Diseases & Conditions

Re: Random Symptoms - UPDATE last post

calliecritturs — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 19:18:48 GMT

SO glad you helped him thru all that -- it's a good lesson. SOMETIMES it can be two separate things causing the problem (an infection AND an obstruction).

Any way to keep him out of those lava rocks??

Re: Random Symptoms - UPDATE last post

boredpuppy08 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:53:25 GMT

Hey, meant to post an update but my internet has been out with all the storms. Brutus is doing great. The vet did a cbc and a panel and the cbc came back with high number of white bloodcells - so an infection, and the panel was normal, so no kidney failure. He said a UTI was just most likely... it may not have been that, Brutus went through 5 days of not defecating but he also wasn't eating, the vet suggested we give canned pumpkin and hairball remedy for cats just in case, and to give it 24 hours then we'd start x-rays and ultrasound, the next day brutus passed chunks of lava rock that line the flower bed, some are crumbly and some are hard, these were the crumbly ones and he immediately started eating and has been perfectly fine since.

Through the ordeal he lost a pound but has already gained it back.

Re: Random Symptoms - UPDATE last post

jessies_mom — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 23:31:55 GMT

boredpuppy08:
about 9 this morning his fever broke and has remained normall all day and today at 1 he ate 1/3 cup of boiled hamburger and rice and has actually kept it down.

That's great; I hope he keeps doing better.

Re: Random Symptoms

babelfish — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:39:57 GMT

One thing I have to add from my experience. Not all vets are good. That's just a fact. And even if they seem to be doesn't mean they are. If you feel that your vet isn't adequate, most likely isn't. I would strongly recomment looking around for a better one. Ask around. Trust me, it's more than worth it. We learned that the hard way. (check out my post about picking a vet)

Re: Random Symptoms - UPDATE last post

calliecritturs — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:58:13 GMT

Hmm -- I'm still going to be skeptical that it's just a kidney "infection" because typically a kidney infection isn't going to cause nausea. Renal failure .. yes, but we do *not* want that.

Did the vet DO bloodwork? How did he arrive at kidney "infection" (and Baytrill is a darned good broad-spectrum antibiotic so it will address many things). Not tryng to rain on your parade, but I don't want to see you blown off by the vet either.

Rice and burger is a darned good "sick dog diet".

Re: Random Symptoms - UPDATE last post

boredpuppy08 — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 22:17:56 GMT

GREAT NEWS - Brutus seems to have a kidney infection, not a blockage or anything too bad. He's already improved. I spent the whole night up with him cleaning up, he threw up repeatedly from about 5 yesterday to 7 this morning and really wasn't feeling well but at about 9 this morning his fever broke and has remained normall all day and today at 1 he ate 1/3 cup of boiled hamburger and rice and has actually kept it down. It's almost time for another antibiotic tablet - baytril is what he's getting. He looked like a depressed dog but today he's full of vinegar and barking at the neighbors, obviously feels much better.

Thanks again for the well wishes and advice.

Re: Random Symptoms

willowchow — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 05:16:54 GMT

calliecritturs:
It will only take once or twice of YOU being right (when you go with your gut) and the vet of being WRONG for the vet to listen to you next time. You have to be very careful not to alienate the vet. So you can't just tell them they're being a horse's patoot. But you CAN say something like "Gosh, you know I see what you mean that it could be just parasites but honestly? For him not to eat and for his gums to be SO pale I'm gonna sleep easier if I know more. I don't mean to be a pain and maybe I read too much, but pretty please will you humor me and take some bloodwork? Even just pull a packed cell now and maybe some elementary liver/kidney values in house?? I'd really appreciate it."

Agree completely! And, I think a good vet will humor you and also respect your pro active approach. My vet tells me she feels like she walks a fine line, too many tests and she's preceived as trying to get money out of people, not enough and she doesn't know what she's doing. . communication is HUGE!

Re: Random Symptoms

calliecritturs — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:16:21 GMT

boredpuppy08:
I should have went to the vet with my mom and Brutus, she just got back and the vet did blow it off he wormed Brutus and my mom came home with pills for the rest of the dogs. As per vet's instructions we're to wait till friday morning and see if there's any improvement even though the stool sample was free of any parasites. The vet advised against bloodwork.... Is it the vet's job to decide what a dog needs or doesn't need? Our vet won't do any thing till he sees obvious signs of illness such as the dog presents as almost dead(I hate my parents chosen dog vet).

I want to address what you've said here specifically because your observations and concern are well-founded. This is one of those cases where YOU were ***RIGHT*** and the vet was very very very wrong.

There comes a point (and this is really hard when you're young, working, and "mom and dad take over" -- but learning to be your dog's advocate is a big huge frigging deal! And this is where you will likely have to "buck city hall" and either make the sacrifice of missing school or work to go WITH the dog to the vet (despite the fact and your parents may say "We can take him easier -- you need to be in work/school/whatever" and you say "Yeah, but if I don't go I won't get to tell the vet what *I* think and he's MY dog".

That can make you darned unpopular with your folks and with the vet.

"advised against bloodwork" -- WTH?? No -- the vet said "Probably not necessary" ... and then YOU say "You know ... when you add the nausea and the other un-Brutuslike behaviors and the RISK of something like IMHA I'd a whole lot rather take the bloodwork NOW and we'll **KNOW** so I'll pay for it. Please do bloodwork **NOW**."

It will only take once or twice of YOU being right (when you go with your gut) and the vet of being WRONG for the vet to listen to you next time. You have to be very careful not to alienate the vet. So you can't just tell them they're being a horse's patoot. But you CAN say something like "Gosh, you know I see what you mean that it could be just parasites but honestly? For him not to eat and for his gums to be SO pale I'm gonna sleep easier if I know more. I don't mean to be a pain and maybe I read too much, but pretty please will you humor me and take some bloodwork? Even just pull a packed cell now and maybe some elementary liver/kidney values in house?? I'd really appreciate it."

Because quite honestly they can **die** from parasites. I lost a dog to hooks and whips about 10 years ago and I didn't find it until it was too darned late. And by the time they treated him he died during the treatment.

But it's hard when you're "young" (sometimes it seems like a curse, I know, but it's not!) and everyone is condescending like you're wanting to spend too much money, blah blah ... but the bottom line is YOU know him best. And with all the dogs I've had over the last 37 years I think the toughest lesson that I've had to learn over and over is when to say to the vet in a nice but firm tone of voice "You know -- I know him pretty well, and I can see what you're saying but frankly it just doesn't make sense with what I know of him and my gut is telling me it's MORE. Please do this ___________ test."

Some vets can get downright owly about being challenged .. but you're the one who's gonna have to pick up the pieces if something foul happens to Brutus.

So far you've been right on the money -- YOU were worried, YOU knew the vet didn't do enough ... walk on with some confidence here. You're big challenge is learning to say it in a way that isn't disrespectful and won't get you in a ton of trouble.

And by the way -- if you need to vent, email me. I understand ... truly I do.

Re: Random Symptoms

jessies_mom — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:45:21 GMT

I'm sorry he's getting worse but you should know what his problem is soon. Distemper seems unlikely if he was vaccinated for it. Excessive drinking is a sign of bladder or kidney problems but frequent urination is usually a symptom too; maybe the drinking is caused by the fever. Did he look in Brutus's ears; I agree with one of the other posters that he could have an ear infection. When Jessie has one she holds her ears back instead of upright and if we don't catch it right away it affects her appetite. Poor little guy; I hope he feels better tomorrow.

Re: Random Symptoms

boredpuppy08 — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 18:34:46 GMT

janet_rose:

boredpuppy08:
he wormed Brutus and my mom came home with pills for the rest of the dogs.

What wormer did the vet use? DIfferent worms require different wormers.

I'm not sure, none of the dogs have passed worms last night or today.

Brutus isn't better, maybe very slightly worse. Didn't eat again, won't take treats, lethargic. We can add excessive drinking and a fever to his list of symptoms. He's going back today at 4:30pm it was the only appointment they had, I'd have prefered to take him in this morning... My mom agrees bloodwork is needed. I'll update when we get back. Thanks for the support guys.

UDATE: Back from vet trip #2. Pulled blood for a cbc/full panel and the results should be back after 1pm tomorrow, in the meantime the vet supsects a kidney/bladder problem or possibly distemper. Brutus has a temp of 104.2 which explains his sickly behavior. Something is definitely going on. We got cipro pills and already gave him one.

Re: Random Symptoms

erica1989 — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 02:08:19 GMT

Sounds like a deep ear infection to me. Those are PAINFUL - which could cause the spiral of things. I would do a full blood panel and have the vet really take a close look at the ears.

Re: Random Symptoms

janet_rose — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:54:28 GMT

boredpuppy08:
he wormed Brutus and my mom came home with pills for the rest of the dogs.

What wormer did the vet use? DIfferent worms require different wormers.

Re: Random Symptoms

janet_rose — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:23:28 GMT

boredpuppy08:
He's been coughing, he and all our dogs are vaccinated for kennel cough so that shouldn't be the reason

"Kennel cough" is a generic term like "the flu". Vaccines only cover 3 of the 8+ causes of kennel cough.

Re: Random Symptoms

jessies_mom — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:00:04 GMT

I hope it's just worms and that he feels better very soon, but I agree that bloodwork should have been done, as well as a thorough examination. I'll keep Brutus in my thoughts; let us know what happens.

Re: Random Symptoms

boredpuppy08 — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 22:42:34 GMT

Mom said the doctor said that the gums could be caused by being wormy and his not wanting to eat because he felt bad such as from low bloodsugar and we should take him home and feed him something(he got mc'donalds hamburger patties which he did eat a few minutes ago). I get that that's the simplest cause of what could be going on - easy fix, something the vet would want to discount first and foremost so his recommendation was to wait and see, my mom trusts that sort of attitude but I think it's a bit misplaced in this case. My mom's not the type to push for bloodwork for various reasons and she'll take no for an answer, I suggested it before she left and she says she did bring it up. I would have insisted, I should have gone he probably would have done it had I insisted. He just obviously doesn't like it when I make 'suggestions' that require more than he has so far done or feels like doing... I don't feel like airing dirty laundry right now.