Sick Barney

Beth1708

Hello everyone. It's been a horrific week here in northern California.  Last Saturday, when I returned from my early morning yoga class, Barney was listless and lying under a bush in the front yard. By the afternoon he was having explosive diarrhea, and by evening, his diarrhea was bloody. My husband took him to the emergency clinic, where he was admitted with a 105 fever. They did a series of x-rays, and ultimately a CAT scan on him. He was in and out of the emergency hospital and his regular vet's clinic off and on all week. They can't figure out what is wrong with him, except that he ingested some sort of toxin -- but not a strict poison, like rat poison (we don't even have any [known] poisons on our property). After a week of antibiotics and IV's, he's much better, but he still has a jelly belly, and still some blood in his extremely loose stool. The only anomaly that the combined veterinarians could find was a lower intestinal tract that was 6 times the normal thickness -- no doubt from the great stress of whatever irritated his bowels. I thought at one point that he might not make it. It was a nightmare. So now, we have him on rice, cottage cheese, and boiled chicken -- and occasionally a little banana. He has a good appetite -- finally. He lost 7 pounds over the 5 days that he was in and out of the hospital. My question for you good people is what I can feed him to soothe his stomach and help firm up his stools. He's still on antibiotics, and will be for another 5 days. Has anyone ever had an experience like this? My husband -- who is madly in love with our little guy -- is so traumatized that he wants to muzzle him when he's in the back yard. We have 3 fenced acres backing to open space in the northern California hills, and my husband thinks he must have eaten a diseased wild animal that died on our property. Because we have such a large area for the dogs to roam, he's worried that we won't be able to monitor what he eats. I am four-square against muzzling him -- ever -- and would rather let him sit unsupervised in our much smaller front yard / patio area and then walk him in the back on a leash. Thank you for letting me vent in this long post, and thank you so very much for any advice that you can give me. I'll post a photo of my skinnier (but not wiser!) little man from my phone.

chooba

work canned pumpkin into his diet. 
If your sure it came from the yard, your going to need to extensively examine the back 3.  Walking in a straight line from one end to the other in 6-8ft strips.  If he ate something there, chances are, some of its still there.  Any animal carcasses, strange plants, ect. will need to be disposed of.
If he has a spot where he normally goes / like the bush where you found'm, check for any clues there.  Regurgitation, poop, chewed up stuff..................that may help lead you to what to look for in the yard.

Beth1708

Thanks. Good advice. I'm not convinced it was something in the yard, although he's supervised most of the time, so it's puzzling to think where he might have found something.

philsergeant

The chicken and rice are a good stabilizer... Then work him back onto his regular food.... I'd keep checking his coat to make sure you don't get any secondary disruptions from the experience, and bath him a little more frequently than typical. He probably is wiser from the experience, but I think your idea of keeping him on a 50ft lead in the back for a while is a good one. Invite the local raccoons in to clean up the yard every night, and let him chase them out during the day... That'll make sure there are few "tasties" lying around.... Works at our place.

mbgood

My friend's dog (poodle) got a hold of a castor bean from a plant in the neighborhood and almost died--similar symptoms to what you described. It is what ricin is made from.

Just one thing to look for, while you're looking in the yard.

http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/castor-bean-2/

Beth1708

Thanks Phil and mbgood. I'm keeping him out of the backyard, and cleaning up all the little rocks from the front. He's been eating the small-ish rocks -- not good for his teeth or digestive tract. I'm about to give him a marrow bone to get his gnawing urge sated. When my husband was at the emergency clinic, a man came in with a little Jack Russell who was completely bloodied by a raccoon. They're terrible fighters. My former vet told me that the worst animal injuries he ever saw in his practice were from raccoons -- that they won't just fight defensively, but rather, if they feel threatened, they'll go on the offensive and try to kill your dog.

Quinnofhearts

Yikes, what a scary experience! How is Barney doing now?

If he's still on a restricted diet I would recommend cooked ground turkey and egg noodles. A little plop of yogurt seems to help dogs get that necessary bacteria back in their system. Otherwise I'd say you'll just have to keep an eye on him back there if you don't want something like this to happen again...

Hope he's feeling better! :-bd

philsergeant

How's the English Patient makin' out?