Dog Community

sammy's sick - medication info?

Posted : 4/23/2007 4:53:47 PM

So.... We were visiting the parents this weekend and Mom had par boiled several split chicken breasts for dinner, and left them on the counter to cool off a bit. We ran outside for a few minutes to say goodbye to my aunt that was visiting, and in less than 10 minutes Sammy (and perhaps my parents dog???) had devoured THREE pieces of chicken. This is half of what 4-5 people were going to eat for dinner!!! Needless to say, he hasn't been feeling very well.

He had diarrhea last night and this morning, getting me up several times in the night to go out, and this morning had a bit of blood in his stool. Knowing the warning signs for something bad include blood, I called the vet right away and we took him in. Long story short, she said we could do x-rays for about $125 if we wanted to (and probably repeat tomorrow to see if anything moved for more $$), but since the blood was only the last drop or two after his BM was almost done, chances are the bones, etc have moved into the colon so at least they are stuck or anything, and he's acting 100% normal and doesn't have pain in the abdomen, so us nor her felt it was mandatory. Anyway...... she gave us some Metronidazole to settle his stomach. $21.50 for 21 pills later...... and I look this up online and it seems like it's for killing bacteria and stuff, not for settling his stomach.

Does anyone have experience with this drug? - it's 375 mg twice a day for 7 days. I'm going to have him on a bland diet for a few days to make sure he gets better, and I think I know all of the signs that would mean he needed to go back to the vet. Anything else to help him feel better?

jessies_mom

Posted : 4/23/2007 7:07:09 PM

Jessie was prescibed it along with Panacure back in October because my vet thought she may have Giardia. It's used to treat protozoal infections like Giardia. It also is anti-inflamatory and used to treat dogs with IBD. Callie would probably recommend some chamomile tea for his stomach; maybe she'll be along with some ideas. I hope he's going to be okay; keep us posted.

sandra_slayton

Posted : 4/23/2007 7:11:51 PM

No, I have never used it. But week before last i paid $139.80 for 10--yes TEN--antibiotic pills for my 12 yer old golden with an infected tooth and bit of a kidney infection, thought to be caused by the tooth. Got to clear both p before he gets that tooth pulled Thursday.

These counter surfing dogs are something else. We have one, our 5 year old golden mix. She will snag any and every thing she can off the counter. I hope your Sammy passes everythign with no problem. He is one cute dog.

willowchow

Posted : 4/23/2007 7:15:06 PM

Willow's been on it several times for IBS. And, it did help her. I also know my friends dog ate something he shouldn't have and was also prescribed it. I think it's pretty widely used for GI upsets that don't seem to clear up on their own after a couple of days.

NicoleS

Posted : 4/24/2007 4:33:17 AM

Well, good to know. He's only had two doses so far, so we shall see. He hasn't passed any bone, that I can see after poking around with a stick. People must think I'm nuts or hate me for not picking up after him - but how do you pick up diarrhea??? It's been about 40 hours since he ate all of it, do you think maybe the bones are being digested?

Anyway, he hasn't pooped since dinner time yesterday..... so if he's going "normally" this morning would be his time then not again till dinner time. Just have to make sure he doesn't STOP pooping now. But, at least last night there wasn't any blood.

Callie would probably recommend some chamomile tea for his stomach

Just steep some and let it cool? Will he drink it himself or do I have to syringe it down his throat? I thought about some slippery elm I've seen her recommend before, but I wouldn't have been able to get to a health food store last night easily anyway.

But week before last i paid $139.80 for 10--yes TEN--antibiotic pills for my 12 yer old golden with an infected tooth and bit of a kidney infection

Oh boy, then I got off cheap!!! The dewormer pills were about $30 for a pill and a half - that was the most expensive one I've seen, though fortunately I only needed one dose!

janet_rose

Posted : 4/24/2007 9:48:01 AM

It's been about 40 hours since he ate all of it, do you think maybe the bones are being digested?

I think the bones have been digested and that the diarrhea is due to the sudden change in diet. Try adding a couple of Tbs of plain (not spiced), canned pumpkin to his meals for a couple of days.

NicoleS

Posted : 4/24/2007 10:16:31 AM

Well, good. [

] I did add some pumpkin, maybe 1-2 tbs yesterday morning to a bit of canned food and I saw pumpkin-colored diarrhea by dinner time.... then the vet said to keep him on a bland diet of chicken and rice. Can I add the pumpkin to that? He's not a huge fan of pumpkin but most likely will eat if its mixed in with something yummy..... however, the rice surely isn't yummy to him, so I'm not sure how else to get him to eat it. For a while he would eat frozen pumpkin ice cubes, but now he's gotten smarter and doesn't care for it much.

Glad to know that it won't be a bad thing if I never see bone chunks - wasn't sure how long chicken bones took to digest. It has now been nearly 48 hours, and we did only see blood the one time, so that's encouraging.

Thanks for all the advice!!!

CoCo Chanel

Posted : 4/24/2007 3:54:53 PM

That's cheap. CoCo was on it, liquid form though, 4mg total, 1/2 mg 2x a day for four days... total was between $35-40. I forgot... Wasnt cheap though...

She had really bad diarrhea, and giardia.

Her 2nd giardia test came back negative.

So it worked.

NicoleS

Posted : 4/24/2007 4:25:46 PM

New issue. Now Sammy isn't pooping. Before he wouldn't stop. How long is too long? It's been maybe 20 hours. He normally goes 2x/day on kibble, but he has been eating a lot of rice and I thought that I read somewhere that rice binds you up??? He is eating and drinking normal amounts, still on a fairly bland diet, no vomitting, no obvious discomfort.

Can I give it until morning before calling the vet on this? See if he poops tonight? At this point it would probably have to be an e-vet since our vet isn't open..... which I'm not opposed to, but he just *seems* so normal......

cakana

Posted : 4/24/2007 6:34:29 PM

I would think that unless you see some signs of discomfort or he starts vomiting, then it could wait for morning. I don't know for sure, but think you may be right about the rice, and it could be that his whole system is just a little out of whack with the meds and all. I hope that he has a nice, normal poop tomorrow and you don't have anything to worry about.

NicoleS

Posted : 4/24/2007 6:38:41 PM

I hope that he has a nice, normal poop tomorrow and you don't have anything to worry about.

Isn't it sad that my biggest wish right now is for the dog to POOP!!

He sort of had that look about him on a walk half hour ago, like he was going to go, but then kept getting distracted with kids and other animals. So maybe tonight.... ?

And he definitely is 100% normal in every other way.... prancing around, playing with his toys, general romp around with DH, good appetite, no vomitting, drinking normal....

DH has finals all this week, so will be home with him until around noon tomorrow, so if it doesn't clear up maybe he can call/swing back by the vet's office and see what they say about it........

cakana

Posted : 4/24/2007 7:13:18 PM

Isn't it sad that my biggest wish right now is for the dog to POOP!!

Nope, I completely understand. When it happens, you'll be doing the poopy-dance [

]

willowchow

Posted : 4/24/2007 8:01:53 PM

I hope Sammy's doing OK.

I did want to mention that large amounts of bone or even amounts that the dog is not used to can be constipating--so that may be what's going on right now.

PS--You're right about the rice with them too, so between the rice and the bone. . .

NicoleS

Posted : 4/24/2007 8:09:09 PM

Thanks for the good thoughts, everyone!
Still no poop, however........

I hope Sammy's doing OK.

I did want to mention that large amounts of bone or even amounts that the dog is not used to can be constipating--so that may be what's going on right now.

Do you mean like an OD of calcium, nutrients etc from bone might also cause this? Or do you mean physically cause constipation by like mixing in or something? He's rarely had any bone before, just what he grinds off marrow bones before I take them away which is hardly any.

I'm hoping that's all it is.... he has been having some horrible gas tonight, but that's about it. He's eaten 3 or 4 meals since the last BM.... it has to come out sometime, and actually I hope I'm not there when it happens [

]

badrap

Posted : 4/24/2007 8:26:01 PM

varitek is VERY prone to diarrhea- if i deviate from his normal diet by ONE too many treats, he gets it. i have noticed that if he poops a whole lot in a row, when he's finally feeling better he won't poop right away... i'm not sure if he's "holding it" because his bum hurts from all that pooping (ever had diarrhea? you know what i mean.) or if it's his system trying to reconcile itself. at any rate, the fact that he's not pooping right now might not be anything much to worry about. tek always comes around after a bout of "mudbutt".

obviously, if he's eating heartily and not pooping for much longer, then you may have something to worry about.