.. I wont even go into some of the horror stories tucked away lol. I just feel bad.. Im sorry :(

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Permalink Reply by Mandy and Lori on March 16, 2008 at 9:30am

Oh no!! I am so sorry to hear this about Little Bear!! I hope you get everything worked out and he feels better soon. Keep us posted on how he is doing. I am so glad there are people here that know how to answer these types of questions, I am not one of them, but thank goodness they are here. I may need help too one of these days.

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Permalink Reply by Little Bear on March 18, 2008 at 5:42pm

he's back up to 100% little bear now! well, except for the being MAJORLY pissed off that i won't give him his favorite food ever, quesadillas. :( oh well, at least he's ALIVE!!! he can be pissed all he wants, lol!!!! he's gotta stay around for another 14 years or so

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Permalink Reply by Mandy and Lori on March 30, 2008 at 9:34am

Oh I am so glad he is ok!!! Yay!!! I have been thinking about him,but I have been working and not able to get by to visit you.

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Permalink Reply by Susan on March 31, 2008 at 7:50pm

Yes our Duke had it all of his life.
What are you feeding? He may be allergic to his food.
You need to calm his digestive track down for a while. Try feeding steamed potato - no fat, no skin - mashed with cottage cheese. For a day or so, a little at a time. His whole tummy is sore and irritated and needs to heal but it also needs something to "work" on or his tomach acids will make matters worse. Steamed rice will also work but be careful as some corgis are sensitive to rice and it will make matters worse.
After a couple of days of potato and cottage cheese, give him a little of his food. If he gets sick - you know the source. It may also be his treats, no treats during the potato days. Then re-introduce the treats. Again, pay attention to the ingredients.

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