Our dog is a year old now and has gotten really sick. We had rescued another dog last month that was fully vaccinated and she became ill first. She was really bad and we had to put her down, we didnt have $400 to spend on test just to see whats wrong. Now a few days after she was put down our other dog is ill. He threw up four times and wouldnt eat or drink. We did blood test and it's not anything serious (meaning not Parvo or Distemper or a virus) When he went to the vet on Wednesday they gave him a water pack and a antibiotic. He seemed to be better, he is drinking on his own now (very little water) but he still will not eat. I was told to make him chicken and rice, boiled beef, stuff like that. I have tried everything, a piece of toast. They told me to mix babyfood in with the chicken or beef but he won't go for that either. We even tried his normal dog food, Science Diet. He won't eat anything. He seems interested. When I'm cooking he is sniffing around. He is still checking the high chair after my daughter is done eating. But he will not eat anything. Does anyone have some suggestions? I don't want to lose Shadow. He has been keeping the water down but this morning he did throw up again. It was all mucus and grass. Please someone help!! He seems to be going down hill and we don't have a ton of money to keep on doing test to find out whats wrong. I want to save him. Does this sound familar to anyone, does someone know what this might be or a way to get him to eat. I have tried feeding him off a fork and everything. He is a lab puppy, he has destroyed and chewed up many things, he occasionally kills birds in the backyard also. So we were thinking he could have possibly ate something bad. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! It was really sad to let our other dog go we don't want to lose Shadow too.
If he's throwing up grass, it means he's trying to eat. But a lot of times, dogs will eat grass when they dont feel good. It's like their way of telling you they are sick. It's possible, though, that something like a pesticide or something sprayed on the grass would be making him sick. Eating the grass to make him feel better could actually be making him worse.
My son lost his dog las winter. he had the same symptoms. started throwing up and not eating, then strted throwing up foam and green stuff. we took him to the vet and he had ruptured an intestine with a chicken bone that he had managed to dig out of the garbage can. it was too late for him because he had been sick for two days before we took him in for an x ray. i'm so sorry and wish him and your family the best.
Hi Danelle,
It sounds like your puppy is pretty sick. It's not like lab puppies to not want to eat. I am a vet so, of course, I am going to tell you to take him back to your vet or to a different one if you want. I am no longer seeing dogs, but I was up until a couple of months ago and lab puppies are notorious for chewing things that they shouldn't. Sometimes things will get stuck in their intestinal track and they can die if the obstruction isn't relieved. It may just be an upset stomach but it really is important to have your vet look at him again and maybe do some xrays. Many times dogs won't eat because they have something wrong in their GI tract and they just somehow know that they shouldn't eat anything else or maybe he is too nauseous to eat. If he won't eat and is still vomiting, it usually indicates something serious is going on. You should take him to your vet today so that you won't have to take him to the emergency clinic over the weekend which would be much more expensive.
Good luck,
Judy
At least get an xray to see what's going on in the intestines. Make sure the stomach not twisted as well. Also a fairly inexpensive vet is open on weekends 51st ave and thomas. The name of the vet clinic is catalina vet clinic. The vet's name is doctor hunt. He is very good. Try him. He is on a walk in basis but on Satuday morning get htere at about 7 am and you should be the first person. Good luck. Let us know what happens.
Did he get any of the contaminated dog food? They said it was wet as well as dry food. I would call the vet back or see another vet if he is not improving.
Good luck
Hi,
I just watch a animal channel show where a dog died of starvation, turned out he had a corn cob wedge in his stomach which restricted him from diguesting his food.
So maybe something he ate hasn't passed and his causing promblems. They found it with an xray.
Good luck
Our dog got pretty sick recently and had to have x-rays, blood tests etc. Banfield Pet Hospital at Petdmart quoted me the most ridiculous price. I ended up going to Glendale Animal Hospital (http://www.familyvet.com/glendaleanimalhospital.htm.)
They were about one third the price and did a great job. Their ph# is 623-934-7243. You might want to price-shop with them if it comes to x-rays. Good Luck!
Has Shadow been check for Valley Fever? Dogs do get it and it can be bad for young, old or weakend immune systems in dogs. http://www.dlrrphoenix.org/vf.html and http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/fungal.html
Good luck. I would hate to see my dog so sick.
You might want to get your dog checked for heart worms unless he's on treatment for it. The testing is simple but unfortunately the treatment to get rid of heart worms isn't. I lost two Great Danes to them. Another thing you might look into. Is there any chance he's getting into something poisonous around your yard or possibly the kids are sneaking him chocolate (which is toxic to dogs and can be fatal)Are you using a strong pesticide in your yard? Run by all this with your husband and check on possible poisoning. I would even look into the possibility that you have a neighbor who doesn't like dogs and is not a very nice person, It just seems strange to me that first your one dog got sick and now it's happening to this one. Especially with him being vaccinated for everything. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you and Shadow.
Sincerely
Shelley Hall
Las Cruces, NM
Get an xray. Make sure he didn't eat something that is causing a blockage preventing food from passing normally and causing him to vomit. Since it is routine for him to chew things it seems like a good place to start would be an xray to see if he swallowed something he couldn't pass. Unfortuantely, if that is the case, it sould require either endoscopy or surgery to get it our which is not cheap, but it is not fatal either...not treating it is.
Good luck, and don't wait too long to proceed with diagnostics.
Karen
Science Diet is one of the dog foods they have been talking about on the news. The one that has been giving them kidney/liver damage and killing them.
Our dog passed away from Valley Fever. The medicine that the vet gave us to fight valley fever was too strong for our dogs liver becuase it had already been compromised by valley fever. It could be that the antibiotics were too hard on your dogs liver. I think you can ask your vet for a test for valley fever.
Any chance he could have ingested poison?
Kind of a crazy thought. But have you tried anything over the counter? I am thinking liquid stomach meds like kaopectate or something? Just make sure the doseage is equivelant to a person'a weight and maybe even a little less? Maybe look up low cost spay neuter clinics and ask them for a low cost vet? Also~ google emergency pet remedies for your dog and you might get some ideas? THis helped when my dog was ill. I know how panicky the feeling is, especially when you don't have millions to sink into vet bills!! Good luck! Heidi
Hi Danelle,
Your dog seems to have the same symptoms that my moms dog had years ago. She had to force feed him homemade Chicken noodle soup. Of course her dog is a small bred so it was much easier then a larger dog. It took about a week or so but he did return to his normal self and is basically the center of the household since. I hope that your dog turns around.
Trish
I'm so sorry to hear about your dogs. You may want to retest for Parvo, since it is not a blood test but a fecal test. My puppy had Parvo in November and his syptoms are exactly what you are describing.
The other posters may be correct in their thoughts of contaminated food. I feed Canidae as it is not produced by the large manufacturers and is 100% human grade ingredients without all of the perservatives.
He could also have a bad infestation of worms.
I used Parvaid (www.ambertechnologies.com) in addition to LOTS of ER vet care to save my puppy from the Parvo. Anytime my dogs get an upset stomach I still put Parvaid on their food as it seems to help get their tummies cleared out of what is making them sick and settle them back down.
Good luck - I hope Shadow makes it.
We ust took a trip to the East Coast and when we were gone... our labs got sick like that ---- I can't help but think about the recalled dog food. Anyway, we took in a stool sample with the dogs and they said it was bad meat --- eventhough we don't feed them table scraps. MAYBE they got a dead bird out of the yard?
Anyway - $300.00 later we were home with the dogs and some antibiotics.... both seem fine a week later.
Good luck --- I know how attached a family can be to an animal.
Kurt
Hi Danelle. I just want to say sorry for what your going through. i know it can get expensive to find out whats wrong with your pet. The blood test you said looked good so the next step should be xrays since you said he likes to chew on things it could be a forein body thats not passing through his tummy. I know some places will work on costs with you. Dogs eat grass because of a stomach upset and they want to throw up. the blood tests are always the first step since our precious pets dont talk to us we have to kinda investigate. Good luck. i really hope shadow will be ok.
Hi Danelle,
I'm glad Shadow is doing better. I just read your request today, and from what I read, and from what I've seen on Emergency Vet, and with Shadow killing birds, I'm wondering if he got one of those bird bones stuck in his stomach, or intestines and is not going down. If the bone was scratching at the lining of the stomach, that would cause for some severe discomfort, and cause your puppy not to eat. Did they X-Ray his stomach, and intestines to make sure nothing was blocking the pathways? I hope so. If not, I would still consider that ok. Just to make sure. Pets are like our kids, and they will cost a pretty penny to keep up. Especially when they have to go to the vet. Twice I spent $200 on my cat (had to be on a credit card), because something was wrong. Turned out negetive and I was grateful, but $200x2 was a lot of money to spend for the results to come out negetive. But yet, still it was the best thing. Better to know, than not to know what's going on with them. I'm glad Shadow didn't have Parvo, but if he ever does get Parvo, the trick is to get a syringe and force water down. Slowly that is. But you have to constantly do it. My friend and my sister both saved their dogs from Parvo just by giving them water and staying up with them all night to do so every 15-30min. I hope Shadow continues his recovery and heals completely. Best wishes. Geri