We Moved & Now Dog Won't Poo

[Saredances]

We moved one week ago today. The movers came on Thursday to pack our stuff and then on Friday they moved it all to the new house. Last Thursday is the last day my dog pooped, that I'm positive of. I don't think it was a stressful move on the dog. He was very calm and only curious when the movers showed up on Thursday, and the same behavior on Friday. We only moved 15 min away. Told him he was going for a car ride, which he loves. Drove him to the new house and he ran around inside and throughout the yard (we didn't have one at the other house) and he seems to be very happy here. He hasn't gone poop though. I've taken him on 45 min walks, which prior to the move he would poop 5 minutes into, thrown a ball for him to get him running and still no poop. Nothing has changed in his diet. He's eating and then throwing up his meals, so it seems to me that he doesn't want to poop here, which is then making him throw up since the food has to go somewhere. He doesn't seem to be in any sort of pain or discomfort. I've been trying not to go to the vet because we are on a military base in Japan and the only vet we have isn't very good. I could take him to a vet out in town, I just wonder about the language barrier. If I can find it I think I will take him there today and see how it goes. Other than that I don't know what else to do. Suggestions? Thanks

[somegirl99]

I'm actually of the opinion that he is not pooping because he is throwing up.

Could he be licking or eating something in the new environment that is causing him to throw up? Possibly something in the yard?

[Ola_]

Is it possible that he's pooped in the yard when you weren't looking? I would also wonder about something upsetting his tummy - it can be just stress, but I'd worry that there's pesticides on the grass or something. Likely if he's throwing up all his food then there may not be much that can come out the other end - certainly if he needed to poop I think he would go on a walk.

[Saredances]

Well he doesn't throw up right after every meal, it's more like once a day, today it was this morning. He hasn't pooped in the yard, I've checked. Also we live in a condo like home now and are on the second floor so I walk him down to the yard and am there with him. After being in the new house for 2 days, which would have been about 4 days of him not going to the bathroom, I thought maybe he wouldn't go if I was there watching him so I shut the gate and went upstairs and watched him from a window. Still nothing. It could be something in the yard, I don't know what the base or the people living here before us did. We just came back from the vet off base and they said to come back tomorrow when an english speaking employee will be in.

[Oubliette8]

I'm thinking it could be an obstruction. Is it possible he could have eaten something he shouldn't have during the confusion of the move? If there's something blocking his intestines, poop cant get through. Vomiting is also a symptom. Its pretty important to get it looked at quickly. I'd guess the vet will want to do an xray to see if they can spot an obstruction, although not all materials show up that way. Depending where the obstruction is, what it is, and the condition of the dog, there are several treatments they might try.

[Saredances]

Went to the vet today. The lack of poop has nothing to do with the new house or stress of moving. They took x-rays of his stomach and showed us there was something stuck in there blocking any food from moving through. My poor puppy had an iv in his arm for blood work which came back fairly good. His nutrient levels weren't exactly where they are supposed to be but are in the okay range, and I assume that would be because he can't properly digest and absorb nutrients with something stuck in his stomach. So then they gave him anesthesia and put a scope down his throat to look in his tummy to see what was stuck there, they called us into the room to show us the image of his tummy on the screen, the Dr. said he had no idea what it was and asked us. After we sat in the waiting room for a few minutes my husband reminded me that the day before the movers came he has torn a corner of the couch cushion while I was washing the cushion covers. So we are thinking it's the cottony stuff that fills our couch cushions. The timing of that would be right on to when he stopped going to the bathroom. I hadn't even considered that since he never ever chews anything but his toys and bones. and btw it's sort of hard to see your puppy laying on his back with his head tipped backward and a tube down his throat anyways since he still has food in his system they want to put him on a liquid diet for the next three days and then try to pull it out of his stomach and up out of his mouth, which I hope works because the next step would be cutting him open. Anyone have similar stories with good endings? I've only had labs before and anything they ate that they weren't supposed to always came out the other end. The dog I own now is a toy poodle.

[somegirl99]

Just saw this...any updates on your poor pup?

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

Poor puppy when I read the OP my first thought was a blockage. I hope that they get it out the easy way and no surgery is needed.

[Saredances]

Well last night he pooped! It was a terrible diarrhea-ish sort from all the liquid food. We go back to the vet tomorrow morning and I think they will do another x-ray. It's interesting that my husband and I both nod our heads while the vet tries to explain to us what his plan is and then we get home and realize we each took something different away from what the vet said. So I think they will do another x-ray and scope again.

[Saredances]

Just got back from the vet, he said my dog should be fine and to feed him soft dog food and some kibble. . .he was eating raw prior to this, should I do canned soft dog food? or should I try just ground beef and blend his organ meat?

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

If he is used to raw then I would go with ground beef blend.

I hope that he recovers fast after all this. for you and him both.

[Saredances]

My husband and I are getting really frustrated with this situation. Saturday night my dog had extremely bad uncontrollable diarrhea and vomiting all night long, with also a fever, his nose was hot to the touch. Took him to the vet as soon as they opened on Sunday and the vet gave him a shot to stop the diarrhea and vomiting along with meds to do the same thing . . .I don't know how much I feel okay with this. It's just covering up his problem and I want it to be fixed. I feel as though if he needs to be vomiting and having diarrhea all night long than so be it, his body is doing it for a reason and I don't want to put a stop to it so that it seems as though he is just fine. I'm thinking about taking him to the vet on base (that so many won't trust to touch their dogs ) for a second opinion. I feel like I'd be doing worse for him bringing him there but then again the vet off base I feel isn't doing enough.

[Ola_]

I was hoping your post would be that he's doing better - I'm sorry that you're still having issues. It's so hard to have a vet you don't trust, I totally know what you mean. So is he able to eat and drink ok, and is pooping? Have they removed the thing that was obstructing his digestive tract or did you see it pass in his poop?

[somegirl99]

I'm so sorry for you and your pup. I think a second opinion is a good idea.

Does the blockage seem to be gone (by x-ray)? What are you feeding him right now?

[Saredances]

He is eating and drinking okay, since Saturday he hasn't pooped, he throws up just a little tiny bit after each meal or when I come home and he gets excited and jumps around a lot, I think it would be the entire meal if he wasn't taking the meds that keep him from vomiting and I don't know which is better. I keep checking his poops and he hasn't passed it yet. I was talking to someone else here on base about this and she thought maybe the Japanese vet wasn't suggesting surgery yet because of the cost. Which I had thought about too, because they are so polite and to them they might feel it's not appropriate to ask us to pay that much money if it's not %100 necessary. But my husband and I don't care about the cost we just want it out and for him to be able to digest his food properly, so I think either this afternoon or tomorrow morning I'm going to take him to the vet and let the vet know I don't care about the cost of the surgery if that's what he needs. Also to add to this, yesterday the vet on base, that I don't trust called, to scheduled my dogs yearly exam and asked us to bring in a stool sample . . .I don't have one aside from the diarrhea and then I know I'm going to be lectured about not bringing him in to them when this happened, and about taking him off base, and about being fed raw

[Saredances]

oh he's eating the liquid food the vet off base gave us, it's a post surgery food, I can't read the nutrition label, but I assume that means it has all or more than what he needs nutrition wise, I have been too nervous to give him any raw food blended or ground meat because we have been running to the vet at spur of the moment and I'm afraid they are going to tell me I'm making everything worse with raw food

[Oubliette8]

If he continues to vomit and have diarrhea, he can dehydrate quickly. That would be dangerous for him. A little is ok, but constantly is no good. Honestly, it sounds like he needs surgery. Its been over 2 weeks and the foreign object still has not passed. I think in the US, the vets would have operated by now. If it hasn't passed yet, I don't think its going to. Its better to do the surgery sooner, when he is still in relatively good condition, than wait until his condition weakens him more and raises the risks of surgery. Removal of obstruction is risky, but its fairly common surgery. Without it, it doesn't sound like your dog will get better, and eventually he will deteriorate further. I would go back to the vet and push for surgery to have it removed. Did they try the endoscopy yet?

Does your dog have to see the base vet for a yearly exam? If so, I'd try to reschedule until this problem is solved. If this yearly exam includes vaxes, definitely reschedule, your dog does NOT need any vaxes while he is ill, you should wait until he is fully recovered.

[Saredances]

So Angry

No one here is helping my dog. He just keeps getting worse. This past Saturday he had diarrhea again, and blood was in it, not too much though so I wasn't sure if it was internal bleeding or just from his bum because of all he's been through. Went to the vet Sunday morning, unfortunately I didn't make it by 9am, when they are open for emergencies, but I was there by about 9:20am and no one was there so we went home and I would go back Monday morning. Then around 10-10:30 he was in the kitchen with me and blood dripped from his bottom. I freaked out called the on base emergency vet number to get the off base vet, they couldn't help me, I went to the vet off base and pressed the intercom button (not having a clue where it would call to), it called to the vets home above his clinic, some lady told me no speak english dr tomorrow and I'm just pleading please no today emergency please, she just keeps repeating sorry no speak english dr tomorrow, and I'm furious. I don't care what freaking language someone is speaking to me, if there is urgency and panic in there voice I'm going to try to figure out the problem and help them not turn them away. So I didn't sleep Saturday night or Sunday, I couldn't, I'm so damn stressed out. I just got back from the vet today and he is doing the same crap. A shot for anti vomiting, anti diarrhea, anti bleeding, anti inflammation. I'm soooo angry. The last time he gave my dog the shots he was fine while the medication was in him and after it left his body he was worse than when he started, the second shots good then when they were out of his system worse than before, He just gave my dog more shots as I stood there and said no deal with the problem fix him don't cover it up he's getting worse, and I'm crying and I'm so frustrated, what might happen when this medication leaves his system, he was bleeding from his butt this Sunday, so what next this weekend, how much worse can it get or is the next thing to come just death. I thought about buying a plane ticket and flying out to the west coast to find a vet. I don't know how he will do on a 12 hr flight though. and I really don't have the money for that plane ticket. . . they have him on iv's since he's lost weight and fluids and I get to go back and get my dog at 5pm

[somegirl99]

I'm so sorry that you're not getting the help you need.

One of my dogs had major bloody diarrhea for a day, after supportive care (including being on IVs for a few days as well as metronidazole) and finding a suitable diet for him, he got better. He had IBD, not an obstruction. But I just wanted to let you know that it is possible to recover from.

Do you think you can get a US vet on the phone to get another opinion as to what to do? You might have to pay for a phone consult but it could be worth it.

for you and your pup.

[Starflower]

I'm sorry you and your pup are going through this.

Is there someone on the base that could come with you as an interpreter so you don't have to wait for the English-speaking employee all the time?

We just had an obstruction problem with our 13 year old Aussie mix two weeks ago. Her main symptom also was throwing up. She had been eating sand - which showed up on the x-ray like barium even though she had no barium. I took her to the ER vet for the x-rays due to her age and that she had no appetite and seemed to be rapidly deteriorating (she's usually super energetic and happy even though she is old). She got anti-nausea shots at the ER. We went to our regular vet in the morning. He gave her oral anti-nausea shots to take home AFTER he was able to get her to pass a poop. They found out about the sand not so much from the x-rays (it was still a mystery at that point) but because he dissected the poop after it passed. (I don't know what he did to help her get it to pass.)

While the anti-nausea stuff helped her to gain some strength back and keep her from becoming further dehydrated, if she had not continued to pass the poops (which we monitored over the next two days) she would have had to have surgery to clear the blockage.

And while I am not a doctor or a vet, I can't understand how they expect your poor pooch to improve if he is still all blocked up. Have they done any new x-rays? I really hope you get some real answers, real soon and that your dog is finally able to get the kind of care that will help him get better.

and puppy healing vibes are coming your way.