I spent the last couple of days watching my poor dog, vomit over and over. He would not eat, lapped up water like it was the elixir of canines and within minutes would vomit with a force. It was just foam and water coming up...nothing else.

I took him to the vet, thinking that it was going to be something that he had gotten into. His temperature was good. The vet gave him an anti-nausea shot and antibiotics. We started discussing what could have caused this.

Before the sickness started I had taken my dogs down to my parents to run. They have plenty of space for the dogs to stretch out and get some exercise.

Because of all the rain that we have had lately, there is also quite a bit of standing water in planters, containers around the shed, basically anything that can hold a little water,is.

My vet said that a multitude of things can grow in standing water. Heaven knows what kind of bacteria is lurking and mixed with leaves and dirt to create a toxic stew...Yuck! I'm thinking that the standing water was the culprit.

To nurse my dog back slowly the vet tech said to encourage the dog to drink plenty of fresh water. You can also offer low sodium chicken broth, Pedialyte or Smart Water. Pedialyte or Smart Water contain electrolytes that your dog is losing in the vomit or diarrhea.

To ease your dog back into eating slowly you can feed them chicken and rice. It is soothing to the system. Make sure that the chicken is boiled or grilled with no spices and no fat. It should be 1/3 chicken to 2/3 rice. Feed smaller meals and make sure the chicken is cooked extremely well. Adding 1-2 teaspoons of canned pumpkin or cooked sweet potato to each meal for added fiber is also recommended. The fiber will help bulk up the stools and regulate the digestive tract. Continue feeding this for 2 days after the symptoms stop. Then slowly transition back into his regular food by slowly mixing it in with the chicken and rice.

My dog responded very well after a couple of antibiotics and a few days of boiled juicy chicken, rice and delicious broth. I think he is going to turn his nose up to dog food now.

The moral to this story...if I would not drink the water, the dogs should not either.

The information provided is not intended as medical or veterinary advice. If ever in doubt about any aspect of the health and welfare of your dog, I strongly recommend that you contact your veterinarian.