Emergency..Please Help Malachi

[malachi]

My 4 month old puppy has gone through one 20 lb bag of Canidae and loved it. When I went and bought his second 20 lb bag from the same place I noticed the Kibble size was different than the size of the kibble in the first bag. I did not think much of it I just thought the company changed the kibble size. Well a few days after eating food from the new bad my dog had diarrhea and began to vomit and then broke out all over his stomach. Of course I freaked out and took him to the vet right away. They kept him over night and told me he had an upset stomach and sent him home with Hills Perscription diet canine i/d and a vet bill of $154. To make it worse when I asked the vet about what they thought of Canidae she said she had never heard of it. Needless to say, he eat that food and he was fine his stools were back to normal so I gradually switched him back to his Canidae and here we go again the diarrhea has begun. I have heard such great things about Canidae and I want the best for my puppy and now I have no idea what to do. I know I need to switch vets but mean while what should I feed him? I know I do not want to feed him Diamond. PLEASE HELP

[maryellen1]

it sounds like you got a bad batch of food, mine all eat canidae all life stages (the tiny kibble one) and they do fine.. i would return the bag to where you bought it, and ask for a replacement. sometimes the bags go bad if they sit on the floor or are in the store past the expiration date.. its a good food, so dont worry if your vet never heard of it, mine never heard of it either..

[BoiBoi]

Maybe its just that bag of food. I just recently switched my dog from Innova EVO to canidae and all the diahrea problems have stopped since the switch. Maybe u should take that bag back and get another. If that doesn't work than maybe ur dog has become allergic to some ingredient in that brand.

[malachi]

Sorry, I forgot to tell you all that I did take that second bag bag and got a third bag that is the bag I have been feeding him since he has been home from the vet. SO I am almost certain it is the food. I just really wanted to keep him on the food since I heard it was really good. Please need more help....

[BoiBoi]

well then maybe u should switch foods completely. Did u ever think about feeding raw, many dogs do very good on it. If u want to continue on a good kibble u can try Timberwolf Organics, i hear they are very good. There are actually a lot of different really good kibbles out there, do a search for dog food within this forum and u will see all your choices.

[NCPatchwork]

Sometimes switching foods is best. I had mine on Nutro and my male hated it...so did my room mates dogs. So I switched to Sportsman's Pride....a lot of people I know feed it and the stools and nice and firm. All of my dogs are back to their normal weight and seem to feel much better...

[MercedesMama]

Maybe there is something in the food that he is allergic too. I would switch foods completely.

[TEXAS PIT DOGS]

more than likely it is a food alergey,switch foods completely and try to find one that says gentle on stomachs or easy digested.every reputable food company makes this formula.try that and see if he does better.but i have a question,what was he eating before the change and how did he do on that with not only like stool and such but was his coat and everything up to snuff?

[Suki]

Maybe there is something in the food that he is allergic too. I would switch foods completely.

I think so, too. The Science Diet I/D is for specific problems: Intestional/gastro Disorders, and yes, granted it fixed the current problem, but if your pup was ok prior, no need to keep feeding a prescription food, unless his condition is chronic. If he did fine on the first food, I'd gradually switch him back. If he's still feeling poorly, steam some rice and boil up some chicken so help allieviate his stomach problems, then start gradually back onto his old diet.
And yes, a vet who has not heard of your prior food would concern me....(jmo)

[malachi]

Okay, Here is an update on Malachi his stools is like a running focet and I am so concerned. His behavior is all normal and no vomiting. When I got Malachi he was 5 weeks old and I gave him goats milk, and then introduced him to wet mixed with the goats milk. I started him on pedigree and his stools were great, then I joined this forum and did some research and decided I wanted what I felt was the best so I started him on Canidae he went through a 20 lb bag in no time with no problem. It is when I got his 2nd 20 lb bag that his stools began to be runny. I returned the bag and exchanged it with a different bag. The same day before trying the new exchanged bag is when the vomitting began so I took him to the vet and that is when they but him on the Hills Perscription diet l/D temporarly until his stools were back to normal. Once they were back to normal I gradually started mixing in the new exchanged 3rd bag of Canidae and the diarrhea began again. I have gone back to the Hills perscription diet l/D it is a rice and chicken mix just until I figure out what to do. I need to find him a new food. Tomorrow is the 4th of July so everywhere will be closed. I am really concerned about the diarrhea. The lady at the pet food store thought it might be a pesticide.

[Suki]

if it's REALLY runny, as you said, be sure to keep him hydrated with water. If he can't tolerate straight water, give him ice chips. IF, after a few hours, he holds down the water ok, go with a very small amout of steamed rice and boiled chicken, and call a vet pronto, tomorrow, if the severe diarrhea continues.
If you have to go in through the emergeny dept., due to the hoilday, then do so. Severe diarrhea can be life threatening if not treated. Don't keep switching food, as I'm sure this is adding to the problem. Stick with a really bland diet, as mentioned withe the rice and chicken. No oils, etc. Having no other symptoms is encouraging. Just keep him hydrated. That's key!
Fingers crossed he does ok.


and yes, have his stool checked for possible parasites.

check your PM

[Patch O' Pits]

I agree make sure to keep him hydrated. You can fast him for 24 hrs and then start him on a bland diet of chicken and rice... then gradual add kibble back into that with some yogurt and or probiotics or other digestive enzyme like d-zyme also add a little bit of plain canned pumpkin. The fiber helps.

I'd definately try a different brand of dog food as either he has an allergy or it is too rich for him

[maryellen1]

it could be the 3rd bag is bad too.. i had 2 bad bags of timberwolf when i bought it at a petstore.. the canidae comes in all life stages for regular dogs which is small tiny kibble, and the senior one is the larger kibble. either he is allergic to the senior kind, since he didnt break out in hives onthe first bag, or the 2nd and 3rd bags have mold in them. i would say try nutro to see how he does.. but first ,keep him on boiled rice and chicken, and when you add the new food do it slowly over the course of 5 days.. he could have also gotten a bug at the same time too, but i am leaning toward the 2 bags were moldy...

[malachi]

Well, here is the latest on Malachi. His behavior is normal,he is playing, running and everything. He is drinking water. This morning his stools were improving slightly but not much . It is not as runny but still could not pick it up if I wanted to. However, he had only eat rice one time last night before bed. He did eat breakfast this morning (rice and chicken) and had a great appetite so we will see what his stools are looking like later today. Thanks for all your help and support. Please keep it coming. All, the recommendations on food are apprciated and much needed. I would like to get him started on something and keep him on it. I do not want to keep switching his food. Has anyone heard anything about or had any experience with Wolf King?

[maryellen1]

i have used the solid gold wolf king. it was fine with my dogs, but my gsd that has food allergies couldnt eat it. you could also try www.timberwolforganics.com (http://www.timberwolforganics.com) they are a great food, you buy it online and the shipping is free, and with one dog a bag will last a long time , plus they have different flavors...

[malachi]

The Latest on Malachi! After four feedings of rice and chicken still no luck. The diarrhea continues. SO tomorrow morning we will be headed to the vet to have a fecal done to see what is really going on. SO I will keep you all posted and let you know what I find out. Please pray for us I am concerned about Malachi he is my baby I am sure you all know how I feel. Its kind of scary. Please continue to give suggestions for a new food for Malachi. Thanks for everyones help.

[maryellen1]

has he been dewormed? has he been in contact with any other dogs?? has he eaten any grass where stools are?? he could have worms... or, he could have parvo maybe.. since he is not throwing up, it could be something else.. i am thinking a parasite of some sort or maybe even parvo. ask the vet to test him for parvo just to rule it out.
also, does he eat rocks?? have an xray done of his stomach to make sure, my old foster pup mason/arturo had the runs for a month while i had him, turned out it was a combination of rocks in his stomach, and cryptospiridosis which is a southern parasite...

[malachi]

Yes, he has been dewormed by the vet with a pill and with a liquid wormer. No contact with any other dogs, and yes he eats some grass but I dont let him eat a lot. Tomorrow I will ask the vet to check for parasites, worms, parvo, and x-ray for rocks. I am going to be at the vet waiting at 8 AM I have to be at work at 9:30 am so I will post what I found out tomorrow when I get home. Thanks for all the advice. IF anyone has anything else keep it coming. Thanks

[maryellen1]

how long have you had him? where did you get him from? usually, pups are wormed 3 times to make sure all the worms are gone.. its also possible, that if he HAD worms, that by eating the grass where he poops he could reinfect himself.. i would also scoop up his poop and the grass and dirt right underneath to make sure just in case..

did he have solid stool on the ID food? did you add the chicken and rice boiled slowly to the ID food and wean him off the ID food? usually the vet gives the ID food for at least 5 days, and then you start weaning them off..

you are going to have to find a food for him asap to wean him onto.. what other brands do you have readily available at the local pet store? you want to get him something somewhat bland , with not alot of ingredients.. see if you can get California natural chicken and rice that is a pretty bland food, my gsd in on the Herring and sweet potato for her allergies.. if his stomach broke out in hives on the canidae big chunks, he could be allergic to the ingredients in that particular food. is he eating puppy food or adult food? the canidae all life stages is the really small kibble.

[BoiBoi]

I suggest getting a few bags of garden lime and throwing all over the area where he poops. I do this in my yard every month just to be sure. I went through something similar a few weeks ago because my dogs stool was soo loose and runny. I came to find out that it was the high protein level in the food i was feeding him (innova evo) that was causing the problems so i switched to canidae and he's doing fine. U might have to switch a few times to find the right food for him.

[Patch O' Pits]

I'm glad he is improving. Definately try getting a digestive enzyeme to help

[bam-bam's mom]

also since your going to the vet ask for a cocci count. it could be causing the runny poop. just wanted to say props to you on the goat milk!!!!! i'm a goat farmer and glad to see you put wonderful milk to such a good use. :)

[malachi]

okay, well here is what happened. My vet pissed me off since they kept my baby over night last week and did not run any test and when I went to pick him up they told me they did not know what was wrong with him but they had him on an IV so he would not get dehyderated and they "think" he eat something that upset his stomach. THey charged me $154 and sent us home. Well, two days later his symptoms started again. Thats when I asked everyone on here for advice. I decided to take Malachi to another vet in town that is very reputable but the guy is really old. As soon as he saw Malachi he looked in his mouth and said he had a bacteria. On the back of his throat was a film and thick layer of flem or mucus looking stuff. The vet said that bacteria has to find away out either up or down or both. He gave me some medicine a pill malachi takes twice a day for 5 days. After the first day he was all better back to his normal self. They also ran a fecal and everything came back clear on that. Needless to say I was out of town for a few days and he stayed at the kennel at his vet and I believe that is when he got this bacteria because ever since he was home from the kennel is when the problems begun and ironically he was kenelled at the same vet that said he "eat" something that upset his stomach. SO Malachi is back to normal we have found a new vet and I am going to still feed him Canidae. I want my $154 back from those idiots.
Thanks to everyone for all the comments, advice and support. Special thanks to Suki your prayers brought him through. Licks from Malachi

[purplepig]

okay, well here is what happened. My vet pissed me off since they kept my baby over night last week and did not run any test and when I went to pick him up they told me they did not know what was wrong with him but they had him on an IV so he would not get dehyderated and they "think" he eat something that upset his stomach. THey charged me $154 and sent us home. Well, two days later his symptoms started again. Thats when I asked everyone on here for advice. I decided to take Malachi to another vet in town that is very reputable but the guy is really old. As soon as he saw Malachi he looked in his mouth and said he had a bacteria. On the back of his throat was a film and thick layer of flem or mucus looking stuff. The vet said that bacteria has to find away out either up or down or both. He gave me some medicine a pill malachi takes twice a day for 5 days. After the first day he was all better back to his normal self. They also ran a fecal and everything came back clear on that. Needless to say I was out of town for a few days and he stayed at the kennel at his vet and I believe that is when he got this bacteria because ever since he was home from the kennel is when the problems begun and ironically he was kenelled at the same vet that said he "eat" something that upset his stomach. SO Malachi is back to normal we have found a new vet and I am going to still feed him Canidae. I want my $154 back from those idiots.
Thanks to everyone for all the comments, advice and support. Special thanks to Suki your prayers brought him through. Licks from Malachi
I am so very glad that he is doing better!! With a name like that he needs to be in good health!!
J
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[BoiBoi]

U need to go and complain at the old vet. If i was in ur shoe's i would go and start a ruckus until they gave me my money back. F#$K them most vets are just money hungry @$$holes, rip their @$$ a new one.

[maryellen1]

excellent news!!! you can try to get the money back from the vet, it might be hard, but try anyways.. and use this other vet who found out what is wrong now..

[LuvinBullies]

excellent news!!! you can try to get the money back from the vet, it might be hard, but try anyways.. and use this other vet who found out what is wrong now..I am so glad to hear he is doing better! Here are some items you may wish to keep handy: Pedialyte, Albon (not terribly necessary, but I like to keep it on hand) and Nutri-Cal. I am still wondering about the batch of food. Was Malachi running a fever? You may wish to call the main distributors, give them information on the bag, and your location-just as a heads up for them and see if anyone else has reported similar symptoms.
We tried to get our money back from a vet who charged us hundreds of dollars to be prep Natas for surgery when we were told her leg was broken. (Don't flame me- we had her crosstied in the back of my husband's pickup-She LOVED to ride in the back- and one of the lines came untied. A car pulled out in front of us and we had to pull a serious dodge manuever, and Natas fell out. I still feel horrible we didn't see the line come untied and we still haven't forgiven ourselves.) I let my mommy instinct take over and demanded my dog back, sensing something was terribly wrong when we were never even shown xrays, and the "broken leg" diagnoses was given before she even laid a hand on her. We had her examined somewhere else, and aside from seriously hyper-extended tendons and some road rash, there was no break and surgery was definitely not necessary. To get our money back we would have had to sue, and retaining a lawyer wasn't financially possible.
Lessons learned- riding in the back of pickups is dangerous no matter what precautions you think you've made, and some vets don't know their butts from a hole in the ground and are money hungry.

[Suki]

okay, well here is what happened. My vet pissed me off since they kept my baby over night last week and did not run any test and when I went to pick him up they told me they did not know what was wrong with him but they had him on an IV so he would not get dehyderated and they "think" he eat something that upset his stomach. THey charged me $154 and sent us home. Well, two days later his symptoms started again. Thats when I asked everyone on here for advice. I decided to take Malachi to another vet in town that is very reputable but the guy is really old. As soon as he saw Malachi he looked in his mouth and said he had a bacteria. On the back of his throat was a film and thick layer of flem or mucus looking stuff. The vet said that bacteria has to find away out either up or down or both. He gave me some medicine a pill malachi takes twice a day for 5 days. After the first day he was all better back to his normal self. They also ran a fecal and everything came back clear on that. Needless to say I was out of town for a few days and he stayed at the kennel at his vet and I believe that is when he got this bacteria because ever since he was home from the kennel is when the problems begun and ironically he was kenelled at the same vet that said he "eat" something that upset his stomach. SO Malachi is back to normal we have found a new vet and I am going to still feed him Canidae. I want my $154 back from those idiots.
Thanks to everyone for all the comments, advice and support. Special thanks to Suki your prayers brought him through. Licks from Malachi
awwww, you're MORE than welcome. I'm thrilled everything turned out, ok. You've no idea how happy that makes me! I came in and started flooding the docs with questions!!!!
and like wise! I got my daughter home as well, so thanks for your prayers=cried me a damn river!!!! It all goes around! PM me ANY time! Glad you're seeing someone new. The last vet I worked for was 88, and that guy KNEW HIS STUFF!!!! Can't beat the "old timers". We have 4 docs here, so what one might not know, the others probably will. Again, ANY time=this made my day!:D

[malachi]

Thanks TO everyone. You all are great. I am writing a complaint letter to the old vet and Malachi is doing great. He is growing and growing and chewing and chewing. He is feeling much better.