# Lola's tummy troubles ...help



## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

She is about 4.5 pounds....every so often she won't eat one of her meals but acts totally fine...Then there are times like today when she refuses to eat but I can hear her tummy rumbling...and she is shaking...and she had a funny stool this morning..
She is a very timid chi....she is scared of a few things..and she has a hiding spot she goes to at those times...Well thats where she is now...also not unusual.
Here's my thing...I am begining to wonder if the food I am feeding her needs to be changed..I talked to a vet once about this..and all they said was put her on a gastro food for a short time...then switch her back to reg food..
But its a reccuring problem..and I honestly have a very hard time dealing with a sick pet of mine..I get very upset and I do know that probably doesn't help miss sensitive Lola..
Another point is which I don't think is related but Lola was having her claws cut on thursday (not by me ) and the person ended up cutting part of her pad off  ..She struggles so much and I told the person to stop but they said she can't win I have to cut just one...wel she got cut( I was NOT happy)...I called the vet and got little help other than bring her in..Again Lola freaks and has to be sedated ..so I thought I'd try to fix it up at home and if it go worse I would take her in...So far its healing up very well...
But I was wondering if the stress of that on Thursday is what's caused her tummy troubles today...
I am not against taking her to the vet again about this tummy problems but again don't want to spend 300 again and the same results...Just wondering what some of you would do if it was your chihuahua...
Thanks 
Nancy and Lola

Guess I should mention the food she is on ...she gets acana different varities..this is what she is on right now Champion Petfoods | ACANA | Products


----------



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Tummy troubles are yucky.

Was her stool mucous-y?


----------



## jesuschick (Dec 5, 2010)

Just an idea but one of mine with a sensitive tummy can have just one variety of her food when the varieties are meant to be interchangeable. They are not for her. I could switch my other two every day if I wished-with no ill effect. 

I'd likely move to a grain free variety and stick with that one variety for some time and see how she does.

Is she otherwise healthy? Would you suspect worms or parasites? Has she been checked for those recently?

I got to the point that I regularly took in a stool sample but there was no need for her to be seen twice a week.


----------



## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

I can say it was slighty runny but more like not one soild piece like normal..just a few smaller pieces....
She eats a grain free food...and I've stuck with this one kind for 3 bags now and that lasts me months and months...I think she has been on this food for a 4 to 5 months now...
I have been giving her cooked chicken breast when she gets picky it seems to jump start her back on track with her eating and when she got her foot cut she didn't want to eat ...which she usually loves..I've been thinking maybe its the chicken ?? Its chicken breast cook in the oven nothing added...


----------



## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

Could be the chicken,my sheltie can't eat it.But the stress could be the problem.Try cutting out the chicken and see if that helps.My other2 can eat chicken but I always boil it or microwave it ,then strain the juices and fat off,if you buy cheap chicken like I have done in the past,it's full of fat,I buy the best now and gosh you can tell the difference


----------



## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

Yes I only buy the best chicken....she has been giving chicken since she was like 6 months old.....maybe the combo and chicken and stress of the foot problems ? I just got back from the store and offered her some no sodium chicken broth...half with water..she didn't want it  She didn't even really want to lick it off my finger....Well if she won't eat this evening I will bring her to the vets tomorrow and try to get a stool sample...I want them to look at her paw anyways ..I mean to me it looks great but I need to be sure...


----------



## lulu'smom (Jan 4, 2012)

I think the tummy rumbling is because she is hungry, but she doesn't know eating will stop that. It doesn't stop the gastric juices from going into her stomach, and I think that is what you're hearing. Maybe you could loosely scramble an egg. I don't think that would make an upset stomach worse and hopefully she would like that.


----------



## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

I've tried giving her food but she doesn't seem to want to eat anything....she did drink some water a few mins ago for me...she keeps turning aorund and smelling her back side....not sure what thats about....
Could a anal gland problem present itself like this ? Last time she would just rub her backside on the floor alot...and lick it...Would it make them not want to eat and seem like they have gas ?


----------



## susan davis (Mar 25, 2011)

This sounds like my chi, Zarita. She also intermittanly will not eat. She also has the growly tummy. She will have a very hard little stool. She actually would not eat as a puppy! She is now on Pepcid (vet Rx'd) as she does have reflux. When she has a day or two like this, I make sure she drinks. And I wait! She usually eats the next day, but sometimes she only picks. I used to rush her over to the vets, who would give her a shot for nausea-----. Now I wait. Good luck Sue


----------



## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

I know Sue I am famous for running to the vets....I am sure they used to just love me...the past few times I wait at least 12 to 24 hrs...and usually whatever was causing the problem would resolve itself...I will most likely take her in tomorrow....because I dislike the fact I have nothing or no idea how to help her when this happens..I am not sure we will get to the bottom of why this keeps happening...she has had blood work done b4 and stools tested and nothing was ever found...


----------



## woodard2009 (Aug 4, 2010)

Yes, I would try a scrambled egg. I wouldn't keep running her to the vet unless you absolutely think it's necessary. Everytime someone hurts them unnecessarily or she has to have a shot, she associates that as a bad place. I hope you didn't pay those people who cut her pad. I would be so angry, especially when you told them to stop & they didn't. Unless your chi has black toenails, I would learn to trim her nails myself. If she has black nails, please take her to someone who knows what they're doing. It's no good to have to sedate her every time she needs her nails trimmed. You also could try walking her on pavement to help wear the nails down. If she doesn't eat something soon & her tummy issues don't seem to get better, you should probably take her to the vet. Could be something wrong with her GI tract. Make sure to tell them about her anal glands too. Her but might be sore from the soft stools. If she's dragging her but, it's possible her anal glands need to be excise or they may be getting infected. Keep an eye on her. Keep us updated!


----------



## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

Most of her nails are black...some white....no it was my b/f who though he would try to cut her nails...She has always been impossible to cut them...I used to do them when she was a pup with no problems..then she broke her leg and had us the vets constantly at her legs and feet for 4 weeks and now its the no no zone for her....I've had her at the groomers 3 times its been a nightmare there as well..I even stay away cause I myself get anxious cause I know she is about to freak...she crapped all over the last one and I am sure she never wants to see Lola again ....the vet cut them the last time..with much better success...she cut a few to short and she bled but she just freaks you would think u could control a 4 pound dog but I think we have it in our heads we don't want to restrain her and hurt her cause she is so tiny...
I have another dog Jose and have no problems cutting his nails ever..


----------



## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

I'll throw out a holistic suggestion you may want to consider .....

Slippery elm is an herb that you can get at any vitamin store. It comes in little capsules. You can take a capsule, open it up and mix it in a couple teaspoons of warm water or low sodium broth. It is a long standing 'cure-all' for tummy troubles and useful in dogs as well as humans. It creates a soothing sensation in the GI tract and coats it with a protective mucous. (You may see mucous in the stools). It can really calm down loose stools, gas, rumbly or nauseated bellies. It's very safe.

Here's some information if you want to learn more about it. It might be worth a try?

Slippery Elm for Better Pet Digestion

Slippery Elm Bark for Your Dog’s Digestion


----------



## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

SHE ATE!!!!! I can't believe how excited and relieved I get when she eats..I thought she might have been turning the corner late last night ...I didn't want to to go to sleep without something on her stomach...so I offered her a few things...well the ONLY thing she would eat were her liver treats...so I gave her a few and she took a large drink of water on her own..I only gave her half her breakfast but she ate it all..I will offer alittle more later this afternoon..
I will check into the slippery elm as well to have on hand for the next bout..
Thank all of you ladies you are always a huge comfort to me when my pups are ill...and u all give such great suggestion


----------



## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

Fantastic news!

Slippery Elm is wonderful stuff, I always keep a container in the fridge. I would also suggest having Nutri-gel on hand, not only is it full of vitamins, but it's an appetite stimulant as well, which worked a treat for my boy who wouldn't eat at all when I first got him - he lost a lot of weight but is now a picture of health.

Have you thought about perhaps swapping your girl over to raw (BARF in convenient packs for example if you're not inclined to do you own prep) or Ziwipeak?


----------



## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

I did switch them to raw ..last spring...but it was short lived...she did well on the diet...while my other Jose had trouble digesting the bones...I had to take him to the vets for treatment....I always said I would do it again...someone on here suggested just adding more meat to his diet but I got alittle scared to go back....And in my small town we can not buy any of the premade raw..or honest kitchen like foods...I might look into ordering it online again...maybe there would be a closer place now so the shipping would be cheaper...


----------



## AussieLass (Mar 1, 2012)

There's always cheap shippers around, even here in Australia where online shops charge an arm and a leg for any darn thing - at least in the USA & Canadian market you have huge competition leading to very low prices, well, compared to ours i.e. we pay a LOT more for ZiwiPeak than the Americans and they're our next-door-bleedin'-neighbours, how rude! 

If you wanted to keep him on his existing diet & change hers, then wouldn't it just be a matter of separating them at feed time in different rooms - that way she can enjoy perfect health & then so can he.

I did a taste test today with a Boston Terrier on ZiwiPeak Venison & Fish, and the Lamb variety. He loved them both, but they do suggest starting out on Lamb as it is less rich. I believe you can actually get sample packs over there too. It's a very rare dog that doesn't like the product, but my 3 aren't overly fussed about it at all, which is really disappointing. 

I also did the taste test with a product called K9 Natural - also a dehydrated raw meat (lamb) - comes in 1kg bags & you just add a bit of water that turns into gravy - again, most dogs go wild over this product, mine simply have a few mouthfuls, shrug & walk away. The Boston went crazy for it. K9 Natural is much less expensive than ZiwiPeak i.e. over here, $20 vs. $40+ for a kilo but, from memory, it's not as nutricious, lacking some of the extra goodies, vitamins & minerals that ZP contains.


----------



## princess_ella (Jun 4, 2005)

AussieLass said:


> Fantastic news!
> 
> Slippery Elm is wonderful stuff, I always keep a container in the fridge. I would also suggest having Nutri-gel on hand, not only is it full of vitamins, but it's an appetite stimulant as well, which worked a treat for my boy who wouldn't eat at all when I first got him - he lost a lot of weight but is now a picture of health.
> 
> Have you thought about perhaps swapping your girl over to raw (BARF in convenient packs for example if you're not inclined to do you own prep) or Ziwipeak?


slippery elm works great even for puking i use 1/4 of a teaspoon on her food or on fresh chicken broth without the fat


----------



## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

Thanks again for all the good advice..I'd love to switch both cause I do believe its the best diet for both....I found one site that says if I pay a $50 fee I will get free shipping for one year....but after that its 25 and above for shipping in Canada ....
My Jose I think would benifit on barf as well because he has seizures and is on daily medication ...I think I will switch ...I bet its not even that much more than what I am paying now a month for their food...I just need to find a dealer within driving distance for me....


----------



## Brodysmom (Jan 8, 2009)

Nancy, what about this raw supplier in Ontario?

Raw Food Supplier For You Dog or Cat

They supply whole meat cuts as well as a prepared raw food (with no veggies or fruits - hurray) and also tripe!


----------



## Nancy (Feb 4, 2009)

None of those are close to me....the nearest one is 1.5 hrs away and I see they don't caring any diets like premade raw


----------

