Giardia is nasty. My Golden Retriever had it. Picked it up who knows where. The meds worked pretty quickly though and she was feeling much better in a couple of days. She was a very large mature dog so she fared much better than a small pup would. Hope you get some answers soon.
Holistic Vet
- Thread starter Ariel
- Start date
Ann
Moderator
That is great news, and I'm so glad you made the switch. I had the same loyalty issues when I made the decision to change from the mainstream vet I'd used forever, but it was the best thing I could have done for my dogs. I hope you find the holistic approach works for Ariel. We've had such good luck with it for both dogs and horses that it is amazing. Please keep us posted on how things go!
sable
Forums Enthusiast
Sounds like you are off to a good start. I heard the chicken and rice really works. Praying your little girl improves ASAP.
Woke up this morning to puppy vomit. I strongly suspect it is simply from an empty stomach. She was very whiny mid-day yesterday because she didn't get lunch.
Tonight I'm going to give her a few tablespoons of rice late so she won't wake up nauseated again.
Poop is slightly better, not an absolute mess, but there is still something wrong. I hope I hear from the vet today or tomorrow at the latest about the giardia test.
It sounds like that nasty germ can be picked up rather easily, actually. Ariel is presenting a lot of "firsts" for me! I'll be glad when all this is over and she's back to being a total punk.
Tonight I'm going to give her a few tablespoons of rice late so she won't wake up nauseated again.
Poop is slightly better, not an absolute mess, but there is still something wrong. I hope I hear from the vet today or tomorrow at the latest about the giardia test.
It sounds like that nasty germ can be picked up rather easily, actually. Ariel is presenting a lot of "firsts" for me! I'll be glad when all this is over and she's back to being a total punk.
I think it's going to take a while too.
Fortunately, it's NOT giardia. Yeah! But, that also means no diagnosis. I talked to the vet's office yesterday and we decided to continue with the same diet and holistic med through the weekend. If there is no real improvement, then Monday we re-group.
Fortunately, it's NOT giardia. Yeah! But, that also means no diagnosis. I talked to the vet's office yesterday and we decided to continue with the same diet and holistic med through the weekend. If there is no real improvement, then Monday we re-group.
OntarioSheltie
Forums Celebrity
I feel your pain Shelley, I really do. For myself, I found that natural and holistic medicine is wonderful and some times helps more than conventional medicine. Hang in there, you'll figure it out eventually.
Sadie had unexplained tummy issues for almost 8 month with violent bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. We ad a battery of blood work taken and none of the results were normal but weren't indicative of anything either. In the beginning we were sure she just had stubborn case of Giardia.
Since I was running out of options I finally relented and put her on vet food. It worked immediately but she's since developed slightly dry skin and constipation. Within a month of intruducing something to her diet for these problems she started getting sick again. I'm now looking into a holistic dog food but feel so guilty knowing that its MY FAULT that she's getting sick. I REALLY hope that I can find a food that she'll thrive on and not cost me a fortune!
Sadie had unexplained tummy issues for almost 8 month with violent bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. We ad a battery of blood work taken and none of the results were normal but weren't indicative of anything either. In the beginning we were sure she just had stubborn case of Giardia.
Since I was running out of options I finally relented and put her on vet food. It worked immediately but she's since developed slightly dry skin and constipation. Within a month of intruducing something to her diet for these problems she started getting sick again. I'm now looking into a holistic dog food but feel so guilty knowing that its MY FAULT that she's getting sick. I REALLY hope that I can find a food that she'll thrive on and not cost me a fortune!
Thanks. I am more than willing to give holistic medicine every chance to work.
Sadie's problem was certainly not your fault! How could you possibly ever even suspect that foods could cause that dramatic a problem?
In Ariel's case, it was as though a switch was flipped on August 6th. Although that was the morning I noticed the worm, her poop was normal. Vet visit that morning with vaccine and de-wormer and all heck broke loose. The new vet said neither should have caused Ariel's problem.
Sometimes I think it's actually harder for the vet to diagnose these elusive problems because they aren't with the dog 24/7 to notice subtleties that we do.
Ariel has been off Wellness Puppy now and there is no difference in poop except color, so I don't think it was the kibble. It's interesting that Said got better on vet food. I wonder specifically what is in the vet prescribed food that is so different from other kibble.
We should start a kibble exchange on this forum. Swap baggie sized portions of different kibble for us all to try without buying a full bag. These Shelties with food/stomach/intestine problems really are a puzzle. I wonder if it's genetic.
Sadie's problem was certainly not your fault! How could you possibly ever even suspect that foods could cause that dramatic a problem?
In Ariel's case, it was as though a switch was flipped on August 6th. Although that was the morning I noticed the worm, her poop was normal. Vet visit that morning with vaccine and de-wormer and all heck broke loose. The new vet said neither should have caused Ariel's problem.
Sometimes I think it's actually harder for the vet to diagnose these elusive problems because they aren't with the dog 24/7 to notice subtleties that we do.
Ariel has been off Wellness Puppy now and there is no difference in poop except color, so I don't think it was the kibble. It's interesting that Said got better on vet food. I wonder specifically what is in the vet prescribed food that is so different from other kibble.
We should start a kibble exchange on this forum. Swap baggie sized portions of different kibble for us all to try without buying a full bag. These Shelties with food/stomach/intestine problems really are a puzzle. I wonder if it's genetic.
OntarioSheltie
Forums Celebrity
I meant now its my fault. I'm trying to make her dry skin and constipation go away but I'm making her digestive problems come back. In a sense, I'm making her sick to try and make her better. So frustrating!
Sadie is on the royal canin/medical ultra hypoallergenic food (they have two kinds, the one sadie gets is for severe food allergies, although I don't think its more the fat content then the food allergies, but thats another story
). It gets bad reviews on the dog food analysis web site but its the only food she can eat without causing one of her flare ups. Here are a couple of links to it:http://www.medi-cal.ca/diets/diets.php?diet=10
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/dog_food_reviews/showproduct.php?product=1512&cat=all
Doing a sheltie forum dog food exchange doesn't sound like a bad idea.