Is your small pet sick as of recent?

I have a small semi-older dog who has been extremely healthy up until a week or so ago. He began having diarrhea and vomiting. He now refuses to eat. We took him to the vet and she has him on an IV along with other meds for his dehydration/eating habits.

About 2 weeks ago, our neighbors semi-older small poodle had the exact same thing occur. He also refused to eat, became dehydrated and later died.

I'm honestly worried here and I wanted to know if anyone else has been experiencing this recently. Could it be from the radiation in Japan? We just began getting rain here in after a snowy/dry spring and the grass has began to grow. Could an older dog's immune system be more susceptible to radiation poisoning?

We do not put any fertilizers on our grass, the temperature is around 50-60 degrees so it's not the heat and we haven't changed a thing in his eating habits or environment in years.

- We're in Wisconsin
- No bugs out yet
- He's been doing this for a few days now
- I think we should keep in mind the idea that dogs are outdoor animals and cats mostly indoors.
- We throw out all his food and toys immediately.
- He was out in the rain and with his long hair was pretty wet for awhile.
- I know they've found traces of radiation in the grass after it rains here in Wisconsin.
- He's a 99.9% indoor dog, could not have eaten/drank anything odd.

I really hope we don't find a common occurrence here but I hope it may help others keep their pets safe.

reply to post by intelinside451


I live in North Texas and my cat is doing just fine (7 years old). It might help if you give a rough idea of where in the states you are so that it might help you correlate any information.

Also, is your dog an outdoor one? What about it's water supply? It could be due to an entirely different source than suspected radiation.

My dog Heidi a 13 year old german short hair died on the 4th of april from diarrhea and vomiting. She was A OKAY on Friday and then she pooped in her crate sat afternoon...which she NEVER does. From that point on she was having diarrhea every 5-10min. She collapsed sunday morning around 6:30am and wouldn't get up. She lay in the crate breathing and pooping until monday morning when we had to have her euthanized. ((

Ive been struggling with my pets having diarrhea too, but in my case, the vet says it is giardia. I keep treating them for it, and they are fine for a time, and then they pick it right up again. Granted, maybe I should not let them play in the backyard, where they may be picking it up out of the soil, but so far, I havent had the heart to cut them off from outdoor play time.

Im so sorry for those who have lost pets. Did the vet do a stool sample at all? Find any cause at all?

Oklahoma here, my dog is between 2-3 (none of that weird human dog years just 2-3 years)
He is an indoor dog and doing fine. We feed him ceasars dog food, that is the only kind he wants to eat.

I read somewhere in the past six weeks since Japan, in fact I believe it was an article about the evacuees having to leave pets behind, that the radiation sticks to the animals fur. Plus, with rainwater being higher in radiation, if an animal goes outside and drinks it that would be radiation intake also.

Sorry about your little friend Neopan100...I love my cats and dogs better than I love many people in the world today. Seems my dog is just coughing a lot this month and spitting up white stuff. Cats are O.K. except for a wild cat that keeps beating one of mine up every few days...lol...I caught my cat drinking rain water yesterday so I am keeping an eye on her...Take Care and sorry about your lose.....

My dog threw up last night. She went into a seizure of sort. An hour later she died. I loved that dog. It was random. Almost like she got poisoned, but I she is aggressive so I know she had no way to get into anything.

reply to post by intelinside451


It sounds like something a lot more mundane than radiation; all sorts of bugs and things get more active with the change of seasons.

Whatever the cause, I hope that your vet can figure it out and treat it. I love my little people and would hate to lose one.

Fingers crossed for you and your baby

reply to post by stephinrazin


I'm extremely sorry to hear about your dog.

reply to post by intelinside451


You guys had a Parvo outbreak last year, you might want to be on the lookout to make sure it isnt starting up again this year too.

www.todaystmj4.com...

Parvo Outbreak Killing Dogs in Milwaukee
By Heather Shannon

MILWAUKEE--The Wisconsin Humane Society said dozens of dogs in our area recently died from the parvovirus, a highly contagious and dangerous virus that hasn't been seen around here in a very long time.

The parvovirus affects the intestinal system and causes vomiting, diarrhea (which could be bloody), lethargy, pain, dehydration, and eventually death. Because it's viral, there is no cure.

reply to post by intelinside451


Since you have been to the vet, that is good. My cat, Rasta (21) was vomiting a lot just the day ago. Gave her a human size dose of colloidal silver with a feeding syringe (no needle of course) made from a small enema bulb (oral administration).

Worked. When the cats start vomiting up I use hairball paste first, then if it continues, give the colloidal silver mixed in with a small amount of powdered ginger. Figure bacteria? Not radiation.

It's a little tricky giving liquids this way. Never squirt them in from the front of the mouth, because it may go down the windpipe which would get into the lungs. Hold the top of the animal's mouth and lift up with one hand. Gently squeeze the liquid from the side of the mouth so it rebounds off the other side. This allows the animal to swallow naturally and lessens the risk of inhaling the liquid.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


This is a good find! He did get his vaccination for the Parvo virus a few years ago.

I'm having to feed him pediolyte in a dropper to get some liquids in him and force him to eat some wet dog food. It's the most he's had for the last few days.

I have a 7 year old female pit/boxer mix, she has had the same symptoms for about 3 weeks, and the vet cant figure it out. She said to keep the dog from eating grass, I have, she said to keep the dog inside more often, I have, change the dogs diet a little, I have. Still, I and the vet have no idea

reply to post by intelinside451


Thanks. I appreciate your sympathy.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


I know for sure it wasn't parvo with Heidi. She is vaccinated..+she had parvo when she was a year old.

reply to post by Neopan100


Did the vet look for giardia? Sometimes they have to check a couple times to detect it, as it goes through cycles where it sheds and can be detected in stool samples, and other times when it is not detectable.

If you dont have the kind of money for several vet trips and stool samples there is a very effective and safe over the counter treatment that will clear a giardia infection.

www.1800petmeds.com...

www.firstchoicenaturals.com...

You can try this at home with no prescription, (read about the dosing and buy the proper dose) and if it helps, you will know she had giardia. Its VERY common in cats and dogs, and it can remain in the animal for years triggering periodic bouts as the immune system struggles with it. But even if its not giardia, your pet will be wormed. No harm no foul.

You really should wait a week and do it again even if the pet doesnt show new signs of infection, however. Its very hard to get rid of. My cat definitely has it, and he is on his 4th round of treatment. Although cats are harder to clear because they wash themselves a lot and reinfect themselves more readily.

Just a suggestion for those who dont have a ton of money to take their pets to the vet for numerous stool samples. Lord knows Im in for about $600 at this point for something you can buy without a prescription if you know what it is.

Giardia has SOME vomiting, but it doesnt really have constant vomiting like Parvo. If they cannot even keep water down, they need to go to the vet, period. Only try the Pancur if they have the runs but still drink water on their own and keep it down.

Well he was pretty much bed ridden for about 12 hours today and just woke up with a good amount of energy. He's still having some "backend" issues though.

We've done a few things.

- Got him to the vet, he has an antibiotic and some intestinal meds to help with digestion
- He received a shot to help nausea which has helped him
- I bought a baby dropper and have been giving him chicken broth and pedialyte-"electrolyte water" every hour
- Special digestion dog food from the vet, given small amounts each hour

I'm never putting him outside in the rain again or on wet grass. Thanks for all your responses. I hope this has nothing to do with radiation poisoning.

Our elderly JRT had the vomiting lethargy and diarrhea maybe 2 months... and then went into bloody diarrhea. We tested for EVERYTHING.. no joy. He completely stopped eating for a while and now barely eats anything.. he's lost a heck of a lot of weight. Finally an ultrasound discovered a mass and a later after a biopsy : cancer. Just out of the blue. He still has days that he acts like nothing is wrong.. but dogs express pain/illness differently than we sometimes expect. He has gotten grumpy and snappy. Something that he never was before.

We are preparing to have him put to sleep and cremated early next month.... or perhaps earlier if he starts to have more pain that the meds arent going to help.

Im not saying this is everyone's issue obviously, but if the other stool and common blood tests arent giving you answers, ask for more tests.. ultrasounds and etc. Trust me though, its expensive.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander


We had her put to sleep I HATED it..but you would have agreed..and I think the vet came to that conclusion too without any test. She was really old for a pure bred german shorthair. She had collapsed the day before and didn't really move. We really thought she would die on her own but she didn't and we couldn't allow the suffering to go on. She wasn't eating, drinking, etc..just sleeping. She had really been falling apart for awhile and this bout of sickness just put her in the point of no return. She had been blind and very arthritic for about year..it was a VERY difficult decision but we had been preparing ourselves for some time..(