Brown Rice, Bbq Chicken And Psyllium Husk

[Skruffy n Flea]

i woke up this morning [friday] with my wee boy being somewhat listless --- he refused his brekkie and sensing from his behaviour that something was up, i kept a close eye on him. at one point i noticed him skittering [unusual] to the back yard and upon following him, i saw him straining to poop watching as he moved from place to place still hunching but producing very little and what i removed from his wee butt with tissue was wet, soft, pale and stinky...

his tummy felt a wee bit tight and a tad swollen --- i kept an eye on that during the day and found that over time his tummy tension had softened and he seemed less bloated...

he had no interest in play choosing instead to sleep and i took that as a good sign that his body required rest so as to repair --- he was up and about spasmodically during the morning and so i resolved that walkies should wait 'til early afternoon. the word 'walkies' elicited MUCH much much less than his exuberant self because normally, he's all up in my face, bounding about like an over-excited child!

i've read where the smells left by other dogs during walks produce enzymes that elicit elimination in other dogs and so i took my two on a gentle, short walk in the hopes that those enzymes would go to work and byron would poop --- didn't happen...

back home and he sparked up for a ahort while during the afternoon, but at one point i found him consuming a hearty amount of grass and i know it's a type of natural tonic, but his behaviour seemed almost voracious!

he had an appetite at dinner; eating heartily, gnawed at a bone and enjoyed his snack box too --- but then he slumped again...

he's been up and down over the past few hours in varying resting places, attempting to poop, straining so hard and finally squirted and i can only hope that provided him some relief and i think he was so very at odds with how he's feeling, he parked himself inside one of the kennels [which is highly unusual] --- he's back inside now but his little bottom was dirty and i think a bit tender!!!

what's different? nothing! commonly: pork bone [2 or 3 times a week] one of which he devoured yesterday [thursday] and, while the raw diet defrosts in the fridge, nature's gift [last night and tonight] --- this routine occurs every week or so, so it's not alien...

at this hour of the morning and preparing for their brekkie, i'm cooking brown rice, i have bbq chicken in the fridge and i have psyllium husk...

is this an occasion where one would feed such food?

by the time anyone replies to this it might be past their brekkie time so i might not include the psyllium husk jic --- of course, i'll be off to the vet with him if he doesn't improve significantly...

thanks for your time :)

[megan_]

Honestly I'd take him to the vets - he has been listless for a while? - pacing can mean he's in pain. My boy had something similar a few weeks ago ANC he landed up in emergency.

I would feed BBQ chicken as it is very fatty. I'd feed poached chicken breast. No psyllium husks for tummy problems as you want them go eat easy to digest food.

[Boronia]

I am sure I read on DOL that white rice is better for tummy upsets as brown rice still has the inner hull, therefore can irritate the gut a little.

Just white rice and perhaps home made chicken soup (without the onions) mixed in with the rice.

edited to correct really bad grammar

Edited September 7, 2012 by Boronia

[Salukifan]

Agree on the visit to the vet.

If he has digestive issues, I'd not be feeding him at all.

If he has something impacted in his bowel, then more food is not what he needs. It is possible for some faeces to pass around an impaction in liquid form but more food might be risky.

[Crisovar]

I would not feed him at all, I would take him straight to the Vet and have him checked out, Bowel Obstruction is at the top of my list, that or a very irritated Bowel in which case no food.

[persephone]

Agree. NO food . Give his system a rest

Liquid faeces can be from an infection, or something nasty eaten ,,but it can also be the only bit which can get around an impaction in the bowel he may have some hard faecal matter there, or a foreign body ...

Hope all goes well at the vets..and remember..IF the vet Xrays ..not all foreign bodies can be sen on Xray

[Bjelkier]

I also agree with a possible obstruction.

What you described sounds a lot like what my dog use to do when he had obstructions.

[becks]

So how is he now, what did the vet say?

[Skruffy n Flea]

firstly, byron's okay :) and i'm so sorry for the delay --- i read your answers saturday morning and rang the vet and when i tried to get time thru the week to answer i found time was against me...

when i rang, the vet surgery had a nasty set of emergency circumstances on foot so a vet [they have several] spoke with me about byron's condition and behaviour over the phone to gauge whether his was also an emergency; determining from what i explained to her about his plight, i was told, amongst other things, to monitor his behaviour and if he didn't improve by sunday morning, to call again. given what i told her she said, according to his behaviour, he had a nasty tummy upset and that it would likely clear within 12 to 24 hours...

he did improve and come sunday morning, he was as close to his normal self as possible, with sunday evening being like nothing had ever been wrong!

given that it's dangerous to go into too much detail, i've left out certain information because it would be remiss of me to provide such information should another's dog behave in a similar way with similar symptoms...

all is good again in byron's world :), thanks for your interest and concern...

[persephone]

That's good news :) Glad it was not a blockage !