Sick Puppy

[David Frank]

I just picked my 6 month old yellow lab (Toby) up from the dog sitter where he spent th last two and a half days while I was out of town. When I got home, I noticed that his stomach appears to be swollen. He has diarrhea and has tried to urinate multiple times with only small dribbles, if anything at a time. He has also been drinking more water than he usually does. Does this sound like something I should be very concerned about or should I just keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't begin to show any other symptoms? Aside from what I described, he appears to be normal.... wants to play fetch and chew on his rawhide. Any responses would be more than appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

[Surface Tension]

Being at a strange place is enough put a little stress on him.

A change in diet, feeding times, and amounts will compound that. Treats and rawhide, how much?

I'd be asking the sitter, or maybe you already know about the above.

Was this a kennel or someone's home. Then theres the question of what did he get into when he was away.

Distended stomach, diarrhea, not peeing. I'm thinking intestinal obstruction, enough so that he can't empty his bladder which would be the biggest concern.

If hes not taking a health whiz when you let him out this morning I'd probably bring him in ASAP.

Rawhide could be the culprit.

[fishroger]

Id say if it doesnt get better real soon, take him in. It amazing what they get into. Mine ate a whole bag of pig ears I inadvertently left within his reach. He did look to good until he passed it. Yesterday he somehow found a bottle of brake fluid, luckily I saw him grab it.

[pikehunter]

The diahrea could be from stress and the lack of peeing could be a result of dehydration caused by the diahrea. I agree ... take him in if it lasts for another day.

[David Frank]

Just wanted to report back to everyone that Toby is back to his normal self this morning. He was up 2 times last night, with similar results to yesterday. This morning he took a "healthy wiz" and the #2 end of things is looking mch more normal as well. The swelling in his stomach is completely gone, and he seems much more comfortable. I'm guessing you are all correct and the stress of a new environment and the possibility of eating something he isn't used to upset his stomach a bit. Thanks for the responses!

[Sandmannd]

Good to hear he's better. Could be that he ate too much at one time as well. My Beagle has done that and gets the trots for a day and then is better.