Penny Arcade

Poor Miss Penny woke up this morning with diarrhea. I've tried introduction those little Caesar wet foods to her dry food so she had some variety. I guess whichever one she ate for dinner isn't sitting well with her. She's poo'd four times today, twice inside the house. Her first three were like normal size, just diarrhea and her last one was small.

Of course, she has me all worried. I'm broke and am in the process of trying to get a transmission fixed on a car so I can't afford a huge vet bill if it happens to be something else wrong with her outside of diet. I called a vet though that I have a coupon for a free visit if you're a new customer. She said to just give her lots of water and some rice, then bring her in tomorrow if she doesn't get better (she also said the coupon can count towards that).

Any other suggestions or advice? I'm very worried.

Lucy&Millie

Hi Penny and Penny's Mom!

My Lucy has a very sensitive system so we have been down this road ourselves, until we found a food she can eat!

First you need to settle her system... Give her a bland diet: Boiled Rice, Boiled Chicken (no bone, skin or fat)! My girls are finicky about rice, so sometimes some bland mashed potatoes. Mine will tolerate yogurt and cottage cheese too, but milk products can make some dogs sick because dogs lack the enzyme to process milk. So be careful if you give Penny yogurt or cottage cheese. The yogurt puts probiotics back into their system. There are packets of probiotics you can purchase too. Best thing is keep it simple, rice and boiled chicken. Remove all other food, treats, etc. I've heard that a few tablespoons of pureed pumpkin helps too, but I've never tried that.

If it was just the Caesar wet food that has upset her system, she will be fine by tomorrow if you give her the bland diet. I would keep her on a bland diet for at least tonight and tomorrow. If by tomorrow night, she seems back to normal, you can ease her back into normal food.

If it isn't better by tomorrow with the bland diet, defiantly take her to the vet! Its great you have a coupon for a free visit! I had one too, and the trip for Millie's allergies were free! A tip! If you go to the vet and they give you medicine for Penny, call around to local pharmacies to check prices. Millie's medicine for her UTI was $35 at the Vet, but at a local grocery store it was a free medicine. The Vet can give you an RX that you can take in.

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Lucy - Age 6?
Millie - Age 2

henry'smum

My vets will price match internet pricing, all i do is print off the internet price code and take it in. This saves us a fortune on heartworm meds etc. Hope she is feeling better soon

Penny Arcade

The vet I called told us boiled chicken and rice too. I gotta pick up stuff to cook dinner later anyways so hopefully I can find the probiotic stuff. She's drank lots of water today. I just gave her a bowl and now she doesn't want the second bowl I gave her. And she still wants treats, so I guess that's a good sign. My boyfriend gave her one earlier just to see if she still wanted to eat and I just gave her a small piece of her dry food since she did a trick for me. She's also not eating grass or acting like her stomach is upset. No more treats though. Right now she's sleeping. She's used to taking a nap with me and my boyfriend around now when we get home from school so I'm hoping that means she's just sticking to her schedule and it doesn't mean she's feeling bad.

And thank you for the advice. This is pretty much my first dog and this would be her first official vet visit since getting her (we got her shots and heartworm testing done though a program called EmanciPET). If I can get her medicine for cheap or free, that would be great! I hate feeling like I'm skimping on taking care of her; its just a lot of bad timing what with the broken car transmission and her possibly being sick.

Lucy&Millie

LOL! Well, I've found when it rains it pours!

Don't feel like you're skimping on her care, you want to take care of her. I price shop on the girls' medicine whenever I have to give it to them! It might be a good idea to go ahead and get a list of free or $4 medicines at your local pharmacies! You may need it.

If she is acting normal, except for the poop, and she took the treats, then she will probably be ok. Its wonderful that she is taking water; that's really good! Bassets sleep, a lot, so I wouldn't worry about the nap, especially if she normally does it about now.

When my girls' have upset stomachs, I also sometimes give them a half of a boiled egg for protein. Not sure if it is considered part of the bland diet, but they love it as a treat. The idea of the bland diet is to settle their stomach while still getting the carbs and protein they need.

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Lucy - Age 6?
Millie - Age 2

Lucy&Millie

Oh! You don't need to do all of it: rice, potatoes, chicken, boiled egg, yogurt and cottage cheese! LOL! Just pick a carb and a protein! Rice and chicken is perfect!

Mine are picky, so I've tried a lot of different stuff...

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Lucy - Age 6?
Millie - Age 2

Penny Arcade

The vet I called is offering a couple coupons online right now. They're supposed to be a great veterinary hospital here in town. Sadly for me/my checking account, they're pretty pricey. :/ If Penny is actually sick and its not just her diet, I'm gonna need to rob the bank or something.

Mikey T

the ratio should be ~ 90% rice and 10% chicken

henry'smum

Emancipet do reduced price frontline but not sure if they will save money on heartworm meds for you as well. May be worth contacting them for that too

Penny Arcade

No. Kidding. Gosh. This entire month so far has been nothing but car problems, school problems, financial/no insurance problems, roommate problems, and now Penny's health problems. Uhg. I need a vacation!

But thank you. I'll try the chicken and rice today. Penny's super picky too (that's why she gets the soft food and dry food mix; she's so spoiled she won't eat plain old dry food lol), but the rice and chicken sounds like something she'll eat. If it smells like food Momma and Daddy eat, she'll want it lol.