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vickiquilts
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Posted
Hi everyone - I thought I'd try here and see if anyone can help me. Our 6 year old Shih Tzu has been having very soft (formed) stools and frequent. He has had 2 accidents in the house this weekend and that never happens. I made some rice to put in his food. We simply cannot afford to go to the vet at this time of year - the economy has hit us big time. I went to petmd site and it looks like it could be a small intestine problem but want to do whatever I can first to help him. We did add some Caesars (1 teaspoon - not a lot) to his food lately and are hoping it is the food. One of our dogs in the past had to be given kaopectate a few times for stool problems. We do not feed people food - just their dog food. Any suggestions??? Thank you for any advice. Blessings, Vicki


Blessings,
Helping you to make your tops into heirlooms http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickiquilts
 
Posts: 1109 | Location: central FL USA | Registered: Feb 10, 2003Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
debicga
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Many times when you change the diet it can affect a dog's stool. I would maybe take away the Ceasars and see if that helps.


*Debi*

~*Never trade the thrills of living for the security of existence*~
 
Posts: 2751 | Location: Marietta,GA | Registered: Apr 05, 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
SheChi
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IF there is nothing wrong, you could try the feeding him the chicken and rice (75% rice, 25% white chicken breast)for a couple of days. That should harden his stools. Then put him back on what you normally feed him.
NEVER give your dog chicken skin or any greasy part of the chicken.

You want to make sure nothing serious is going on in his intestines, so watch him. If the stools are grey, dark or a strange color, he may have parasites. Any blood in stool, take him to the vet. If the softness continues after two days on chicken/rice, take him to the vet. If he seems not right, take him to the vet. Call & work out a payment. I know its tough financially, but Shih tzus are resilient little dogs. By the time they show any distress, they are really sick. Shih Tzus stomachs are very sensitive to food changes. That's been my experience, anyway.

I feed my Shih Tzu Nutro with a little canned Ceasar all the time, or Nutro with some chicken breast thrown in.

I also keep Flagyl (Metronadazole 250mg, split into quarters)on hand, just in case mine should get diarrhea from any treats or food. If that happens & nothing else is wrong, I give her the one piece of Flagyl (62.5mg), and that hardens her stool. I don't advice it on this board, because this is not the place to practice medicine Wink
Good luck. Let us know what happens.
 
Posts: 454 | Registered: Jan 16, 2006Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
vickiquilts
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Thanks for your advice. We only did the Caesars as a treat - we had a buy one get one free coupon. We stopped it immediately. I am very careful with their diets as a rule but learned my lesson with this one. I'll continue the rice and rice water for today and tomorrow and see if he feels better otherwise he goes to the vet on Tuesday. Our vet does not do payments Frown Max is such a sweet dog - we have a 2 year old Shih Tzu, Mollie, also who bothers the heck out of him and he's so laid back - I swear he rolls his eyes at us when she's bothering him. Big Grin Her stomach has not been bothered at all. Thanks for the talk - blessings, Vicki


Blessings,
Helping you to make your tops into heirlooms http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickiquilts
 
Posts: 1109 | Location: central FL USA | Registered: Feb 10, 2003Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
applik
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I agree with getting rid of the ceasers. My 2 schnauzers have had more than their share if the diarrhea. If there is any mucous get to the vet. Small dogs can dehydrate quickly. Mine usually have clostridium which is easily treated with amoxocillin or flagyl. I have started to add a Tbsp of organic yogurt daily and they love it.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/7878735@N03/
 
Posts: 983 | Location: Maryland | Registered: Jun 27, 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
sugarbugger
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Giving Libby's Pumkin (not pie filling) 2-3 times (1 teaspoon each) per day will add enough fiber so your doggie won't have lose stool. I give this to my dog when it came recommended by my vet for diarrhea.

I divide the can of pumpkin into portions, freeze them in baggies and defrost as necessary.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: sugarbugger,


The greatness of a Nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.... I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to the protection by man from the cruelty by man. - G-a-n-d-h-i -

I want to be as wonderful as my dog thinks I am.

UNITE AGAINST RACISM!
 
Posts: 309 | Registered: Jan 08, 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
vickiquilts
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Good ideas here - yes our vet had recommended the pumpkin also. I froze the pumpkin in ice cube trays and then popped them out into baggies when they were frozen so they were easy to use. I may sprinkle some acidophilus on his food tonight. He does seem to be feeling better this afternoon but no poo since I think he's all poo'd out. Thanks for all of the great info! HGTV folks are just the best! Okay, heading back to my "home" quilting board. Big Grin


Blessings,
Helping you to make your tops into heirlooms http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickiquilts
 
Posts: 1109 | Location: central FL USA | Registered: Feb 10, 2003Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
JoW
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The accidents this weekend may be related to the holiday. More excitement, folks sneaking him extra snacks, maybe he got a little more people food than he should have.

Get him back on his regular diet and regular schedule as soon as you can. That will probably help a lot.
 
Posts: 2759 | Location: Omaha, Nebraska, USA | Registered: Oct 13, 2002Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
vickiquilts
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We have until tomorrow - his stools are still very soft. He does not eat people food - we're pretty stict on that and not a bunch of company. Any other suggestions? I remember when we had another dog we gave her Kaopectate -I'm not sure how much - does anyone know about this being used for a pup? We may have to go to the vet but really do not have the money for that and trying to avoid it if possible.


Blessings,
Helping you to make your tops into heirlooms http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickiquilts
 
Posts: 1109 | Location: central FL USA | Registered: Feb 10, 2003Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
vickiquilts
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So now we are going to take in a stool sample and see what is wrong with our little Max - hopefully it will be something that is easy to take care of with meds and he will be fine.


Blessings,
Helping you to make your tops into heirlooms http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickiquilts
 
Posts: 1109 | Location: central FL USA | Registered: Feb 10, 2003Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
vickiquilts
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We got Max' blood work back and it appears he may have liver cancer. We are destroyed! The vet wanted us to go to a specialist but we cannot afford that so he said plan #2 is antibiotics, milk thistle and vitamin E. Anyone dealt with this and if so - what path did you take? Thanks for your info


Blessings,
Helping you to make your tops into heirlooms http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickiquilts
 
Posts: 1109 | Location: central FL USA | Registered: Feb 10, 2003Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
camiboxer
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I would want a definite diagnosis first & foremost. Treating with antibiotics, vitamin E and milk thistle is just throwing money at a problem without knowing what the problem is. It could be an infection of some sort yes....and the antibiotics *may* be the right one to correct the problem but there is no way to know this going in. The vitamin E probably won't be beneficial if it is cancer (wasted money) and the milk thistle won't fix the problem either. It is used to detoxify the liver but again, if you are dealing with cancer it won't stop its devastating effects or be a cure. It's more often used to help cleanse the liver and rejuvenate liver cells WITH other forms of cancer treatment (chemo for example).
There are many programs available to help with cancer treatment. Some may even offer credit/aid with an oncology consult. A good portion of the money you are spending to *maybe* fix an unknown problem could be put towards actually learning what the exact cause of the symptoms are.
If you have a college nearby with a vet department or teaching hospital I would look into that as they tend to be less expensive than specialty clinics or vet Er's which usually have a lot of different specialists. Any of them should be able to offer suggestions for aid or offer different payment options. Who knows perhaps your baby could qualify for a clinical trial which would offset treatment costs considerably if not include them for free.
 
Posts: 144 | Registered: Jan 24, 2008Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
sugarbugger
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[QUOTE]Originally posted by vickiquilts:
We got Max' blood work back and it appears he may have liver cancer. We are destroyed!

OMG I am so sorry. Sure hope you find a cure that you can affort. My thoughts are with you and your pet.


The greatness of a Nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.... I hold that, the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to the protection by man from the cruelty by man. - G-a-n-d-h-i -

I want to be as wonderful as my dog thinks I am.

UNITE AGAINST RACISM!
 
Posts: 309 | Registered: Jan 08, 2005Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
vickiquilts
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Thank you for your kind thoughts - we are doing what we can afford. We believe in homeopathics - I am alive due to natural healing and we believe in it 100%. We just pray we are not too late with our little guy. The vet feels we got it early and so does our friend - she was cured from brain cancer thru the natural way to go. It's tough when things are getting tougher and tougher and you have an illness - pets or people.


Blessings,
Helping you to make your tops into heirlooms http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickiquilts
 
Posts: 1109 | Location: central FL USA | Registered: Feb 10, 2003Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
SheChi
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Vickiquilts,
I'm so sorry. I hope your pup does not have liver ca.

I'm hoping that he just has some inflammatory process with his liver and that it will heal.
Don't mean to give you false hope, but I've been through so much with my shih tzus.

The old one (just put her down at 18 yo!)was never really sick, but had some smaller things here and there wrong. I always got her better.Usually everything was a long process. Her bloodwork would be all over the place...and then she'd get better.

I recall when she was a bit under the weather, my Vet thought she had all kinds of things from cancer to whatever....Her blood was very lipemic, which many times affected her results. She lived to be 18 yo with her Cholesterol being over 1000, and Triglicerides over 400. Her liver enzymes came back high at times. No explanation. I did not feed her junk. My Vet has had other Shih tzus with blood results that were through the roof and then came down.

He joked that he learned a lot from my Shih Tzus, when it came to bloodwork on that breeed and other things, because he knew me and how I tended to their needs. One of the things I've learned with shih tzus is that their liver enzymes can come back wacky and then with antibiotics and time they get normal.

I hope that is the case with your baby.
Good luck and please keep us posted.
 
Posts: 454 | Registered: Jan 16, 2006Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post
vickiquilts
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Gosh Max looks and acts so much better today. He is on so many good things to help his immune system! We always do whatever we need to do for our pets but this year has been tough - very tough. We are looking at it optimistically and are praying over him. I cannot get him to take his food orally (putting it down his throat) but put a little peanut butter on any of them and down they go! LOL This pupkid is the best little guy in the world. If we are sick he will not leave the bed til we are better. So we will be here for him as long as we need to be. After all they are our kids now that the kids are grown and have their own kids. Smile


Blessings,
Helping you to make your tops into heirlooms http://www.flickr.com/photos/vickiquilts
 
Posts: 1109 | Location: central FL USA | Registered: Feb 10, 2003Reply With QuoteEdit or Delete MessageReport This Post