Need Help! Dog Has Stomach Bowel Problem?

[persephone]

she said they are going to keep him for the weekend to make sure he's alright. it will be very hard without him, he has never been away from home overnight.

At this stage, your little dog is concentrating on himself, and what pain etc he is feeling... he will just need to rest , and won't fret much unless he sees you again...

I am so pleased he is finally in hospital !

Hope he improves with good treatment now

Oh..and

Obviously they are more switched on and if I were you,

I wouldn't go back to the original vet,

no way. Pancreatitus is a very painful and debilitating disease and can be fatal.

My bolded bit.

Edited November 27, 2010 by persephone

[rob78]

thanks for all the well wishes.

i agree about the original vet, me & my sister were just talking about taking him to pennant hills from now on. there is a nice guy at our vet which was trying to save us money with ultrasound, he said might not show anything but they shouldn't have sent him back when my sister took him & he was getting worse. i was shocked when she told me they sent him home & when i got home he looked so lifeless. also it was very frustrating that they didn't have a clue what it was & one of the vets didn't show too much concern. even most people here got the diagnosis right without seeing him.

the specialist just called & said looks like the ultrasound is showing pancreatitis. she said its made worse cause it has been going on for a while & it has inflamed his stomach & bowel i think. she also said it doesn't look to serious but she is concerned about him being so flat & that he hasn't been able to get better himself on the antibiotics. she is going to leave him on fluids & antibiotics all night & let me know how he is in the morning but i can ring back anytime.

i just told my sister as she wasn't home & she wanted to go & see him but i thought it best to leave him alone for a while. i am worried though about him being so flat & will call back to hopefuly get some good news a little later. last week at the vet he was on fluids & antibiotis for about 10hrs & he was back to normal. hopefuly the same thing will happen, i just want to know he is starting to recover.

[persephone]

concerned about him being so flat & that he hasn't been able to get better himself on the antibiotics. she is going to leave him on fluids & antibiotics all night & let me know how he is in the morning but i can ring back anytime.

Dear little man - he will feel more comfortable re-hydrated

but i thought it best to leave him alone for a while.

Good thinking.. unfortunately dogs don't understand "visiting hours" ..and just get very upset again when we leave them Best he rest and heal for now, IMO .

Thinking of you all....

[twodoggies2001]

thanks for all the well wishes.

i agree about the original vet, me & my sister were just talking about taking him to pennant hills from now on. there is a nice guy at our vet which was trying to save us money with ultrasound, he said might not show anything but they shouldn't have sent him back when my sister took him & he was getting worse. i was shocked when she told me they sent him home & when i got home he looked so lifeless. also it was very frustrating that they didn't have a clue what it was & one of the vets didn't show too much concern. even most people here got the diagnosis right without seeing him.

the specialist just called & said looks like the ultrasound is showing pancreatitis. she said its made worse cause it has been going on for a while & it has inflamed his stomach & bowel i think. she also said it doesn't look to serious but she is concerned about him being so flat & that he hasn't been able to get better himself on the antibiotics. she is going to leave him on fluids & antibiotics all night & let me know how he is in the morning but i can ring back anytime.

i just told my sister as she wasn't home & she wanted to go & see him but i thought it best to leave him alone for a while. i am worried though about him being so flat & will call back to hopefuly get some good news a little later. last week at the vet he was on fluids & antibiotis for about 10hrs & he was back to normal. hopefuly the same thing will happen, i just want to know he is starting to recover.

The vet who is supposed to be a a nice guy by trying to save you money, actually did your little dog and yourselves a disservice not to mention the pain and deterioration in your little fellow. Call me cynical but I think he had absolutely no idea what he was dealing with. I actually left a vet who I had been going to for may years, with past and present dogs. My mini schnauzer had a severe attack of pancreatitus and admittedly she pulled him through, but she insisted that he be put on a commercial diet instead of his raw that I had been feeding since he came to us as a puppy. I ended up going to a homeopathic vet and two years later, he is still on his albeit modified raw diet. I took my younger dog, Jasper back to the original vet for his vaccination and she asked me how Benson's commercial feeding was going. I told her he was on his original raw, slightly modified and her reaction was 'most people don't want to go to the trouble" . Well, I have been bothered for many years, so why would I change now?

Just goes to show, a second, and if necessary, a third opinion is sometimes needed. Good luck with your little man.

[Erny]

the maltese breed are like babies...

I have been following your thread and so pleased and relieved that you took your dog to another vet and followed through with the specialist/emergency vet. For your dog to have been hiding is a big indicator that the little guy felt very ill indeed. So good for you - you sound like a very dedicated dog-owner. I do hope the current care will see your dog back to good healthin no time.

Just one tip - when he does come home to you, avoid sooking to him too much even though you do and will feel sorry for him. Regardless of the breed, dogs are dogs. Genetics plays a part of course, but when we can identify that one breed might be more sensitive and become more attached than another, we need to raise them to be as independent and confident as they can be and that sometimes takes a bit more effort than a breed who might be genetically inclined to be confident and independent. This helps to set them up to be able to cope at least a bit better than they otherwise might in those times when they can't be with you.

Good luck - I will be looking forward to hearing some good news that tells us he is recovering and soon to be back home with you.

[stormie]

Hey Rob,

So glad to hear you're getting some answers and I hope little Mickey pulls through ok. He is in the best hands now at SASH and will only get the best of care.

I'm Ian's other nurse at the PHVH, so hopefully I'll get to meet you and Mickey sometime soon

Edited November 27, 2010 by stormie

[Clyde]

Deleted as I didn't finish reading the thread.

Edited November 27, 2010 by Clyde

[Staranais]

I'm glad you got it sorted out without the need for a scope or biopsies.

[sllebasi]

if it does end up being pancreatitis you are going to have to be super careful as to what you feed now. once you get pancreatitis once, you are prone to getting it again, so you will have to talk to your vet and take things really slowly.

no fat is the biggest thing

[persephone]

Hoping all is well this morning , and that you get to hear some news.

[Stitch]

I recommend that you do not feed any more liver treats etc. when you get him home.

Ask the vet what they recommend you feed him and feed only what you are told.

I have a dog with a similar problem and liver treats or anything with liver in it is the worst thing for her and can cause terrible diahorrea and vomiting.

Resist the temptation to feed treats and just stick to offering what the vet tells you to which could be Hill I/D or maybe boiled chicken & rice.

The dog will eat the special food when it feels hungry.

[VJB]

Hey Rob,

So glad to hear you're getting some answers and I hope little Mickey pulls through ok. He is in the best hands now at SASH and will only get the best of care.

I'm Ian's other nurse at the PHVH, so hopefully I'll get to meet you and Mickey sometime soon

And such a fine "other nurse" you are Stormie.

Hope your dog has a speedy recovery.

Edited November 28, 2010 by VJB

[twodoggies2001]

Hi everyone, i am the owner of a beautiful maltese named Mickey & is almost 8yrs old.

about 2 months ago he started doing realy smelly farts(sometimes we could hear gas coming out) & his stool would also stink. his stomach was bloated even before he ate & was making weird gurgling sounds. stupidly we put off taking him to the vet as my grandmother was staying with us cause she got realy sick, then we found out she had cancer & she past soon after.

about a few weeks back he started to have diarrhea which got worse. he started going to the toilet a lot, especialy at night waking us to go a few times a night. 2 weeks ago all of a sudden he didn't seem right, had no energy, was throwing up a lot & wouldn't eat or drink. we took him to our vet he was put on a drip & given antibiotics, we picked him up & he was back to normal. we were given hills i/d to feed him as the vet said it could be IBD, he ate as he hadn't eaten for a few days but started eating less every day & kept looking at me for his snacks & roast chicken which i used to feed him every night.

we gave him a very little of his liver treats & dental stick, the next morning he threw up white foam. that day he wouldn't eat at all so at night we cooked him some chicken breast with rice. he loved it, i gave him mostly rice with not even a quater of the chicken breast mixed in. the next day he was even worse, he threw up a ball of white foam. i got home & took him to the vet again he was given a shot for his vomiting & pred for his allergies, the vet said it would help if he has ibd as well.

took him home he was better until the next night/yesterday he started going down hill again. he has been realy restless, eating a lot of grass, panting, sometimes he does weird chest movements, & vomited the next morning. he came jumped on my bed 5 in the morning & was acting weird/resless, i got up let him out & he started eating grass went to the back yard & came back in. he went back to the vet this morning & had x rays done, it showed he has a lot of gas in his stomach. the vets aren't sure what is causing it, either a stomach bug or the IBD maybe. they said on the phone he has been drinking water there & looked a bit better. they have put him on antibiotics trizine & metronidazole, said to see how he goes on that as last time it helped him back to normal. they also gave him some liquid to help with the x ray, we have to take him back tomorrow for more x rays see if the liquid passes his system.

we brought him home tonight & he is looking realy bad, no energy, panting, eating grass, he wouldn't drink water. i had to get the syringe & squirt water down his mouth, then he just had a big drink. he still doesn't look good though & am realy worried. he's just laying down & breathing fast. he's usualy happy & playful running around. it kills me to see him like this. BTW blood test was done over a week ago & nothing showed.

vet said they might have to do ultrasound($450 just for that) which might show nothing, put tube/camera down his inside to see whats going on But as he is a small dog they can't get the tube all the way to have a complete look. the last resort is opening him up to have a look.

has anyone had any experience with these symptoms? any help is realy appreciated. i just want my boy back to his normal happy self.

thanks,

rob

Hows Mickey. Any word from the vet?

[persephone]

Just popping in to see how things are ?

[yellowgirl]

Just seeing this thread. Hope all is well with little Mickey

[all that glitters]

All the best for Mickey! Let us know how he goes

[rob78]

hi everyone, sorry for not replying sooner & thanks for all the concern for mickey.

mickey is doing a lot better now, he ended up staying at sash for 4 days. the case was given to a specialist there, he did another ultrasound which revealed signs of mild pancreatitis but there were also some changes to his intestines - thickening & distension with fluid. it also said in his discharge papers that they suspect mickey has had a longer term intestinal problem & major considerations are a dietary allergy or IBD. another consideration is a very rare hormonal condition called Addison's disease but this is unlikely.

they have put him on a exclusion diet trial for 8 weeks - a new protein either kangaroo (for human consumption), venison, fish or rabbit with either pasta, rice or potato.

we've been giving him minced kangaroo dry pan fried with boiled potato. suprisingly he loves it & he even eats by himself. when he was a pup he used to go days without eating so i had to hand feed him. for the last 8yrs i've been hand feeding him every night. we have also been giving him the hills i/d dry food instead of all his snacks & other dry food he used to eat. hopefuly this is alright? we rang sash to ask & they said it should be fine.

since he has come back from sash he has been biting & scratching himself a lot. he gets a bad rash allergy once in a while & he starts burning up, we give him prednisilone for it or if it gets real bad he has to get a shot from the vet.

the last week he has also been snorting, coughing or watever they call it. he has done it on & off since a pup but once in a while. the last few days he has been doing it more & more. yesterday i even heard him cough, usualy he just does a snorting thing. he's been doing it a lot the last few days, its realy worrying us. we just got him better & now this happens. my sister took him to the vet today, they gave him a shot for his allergies & said the snorting is probably from the allergies. said his dog does it too & to look up reverse sneezing.

he has never done it this much before though??? they shaved some of his hair at sash & he has been licking himself a lot. i've found more hair then usual in his stool & found some small chunks of his hair on the ground, probably when they shaved him. maybe he has hair stuck?

but he seems alright & then all of a sudden he does the snorting, sometimes a quick one & other times for longer. my sister said he was doing it most of the day today & when i got home he was doing it but he hasn't done it much in the last few hours.

also he has been eating very fast since he is eating on his own now, even with his hills dry biscuits sometimes starts eating very fast from the bowl.

could this be the cause?

anyone have any ideas?

[OSoSwift]

I have a dog that can do a reverse snorting thing from eating food too quick and it getting stuck in the wrong spot. It normally happens from straight away to within 5 minutes at the most. If he is doing it frequently throughout the day I would assume it is not the food.

I am glad he is happily eating and hopefully the food trials will help his tummy. Sorry to hear he is itchy and a little unhappy in that regard. Hope you get it all sorted very soon for him and you.

Edited December 7, 2010 by OSoSwift

[Sheridan]

Glad to hear that Mickey is doing better. The itching may be from the change in diet. If he's reverse sneezing or snorting, does he have hair in his mouth or nose? Something stuck in his throat, maybe?

[Her Majesty Dogmad]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I had an Italian Greyhound for 10 yrs but for the first few months of ownership, it was hard because he had lots of symptoms and we went back and forth to the vet, different diets etc. Finally had the endoscopy and he was found to have a stomach full of blood. It was Inflammatory Bowel Disease. He wsa then on a special diet forever and couldn't have any meat protein. You just need to get it diagnosed. I went to a different vet back then but now go to the vet at Hornsby and am very happy with them. I've had the Pennant Hills vet recommended as well.