Applesace Question
Well, it's good news/bad news. Sully finally figured out how to bark to let me know she needs to go out. The bad news is she figured it out because she became frantic since she has to go out immediately and often today as she woke with diarrhea. She also seems to have a bit of dry heaves but no vomiting. This is the one day of the week her vet's office closes at noon so I am taking a wait and see tack since her vet once suggested watching and taking her in if it lasted more than 24 hours but she only had mild runs and very slight vomiting that time. On occasion she gets the runs from an occasional odd treat, which she had (one small one) yesterday, but it seems to be lasting longer this time. In the past I can stop it by giving her a little dry Nutro which constipates her and normalizes things. It doesn't seem to be helping this time. I was wondering if plain, unsweetened, unspiced applesauce might help, but in the past the vet said to stop all food for at least 12 hours, though she vomited as well on that occasion. I truly believe it was a rouge treat that will run it's course, but it has been about 6.5 hours now so I wanted another opinion. Of course if she begins to throw up or the diarrhea gets worse I will make an emergency vet call, but I'm hoping I can save Sully the trauma and myself a bill if at all possible. Any thoughts?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Yuki & Ellie on
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Whenever one of mine gets an upset stomach, I immediately switch them over to a bland diet. I usually keep it simple and feed them steamed rice with boiled ground beef or ground turkey. Once they start to feel a bit better I add in a bit of cottage cheese or yogurt as well. I also sometimes add some unsalted broth to the meal if it seems like they aren't drinking enough. I'd say that, unless Sully is acting lethargic or very unusual, don't worry about it too much. As you said, it might just be a treat that her tummy didn't handle well and it will pass soon enough.
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Permalink Reply by Holly on
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Thanks Jen! Wish I had some rice. It has been about an our since she last went so it may finally be stopping. I really appreciate your comment. Since she is almost always constipated the change is a bit alarming.
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Permalink Reply by susan on
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Canned pumpkin is good to have on hand for either diarrhea or constipation. I've used just a tablespoon on top of a little rice and boiled chicken. It seems to help. Also, watch that she doesn't get dehydrated. You could mix a little water in with the bland food. I don't think I would try applesauce. I think that would be hard on the tummy. Hope she is better soon!
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She does have pumpkin that I add to her food to lessen her constipation. Maybe it will help with the loose stools as well. Thanks Susan!
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Permalink Reply by Beverly Butler Redford & Tucker on
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I keep some cooked rice in chicken broth (homemade-no onions or sale) in the freezer for when Tucker's tummy gets funky-one serving per baggie. My mother used to give us dry toast if we had funky tummies and that seems to help as well. I would stay away from applesauce and stick with dry food that is bland until her tummy calms down.
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Well it didn't take long to create a new monster. The diarrhea is resolved but she liked going out every 15-20 minutes so she began barking every 15 minutes, even though he didn't go when she went out. After I was very sure she didn't need to go I tried ignoring the bark and she just barked more. I put her in the bathroom alone for a minute and she stopped immediately. I let her out and said "good quiet" but I really hope I didn't stop her from barking bark when she needs to now. Guess I'll have to look for some "Speak" tutorials now. What a hectic day. :D
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Permalink Reply by Anna Morelli on
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I would not feed her and let her skip one meal, but maybe my advice comes too late.... A good diarrhea diet is to combine one protein and one starch ( so two ingredients ): either rice or potatoes (about 2/3rds, very well cooked and either yogurt or cottage cheese, about 1/3rd..
This will produce a soft stool. When the issue is resolved, add some kibble ( 1/2 and 1/2 for a couple of meals and, if all goes well go back to full kibble.
Rice freezes well, so I always have a couple of thin layers in sandwich bags in the freezer, to have on hand as needed. If you make a small batch it will keep well in the fridge for several days. Use the water as well.
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Thanks Anna. The advice is too late, meal wise, but great for future reference! I really need to pick up some rice. Is there any difference between white, brown, and long grain rice.
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I use brown rice because that's what I use for myself. Since you would be doing it for just a few days, any rice will do just fine. I even keep a box of instant brown rice on hand, but it needs to cook longer than the recommended time. You really want it to be overcooked. If you have to go longer than a few days, you can substitute cooked lean chicken for the yogurt or cottage cheese and start adding a teaspoon of olive oil, but not until you have gotten a soft formed stool..
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Permalink Reply by Beth on
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I would stick with white rice. White rice has soluble fiber: it dissolves in water and helps firm up the stools by binding with the excess water in the intestine.
Brown rice has insoluble fiber, which adds bulk and can cause stools to pass more quickly through the intestines. I learned more than I wanted to about soluble vs insoluble fiber when I had a nasty GI bug myself earlier this year. Trust me, you don't want to add insoluble fiber in the acute phase.
Rice + boiled lean ground beef or boiled white meat chicken is the standard.
For simple tummy upset, we usually get by with a plan of withholding one meal, then giving a plain biscuit to keep the tummy from getting acidy. Then you can try about a quarter cup of regular kibble and if that sits well, feed the rest later. For more than a few hours of upset, go to the boiled rice/ plain meat route. More than 2 days with loose stools warrants a trip to the vet.
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Thanks again everyone for the great tips! Sully is fine today, but she is drunk with power! My immediate reaction to her every bark yesterday seemed to have been a great game for her which she decided to continue today. She was barking about every 15 minutes. At first I brought her out each time just in case, but when she didn't go at all after several trips outside all morning I said "No." She continued to bark at me like a drunken Nazi. I had mixed emotions because it was so good to see her be that assertive but she wasn't about to quit so I put her in the dark bathroom for a minute, then opened the door and praised her for being quiet. She promptly went to her bed. I am going to sit with her for awhile, and hope she will bark again when she actually has to go but I'm afraid she won't ask to go out again. I used to think I wanted a dog that was smarter than I, but she learns much faster. I feel like I'm playing chess all the time and she is several moves ahead of me. So happy she is feeling better though.
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Permalink Reply by Vicky Hay on
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Don't give her anything! Water, but hold the food. Wait for a half a day and then serve a small amount of bland diet: cooked plain white rice with a little boiled chicken, turkey, or hamburger. My vet prefers the poultry because he thinks hamburger has too much fat for when the doggy stomach is upset. Ease slowly back to normal size portions and then ease back onto the dog's regular food.
WonderVet says the dog will not starve to death in a day, and that when a dog's gastrointestinal system is upset, it's most quickly soothed by simply having nothing in there to throw up or to shoot out the other end.
In our parts there's some kind of intestinal virus that dogs can pick up by sniffing the ground, and that can even be tracked into your yard by cats or dropped by birds. It passes quickly -- sort of a 24-hour stomach flu -- but whenever it happens you feel pretty mystified because you can't figure out what the dog could have eaten to make it sick. The answer is often "nothing."
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