Myles and I have had a rough week. Started out last Sunday with diarrhea in his crate, dog walker made the discovery. Diarrhea happens so wasn't terribly concerned and just started him on chicken and rice. Normal poos for a couple days. Simultaneously been dealing with an ear infection so treating that with prescription ointment from vet. By Wednesday he had a relapse of diarrhea, I was thinking I started mixing in too much if his kibble and he wasn't ready for that so we returned to chicken and rice. Then he did not poop at all for nearly 2 days. Finally today he did poop but it was not much and still did not look right. During all of his he's got a great appetite but hasn't had much interest in water. He will eat ice cubes and I have been getting him to drink "rice water" (yes water with rice in it and a tad of pumpkin, goes right for it). He's been pretty chilled out all week, still has his playful moments but been a bit too well behaved. He had a zoomie run yesterday and I was happy to see it. Then today I saw a dreaded thing which I hope is nothing. He did a couple of what looked like bunny hops at the beginning of our walk. Only maybe 2 times then walked normal. Bunny hop can be a sign of HD but I'm trying not to go there . Literally the only signs I've seen are those 2 little hops. I will not panic yet. (Note: BOTH of his parents have hips rated "Excellent" which I know from many of you is no guarantee, but just noting) If no improvement today will pop him into the vet. Just so worrying these pups!
Sounds as if you and Myles are having a tough time at the moment. Could Myles have eaten something he shouldn't which has upset his stomach? If he's not better I would take him to the vet and have him checked, it could be heat related although I would expect him to be drinking more in that case. Try not to worry about a couple of "bunny hops" at this time, just keep an eye on him. Our pups do strange and wonderful things at times just for fun - like the zoomies . If you are concerned though have a chat with your vet and see what his view is.
Oh dear that sounds like a worry (not the bunny hop; I wouldn't even start thinking about that right now). But diarrhea that hasn't cleared up properly has me thinking of parasites or similar, and I would go to the vet today. Good luck!
I agree not to worry about the bunny hops. Occasionally Obi will take a hop or two with a back foot in the air and I know that his joints are all good (he's had X-rays). I just assume he's trodden on something ouchy or had a meaningless twinge of some kind. Hope Myles is back to normal soon....
You've all made me feel better about the bunny hop. I feel so paranoid these days . Well today he seemed very close to normal in terms of playfulness and poos. He always seems to improve right after I post on here, hmm. BUT this water thing has me concerned. He just seems to have a mental block that has developed in the last week about drinking water. It seems almost like a fear or anxiety all the sudden. Think I will start a new post on it.
A helpful person (maybe Boogie?) gave me some water help last week. Try putting a little honey into the water; I did and it worked. Intermittent runny poos can be a sign of parasites (amongst a load of reasons). I know because I have had to deal with it. Sounds like a visit to the vet may be in order. Ahead of a visit I would pop to the vets and pick up sample containers and take some poo samples into your appointment. Just to save time. I have always had to collect some over 3 days and it has to be the runny stuff! Sorry to hear you have had a stressful week, it can be very tiring at times, like having a toddler!
When Charlie gets excited, his back legs turn into kangaroo legs. He "bounces" like a mad alive rocking horse with his front legs together, and his back legs together. He can also kangaroo his back legs, while doing a swivel around his front legs. There is nothing wrong with his hips. He is just being a silly puppy (even tho' he is 2.5 now....). Is he getting more water from his food? I remember being worried Charlie wasn't drinking when he started on wet food. It was just because he didn't need to drink as much as when he was on kibble. My "get them to drink" tip is tuna flakes - I use it every time Charlie has to go in for x-rays etc and doesn't get breakfast (which means he won't drink, he won't drink until he has eaten). Tuna flakes sink in water, so whisk in a few tuna flakes in water, dog has to drink all the water to get the tuna flakes (in Charlie's case, I take the bowl away before he gets to them as he isn't allowed any food - how mean is that? )
Many many perfectly healthy dogs bunny hop, especially when they start to pick up speed, so fear not. My Boogie did it for 19 happy, healthy years. Try only to worry about the things which are problems, not the things which might never be problems and enjoy your lovely Myles.
Just a thought from me.... Pongo had runny tummy and rice wasn't helping - then someone told us that many dogs actually react badly to rice, and we tried him instead on oatmeal (just the normal porridge oats that you buy for breakfast). Mixed them up with water, added bits of chicken. Miracle cure.. We won't use rice again.
Thank you all for your runny poo remedies! I think I will try scrambled eggs next time. This rice and chicken bit is a lot of work for someone who mainly uses a microwave . I have used the stove/oven/slow cooker more for this dog than I ever have for myself! His poos have returned to solid and I am trying to start mixing in kibble now. If there is any sign of runny poo, off to the vet for sure. I will try the tuna flakes in water thing, honey hasn't worked. And he will happily take ice cubes. It's just strange and seems more of a behavioral vs health reason. I actually tried to put "water" on cue several weeks ago, I wonder if I messed it up and created some anxiety for him. Hmm. But last night after our walk (it's still in the 90s even at dark), he was of course panting. But he would not go to the water bowl. I've tried putting it in front of him, that doesn't work. Eventually I have to just throw some ice cubes on the floor to make sure he gets water. The bunny hope so far seems like an isolated event. And I will not worry!
Try putting the water in something completely different then ignoring it, not giving it to him or asking him to drink. (PS - no milk in the scrambled egg )
So just to update... Myles is still not interested in drinking water and he started having peeing issues this week. Took him to vet and confirmed urinary and prostate infection so we are on antibiotics. Could be that's why he hasn't been wanting to drink, or is the not drinking enough for what led to infection? Ugh. I've been putting either tuna or some of his chicken/rice mix in his water to get him to drink, which works well. Separately I have been ever so slowly trying to ween him off chicken and rice (diarrhea started 2 weeks ago) and mixing his dry food in. Well today runny poos returned. I should clarify that he has NOT had diarrhea for 2 weeks, he does fine on chicken and rice. And I can't tell if the antibiotics for the infection could be messing with his stomach. Or that I let him have a bully stick last night and this morning. Just so hard to tell which of these is the culprit so I obviously can't take him off antibiotics but I suppose I will ease back off his dry food and no bully sticks for him. Between diarrhea and ear infections and urinary infections I have not had a well dog in 2 weeks. He's acting fine. Playful and happy. His mom on the other hand is stressed out! I haven't tried that prokolin but think I will order today. Of course when we went to vet for his pee issue his poos had been fine for a few days so I thought we were over it and I didn't mention it.
Charlie gets runny poo at the drop of a hat these days. I think it is something to do with the amount of anti-inflammatories he has had (not good for tummies). Anyway.... I swear by Royal Canin sensitivity control. I switched him onto this during a never ending run D) of sloppy poo and it worked wonders. I now use the dry version all the time, and keep a few tins of the wet stuff in for emergencies. I cut out all rawhide, bully sticks - everything like that - and stick mainly to fish based training treats. It did the trick. I know lots of people don't like Royal Canin, but I honestly think the SC21 is great. You can switch them over to it in one meal, so it's pretty instant. Looking on Amazon.com (rather than .co.uk) I see there seems to be a slightly different range available in the US, with potato as the carbohydrate source, and it seems to be called hypoallergic select protein (SD). http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003IM7F1O/ref=s9_dcbhz_bw_g199_i2_sh
Thanks Julie, I am about at that point of switching his food. I've never been crazy about what he's been on anyway (Pro Plan). Does this look the same as the SC21? http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Canin-Sensitive-Digestion-30-Pound/dp/B00CKEE9NS And Myles is also on anti-inflammatories. So it could be that as well.
No, that is definitely not what I use - that is a chicken and rice formula. Although, if Myles is ok on chicken and rice then it might be fine. The idea with the hypoallergenic SC21 is that you shift them to both a carbohydrate and protein source that they haven't been fed on before (although I think this is more important for allergies than tummy troubles, but it still worked for Charlie). So in the hypoallergenic formulas they have a single protein source and a non grain based carbohydrate source. The formulas in the US (as far as I can see) are based on potato and duck or rabbit or venison. In the UK the carbohydrate source tends to be tapioca, and Charlie switched to duck and tapioca. It cleared everything up in 2 days. How old is Myles? You need to watch out for the formula being ok for younger dogs - the one you selected is for breeds much bigger than Labradors.
Ok I couldn't see from the amazon link I sent you that it was chicken and rice but found it on another website. He's been on Pro Plan Large Breed Adult (which is also chicken and rice). He is currently 8 months and 63 lbs. he has been on adult food since 6 months at recommendation of his breeder.
If you want to look further into the pros and cons of feeding a younger dog adult food, "dog food logic" is a great book. Anyway, you don't have to stick to the sensitive food forever, just get his poos sorted out and give yourself a break from cooking all that chicken and rice, and a chance to look round for something else for the longer term. If he is currently upset by a chicken and rice based kibble, what I would try is switching both carbohydrate and protein source (this is exactly what I did with Charlie) to a food with single sources of carbs and protein - otherwise its impossible to work out what you are doing, and if that didn't work, I'd switch only protein sources, and if that failed, I'd try another switch of carbohydrate source. If you wanted to do this, try switching to something like potato as the carbohydrate - then choose something like duck, venison, rabbit or fish. Just buy a small bag to try - there is no guarantee he'll be ok with it.... This one is potato and venison: http://www.amazon.com/ROYAL-Canine-...genic+Selected+Protein+PV+for+Canine+(7.7+lb) This one is potato and rabbit: http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Canin-V...=8-11&keywords=royal+canin+hypoallergenic+dog This one is potato and whitefish: http://www.amazon.com/Royal-Canin-H...=8-15&keywords=royal+canin+hypoallergenic+dog
Thanks for all the suggestions Julie. I think I will give one of them a try and see if that helps. RC is sold in many of the pet stores here so I may be able to see if they have one of those and grab a small bag. Worth a try for sure. Thanks!
