My Boston terrier is sick and I am losing patience with my Vet. We have an almost 2 year old Boston that is an overall pretty healthy dog. He weighs approx. 20 lbs and hasn’t had too many health issues. This past Monday night/Tuesday morning my wife had to wake with the dog to let him out to potty in the early A.M. He typically doesn’t do that unless he is sick and it only last about a day. She said that he had the runs and vomited a bit. We decided to give it a day to see what are next step would be. Since it didn’t clear up late Tuesday night we decided to make an appointment with the vet Wednesday afternoon. We had mentioned everything above plus he may have eaten a mushroom called a stinkhorn. She took a stool and blood samples both of which came back negative and he was running a slight temp. She gave him a shot for his vomiting which eliminated that and prescribed 250 mg of Flagyl for the runs. She said give it a day or two and get back if it still persists. Thursday night we noticed his lips were turning red and swelling a bit and he was still having the runs. We decided to make another appointment with the Vet. She said that the red lips weren’t a side effect of the Flagyl. She also prescribed 25 mg of Rimadyl as an anti-inflammatory for his lips. We asked about the runs and she said to get Tagament (200 mg) and split it in fourths for upset stomach and use Benadryl (25 mg) and use it in halves for allergic reaction that may be causing the redness on his lips. Well it’s Saturday night and we are pretty much in the same boat we were in Wednesday minus his vomiting when we took him to the Vet. If anyone could assist please let me know. Thank you.

How is the dog doing today? When you say he has the runs, are we talking stools like water or just very soft?

Have you done anything different that may have brought all this on? Switched his food? A new treat maybe? Was he vaccinated in the last three months? Did you apply a topical flea and or tick killer to him?
Was your lawn sprayed with fertilizer or pesticides? ANYTHING different at all ???

Vets are only as good as their education and sadly, their education does not teach them to find the root of the problem, only how to treat the symptoms.

I personally would look at the ingredients in his diet first and then see if you can think of any exposure to chemicals he may had recently, even a floor cleaner can be toxic if not rinsed well and the dog lies on it and then licks his paws.

You can also try to find a holistic vet in your area that will help you find the cause for the loose stools, vomiting and redness in the face.

You do know that rimadyl is very hard on the liver and there are many reported deaths in dogs using this heavy duty drug????

At the very least, get another opinion and think long and hard what is in your dog's life that may have caused these symptoms to come on in the first place...

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Dr Jeannie Thomason
Veterinary Naturopath, Natural Pet Care Educator & Animal Nutrition Consultant


The Whole Dog
http://www.thewholedog.org


JeanE's Bostons
http://www.jeanesbostons.com

Job 12:7-10

I'm having a similar problem with my 8 months old Boston. How is your dog. What was determined?

Olivia's Mom

What have you been feeding him since he got sick? I've learned that chicken and rice is better to feed when their vomiting/runny then kibble. That sounds like a lot of meds on his poor tummy...I second getting a second opinion.

my two year old female had a similar problem runs etc, he prescribed the flagyl, dewormer, and a couple shots to stop the stomach spasms that cause the diahrea. There is a worm that is undectable that lives in stale water that dogs drink outside etc. its pretty common. A Really good vet would also prescribe a high protein dog food and some vitamin powder to put it on the food to help him gain the vitamins he lost while he was sick. The swelling I would think can be caused from lack of drinking and his fever but dunno, I would go to another vet.

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Panda and Brutis who owns their owner Paula!

boiled chicken and rice, let his GI tract rest, and a second opinion I think is in order. the Stinkhorn is non toxic and most pups won't even try to eat it, but might rather roll in it. they do love the stinky things.
Please let us know how your baby is doing.

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Karen, mom to Turbeaux & Libby