Dog stressed after seperation

[pixieann]

My husband had a work trip last week that I also went on, so we left our beagle Buddy at home with a good friend of ours staying at the house to watch him. Well, turns out this friend didn't stay at the house like we asked, he would come over after work and let  Buddy out for a few minutes and then he'd leave and go to his girlfriends and not return until the next afternoon. Since we came home Buddy has not been himself, he's extremely lethargic won't run or play and won't eat anything (he wouldn't even eat my pizza crust, which he loves or any other treats). He's also vomitted a few times, there were yellow stains on the carpet when I got home that I first thought was pee but now I realize it's the same color as the vomitt so I think that's been going on for a few days. Could he just be stressed because we left him? We have never left him before, he usually comes on vacation with me, so I don't know if dogs usually act different after being seperated. Is there anything you could suggest? My poor boy was so lonely and desperate to get out he chewed through the screens of the open windows and jumped out the window. I'm also worried he could have been hurt jumping out the window. I am going to take him to the vet if he doesn't snap out of it soon, but he's scared of the vet so I don't want to stress him out more if I don't have to. Needless to say, we are no longer friends with the jerk who was supposed to be staying here and taking care of Buddy.

[ginger899]

Oh you know -this is so sad! How can anyone do those things! I'm glad to hear you are hitting this chap with the whole book!
Anyway, let's hope Buddy picks up. The fluids will do him a lot of good, and once he starts eating hopefully his system will kick in ok. If he hasn't been eating then nothing's going to come out the other end of course. If he's been feeling icky, his appetite will be slow to come back I guess. Just keep trying to tempt him with nice things. Is he drinking ok? If not, you can give him the water meat or fish has boiled in. That can encourage them to take on fluids when they won't drink water. Pedialyte is also a good idea.
It's great that you can give him added attention right now.

[pixieann]

Thanks for your suggestions and your concerns. We did end up bringing Buddy to the vet on tuesday since he was throwing up more bile and I got really scared. He lost 11 pounds in the past week, I couldn't believe it. They gave him a lot of fluids, the x-rays and blood work came back okay so it looks like severe dehydration and maybe heat stroke. He ate a tiny bit of ground beef and rice last night for the first time, but he hasn't pooped since I got home on sunday and he's still really lethargic. I'm still keeping a close eye on him, since I don't work I'm able to be with him all day. I am going to sue the crap out of our dog sitter, I'm also waiting to hear from the spca to see if I can press charges. We have proof that at least two days he didn't even come to the house at all, if he had just told us the truth when we talked to him everyday, it would not have been a problem to have someone else care for Buddy. I'm glad I didn't ever ask him to watch my kids.

[ginger899]

I was going to say....the first thing I would do is go tell that "friend" exactly what you think of him not sticking to the deal you made, and treating your dog that way.
Yes he was stressed. He also wasn't exercised for a week. If he was fed just once a day late afternoon, he probably wolfed his food because he was ravenous, then he was starved for 24 hours each time! So that could have upset him. Also, it comes as second-nature for a house-trained dog not to pee and poop inside the house, so to have to hold his water and his "business" for 24 hours each time is unhealthy, and could have stressed him somewhat physically.
The hours of sheer boredom and loneliness....many dogs would just go into a semi-sleep for a lot of the time. And a week is a long time to a dog. So that may account for some of his lethargy and unwillingness to play or move about much. He's got into the routine of spacing out.

If he's vomiting bile, and refusing to eat it could be just the emotional strain he's been under that he hasn't got over yet, or it could be all the above things that have put some pressure on his system. If he's a strong dog basically I'm sure he'll get over it all and be fine. But if by chance he's got some of that window-screen in his gut, or anything else he might have chewed in his desperation, then that could be quite serious. Out of interest, what do his bowel movements look like? Have you seen anything in them that shouldn't be there?
I know what you mean about not wanting to stress him further by taking him to the vet -because my dog is like that. The stress of going to the vet gets worse and worse, and I hate taking her but obviously will if she needs it.
Well I think Buddy is going to have to be that extra bit brave right now, because the safest thing to do is to take him in to be checked over.

[Margot49]

Sorry you had that problem with the *friend*.  :-(
Sounds like Buddy may be vomiting bile,but that is a guess.
Since he got out, I think I would be getting him to the Vet ASAP as perhaps he got into something he shouldn't have.  Better to be on the safe side.
Hope he will be okay.