My puppy has Gel type Diarrhea

[plug5]

Hi all,

My 6 month old Maltese-Bichon Puppy, Holly is in the Emergency Clinic right now.

It all started earlier this evening as my father and I were trimming the branches off the Weeping Willow Tree. She was happily running around the backyard chasing the occasional stick we would throw her way but mostly she would spend her time sniffing her way through the yard.

I had noticed that she was making dirt and went inside to get a bag to clean it up. It's was a substantial ammount and its consistancy was normal (on the dry side) she continuted to go about her merry way. About 5 to 10 minutes later I noticed that she was making dirt again. The ammount was the same and this time the consistancy was a bit wet, but still fairly solid. This caught my attention becasue normally she doesn't have movements so close together. I cleaned it up and about 5 to 10 minutes after that she had another movement, this time it was loose and wet. Her mood had also changed and she was now a bit more subdued with laboured breathing (which at the time i mistook for panting). I brought her some water and she didn't seem interested in that and about 5 minutes after laying in the grass she started vomiting. After bringing her inside i noticed that she had some fecal matter stuck to her fur and it was a gel type substance. So in a matter of 20 minutes my dog had gone from a footloose and fancy free puppy to a very sick one. I have been very good about keeping any fertilizer or any other type of chemicals locked up in a shed and the only thing i can think she could have licked was old cooking oil, but that is sealed tightly in an old oil container.

I immediately took her to an afterhours animal clinic and left her overnight for Fluids and medication. The vet had recomended that they do a series of blood exams and x-rays but i cannot afford the 1200 dollars that was quoted.
I feel absolutely horrible for that.

When i asked the Vet what it could be, he said he hasn't seen this before and i guess my question is does anyone know what this could be? Has anyone ever experienced this with their dog?

I suppose it would be out of school for the vet to say what it could be, but i didn't get any assurance from him, other than a extreme sense of guilt that i could not afford the 1200 for the xrays. I would really appreciate some assurance right now.

thanks in advance

errol

[BusterBoo]

to hear that your pup isn't doing well....and even more sorry to hear that your Vet wasn't more accommodating!!

Six month old puppies can get into a lot of stuff and quite possibly yours ate someething she shouldn't have.

If you don't have any confidence in your Vet, can you get a second opinion? $1200 seems a bit much for bloodwork and xrays....

Good luck and let us know how your pup is doing...

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by plug5

When i asked the Vet what it could be, he said he hasn't seen this before

What ? Since when is he a vet ? Yesterday ? geez !

It could , be that she hate too much grass , but I am no vet and could be lots of other things too. The gel you saw , is mucous , when they have upset stomach , it creates the mucous to evacuate easier. Many of us here had dogs with that type of problems so I don't understand how can this vet say he's never seen this before....

[onster]

How is ure pup now?

the 1200 does seem quite steep, any other vets u know of? I think I just saw a post about a relatively cheap vet in the GTA. Ill look for it..

[onster]

Ok apparntly its a bit far from toronto but if they are that much cheaper it may be worth it. This is quoted from fellow member winston in another thread.

This location is not really close to GTA but they are far the cheapest around here for surgery's...Queensway Vet Hospital in Simcoe. They are typically have the price for example on a spay & neuter..

[onster]

Oh and I know ure not getting sugery done (hopefully) but perhaps they have cheaper costs for everything else?? Worth a call at least.

[pitgrrl]

Well, the jelly like stuff is most likely mucous, which can be caused by any number of things, eating something which irritates the colon (from grass to pieces of your couch), parasites, stress, or in the case of my dog seemingly nothing at all.

I'm totally biased as I have a dog who has chronic mucousy, gross poop, but I certainly wouldn't freak out yet. If it were me the lethargy and labored breathing would worry me much more than the onset of diarreah (sp?). It's good that the dog is getting checked out by a vet, but try not to panic.

Is it possible Holly ate some of the branches you were trimming? Maybe other bits of something around the yard?

I have to agree with BusterBoo $1200 seems really steep. Can you go pick up your dog and take her to a regular vet in the morning and see about further treatment there instead of at the emergency vet? It will likely be far cheaper.

[growler~GateKeeper]

For a puppy that young it could be anything from eating something it shouldn't have to toxic substances to parasites to parvo virus

IMO the blood, urine & fecal tests are a must.

Is the clinic willingly to work out a payment plan?
There are organizations thst can help like IMOM

let us know how your pup is doing

[pitgrrl]

Originally Posted by growler

For a puppy that young it could be anything from eating something it shouldn't have to toxic substances to parasites to parvo virus

IMO the blood, urine & fecal tests are a must.

Growler, you're on the ball, parvo should have been the first thing to think of/test for in a pup and it didn't even occur to me.

All that to say, I agree.

[Frenchy]

Parvo , yes could be it , I always assume a 6 months old would have been vaccinated ....

[plug5]

Thank you all for your reassurance and kind words. I will be picking her up in the morning and taking her to the regular vet, whom she has had all her shots from and seems to have taken a liking to the staff.

I spent a few summers in high school working at a travelling Carnival and I got a sense that i was being worked over. The 'I have never seen this before' caused an alarm and i found it hard to believe since he was an older gentleman. Unfortunately it was one of those moments where I wasn't comfortable taking her out and getting a second opinion so I went with his diagnosis.

the 1200 was for the xrays, bloodwork and the overnight stay aw well as the IV fluids and 'medication'. I opted out of the x-rays and bloodwork but still ended up paying close to 800 for the trip. I do feel extremely guilty that i 'cheaped out' and am not sure if i should just let them go ahead with the full works.

I just got off the phone with the animal hospital and they said that her temperature has gone up, but was on the low end (37.4c) and she was still lethargic but she was 'just hanging out, watching'. I hope that is a better alternative than comatose.

A few things that had slipped my mind that i forgot to mention to the forum.

- She recently (yesterday) started new food. She was on Nutrience Small breed for Puppies, but she started not eating as much. I slowly mixed in Hills Puppy formula (which she seemed to enjoy at a 'playmates' house) but she seemed to have picked out the new food and left the old. This morning i gave her just the new food and she gobbled it up. I forgot to mention this to the Vet.

- Last week i had fertilized the backard. I didn't think much of it since friday we had extreme torrential rain and other than what was left by the fertilizer spreader the bag was locked up securely. The vet didn't seem to think that was the case.

Again, Thank you for your kind words and advice. I'll definately be up all night worrying, I had a nice routine going with her and my room will feel so big and empty without her in it.

Thank you again

Holly and Errol

[pitgrrl]

I really don't think you should feel bad. You're obviously doing everything you can and e-vets, though great when you need them, are insanely expensive.

I hope Holly takes a turn for the better soon. Let us know what happens.

[plug5]

Hi all

Again I would like to thank all the kind words and reassurance that you gave me.

Holly is safely home with me today and she is doing 100% better.

After picking her up from the emergency vet i brought her home. They left the IV line in her paw and gave us a bag of fluids just in case her regular vet wanted to get her started on it again.

After a half an hour home she ate a whole bowl of food and several dishes of water.

The I gave the results to the vet and he checked her temp as well as gave a through physical inspection while i told him what she had been up to prior to getting sick. He thought that she just ate too much grass/leaves/woodchips and prescribed three antibiotics (i think they were the same as what they had her on in the e-clinic) and he wanted to put her on a gastrointestinal diet for 2 weeks.

She is doing fine and other than a shaved paw, she is playing around like nothing happened.

Thank you all again for the information and most of all putting a worried first time dog owner at ease.

Holly and Errol

[growler~GateKeeper]

Glad to hear Holly is doing better

It is good that you took her to her regular vet this morning to have a second opinion and exam as well.

Keep an eye on her poops for the next few days & if you think something is a little off, don't hesitate to call the vet to ask questions, or post them here

It is always a good idea to check the yard before you let Holly out & keep a close eye on what she is chewing on (I know, puppies chew everything ), but I think you know that now eh? A lesson all new puppy owners learn

When you are able to post pics we would all love to see the little gal

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by plug5

She is doing fine and other than a shaved paw, she is playing around like nothing happened.

wooohoo !

[bendyfoot]

I'm chiming in late here, I know (glad everything turned out ok...)

I wondered if the willow clippings weren't to blame.

Willow (Salix spp.) are the source of salicylic acid, which is the precursor to Aspirin. Traditionally people chewed the leaves or bark for the medicinal qualities...I don't know if it could have caused pup's stomach upset or not, but it's just a thought.

[rainbow]

I'm also late getting here but am glad that Holly is now recovering well from her diarrhea.

I would also like to add that there are much better brands than Nutrience and Hills. Check out our dog food forum here for some good suggestions.

Also check out www.dogfoodproject.com and click on "Ingredients to Avoid, "Label Information 101" and the other links on the left hand side of the page.

Another good website is http://www.dogaware.com/dogfeeding.html .....the highlighted links have lots of good information as well.