My yorkie mix had diarrhea and bloody vomit about 3 years ago. Took her to the vet, and he said it was a bacterial infection from sniffing other dog's poops. He gave her a shot and two prescriptions, and in about 24 hours she was much better.

We just bought in the villages at the end of January. Rented for the last 2 Christmas vacations. We didn't have any problems this year, but my dog had TERRIBLE diarrhea and vomiting last year. Had to take him to the vet where he got an IV and special food and meds for the week. My concern was/IS the bug spray. How can you get around it though?

Of course I can't prove it, but our company (Stellar) that handles all of that stuff claims that the bug spray, in and out, is safe for the dog. We have had off-and-on very mild problems with elimination with our golden (i.e., semi unformed), but it hasn't lasted long. I keep him off the grass when they fertilize. I'm sure you do all this. What size is your dog? Maybe the little ones are more affected.

We put a blop of canned pumpkin (not the pie filling) in our guy's kibbles morning and night. this was recommended by a vet up north and seems to work to keep things firm.

Thanks for the questions brought up. Our Jack Russel was sick 2 years ago and we had to rush to the pet ER in Leesburg around 2 am. Same problem as mentioned above. Over a week of treatments and staying at our Vet 2 nights with IV's. She was diagnosed with pancreatitis. We have switched her food to one from the pet store in Palm Ridge and that has helped...also careful where her treats come from because of the China scare.
Our Vet has strongly suggested this problem did start with toxins the dog picked up on her paws; however, it really can't be proven. We are now very careful about letting her out after Massey has been around. Our Massey man is also good about letting us know when he has sprayed different areas in the yard...especially for ants, etc.

All of the pest control/fertilization companies claim that their products aren’t harmful to pets. Of course, that cannot be true. Not that they personally are lying...they are just repeating the information provided by the manufacturer's literature. But there is no way that they can spray and/or spread all of the chemicals that kill/repel all of the insects in this area without leaving a harmful residue. No Way. My goal in the next few months is to find a way to go totally pesticide free (if possible) in the small backyard grassy area that my dogs walk on.

Canned pumpkin is indeed a good stool firmer-upper as well as a stool softener. Amazingly, it works both ways. You can also spoon the canned pumpkin into ice cube trays and then freeze. That way you can pop out a "pumpkin-pop" when you need it and it doesn't go to waste. :)

If you read any instructions on these chemicals that they use on lawns to kill the bugs, they tell you not to get it on your skin. I don't know but I would think that if the grass is wet, either by the morning dew or sprinklers, there might be the possibility that the dogs can absorb it thru their paws. Every day all over the villages I see the trucks spraying chemicals to keep everything green and bug free.

"Firming things up" is also good for keeping a dog's anal glands clean. I'll skip the explanation on that...

There was a pumpkin shortage a couple of years back. We also found that cooked sweet potatoes or butternut squash worked.

If you can't keep your dogs off of pesticide laden/fertilized grass, you can always rinse their paws off before they come back in as well. This is something we often recommend for itchy dogs at the vet clinic where I work, but if you're concerned that it could be causing the pet's symptoms in this case, I might try that - or possibly little booties? Dogs often also eat things they shouldn't. Even if you think your dog isn't the type to do that, they probably are! All you can do is try to keep an eye on them and make sure they aren't eating grass, etc.

After a walk, we always wipe our dog's feet with baby wipes. We originally started this practice in Mass. due to the amount of salt put down during the bad weather. It would irritate his pads. We then just started doing it every time we came in from a walk. We figure it can't hurt him and actually might help.

I have been doing this in NYC for years...I really thinks it helps!

Has anyone had the dogs tested for Lepto? I haven't heard anything about Lepto here in TV, but on LI my Vet made a big deal about it, my dogs were vaccinated for it.

From what I know, it's carried in the urine of wildlife, (possum is a big one).

When I moved to upstate NY my Vet questioned them having had the shot because it's a live vaccine and as he said "What are they, hunting dogs?" (Yuck, Yuck...SNORT)

I have seen possum in my neighbors tree, have spotted their poop (it looks like pencil erasers) and have never heard a word about Lepto. Anyone have any info on this?