<p>In May my otherwise healthy and active 13 year old toy poodle began vomiting with diarrhea and acting lethargic.Took him to our vet who worked him up aggressively with blood work, abdominal ultrasound, x ray which all turned out to be completely normal. Vet told us that maybe it was a virus…</p>
<p>Our dog had 2 more episodes of diarrhea which quickly cleared up with proviable kaopectate gel. Two days go he vomited a small amount one day, and the next day was completely fine all day and then suddenly began retching and vomited a number of times. He was given fluids and anti-nausea medication.</p>
<p>Vet informed me that there are 1,000 reasons for vomiting and diarrhea in dogs and that usually the cause is never known. All that is done is to treat the symptoms.</p>
<p>I have proviable kaopectate gel for diarrhea, and a pill to give for vomiting for future occurences.</p>
<p>I am wondering if any other dog parents have experienced this and what have you done to prevent it. I am the type that likes to know WHY things occur and not knowing is very unnerving because I feel helpless to prevent it.</p>
<p>Hi - is he ingesting something in your home or in your yard that is making him sick? Do you feed him people food as treats? Could it be a dog treat that he gets periodically? Since it seems so on and off, that’s what I would consider. Watch what he eats outside (grass, scraps, etc) and keep track of his food and treats to see if there is any correlation to his sick episodes.</p>
<p>Our toy pooldle lived to 17 and had these episodes on and off. It just seemed his system would go off sometimes and there was nothing different we could tell that started it. If he started eating grass we were on notice. He was fine otherwise. Maybe you can tell what is upsetting him and maybe you can’t. Try though. </p>
<p>When my dog went through two bouts of this, it was because of what is euphemistically called “dietary indiscretion.” Yep, digging through the trash. Do you find anything “interesting” when you investigate what’s expelled? My poor dh thought our dog was losing his intestines – turns out it was a giant rubber band and a plastic bag!</p>
<p>I agree, it sounds possible that he is getting into something he shouldn’t be eating, OR he is getting some occasional treat from you or someone else that doesn’t agree with him.</p>
<p>I’m assuming you haven’t changed his food or you would have mentioned it. Do you feed him twice a day? If not, you might want to start. Tends to keep their digestion on a more even keel.</p>
<p>My dog had a terrible bout of diarrhea a couple of years ago shortly after we opened a new bag of dog food. We fed her an alternative diet (don’t remember, rice and something…) for several days. When we went back to regular food, it happened again. I chucked the bag of food and bought a different brand. When we tried again…she was fine, has been ever since. So while rare, it is possible there is something about her current batch of dog food.</p>
<p>We’ve had problems in the past with a bad bag of dog food causing this type of problem. When I went to the store to get a bag of something else (I’d gotten suspicious it might be the food) I was told that brand had a recall! We’ve also had occasional problems with a treat that didn’t agree with the dog, or yes, a dietary indiscretion. Trouble with a one time dietary indiscretion is easier to figure out. The bad bag of food caused vomiting and diarrhea that gradually got worse, were more off and on, and affected one dog much more than the other even though they were getting identical meals.
Have you tried completely switching from dog food to boiled chicken and rice for a while? It’s easy on the dog digestive system. You can also add a bit of pumpkin (from a can). There’s also a canned food at the vet that is essentially boiled chicken and rice that we used for a while for a very sick dog. It’s easier than cooking something but more expensive. </p>
<p>Small dogs are likely more at risk when eating stuff that they shouldn’t because of their size. </p>
<p>My 4lb dog ate some seasoned chix yesterday and her tummy bothered her all day. She finally ate some cut grass that I brought in for her and then she threw up (the grass seemed to help with this process). </p>
<p>Is your dog eating a new treat? or chewing a toy? or getting into trash (even bathroom trash can have bad stuff in it that dogs will chew on).</p>
<p>Thanks for all your replies. Our dog never goes out unattended and does not get into anything at home - so eating something that does not agree with him is not a possibility. He is on ID diet (only fed this ) which is made for GI upset and is especially easy on the stomach. He is fed 3 times a day, small portions. And we never give him any treats.</p>
<p>These episodes seem to come completely randomly. It’s so frustrating to not be able to figure out what’s going on. I get particularly nervous that he will have an episode when we go away and leave him with our pet sitter.</p>
<p>I just wish there was a way to predict and/or prevent it!</p>
<p>My dog never used to get in the trash either. I don’t know what has happened in the past few months to make it an issue all of a sudden. We have to keep all the doors closed now. The bathroom trashcan seems to be a favorite.</p>
<p>Given the age and the breed, my first thought is a developing irritable bowel. Has the dog been scoped? If you don’t want to pay for scoping, I’d suggest adding plain white boiled rice in small quantities to the diet, along with a regular source of high-pectin vegetable matter: green beans or pumpkin or apples or carrot. It made a huge difference to my standard poodle who had IBD (scope-diagnosed).</p>
<p>The really confusing part is that the diarrhea comes and goes (like once every 2-4 weeks) and the vomiting has not occurred for 3 months. Is this still considered chronic?</p>
<p>My dog is on the ID diet which is extremely low fat and easy to digest. It seems opposite of what I would think that adding fiber would decrease diarrhea.I know that rice is given for diarrhea but how does fiber work in the body?</p>
<p>@Questbest: pectin (which is the binder in jellies and jams) is found in fruits and vegetables, as well as fiber. Very old research (back to the 1930s) shows that pectin in the diet of dogs determines how well the feces hold together. So it’s important for dogs with diarrhea to get enough pectin–and the natural way to get that is by eating high-pectin vegetables. Pumpkin is traditional, but carrots and apples have just as much pectin and are sometimes preferred by the dog. </p>
<p>As a note: kaopectate is a mixture of clay (kaolin) and pectin. </p>
<p>Adding pumpkin to his diet isnt going to hurt him and it may help.
I would also change his feedings to twice a day, rather than three times, to give his gi system a break.
Having the issue once or twice a month, is not chronic & may be related to another stress, rather than his food intake.</p>
<p>I use only natural cleaning products like baking soda and lemon and no chemicals. And I have not had my carpets cleaned in past 6 months either.</p>
<p>It is so frustrating not to be able to figure this out!</p>
<p>Could the diarrhea be the life cycle of a parasite? Sometimes they can only be detected in certain phases. (This actually happened to a kid I knew. He was wasting away, and having all kinds of tests. Everyone was worried about him, just due to his appearance. Eventually he was retested for parasites, and bingo!)</p>