Question regarding stomach issues

  • Houston

    OK all.

    After being on here an hour or so ago, he wanted to go out again and I followed him, wanting to see what was coming out. No much as in quantity, but blood red..needless to say I rushed to the vet, about 2 miles from here and they did numerous tests, fecal float of course, (isn't that one of the staple vet procedures?), as well as a test for bacteria and a Giardia test..no worms or the like, no Giardia either but he did have a severe bacterial infection (?), they called "Hemorrhagic Enteritis-Bacterial" , so he was given Flagyl -antibiotic, Amforol-anti diarrheal and a Cerenia injection-for nausea.
    I did explain the trash digging and all, but he (the vet) seemed confident that he has a bacterial einfection..I will try to give him his meds for two days, but if I don't see an improvement, we will go back..
    I have yet to be able to give him his meds as he refuses to swallow them and food is the least from his mind..what do I do know?
    I have boiled him some rice and such but he won't touch it, he even turn his face away from it.


  • You can try baby food. Something like sweet potato and chicken. You may have to pill him if he will not take it willingly .

  • Houston

    Sweet potato baby food, I happen to have that in my pantry,. yeah I will try that..what about pedialyte (sp?) I don't have any, but my vet said taht would be Ok to give him, I was thinking of making my own..just to get some fluid and calories in him..

    Thanks Ivoss..I am desperate..it is so hard to watch him just lay there clearly miserable..


  • If you saw waste from the trash in his poop (even a little) it was not just "trash digging"… it was trash eating... Did you make it clear that he ate what was in the trash because you saw some in his poop?

    Sorry, but I disagree with your Vet... he needs to be checked for a blockage IMO... and sooner rather then later...

    And don't always expect that they will "eat" a pill... especially if they are already off their food... you will have to "shove" the pill down him...

    But again... I would still say that I would be more concerned about the trash he ate...and the time in between is just right for a blockage... IMO


  • my boys will eat ANYTHING off my fingers if i dip it in a smidge of peanut butter. they really really lick it off my fingers and take the pill with it. if the meds are liquid, i stir them in with peanutbutter and a little pumpkin. they will eat it up….


  • On a camping trip in 1977 my first Basenji got real bad bacterial infection from eating garbage (old food left on the ground) around the camp grounds. I had to have it stay at the vet in town for 2 days on fluids and meds. I fed it cooked ground beef and cottage cheese for about 1 week or so. But unlike Otis I did not see any items in her poop. There was blood though coming out of the anus. She was walking around really hunched backed with tail down in bad shape.


  • Yesterday, I was browsing websites looking at people's litter plans. I came across a name I recognized as being recently passed and was surprised because the dog was not even 9 years old yet. I clicked on her page and found they had lost her this spring to a blockage. I thought I would share her page in this thread.

    http://www.skyhibasenjis.com/OurBasenjis/DogPages/AbsolutePower.htm

  • Houston

    He has been drinking, if squirted down his throat, some homemade pedialyte..and when my hubby came home from his hunt,,he jumped off the couch to go great him..a very good sign, since he hadn't even picked his head off the pillow on the couch before that..I offered him some of the rice/foods I made for him and it ate all of it, slowly but shurely..since then he has been sleeping. No vomiting and just a little diarrhea..and oh by the way, I forced the pills down his throat..I didn't expect him to take them whether he felt good or bad..that is just how he rolls..LOL
    I agree with the suspicion on whether he ingested something from the trash..will gauge him very closely tomorrow, and if I don't see improvements speedy enough, I will go back for a recheck ..


  • @Basenjimamma:

    He has been drinking, if squirted down his throat, some homemade pedialyte..and when my hubby came home from his hunt,,he jumped off the couch to go great him..a very good sign, since he hadn't even picked his head off the pillow on the couch before that..I offered him some of the rice/foods I made for him and it ate all of it, slowly but shurely..since then he has been sleeping. No vomiting and just a little diarrhea..and oh by the way, I forced the pills down his throat..I didn't expect him to take them whether he felt good or bad..that is just how he rolls..LOL
    I agree with the suspicion on whether he ingested something from the trash..will gauge him very closely tomorrow, and if I don't see improvements speedy enough, I will go back for a recheck ..

    If you saw it in the poop.. it is no longer a suspicion… it is a fact... My Kristii had a blockage... about 5yrs ago.. and while we never saw anything that she got into, she started with tummy upset, not eating, then vomiting.... and sure enough the ultrasound showed a blockage.... even after surgery... we never figured out what it was... but it was a blockage....

  • Houston

    Yes I agree, but and I am only asking, just because it came through does that mean something is still stuck in there? Either way he is doing better for now, tomorrow I will reacess and see how he is..
    Thanks for your help guys..


  • @Basenjimamma:

    Yes I agree, but and I am only asking, just because it came through does that mean something is still stuck in there? Either way he is doing better for now, tomorrow I will reacess and see how he is..
    Thanks for your help guys..

    Yes… for sure just because some came though.. there can be more that is causing a blockage... because you don't know that amount or exactly what might have been eaten.. you can not put together the "puzzle"....

    I can only again offer what I when through with my Kristii... while she never wanted to eat... at times over about three days she would feel off and on better.. but not normal.... when we finally did the ultrasound (and that is what I highly recommend) the blockage was clearly visable...

    Did they do blood work?... that would also usually show there is something else going on....

  • Houston

    no, the vet opted to do these meds that he is on, due to the high bacteria count he had on his fecal tests. He did say that if Otis is not feeling better in two days for us to do a bloodwork..and maybe I should then request a ultrasound and an xray?


  • I am amazed that you were able to collect enough fresh fecal matter to do testing on. Usually if mine have had the amount of stomach upset you described, there is not enough material to test.

  • Houston

    Well, lets just say that they had to dig for it..he was not happy..
    As far as fecal matter, it was more like liquid, mixed with blood, so not good news.

  • Houston

    He asked for some more food in the only way he knows how..counter surfing..yeah.
    So I gave him some more rice/egg mixture and he ate it with gusto..He went out afterwards and did not poop at all, only peed..maybe he is in an upswing..
    let's hope he sleeps well tonight..


  • I had a Golden that had a fetish for paper items in the trash and socks…
    and were at the vet for blockages 3 times with her - all socks.

    This dog would eat any food you gave her, and so the biggest sign was not only when she would refuse food, but when she would drink tons of water and then throw up the water. When that happened, she was too dehydrated to pass the sock, and I took her to the vet to be put on IV, and fortunately, she passed the sock each time once she got hydrated.

    ALl that to say you must get the xray/ultrasond for a blockage.

    "Female" items would be a different story, so I would go get her checked as soon as you can.
    Female items are made to absorb liquid, which is NOT good in a stomach or intestines.

    Hydrogen peroxide was a life saver a few times with her, when I caught her having just eaten a leather jazz shoe, or a padded bra, or... ballet tights... :P (After a couple of hours, using it would be too late...)


  • When Ruby had her ultrasound when she was bred, it was around $100. At an emergency vet it might be $200. Not a lot of money to rule out a possible life threat.

    I'm also really surprised that the vet didn't do bloodwork or check for a blockage, (bloodwork is pretty much the first thing my vet wants to do when ever anything is off) especially with how feminine items are designed to work. I wonder if the bacterial infection wouldn't be from those items because of how blood/bacteria is trapped inside - think toxic shock.


  • Petra, glad Otis is feeling a little better, hope he continues to improve.
    I used to use a blob of butter to medicate Benji, i know not too good for him but i had to weigh it up.It was impossible to force them down him, he4 was a very snarky boy.
    Keep us posted

  • Houston

    He slept like a baby, I was convinced we had to go out a lot during the night, because of the diarrhea earlier in the day and night.
    We just went outside and he peed for what seemed like forever..thanks for the homemade pedialyte..I really believe that is what perked him up finally. I am going to give him some food here in a little while and once my vets office opens up I will call and ask the questions regarding bloodwork and xray.
    I was a little surprised myself about the xray, but being that he was so woosy and the kids were fighting, I just wanted to come home with him again..


  • Hope Otis improves today get's back to his old self. Take care.

    Rita Jean

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