EMERGENCY: Cairn Terrier Ransaking, Sick

    • Bronze

    EMERGENCY: Cairn Terrier Ransaking, Sick

    Hi,
    I'm new here due to an emergency. My sister was in dog shows for yeeeeeeeeears but has never seen this type of behavior. 

    Our Cairn got sick about 2 days go. She didn't have diarreah, but she started dropping loads of poo in the house (never does that) and then again outside, then straining the tar out of herself to the point where her anus was coming inside out.  She also threw up and was clearly in pain shaking, her tummy having "contractions" (she's fixed).

    The vet said to give her pepto. That made her throw up so we figured it was food poisoning and let her ride it out.  Today, she was feeling better but she started crapping again in the house! No vomitting, but her poop was bloody and very soft. My sister isolated her in the bathroom just in case.  We went to another part of the house for a while and when we came back, we found she had RANSACKED THE BATHROOM!!!!!!!!!  I mean, got on the counter and dropped everything, knocked over a chair!! and we found her in a tall hamper!!!  The place was a wild wreck! WEIRD BEHAVIOR FROM HER!!!  We rarely have to discipline this girl, she's so good. She's acting frantic, suddenly turning over, going into corners, back out again, just plain crazy!!!!!!

    What could this be???

    (If the picture thing works, that's her!)
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    • Gold Top Dog
    "bloody poop" - was that bright red spots, or streaks of blood throughout the stool??  Any mucus around the stool?  Or stool that's dark red almost black in color?  A couple random spots of red blood are typical of bleeding from the interior of her anus/intestines from her straining to poop.

    Did she ingest anything - toy pieces, or chemicals, or dog blanket, or other foreign bodies that you can think of?  Symptoms/scenario sounds like what I've seen dogs with obstructions go through - maybe someone else has some insight into that.
    No change in diet I presume.  Is she drinking and eating normally?  Any changes in household cleaners?  New carpeting? 

    Did you actually bring her to the vet yet, or just a phone call?  I'd be bringing her in, let him check her stomach sounds, maybe x-ray if he thinks it warrants it, run through blood tests if needed, etc.  IMO, "too soon" doesn't exist when you're talking about medical care for your dog.
    • Bronze
    My sister will have to answer about the bloody poop.

    We did bring her in when this first started and he took an x-ray. No foreign objects.  No changes in diet, no changes in any other area mentioned - just life as usual except that my son did see her eat something outside. He tried to remove it but it was too late. We figured it disagreed with her as the x-ray later did not show a foreign object.


    • Moderators
    • Gold Top Dog
    Hmm... ;perhaps something like a chem poisoning/reaction - whether by something "natural" (like spoiled garbage/dead animal/whatever) or "unnatural" (like lawn care products) because of the combined physical and seemingly neurological responses.
    I'm not a vet.  I hope someone out here is and can give some advice.  There must be a site where you can search chemical poisoning reactions in dogs to see if her behavior and symptoms match up to anything...[&:]
     
    • Bronze
    aah! that reminds me! The neighbor does have a gorgeous green lawn, and the vet said it might be "organo-xxx" poisoning (just forgot the other part of that word!)  Although i'm not sure what the remedy is!!!! 
    • Moderators
    • Gold Top Dog
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    • Gold Top Dog
    • Moderators
    • Gold Top Dog
    Much of the treatment described talks about vets trying different chem treatments (atropine, etc) to see how it reacts to determine which chem it could be.  If that's what this is, it looks like supporting her respiratory and cardiovascular functions are of the highest importance. 
    Does her breath have a foul odor, like garlic?  Apparently that can be a sign of organophosphorus poisoning. 
    • Gold Top Dog
    It seems to me you have two possibilities here -- either this dog is DESPERATELY ill and is trying with all her might to attract your attention to tell you about pain she can't 'tell' any other way, or the dog is having some sort of seizures.  My bet is the first.
     
    If your vet isn't taking this any more seriously than this (have you been in contact SINCE??  the frenzied behavior to poop should have been the first clear clue this dog was frantic to communicate pain) then honestly GET TO A DIFFERENT VET. 
     
    This dog doesn't just need pepto (which is for diarreha anyway) ... it needs at least a blood panel done and maybe an ultrasound.  There are times when the family vet (who may be fine for general stuff) just reaches the end of their expertise or they don't pick up on the urgency of a thing. 
     
    Does the dog exhibit the frenzy when someone is THERE?  This has something to do with the intestinal tract (that's not rocket science) -- particularly if the dog is pooping more than normal. 
     
    Bloody poop can be a sign of a LOT of things -- but honestly it may be time for a different vet.  Things like this typically signal a severe problem.
    • Gold Top Dog
    I so agree with Callie here. Dif vet... NOW....
     
    Please let us know how your baby is?
    • Gold Top Dog
    She sound desperately sick,,,locking her in the bathroom scared her even more then she is already scared because of how sick she is.  I understand that your sister doesn't want her house all dirtied up,,,but locking her in the bathroom by herself when she needed help, probably caused this. 
    She desperately needs help!
    • Moderators
    • Gold Top Dog
    Has this person logged back in again?  Wondering what was the outcome for this dog...??
    • Gold Top Dog
    It looks like the last time they logged in was on the same day of the post at 1:40pm. I was also wondering what ever came about..