[Mammyshaz]

That's the point. The old method was 'STARVE THEM' they don't then have a choice to eat a little if they feel like it. It's not a case of force feed them. Just offer them a light diet. If they eat it it will do them much more good than not offering it in the first place. If they don't feel like it then offer a little bit a few hours later.
Especially with diarrhoea, the majority still WANT to eat, we just choose to starve them thinking it does them good, where now it is proven that it doesn't do them any good.

[in the hills]

Thank you Mammyshaz. That's interesting.

Will chat to my vet about it if we have anything similar in the future.

So .... I wonder if the same applies to humans.

[midtown]

..... we just choose to starve them thinking it does them good, where now it is proven that it doesn't do them any good.

It might be prudent to indicate a link or reference to the science behind this new way of thinking.

[Mammyshaz]

I wouldn't know where to start to give a link to such data and personally don't feel I need to.

 I'm merely passing on more up-to-date advice that I have on a subject which I advise on on a daily basis. The explaining behind it was given at veterinary continual learning courses which I must attend yearly to keep me up-to-date and knowledgeable of current and new treatments and advice.

take it or leave it.

[pgkevet]

Starvation for diarrhoea was always nonsense. Something I recognised over 40yrs ago when it was still being bandied about and passed on from old f@rt vet to young junior.

There is a logic where the patient has vomiting as well as diarrhoea and you need to rest the excessive gastric stress of dramatic vomiting ( I've seen stomachs heave so much they've bruised themselves and bled) but it never made sense to me for typical diarrhoea and I battled against it most of my career when new associates joined my practice.

Just think about it. The bowel is designed to move stuff along and absorb it. What causes diarrhoeas?  It's either stuff moving along too fast or stuff not being absorbed. Whatever the cause: tumour infiltarion, infection, irritation, hypertonic food if you stop feeding the pet then there's nothing to move along or to absorb. It's not solving the problem and in reality will hardly make any change to signs.

What you need to do it to replace fluid losses where not enough is being absorbed or where it's actively being secreted into the bowel and keep the patient as fit as possible..providing energy - which is food. Yes, you want to feed frequent small amounts to allow abnormal bowel contraction to cope with it and avoid vomiting, yes you want to feed a known 'safe' i.e bland diet rather than aggravate an inflammatory or intolerant diet but your aim is to keep the patient fit and functional.. not hungry and dehydrated.

The typical simple dog diarrhoea from eating inappropriatly.. from the cat litter pan, x/s horse dung etc or just a mild tummy 'bug' or transitory inflammation or a depression in happy gut bugs is going to sort itself so long as you don't make it worse. You can ease the patient's discomfort - help it pass wind with peppermint, adsorb toxins in charcoal, thicken a runny straining diarrhoea with kaolin, help a colitis with appropriate fibre, replace  disturbed happy bugs with lactobacilli supplements - all as necessary. But always keep in mind that patients are organisms very well designed to heal from most mild to moderate insults so long as you don't interfer with that process...and it takes fluids, electrolytes and nutrition to fuel the engine.

The real trick is in making an assessment and being right when patient is better off without meds and just needs  a little nursing.

[doganjo]

Now THAT's more like it - information not just bland don't do it's.  NOW I know better than to completely starve my self or my animals, and have confidence to feed them and me small amounts of easy to digest foods and liquids.  Thank you PGKEVET

[ladyK]

I agree, thank you for this very enlightening explanation Pgkevet!

[SallyintNorth]

The last few cPDs vets and nurses have been on, starvation is now contraindicated. Small light meals should be given as no food going through the guts depletes the guts of necessary movement and absorption of needed nutrients to help recover. It is new as in the last couple of years. Even if vomiting, the advice is the same as long as the vomiting isn't too severe and the dog keeps some down. Medication should be given to help prevent vomiting so that feeding can continue.
We no longer advise starvation at home. If they are vomiting so much that they cannot keep anything down then they should be hospitalised. Never starve for diarrhoea

This is advice for gastric upsets. There will be certain medical conditions where this advice is contraindicated.
Just to add:- I'm not a vet and examinations have not been done so please follow your own vets recommendations before following any other advice   

I think Mammyshaz did give an explanation.  Not as fulsome as pgkevet's but a pretty good précis, I'd say!

But then I've worked with Sharon on our farm, and know her to be an outstanding veterinary nurse; professional, dedicated, extremely knowledgeable, practical and sensible.   Reliable too.  Oh, and a lot of fun .  And generous, a real friend in deed when I needed one 

[in the hills]

Yes, not such a full explanation maybe but I thought it quite clear and concise.

Thank you both. 

[sokel]

Thanks Sharon and Pgkevet
I actually gave him some scrambled eggs and later the next day a smaller meal of his normal Diet. by his next meal time he was totally back to normal 

[midtown]

Thank you Mammyshaz and pgkevet for the explanation.
I think confusion can arise through conflicting information, be it obtained through fora or other internet sources or via conflicting advice from professionals in any branch of the 'sciences'.
I've certainly experienced conflicting advice - which I've questioned, between partners from my local veterinary practice! 

A few miles from me, I've got a colleague who other than allowing water, routinely fasts his dogs for one day a week. Likewise, adds probiotic plain yogurt  to the dogs diet. As recommended by his vet!  

Is it any wonder people get confused on what is 'best practice'?

[pgkevet]

Reality is that in any discipine ..professional, scientific, artistic, legal etc.. you will have those with differing views either from personal experience, stupidity, genuine belief in some alterantive therapy or approach etc.

perhaps the best approach is evidence based medicine (EBM) but even there there are areas where the evidence doesn't exist or where no-one has tried the approach that would actually work.

Even when there is a genuine, proven best approach - particularly when it's surgical.. there is no doubt that some folk will get better results with one technique than with another.

When it comes to medicine then the top issues are that you can't have a treatment without a diagnosis and you have to judge whether the  aquisition of the diagnosis causes more issue than benefit - and indeed whether it's worth the interference of treatment or best to still sit back. the internet is both a great source of info and a terrible propagation of unproven opinion and garbage.

Paddy meets Sean. "Hey, Sean I think my horse has boggit syndrome."
"Oh, Aye? When my horse had that Vet said to make it drink Diesel."
Paddy says "That's cheap enough. I do that."

One week later they meet again. "Sean, that Horse I gave diesel too - Y;know it went and died."
Sean says "that's funny....so did mine."

Or for a true story:

A young colleague of mine brought me a set of blood results he couldn't interpret. I told him that with those results any patient would have to be dead so go re-run them in case it's a lab error. He came back with a second identical set - from the same samples so I told him to go draw a new sample.

The next day i see him taking a dog through to the kennels. "Poor Sod" I said "Looks a nice dog to have to be put to sleep."

"no no this is the dog for a repeat sample from yesterday"

"That dog has a cancer somewhere" I told him "you can see it in his eyes, the way his abdomen drops, coat texture etc."  I stepped over and carefully palpated the dog's abdomen and pointed him at the liver mass I could feel. "I told you those results were a dead dog. A biopsy will prove it"

The moral being look properly and examine thoroughly before tests.

The last thing to ponder. Some rare conditions are only rare because no one looks for them.

[Mammyshaz]

Glad your big lad is on the mend Sokel   

Thanks for the in depth explanation Pgkevet 

Gosh Sally, that made me blush