Hi
Sox managed to rip open a bin bag and eat some left over roast potatoes out of the bottom. They had been cooked in Goose fat and as they had cooled, some had congealed around them and this has upset his tummy - it doesnt take much!

He has just woken me up after making a mess on my kitchen floor and has had to be bathed and everything and his bed is being washed - you can imagine my delight at doing this at 5am Im just glad we didnt go out tonight as I cant imagine having to clear that up with a hangover. Still, never mind, its not his fault (Its Nigellas since she is the one who has been selling the idea of roasting potatoes in Goose fat this year :D ).

Hes fine in himself as usual and I will do the normal thing of not feeding him for about a day to let his tum settle. The trouble with Sox is that his tummy is easily irritated and its quite common for him to pass blood after passing a few poos in quick succession - we have previously been advised that this is nothing to worry about and is a result of irritation. This normally requires a trip to the vet for the magic injection which stops this immediately. My question is, is there anything I can buy at the chemist or health shop that will help stop the runs and therefore the blood that may follow? I have never given him anything that isnt from the vet before now so I would be a bit nervous of doing so anyway but I know some of you guys are quite 'hot' on alternatives to pet medicines so I thought you would be the best people to ask ;)

Thanks in advance :) - oh and happy new year to you all!

Naughty Sox, what a lovely way to say Happy New Year :D

I always keep a tube of this in my fridge and find it excellent for the odd dodgy tummy :)

Thanks. The vet normally gives this aswell as his jab. Im glad I know I can buy it now. I bet its a lot cheaper!

I will get some of this to keep handy but is there anything I can get hold of today in case this should progress? He went at 4 am and again at 6am but it was much less the second time so fingers crossed it has stopped now. He is now sleeping like a...well like a dog I suppose and I am shattered and searching the net in preparation for the situation progressing, Typical! :)

well chase has got a upset tummy as well,not due to eating,
i was told bye a friend and a vet to give the human imodium 1 tablet then poss another in the evening,it has alway work with no side effects.

off to give him one now.no food either bless him,

Thanks briedog, thats really helpful and one of the things I was wondering about :)

Has anyone else got any experience of administering Imodium or anything similar?

It's not just collies that can be sensitive to Immodium and similar drugs, tests have shown that some sighthounds also are. When little toerag collie ate a pack of Immodium the other week and had me up panicking and crying all night the vet said it actually didn't work for dogs anyway, and certainly Gem wasn't constipated so I'm a bit confused about that   Can you still get the bottles of Kaolin and Morphine at the chemist? I used to use that before I discovered Pro-kolin, which is easier to administer :)

Just as a warning for collie owners  who may be reading this Immodium is another one not to give collies who haven't been DNA tested for drug sensitivity

I've always found tree bark powder (slippery elm) to be good - my boy suffered terrible intermittent colitis in the past (blood, mucus, awful straining and groaning, the lot). We got it from our homoeopathic vet, but you can also get it here and probably several other places online.

Hope that helps :)

The vet has just told me to give Merlin Immodium, (beagle), will this harm him? I am worrying now.

Why not ask the vet for reassurance?

I did think that, but if they prescribed it wouldnt they just stand by their word? A lot of vets get a tinsy bit peeved when you question them, in fact another vet I no longer use, asked what sort of vetinary qualifications champdoggers had. This was after I question a diognosis that I had read about which sounded like something Merls had. I have to say though, you guys were right, I think that dog owners have much more hands on experience and are usually referring to actual experiences rather than something they have been taught.

>another vet I no longer use, asked what sort of vetinary qualifications champdoggers had.

A very sensible vet! There's a lot of pseudo-facts on the internet, which are actually causing animals a lot of problems. It's actually illegal for non-qualified people to actually prescribe or recommend particular medications, so a vet is the only person who can advise.

If I didn't trust my vet more than an internet forum I wouldn't be using them. Remember a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

That is exactly why I changed vets, and other things besides. I just panicked when I saw that Immodium can be harmful to some dogs. I wouldnt want to give him something that could hurt him, he is my baby. This is a new vet and I am still testing the water here, hence my nerves. The old vet I used to go was fine until they took on more vets who all only work one day a week each, when I was seeing only the practice manager vet it was fine, but unfortunately a lot of people feel the same and it is very hard to get an appointment with him. I didnt like some of the things the other vets said and found myself looking here more often for previous experience.

Which is why I changed my own vets to the ones I've now been with for 3 years plus.
They have constant vets instead of the last practise I was with whose vets tended
to move on in 2 years or less. Although they did have 3 lovely vets that did work there and
were very good at their jobs, I just lost confidence with their replacements.
I love the continuity and I feel like I've built up a rapport with each of the vets at my current practise.
Plus and most importantly I trust them and they are good with my dogs.

chase had one dose of immodiumn  and half of nature diet  for aday instead of his nomal dry food and he fine now.back on his nomal food.

if there was blood or he was been sick as well as a upset tummy then he would have been at the vets.

the only reason i use it a friend in sweden who dog i had here staying for 6month had a bad time of the runs so i rang her to tell her about him i should take him to the vets as he was in my care she stated no give him aday and half of immodium so 3 tablets over that time and he was fine to.plus i did tell my vet they said it ok for a short term problem not where theres blood or sick,just an upset tummy.