Well, I have no idea about the plant life in S. Africa, but it wouldn't hurt to do some research on the plants your dog(s) are chewing on...just to be on the safe side.

I know that here in the States, many house plants and ornamental lawn plants can be toxic to dogs and cats.

thanx for all the suggestions...just another 35 minutes then im done with work for the day..and i am str8 off home to get the pups and to the vet.
out of the 2.Meeka is the most affectionate...when ever i let her out she is ready to jump up onto me and lick my face...

If that mielie pap is maize, well maize is corn...not particularly digestible for a dog. If you feed rice too then you're giving 2 grains at the same time.

They won't miss the milk...you'll probably miss it more for them than they actually will.

How about doing the home cooked white rice and boiled chicken that Amber mentioned to help stop the diarrhea, at least until you find the cause of the diarrhea from the vet.

By the way, your pups are just adorable - I would let them jump and love all over me too!

Let's get them both healthy and well adjusted to a good diet! Post back about your visit with the vet.

ok..i was planning on giving the rice as a seperate meal, not with the mielie pap. stil not keen on givng them chicken as i worry about the bones. what i will try and do is get chicken sausage from my dads butchery and then give them that rather...
and i also sent my mom out to get pumkin at the shops already...
so it will be breakfast of mielie pap...lunch of pumkin and kibble and supper of rice and chicken sausage.
il also lessen their intake , do u think that is a good idea?

Hang on a minute: You want to feed your dog BLAND food and sausage (from any animal) is not bland. Even if it isn't filled with tons of spices, it is filled with fat...another thing that can cause diarrhea.

I wasn't talking about chicken with bones to feed with the rice. I meant chicken breast, boiled, with NO bones. As for you worrying about bones...COOKED bones are bad. RAW chicken bones are not, especially the softer bones like the necks and backs.

Also, go easy on the grains. What you've listed as your dog's diet is filled with things that can cause allergies. And guess what one big symtom of food allergies is? Diarrhea. Your kibble certainly has grains in it. Then, you're adding more grain in the form of corn. Dogs are not built to eat like cows.

If your dog has the squirts, stick to boiled boneless chicken and boiled white rice. For a couple of days. Nothing else. If you want to figure out what's causing this, you should be very basic and gradually add things in. Appropriate things, that is, and IMO, corn and sausage and milk are all things I would avoid in a sick OR healthy dog.

I just went through this...so it's all very fresh in my mind and I got input from TONS of posts on this subject from some very knowlegeable people. And now I have my own personal experience to offer as well.

And yes, please, let us know how it goes at the vets! Good luck.

Just to clarify, if you do give boiled chicken to your pups, definitely do NOT give the cooked chicken bones. I was talking about cutting pieces of chicken, no bone, and boiling it with the rice.

As far as corn meal (I looked up mielie pap), I'm going to defer to more expert opinion on dog nutrition. Hopefully Connie Sutherland will read this thread. I've read that cornmeal offers some Omega 3 and 6 but I'd rather get those essential oils from fish (or salmon oil which I give daily), more easily absorbed by the dog's digestive tract from what I've read.

It's not a matter of breaking up the meals into the different grains, it's a matter of feeding grains when they need more protein (like poultry or meats) than grains could ever provide. It seems to me that at this time though, it's necessary to get to the cause of the diarrhea, before feeding any rich source of proteins like beef. Chicken sausage may have more than just chicken in it, stuff like preservatives or spices which may be antagonistic to an already sensitive digestive system.

Amber was posting while I was, again agree with Amber.

Edited by Sandy Moore (04/02/2007 10:32 AM)
Edit reason: saw Amber's post

Hi, sorry to clarify the sausage ingredients...since my dad has a butchery, i make the sausage myself..there are no spices..there is a fat though..but il cut out the fat..
then it would basically b only chicken meat in sheep intestines...is that ok? its just easier to make. but for now il stick to the fillet chicken , and raw neck dones.

feedback from the vet. she is fine..healthy, just has a bit of an upset stomach. that is more than likely caused by something she ate. and yesterday she had only solid evacuations..and today also....i also found something that could be the cause of the upset stomach...toadstools, the mushrom stuff that grow above ground...she apparently found a patch on the field area opposite our house...and in the morning when i let them lose to do their business they usualy run through the longer grass sniffing and exploring. i saw her spend a few seconds on 1 spot...she had torn the gras out to oxpose little toadstools and eaten them each morning. i dug them all up and got rid of it..
the only other plant she chews on is a mini silver leaf christmas tree and she chews on the branches. i fed them plain rice last night and this morning some pumkin and rice. is that ok?

If you get to control what goes into the sausage, that's great!

Since I'm not an expert on food matters, I can only relate what I've read and learned and based on that, the rice meals you fed for the last 2 feedings sound good to me. And if the stools have been firm for a couple of days, you could add a little of the chicken sausage to the rice for the next few feedings.

Those mushrooms are scary. Some are highly poisonous and can cause death. Glad that wasn't the case. Also pine trees (the one she chews on) and their needles have sap and acid so if you can distract her everytime she goes to the tree...she shouldn't be chewing on any part of the tree. Upset tummy for sure.

Glad to hear she's ok otherwise.