Yet another "Giardia Dog" Update

[Nancy (Spuddie' s Mum)]

Well, after Haley passed another Giardia test last week (she had 3 in all) and all the meds were completed, and her ear (yeast infection) cleared up, things were going great, until three days ago she started doing her daily vomit routine. While she seems fine and is eating great, she feels that for some reason she must sully the rug once a day. Oh well, that's life for the poor rug I guess. LOL So, I phone the vet after I read the big print out I did from when she first got Giardia and all of the suggestions about diet, etc. that we all had here, and we are trying some new food. We are back to the Metoclopramide again to keep things calmed down in the old tummy, and we are going to switch from the I/D diet to IVD, limited ingredients Venison formula diet. The vet is trying something that has none of the ingreedients that the I/D diet has incase this is an intollerance to the corn or rice that's in the food. I am hoping this will work as we are trying to avoid putting Haley through too many invasive procedures. If she's still having trouble over the next few days, in she will go for a full blood panel and in depth exam. I admit I am kind of sticking my head in the sand here for fear she has something that could be really serious, so keep your fingers crossed for her that we have some luck with this new food and we can get her to stop puking once a day. It just seems to be one thing after another for this dog, and I just don't know why.

[k9Karen]

A quick question - how often do you feed her?

The reason I ask is that some dogs just can't tolerate an empty stomach, and need to be fed at least twice a day, instead of only once. My Allie is like that, and the others think it's great because they get to eat too!

[Nancy (Spuddie' s Mum)]

Yup, we did think of that as my other Pom Spud, like to up-chuck his breakfast sometimes and the vet we had then said it was because his tummy was so empty and irritated in the morning that he would "toss" his dog cookies. So, we did consider this as a possibility. First her vomiting was always in the evening about three hours after she had eaten her dinner. We found that walking her twice a day seemed to alleviate the problem (she always poops on a walk). We thought it might have something to do with her digestive process and it not "moving" fast enough. When we walked her twice a day she stopping throwing up in the evening. Now the vomiting is in the afternoons and I always give her something to eat for lunch, even if it's just a dog cookie or a bit of kibble. But by about 3:00 she was puking and I know her tummy was not on empty. Yesterday after I got back from the vet I gave her the pill right away and she did not vomit yesterday. I also tried her new food (mixed some in with the I/d) and she was not sure about it at first. I thought she was going to dump the dish upside down with her paw, but then I suppose she thought it would be better to give it a try. Well, so far so good, I guess we will see how she makes out today, but she does seem kind of sleepy today, I am thinking it's the Metoclopramide making her a bit drowsey.

[JMM]

Mikey is on metoclopramide as well and sometime when we start up he acts a little weird. I'm never sure how much is reaction to the meds or him getting over being sick.

[Nancy (Spuddie' s Mum)]

Why does Micky have to take it?

[JMM]

He has chronic vomiting and diarrhea that we though was IBD. It may be related to liver disease. We won't know until after his upcoming surgery.

He scared the heck out of me today with his urination. He is pee-pad trained so it is very easy to tell how much and how often he urinates. He's gone in a few teeny tiny spots today. He has one really small bladder stone and he has early kidney disease so I tend to freak out just a little...if we get power, I'll run a urine tomorrow.

[Nancy (Spuddie' s Mum)]

Poor Micky, I hope he's o.k.

I'ts been a few days now since Haley has been on the Metoclopramide and since she started last Wed. she has only thrown up once. So I am hoping this is a good sign. She does not mind the new dog food either, so hopefully once she stops the pills she will be fine.