Dog sick — new to Utah

[milobuddy]

Hi all! So my seven-year-old Lab and I just moved to northern Utah. We have been here for about 10 days, and all of a sudden, he’s not eating and he’s having excess flatulence. He has RARELY ever refused food before—the last time, he was 4 and it was because he had ingested a gallon-sized ziplock. I’m going to try to get him into a vet this week, but I’m totally new to the area and I’m worried because I don’t have an established vet and I don’t have any support here to help care for him.

Does anyone in the Utah or surrounding areas know what might have caused this illness if it’s environmental? My dog has been kenneled in my new place while I’ve been gone because things are still not fully unpacked/set up. So, if he ingested something bad, it would be while we were out on our walks. Most of the time he’s on a leash and I haven’t seen him eat anything weird, but there were a few off leash trails we visited where he splashed in some creek water. This water is the only thing I could think of that might be making him sick—but there were lots of dogs in the water. Not being from here, I’m wondering if my dog is more sensitive to toxins in the water. Is Utah known for water contamination? Or can anyone think of any other environmental things that could be causing his illness? I have IBS and I can’t drink the tap water here—is it possible even the tap water could be making my dog sick?

Please and thanks for any help.

[Berna]

Maybe it's the move that has stressed him out? In any case, it would be wise to get him checked by a vet. Fingers crossed it's nothing serious.

[Snowshoe]

Have you searched out Utah dog groups on the internet? Maybe your previous Vet could link you up with a Utah Vet? Has he pooped, any chance of blockage? I think you need to Vet.

[milobuddy]

He was pooping yesterday, he has not pooped today. Because we just moved here, none of the vets are willing to see us short notice because we aren’t established patients. I’ve currently been waiting at the emergency vet for 2 hours but all I’be found out so far is that he is negative for giardia 😓

[smartrock]

I'm not from that area and cannot find anything online about canine illnesses in Utah. I hope the emergency vet can give you some idea whether there's something going on there that would be new to your dog. Not pooping today yet could also be from not eating, if I'm reading your post correctly. Hopefully you'll have paid the cost of an emergency vet just to find out he's got gastritis that is easily resolved although you may not know the source. Different water, the stress of the move, something in that creek water that the other dogs are accustomed to but Milo isn't yet. Some people say a change in their water can cause GI issues and some have suggested labs have a particularly sensitive GI system in general. I kind of find that hard to fathom when I see one of my dogs eating dead vermin or other stuff they pick up and swallow before I get it away from them. I hope you get some answers and it's an easy fix. Let us know what happens.

[milobuddy]

Thank you Sue. It was very costly but they didn’t find any obstruction from the x-rays, which is good. They didn’t really have any answers, but suggested it could be a bacterial overgrowth from the water. I am just supposed to take him back in if he doesn’t improve with the bland diet and anti-nausea meds.

I hope he improves soon!

[milobuddy]

Hi everyone,
It’s been about a week and unfortunately, although Milo improved for a few days and seemed back to normal after the easy to digest diet and meds, yesterday he stopped eating again and began vomiting continuously.

Another trip to the emergency vet, this time for a $1000 ultrasound, and still they can’t find anything wrong with his blood work etc. They sent me home with no answers. I’m wondering if anyone knows anything about Labs and heat stroke? I didn’t think he was showing signs of overheating, other than panting, but we did go for a walk yesterday and it was about 95 degrees. We live in an apartment, so I have no choice but to walk him, but i’m wondering if the walk was too long and heat is what is causing his symptoms. I asked the vet about this and they said usually with overheating they see bloody stool, not vomiting. Has anyone reading this has experience with heatstroke in labs?

[Berna]

I'm wondering if he has some kind of food intolerance. I'd try putting him on a gastro medical diet.

[Snowshoe]

My boy and myself have both had heat stroke. Neither of us had vomitting or bloody stool but we both had seizures. We both recovered in several hours. We didn't have it at the same time. Everybody is different, or can be. I'd certainly take it easy with that kind of heat, especially if you are not used to it. A wild idea, I suppose you have AC on? Some kind of contaminant is blowing through your AC? Good luck.