long hair chihuahua food problems?
My three year old long hair chihuahua that I got from a shelter in August has been having somewhat watery feces, he also has been refusing to eat dog food unless I hand feed him. One other problem is that he has watery eyes, which his vet said were just allergies, but with there being no pollen in the air and his medication not really working unless I give him the maximum dose I don’t think it’s an outdoor allergy. We got him food without rice to see if that was what he was allergic to, but that was not it. He is also up to date on shots, and was dewormed before we got him. He came from California, and now lives in Utah. What could be wrong with him?
Please only answer if you know what you are talking about, and be nice.
Tagged with: Chihuahua • Food • Hair • Long • Problems
Filed under: Food Allergies In Dogs
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
A lot of shelter dogs end up with upper respiratory infections. It could be one of the many. The watery stools could be from diet change, intestinal parasites or protozoa called coccidia. If he is running a fever along with not wanting to eat (since he came from California) you might have your vet check for Valley Fever. If you are not getting good results with the vet you have now there is nothing wrong with getting a second opinion.
Try fried and drained hamburger meat and rice. That helps with the stomach and digestion. As far as watery eyes could be the change in climate. May take a little while to adjust. Remember chi’s easily drop sugar levels, especially if he has runs . A little karo in his water will also help.
If your switching his food abruptly, this could cause or make his loose stools worse. Try mixing some boiled ground turkey in with a small kibble dry food and see if he will eat it. They also make “sensitive stomach” diets.
Also, chihuahuas have “bug” eyes which can cause them to tear alot. Some dogs lower eyelids can also roll in a bit and not catch the tears as well. If he seems fine besides the tearing, just be sure to keep the eyes clean with a warm, wet cloth.
As far as the loose stools go, has a stool sample been checked by the Vet? Just because he was previously dewormed, doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them. In most cases, a general dewormer is given. This is why a stool sample should be checked, general dewormers cover the most common types of intestinal parasites but not all of them. I’d have a stool sample checked and have him dewormed again just to be safe. If a stool sample has been checked and was negative, I’d have the Vet send a sample off to the Lab for more indepth testing.
Also, get a second opinion from another Vet, nothing wrong with doing so. Good luck!