Venting - grandparents made Elvis sick

[Elvis Lee Mommy]

AAAAAGGGGHHHHH

Elvis Lee is sick tonight, I'm up watching him breathe & shiver.

My parents & Dawn's parents live in our neighborhood & they are all sooo in love with their little grand-puppy Elvis Lee. We have asked them Many times to not give EL any "people food" but if they do, just a little. And we warned them about grapes, raisins & chocolate. Anyway, my parents are doing really well with limiting the people food to just a taste.

Dawn's parents, on the other hand, are making our baby sick from feeding him. I have politely asked them to Please Please do not give him any people food, and if they do, just a tiny bit. Dawn has spoken with them too. They do not listen to us.

I need a puppysitter every Thursday when I go to my art class & the grandpuppy parents take turns. I make sure everyone has lots of dog food & his healthy treats. D's parents give him fried burgers, chicken, hotdogs even though we have begged them not to. They actually cook him his own portion! A whole burger for my little 8 lb 12 oz puppy is way toooo much. He got sick from the burger last month. Plus Elvis will refuse dog food for a day or so after he has been spoiled with people food.

Tonight we went to D's parents house for dinner (pork roast) & D's father cut EL up a little bit on a plate. OK so far. But he ended up giving him more & more & more. I shot Dawn a look & she thought it would be alright just this one time. When we got home & told her she HAS to speak with them Again.

We were home about 5 minutes, and EL pee'd on the living room carpet (not normal for him, he always asks to go out), then a few minutes later, he started heaving & heaving. He threw up chunks of pork roast..., looked like the baby didn't even chew. A few minutes later, he threw up again, more chunks of meat & some roasted potato too.

I had Dawn clean everything up while I took care of EL. He was just moping around, his tail is always curled up over his back & he was walking slowly around with his tail hanging really low.

He started shivering, then his stomach was spasm-ing. I listed to his heart & it sounds okay. His little eyes got all red & bloodshot. He would quiver & shake then it would stop. His little tummy was making all kinds of noises & he looked sooooo sad. I got very upset but I did not let it show because I didn't want to upset the pup. He is very in-tune to my emotions. After a little while, the shivering stopped. Then it started up again, and his front legs where shaking too.

I called our Vet on the Emergency line. I explained everything to her & she said the shivering, spasm-ing, quivering, shaking are all signs of pain. She said that the pork is way to fatty for him & that he has an upset stomach. She had me give him 1/2 of a 75mg zantac tablet. She also said it could be a little touch of pancreatitus. She said she felt it is not necessary to bring him in, but if he gets worse, yes, bring him in. She also assured she'd call me at 7am to make sure Elvis is better.

He is getting better but still feeling a little sick. The shivering is much less now & he is breathing easy. His little curly tail is up over his back again. His redeye has gone away too. I keep checking to make sure he is breathing.

I can't stand seeing my baby sick. What can I do about D's parents? Of course we don't want to offend them but enough is enough. How many times do they need to be told, No People Food!! Even if we are in their house with them, they sneak him food in another room. Any suggestions on how to handle this?

Thank you very much for listening (reading). I'm still upset & needed to talk.

[pinkie1205]

I just wouldn't take EL over there anymore. Tell them that they made him sick and that you don't want to go through that again.

[Formula86]

I agree with Missy. I know you don't want to offend them, but little Elvis is sick.
These people need a wake up call. I would tell them what happened with him tonight - tell them how sick he was.
Just bring him to your parents' only for now. I'm so sorry you guys went through this. Give Elvis a hug for me.

[petpredicaments]

Do they realise just how sick they are making him? It sounds like they are meaning well when they do it but are just not taking account of your wishes. I suppose this sort of thing happens all the when people look after human babies. When people are looking after a baby, fur or otherwise, they want to spoil them but if Elvis Lee is to go over there again, then they need to stop. I would talk to them again but more severley and warn them that if the treats don't stop then the babysitting will have too. They need it drumming in

[Leo]

Can you explain it to them like this:
Mom & Dad you know how Dawn has allergies to certain animal, well Elvis had a severe allergies reaction last night to the people food... please do not feed him people food anymore... I love you guys, but if you can't respect this issue you will no longer be able to care for Elvis Lee...then I would tell them how you were up all night with him and exactly all that happened with him.
This is such an uncomfortable situiation... being up front and honest with them instead of holding your feelings in would be the best thing to do in the long run for your relationship with them. Yes you don't want to hurt them, but last night they hurt your dog and I think you have a right to be PO'ed.

Did they roast the potatoes & rost with onions? if so he could have been having a reaction to that. It is odd that a dog would have that bad of a reaction to plain old pot roast.

I hope the little guy is feeling better today.... give him a belly rub from me

[millie121]

I would have made them come over and watch him be sick for a while. I understand they love him and think they are giving him treats, but they are not understanding how sick they are making him. Maybe try witholding visits for a while to show how serious you are? I don't know. They need to respect your wishes!

[corgimom]

They definitely need to be made aware that they are making Elvis Lee sick. Tell them that you understand that they love him and think they are giving him treats. But people food is not a treat, and people food makes him very very sick. Tell them exactly what happened. How he was quivering and shivering in pain, and throwing up non stop. Tell them that you had to call the vet and thought you were going to have to take him to the doggy emergency room. Tell them you know they love Elvis, but they can not give him ANY people food anymore, and if they continue to give it, Elvis Lee will not be able to stay at their house unattended any longer.

Even though they are Dawn's parents and not yours, if you are over there for dinner and they start to give him food, go ahead and say something. Elvis Lee is your baby just as much as he is Dawn's, and you have just as much of a right to tell her parents no as she does. (easier said than done, I know. I feel uncomfortable telling Lucas' dad about anything he does that bothers me).

oh, one thing I learned (for future reference): add almonds to the list of foods that are very very bad for dogs.

[CHERYL2121]

Awe, your poor baby!!!! Sorry if I missed it, but did Dawn or you tell them how sick he got?? I feel so bad for you all, I think you ned to give EL a tummy rub from Petey and I

[Elvis Lee Mommy]

Thanks everyone. It makes me feel sooo much better to be able to talk to my friends here on PT. Everyone here is very loving & understanding. I really appreciate all the support I get here.

Elvis is feeling better today but not 100% yet. He's not playing much, just kinda napping & cuddling me. He still looks sad, no little puppy smiles yet today.

We both have asked her parents several times to not give him any people food. Problem is Dawn's Dad is extremely sensitive & he gets miffed and hurt really easily. If anyone has an opinion different from his, he can't handle it & he gets all pissy & upset. Even so, I have spoken to them previously & so has Dawn.

Last night Dawnie told him that EL had enough but he kept sneaking him more & more. I asked her last night to call them but she was so upset about the puppy that she was afraid she'd really lose it if she called then. She is going to speak with them tonight when she gets home from work.

The Vet called at 7am this morning to make sure he was okay. I was up till around 3am watching him, then I fell asleep. He ate a little dry dog food and had some water this morning. He has pee'd but no poopie yet.

[Scarlette]

I'm glad he's feeling better!

[HappyDancer]

I am glad he is doing better, I am so sorry for the whole situation, sometimes its so hard to try and not hurt someone over a big issue, I hope it all works out for you

[corgimom]

If he is still feeling bad and not eating much (or if he starts to get sick again after eating his regular food), I would call the vet and ask if she/he thinks it would be a good idea for you to pick up a few cans of prescription for him. I forget which type it is (all of Science Diet's rx formulas are named by 2 letters, and I forget the name of this one). A couple of times Ein got into something he shouldn't have and had bad diahrrea & upset stomache for a few days. Both times the vet gave us this canned food that is supposed to be very mild and easy on their stomachs. It's pretty much just chicken and rice, I think.

Obviously since it's prescription food, it's higher cost than normal canned food (I think it was $2-$3 a can, but for only a few days, the cost isn't bad. Especially since Elvis Lee is so small.

I'm glad he's doing a little better. Please keep us posted. Give him pets from me and a gentle kiss from Colleen. Ein and Tucker would love to give kisses, too, but I think they may be a little too rambunctious for a little tyke who isn't feeling well.

[Angelnstuff]

poor puppy! i hope hes ok, i worry about davids sister giving food when we go over there too, but they shes gotten alot better and asks before she gives her anything now.
Maybe you should make a No people food rule with him, that way after awhile he wont expect bites, it will make it easier on everyone.

Also, maybe your vet could have a talk with Dawn's parents? maybe just a phone call to them would help? Sometimes it helps to hear things from someone else.

[Formula86]

I'm glad to hear he's doing better. Let us know how everything goes, ok?

Give Elvis kisses for me!

[corgimom]

How's he doing today? I hope he's doing even better.