Expert: Silva Mirovics - 3/22/2008

Question
QUESTION: My 10 week old American Pitbull puppy has not been eating but drinking a ton of water. She also uses the bathroom more than normal and her stool is not solid, to put it politely. Is there anything that I can do to settle her stomach and make her eat?

ANSWER: Dear Margaret,
I feel you should urgently get your pup to a vet for some blood tests.  Causes of excess drinking, loss of appetite, excess urination, and diarrhea can be signs of Chronic Renal Failure.  This means there is a serious condition in the kidneys.  If left untreated it will results in kidney failure and death.  
Other reasons why a dog may be drinking a lot are Diabetes and Addison's Disease (which is a malfunction of the adrenal glands).  All of these cases are extremely serious and require veterinary care.  Without a blood test you wont know for sure, but either way excess drinking is not normal.  
I don't want to alarm you unnecessarily, and it may be that she simply has a slight infection or tummy bug that is causing the problems.  
But these symptoms together can also be a result of something more serious.
So, firstly get her to a Vet.  Once you know what is happening, then you can choose a course of action that you wish to take.
Take care,
Silva.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: If What the puppy has, is in fact Chronic Renal Failure, How much would it cost to get her taken care of? Dont get me wrong I love my puppy and take care of her but I ned to know about how much I am going to spend.

Answer
Margaret - if you are wanting a herbal treatment plan then you are best to order the Kidney weakness mix from www.herbal-treatments.com  Go the the "Herbs for dogs" page.  One bottle will be about $60 and will last about 10 weeks.  You would probably need to keep him on this for several months, if not longer.
I would also be feeding only a natural diet such as B.A.R.F.  Commercial canned and dried foods are the cause of much kidney disease in our pets.
We also have a flower essence remedy specifically for kidney problems, but this would only be as a top up for the more potent herbal remedy.
www.holisticanimalmedicines.com is a homeopathic animal wellness site and you may want to order something from them as well to help the Kidney Weakenss mix perform better.  
In any case, please do check is out with your vet as it may be something much less sinister, but without a blood test you just wont know.
Thanks again for the follow up.
Silva.
www.roxysworld.com.au