Sick Dog - Questions

[allie&mattsmom]

Our chocolate lab, Jake, was sick last night. The first time he threw up it was basically dog food. The next time it looked like blood. I was very concerned b/c Saturday my husband decided to put some toilet bowl cleaner in our basement toilet and left the lid up. Jake was down there and he is always drinking out of toilets. I was so mad at my husband at the time but kind of forgot about it b/c Jake seemed to be acting ok Sat. night.

Yesterday, he acted a bit lethargic but still had an appetite and wanted to eat. So then he starts getting sick in the middle of the night. I kept telling my husband that it was probably the toilet bowl cleaner, especially when we saw the blood. My DH called the emergency vet clinic at 2:30 am and the guy told him if it would be due to drinking the toilet bowl cleaner, he probably would have been sick right away. He said the blood could just be from an irritation.

Jake is still very lethargic this morning and not begging to eat like he usually does. I'm so worried.

Here are my questions. Has anyone had any experience with their dog vommiting blood or getting into toilet bowl cleaner? Could it just be a bug? Do dogs get the flu like people?

Thanks for any advice. I'm just sick to my stomach with worry.

 

[Tinkerbelle'sMOM]

I'd say you need to take him to the vet for blood tests...it sounds like he may have been poisoned and they aren't necessarily sick right away. I hope he is alright.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

I'd say you need to take him to the vet for blood tests...it sounds like he may have been poisoned and they aren't necessarily sick right away. I hope he is alright.

See, this is my thought as well. When the guy at vet clinic told my husband he would have been sick right away I told my husband I'm not so sure I believed that. Sad to say, but I sort of got the impression that this guy thought, hey, it's 2:30 a.m. and I am just going to tell them what they want to hear b/c he didn't want to be bothered.

Jake is acting a bit better. He just went to his bowl and put his paw in it which is what he always does when he wants food. We did give him a little and I'll watch him and see what happens.

Thanks for your advice.

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Hmm... That's weird. Our dog threw up dog food, and the second time blood the other day. We believe it was because we switched her dog food. We switched back to the original kind, and she's fine. Keep us posted!

 

[allie&mattsmom]

Hmm... That's weird. Our dog threw up dog food, and the second time blood the other day. We believe it was because we switched her dog food. We switched back to the original kind, and she's fine. Keep us posted!

Really? That is weird! It does make me feel better though knowing your dog is better. We haven't changed his food or anything though.

 

[goaliewife]

If it was me, I would take the dog to the vet right away, just to be sure. Vomiting is one thing, but blood.......Not a good thing.

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Really? That is weird! It does make me feel better though knowing your dog is better. We haven't changed his food or anything though.

Hmm... I'd take him to the vet. Keep us posted!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Dogs dehydrate very, very easily. Chloe has had to have IV's twice, just from normal bouts of vomitting.

I would also be careful about giving him his regular food right away. When Chloe has had any sort of stomach irritation, she has the bland diet for the next few days, at the vet's advice.

It's rice, cooked with ground beef.

Here are the instructions from my vet:

Bland Diet

2 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of long cooking rice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 lb ground beef

Put all ingredients together in pot and boil for 20-25 minutes (I never had to boil mine for that long, BTW). DO NOT precook the meat. Keep in fridge. Feed for 3-5 days.

Of course, I'd take him to your vet and get your vet's opinion, but since today is a holiday, you might want to give him some mild food until you can get him in.

ETA: Sheesh! I almost forgot! I hope Jake is feeling better soon! Give him a tummy rub from me.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

Dogs dehydrate very, very easily. Chloe has had to have IV's twice, just from normal bouts of vomitting.

I would also be careful about giving him his regular food right away. When Chloe has had any sort of stomach irritation, she has the bland diet for the next few days, at the vet's advice.

It's rice, cooked with ground beef.

Here are the instructions from my vet:

Bland Diet

2 1/2 cups of water
1 cup of long cooking rice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 lb ground beef

Put all ingredients together in pot and boil for 20-25 minutes (I never had to boil mine for that long, BTW). DO NOT precook the meat. Keep in fridge. Feed for 3-5 days.

Of course, I'd take him to your vet and get your vet's opinion, but since today is a holiday, you might want to give him some mild food until you can get him in.

ETA: Sheesh! I almost forgot! I hope Jake is feeling better soon! Give him a tummy rub from me.

Thanks for the advice! I think the bland diet sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the recipe.

Yes, if today were not a holiday, I'd more than likely have him at the vet. Unless he gets worse, I'll just wait and call our regular vet tomorrow. He hasn't gotten sick anymore today but definitely is not himself.

I think I'll go put together the recipe. I remember using this recipe years ago when our cocker spaniel was sick.

Thanks for the well wishes and now I'll go give Jake the tummy rub from you!

 

[MrOakie]

I hope there isn't anything seriously wrong with your dog. For me and my DW, if there is the slightest thought of anything wrong, we take our Roxie to the vet. She's our baby. Don't know what we'd do if anything happened to her. She's not just the family pet, she's like a child to us (we don't have kids of our own).

 

[TheDisneyTraveler06]

Roxie's adorable!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

Thanks for the advice! I think the bland diet sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the recipe.

Yes, if today were not a holiday, I'd more than likely have him at the vet. Unless he gets worse, I'll just wait and call our regular vet tomorrow. He hasn't gotten sick anymore today but definitely is not himself.

I think I'll go put together the recipe. I remember using this recipe years ago when our cocker spaniel was sick.

Thanks for the well wishes and now I'll go give Jake the tummy rub from you!

I hope it works. If nothing else, it may spark his appetite. Chloe thinks she's in heaven when she gets it!

Of course Chloe would eat dirt if she saw me eating it.

 

[allie&mattsmom]

I hope there isn't anything seriously wrong with your dog. For me and my DW, if there is the slightest thought of anything wrong, we take our Roxie to the vet. She's our baby. Don't know what we'd do if anything happened to her. She's not just the family pet, she's like a child to us (we don't have kids of our own).

I know exactly what you mean. I don't know what I'd do if something happened to him either. I was a blubbering basketcase during the night last night while this was going on. The only reason I haven't rushed him to the ER animal clinic yet is he truly does seem to be doing better. He was just begging me for a bite of my granola bar, so that's a good sign. I will call my vet tomorrow though to get his opinion.

I didn't sleep a wink after 2:30 am last night. He got up on the bed next to me and laid there all night. Poor guy, I could hear his tummy gurgling and I'd just try to make him feel better and keep him calm, hoping I could keep him from being sick again.

My friends are always teasing me that if they come back as an animal in their next life that they want to be my pet, LOL.

Your dog is very cute by the way.

 

[Keli]

I just wanted to put in my best wishes for a return to health for Jake.

Sounds like you guys had a bad night and I'm glad to hear he seems to be doing better.

Of course Chloe would eat a dirt if she saw me eating it.

LOL, this sounds like my golden Maggie! She's a character but we sure do love her.

 

[JustHolly]

It seems the last 6 months of my life has been about my dog and his many stomach upsets. I can definitely relate to those sleepless nights worry about a sick dog!

I remember one night a couple of months ago that my poor dog threw up everywhere, every couple of minutes. He was throwing it up as fast as we could clean it up. We spent about 2 hours running around behind him cleaning up, before we got smart enough to gate him in the bathroom.

My secret weapon is low sodium chicken stock. Even when my dog isn't feeling well and won't eat, he'll drink up the chicken stock. Then, we slowly add some dry food to the chicken stock, after about 12 hours. When he was really, really dehydrated, we mixed Pedialyte into the chicken stock.

We've never seen blood in his vomit, but have in his stools. It's scary, but the vet didn't seem too worried about it.

I would think it he threw up because of the toilet bowl cleaner his vomit would smell like a cleaner...or at least be similar in color. Whatever my dog throws up, is usually identifiable by either smell/color. GROSS, I know, but true.

Hang in there, and keep us posted!

 

[Little Miss Liberty]

Take him to the vet!!!

 

[allie&mattsmom]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Just wanted give a quick update.

Jake is acting more like his old self. He's hungry and he's drinking water. He actually got his tennis ball and went to the door so he and my son went out and played catch for about 30 minutes. He's walking around wagging his tail looking like his old happy self, so hopefully it was just some sort of irritation as the vet clinic said last night.

I probably will call his regular vet tomorrow though and let him know what happened and see what he thinks.

I appreciate all of the advice & well wishes!