Anything out there to help with furballs?

810 Views 6 Replies 3 Participants Last post by Sabina88, Mar 21, 2016

Tweetiepy

Discussion Starter · Mar 21, 2016

Panda's been under the weather lately. His stomach is giving him issues. He's been tossing his cookies, so I've been keeping an eye on him, and he's been off food for a day then back slowly with rice water & cooked rice & yesterday a bit of boiled hamburger. He was more or less okay then this morning a bit of his rice came back.

I've noticed that he's been licking everything lately, mostly the carpet & the chairs - repeatedly and for a long time. I stopped him but I guess he's been doing it in hiding. Last night I went for a walk and it took him forever to do his business, I figure his tummy is pretty empty but he got something out - and it stuck to his fur - Panda's an american eskimo, so lots of fur in that area. My son washed it off, but said it was like a mass of fur/poop.

So he's been ingesting fur I guess and it's slowing things down. When I had rabbits, they could get "wool block" and it was suggested that papaya could help - the enzymes would break down the fur. Is there something to help dogs with furballs? Maybe just something to get him pooping like normal?

We've put a cone of shame on him to stop him from liking everything - tried the muzzle but he was too stressed with that -the cone should help break the licking habit until his gut gets settled.

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annageckos

· #2 · Mar 21, 2016

Dogs will lick things like the carpet when their stomach is upset. I'd assume that is why he is doing that. Have you gone to the vet to find out what is wrong? It could be some food that doesn't agree with him. Has he always have stomach problems? Ginger is good for the stomach, my BF has Crohn's and takes it daily, he says it helps. But you really need to find out why his stomach is upset.

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Tweetiepy

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 21, 2016

annageckos said:
Dogs will lick things like the carpet when their stomach is upset. I'd assume that is why he is doing that. Have you gone to the vet to find out what is wrong? It could be some food that doesn't agree with him. Has he always have stomach problems? Ginger is good for the stomach, my BF has Crohn's and takes it daily, he says it helps. But you really need to find out why his stomach is upset.

He's often had stomach issues (he often eats poop when I don't catch him in time) but he's been on a new food - which I stopped) but he probably has lingering issues & now furballs - I'll try ginger - the vet suggested Vaseline to help get him moving again

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annageckos

· #4 · Mar 21, 2016

Look into coconut oil too, that can help move things along. It's good for the bowels. I honestly would be hesitant about vaseline, it's a petroleum product and I'm not sure I'd want my dog ingesting that. You can also look into what is used for cat and rabbit hairballs.

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Tweetiepy

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 21, 2016

annageckos said:
Look into coconut oil too, that can help move things along. It's good for the bowels. I honestly would be hesitant about vaseline, it's a petroleum product and I'm not sure I'd want my dog ingesting that. You can also look into what is used for cat and rabbit hairballs.

For rabbits, it was papaya to help break down the enzymes - I may try that, but the vet suggested the Vaseline - 1 tsp twice a day - she also said it could worsen the situation if it was a blockage (this from the receptionist) - he is pooping but I want to make sure it's moving nicely

I think I'll check out the papaya tonite - would pumpkin purée help move things along?

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annageckos

· #6 · Mar 21, 2016

I know the vet recommended it, but I'd still be leery of it. I practice a more holistic approach when I can. That is why I switch to a vet that practices holistic/homeopathic/chinese as well as traditional if needed. They look for the root cause instead of just giving some medicine for the symptoms. As for pumpkin, I'm not really sure. I don't think it could hurt.

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Sabina88

· #7 · Mar 21, 2016

Sorry if you already did this and I missed it, but if you haven't already I would take him in to the vets to rule out any medical problems.
What food is he on now?
Also as for the papaya, I wouldn't give him much as it has a lot of sugar. I would go with plain canned pumpkin instead, it has less sugar and is commonly used to help with upset tummies. And maybe a bit of either papaya or banana for the fiber.

As far as I know dogs don't commonly get fur balls since unlike cats the don't clean/groom themselves. Since you said he licks the carpet, I'm thinking the fur ball might have been a mix of carpet fibers and shed fur, but I could be wrong. Is he also licking himself a lot as well?

It is also possible if this isn't medical that the licking is behavioral. How much exercise and mental stimulation does he get generally? It could be that he gets board and for some reason go to compulsive licking as a result. Or that what he's licking is upsetting his tummy.

I hope he feels better soon

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