vomiting.

tw1n

When I went to let Sebastian out this morning his kennel was full of liquid. I figured he had peed, but there was chunks. Shortly after I left for work, my wife said she saw him throw up again.

When I went him for lunch it seemeed he hadn't thrown up again. So 8-12 with no vomit? He was looking really skinny, I fed him, he didn't eat like his normal self, he drank a bit. I went back to work and he was laying down in he crate, seeming a little a better.

My wife just called while she was home and apparently he threw up everything I had given him.




I guess my question is does this just sound like a stomach bug? I've been sick a few days if it matters.

He seems perfectly aware, just tired. Still eats, but not his normal apitight.

I got hit with a stupid 500 dollar electric bill so I'd like to hold off on the vet if able. anny suggestions?

AmStaffsMum

pick up some pedialyte for him to drink...it will help him out with electrolytes until he gets better. switch him to a bland diet, some chicken soup or small amount of cooked rice....small amounts of food. If you can, check his temp...if it's really high, or if he gets worse you should probably take him in...normal temp for a dog is 101-102. If he's no better in a few days, you may want to take him in too.

RedyreRottweilers

Slippery Elm Powder, available at most health food stores, is an excellent gut soother. It has been used for hundreds of years by native peoples, both as a food stuff and as a gut soother.

Most people will recognize the nutty smokey scent of it when they smell it. You cannot overdose it.

Along with plain canned pumpkin it is a very good thing to keep in your doggy pantry.

tw1n

LoL so uh... can I feed him the guts of the pumpkin I still need to carve?

Thanks for all the tips.

sassykzt

Makes sure he drinks and can keep that down. Dehydration is serious. If he can't keep water down think about going to the vet. Also, I don't mean to ruffle anyone's feathers but Pedialyte uses the controversial synthetic sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame potassium--Both my pediatrition and vet don't recommend it. The only reason these sweeteners are added is for taste. Artificial sweeteners are quite controversial and giving them to a sick dog???

hrcamacho

Don't give pedialyte. It is possible for our furry friends to catch what we have. If this continues through tomorrow, or gets worse, call the vet.

Willowy

Fasting for 24 hours is recommended if he can't keep anything down. Then go with a small amount of a bland food, such as boiled chicken/hamburger (fat poured off) mixed with rice. But he does need to be drinking something or he'll go downhill quickly. If he can't even keep liquids down, call the vet.

tw1n

Update: Sebastian is still sick.

He's been keeping down small bits of water. If I don't monitor his drinking he'll get sick. Small drinks have gone down fine.

He hasn't been bothering with his dry food. He ate a half a piece of bolgna last night. Wast hadn't thrown it up this morning. But apparently he got sick again before my wife had went home for lunch.

This weekend I had called around trying to find a vet who would take payments. Pretty much everyone said my only option is carecredit. Filled it out, got denied.

So apparently I just have to sit here and hope for him to get better?

Are there any other options which a young person with bad credit might try?


Also, I found like 5 ticks in his ear... couldn't really find anything search online. Could that 'cause his sickness?

sassykzt

I'm so sorry to hear your dog is still sick!! I'm glad he's able to keep down water. I thought of a few solutions that you might try:

1. Payment plans offered through a veterinarian. Did all the clinics tell you that you had to enroll in care credit? . They won't take payments from you??. Some people have even traded services or labor to pay off veterinary bills. This is not the norm, and can't be done for everyone in need of course, but communicating with your veterinarian honestly about your situation will allow for a quicker resolution and hopefully treatment for your pet.

2. Check with your local Humane Society or shelter
Your local animal aid organizations may be able to offer assistance if they have a veterinarian on call or on staff, or they may have a list of veterinarians who offer low-cost or subsidized care to those in need.

I hope this helps a wee bit! The ticks should be removed:

Check your pet for ticks daily if he spends a lot of time outdoors, especially if you live in an area known for ticks.Put on latex gloves to avoid direct contact with the tick and contaminated skin, as diseases can be transmitted from tick to pet to human.

1. Feel your pet all over, especially around the neck, head and ears. If you encounter a lump like a small pea, move the fur on your pet to see if you have found a tick.
2. Look to see if a tick is protruding from the skin. Ticks are tiny black, brown, reddish or tan disklike arachnids (having eight legs), about the size of the head of a pin. If they have attached themselves to their host (your pet), then they can swell up to the size of a grape in some cases.
3. Put your pet in a comfortable position. Ask a friend or family member for help in distracting your pet.
4. Grasp the tick with tweezers as close to your pet's skin as possible; make sure not to pinch your pet's skin.
5. Pull the tick out using a straight, steady pulling motion. Be gentle; pulling too hard on the tick can cause its head to remain lodged in your pet's skin, which can lead to inflammation and secondary infection.
6. Dispose of the tick by throwing it into a fire, or by squishing it in a tissue using the tweezers and then flushing it down the toilet. Do not smash it with your foot or your bare hands.
7. Apply antiseptic ointment to the bite.
8. Remove and wash the gloves, and wash your hands thoroughly.
9. Clean the tweezers with hot water or isopropyl alcohol or by holding them over a flame.

I wish a speedy recovery!

luv2byte

I make fresh pumpkin, steamed or baked, for our dogs as a treat as often as I can find pumpkins - great for the tummy and pooop.

FaithFurMom09

I was in the same boat with Faith this past weekend. I have crappy credit and no money to take her to the vet due to throwing up- luckily my dad helped. Otherwise id be in the same boat as you.

Heres what I did and its helped:

Boil boneless/skinless chicken until it falls apart (medium high heat in water for about 1hr or more)
Boil rice

Combine. over the course of 6d slowly give small portions of the C&R, then increase, then decrease but add normal kibble, by day 6 dog should be on normal all kibble as long as theres no more vomit/runny poop. We are on day 3 of this and Faith is not throwing up and we are waiting on her to poop.

FTR: I did Boil In a Bag rice and chicken breasts-- each bag of rice and about 1pc of chicken made 2-3c of the mixture. I calculated I needed about 8cup to make it 6d.

Ayanla

Ok, this isn't the most honest tactic in the world, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Take the pup into the vet. Most don't require payment before they actually see the dog. When it comes time to pay at the end of the visit, then tell them you need some sort of payment arrangement as you don't have anything right now. They're not going to hold your dog as collateral or arrest you. Just make sure you actually make payments.

tw1n

That's got to be my plan. I can't do this anymore. Wish us luck.

So, I took him to the vet, and they are actually working with me. No payments, but they are doing a lot for free.

They wanted to do all these x-rays and ultrasounds which I couldn't afford. So they are just gonna hook him up to an IV, try to get him some weight on him. They comped his stay and some of the medicine. I don't know how enthusiastic they sounds about him getting better. I'm pretty worried.


Also, I don't know if I took it wrong. But when they saw how skinny he was, then tried to tell me dogs don't get like that after not being able to eat for a week, I was pretty offended.

Kathyy

Glad you are getting the help you need. Sassy could go from a normal thin dog to a skeleton in 3 days of backpacking even if she got lots of extra food and pan cleaning duty. Dogs can go too thin very quickly. Him being dehyrated will make him even thinner and fast.

tw1n

This is extremly depressing.

They did a free ultrasound. Said there is a shadow in his stomach. My options are....

1.) Pay the 100 dollar for original care, then 250 for more tests. And possibly more bills.

2.) Pay the original 100, and then 400 to open him up and see what is going on.

3.) Pay teh 100, Lube up his system, and see if he can pass it himself. Which risks it getting caught in worse parts?

I have untill tomorrow to decide, or he'll most likely die?

Anyone ever deal with an issue like this? A guy I work with says they gave his dog some sort of mineral oil and she just passed wutever the issue was. How safe is that option?

And why arn't dogs allowed to be covered on insurance? He's my child.




Update:

So I picked Sebastian up. Vet told me to see how he does over night. If he doesn't get better I need to think about putting him down.

In all honestly the clinic has done so much to help me. I don't hold anything againt them. It's just sad that if you can't afford tests to see what's wrong with your dog ontop of eventually paying the bills that come after finding the problem, the only real answer is to put him down?

I'm going to spend the rest of my night trying to sell my truck. Look into dog insurance for any future problems, and we'll see what happens.

tw1n

Update again...

I don't think I've ever been so excited to see my dog poop.

AmyBeth

Man I know its hard when stuff like this happens, I'm glad to hear he finally pooped. I have not gone through this but a close family friend did with her yorkie. They believe the blockage was a piece of fur off a cat toy because they could not see it in the x-rays. He lost over 2lbs which is alot considering he only ways 6lbs when nice and healthy and a tad on the fat side. The vet couldn't do anything because he is a livestock vet and did not have equiment that was small enough. After about 1½ months Corkie finally pooped and has been just fine since then. We laugh cause he pooped the day after Nancy decided to pay out the butt to send him to a small animal vet to have surgery (she lives in a fairly small city in the middle of ranch country, small animal vets are hard to come by). We think he didn't want to have surgery.

Hopefully you have a similar experience, and he'll pass it on his own.