Well, today I put Jethro in his crate at 830 am after a short walk. On the walk he had two regular sized poos. There was a little extra fluid and they smelled really bad, so I figured his anal glands were working (as per a previous thread). It was unusual for him to have his dumps that early, but I didn't think anything of it. I headed off to the university.

Three hours later, when my husband Matt got home, Jethro was in his crate surrounded by the remains of explosive diarrhea and poo. Matt took him out right away for a walk, and on the walk Jethro had 6 - 8 diarrhea poos (including some soft stools) and he also threw up a couple of times - mostly bile.

Since then he has had water, and nothing else - no treats, no food. He has had good walks and good energy. He doesn't seem out of sorts at all.

I have emptied his crate, I'm going to throw away the foamy and bedding. It is in very bad shape. I have washed out the crate and the walls and floor around it. I turned the crate upside down, so now the top is on the bottom and the bottom is on the top and given the bars a thorough wipe down with Windex. I have changed the orientation of the crate, and put in a new foamy with fresh bedding.

Jethro inspected these proceedings and Skipper went and lay down inside the 'new' crate so I think it has passed inspection. Jethro's crate is very much his sanctuary and safe zone, when he isn't able to relax anywhere else, he always settles down in his crate. At night he is shut in his crate, and he is always shut in it when we leave the house. He generally spends a lot of his time in his crate when he isn't out and under active supervision.

I usually feed both dogs in their crates.

I wonder if any of you have any advice for me? Should I feed Jethro tonight? Should I feed him half rations? I have no idea what upset him so. This was a first. He eats crap when we are out on walks, no matter how vigilant I am to keep him from getting at stuff. But I hadn't noticed that he had eaten anything out of the ordinary.

Have I done enough to rehabilitate his crate from the explosion? Any other suggestions on what I need to do about that?

Thanks for any advice you can share. He looks, and is acting, perfectly normal now, and we had a big, long, treat free walk and he did great.

Kinda rushed ....

IMO:

No food tomorrow, but encourage drinking. Make unsalted baited water and offer it at room temp or slightly warmer (often).

Post again if he has another episode.

Bump this tomorrow, if you would (unless maybe someone else sees it tonight to go over what his first post-fast meal should be, to keep him hydrated, and later on both training leave it and walking at a pace that does not allow for moseying up to any crap and eating it )

If you see discomfort, dehydration, lethargy, blood, or vomiting, call the vet.

JMO!

I agree with Connie and would hold off on feeding but do continue to provide fluids. In addition to what Connie mentioned for when to call the vet; I would add excessive drinking and panting too.

Any chance you still have access to a stool sample from when he was sick? If so I would probably have it analyzed by a vet just to rule out any infections or bacteria that may rear their ugly head again once he has something in his stomach.

when you do start feeding him, start with a bland diet of 1/4 protein source (not fried) chicken, hamburger, scrambled eggs and 3/4 the amount of rice. offer this for a couple feedings until you know how his stomach is going to act. you may also use either peptobismol or imbodium very safely. He may have just gotten hold of something that upset his stomach

Thanks! He never eats any grain, so the rice will be new for him. Do I cook it extra soft?

He seems to be feeling fine now, he has done without dinner. He is drinking a little water. I just took him out and he was urinating as per normal.

You're pretty much cooking it to oblivion, yep.

As Aaron said, the rice really needs to break down in the cooking process. I have also used baby food rice cereal at times, because the actual rice cooks for quite a while. For the protein portion, I generally use poached chicken. When I do that, the poaching liquid can be saved and used to bait the water. And, sometimes I add some chicken baby food (chicken and broth ONLY). It can make the mixture stick together so that it is easier to eat and adds aroma. Finally, some plain (not pie filling) canned pumpkin adds some fiber to the meal. This has worked for me many times.

I suppose I could poach the chicken in the rice water near the end of the cooking process. I will pick up the chicken and pumpkin tomorrow and make my first batch of 'dog recovering from eating something he should know better not to eat' brew.

Yesterday Jethro had a normal looking poop in the mid morning and he ate a half ration of rice and chicken for dinner (I forgot to buy the pumpkin). His digestive upset seems to have passed.

But yesterday he coughed, and this morning he coughed a couple of times again. Should I be booking a vet appointment? Or wait and see if this clears up on its own? I've never heard Jethro cough before.

What's his temp?