Making the decision

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Trunk Monkey

Trunk Monkey

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Our 8 month lab pup has been having some issues. Monday morning she barfed in her crate and a few more times that morning. She was hesitant to eat all day, but still pretty peppy. That night she threw up again and the following day she stopped drinking. She moped around Wednesday with no change. So yesterday we took her in, the vet gave her an IV and some general antibiotics in case there was a bacteria in her gut or something. They didn't think she had a blockage, I guess generally when that's the case when the press on the dog's gut there's pain and ours was fine. The vet suggested cooked chicken and rice for a few days and Pedialyte as well. The dog had a few pieces last nigth, still no fluids.

So, this morning she's still not eating and no fluids. She'll mope around and is pretty lethargic. We're calling the vet again today to see what to expect and get a plan for the long weekend. I can't imagine if she goes today and all 3 days of the holiday weekend without food or fluids it will be good.

The vet talked about some testing - blood, etc., that would likely be the next step. This is our first pup and I'm totally unsure about what to do at this point. I'm hesitant to start dropping lots of money at the vet only to find out it's something bad and they have to put her down. Conversely, I don't want to make a hard decision when maybe it's a simple thing fixed with a shot.

We're not flush with cash to throw at this issue. I'm wondering what's people's threshold for their pets? I know for many they're like children and money is no object. We have friends that spent $2k on their 15yo dog only to have it die a few weeks later, not something I would have done. Another friend got pet insurance on their dog only to find out a lot of things weren't covered, so it really didn't help them.

Anyway, here's hoping she turns the corner and this doesn't wind up being a bad weekend.
 
Oh no!
Hoping for the best...
 
I have just had a lot of experience with this.
Old dog with some kind of stomach gut issues that eventually took her.
But in my studying for how to handle it I discovered a few things about how there system works.

The short short of it is that if they don't eat for a few days there stomach acid starts going crazy and they just wont eat or drink. The way to fix it is to force feed them a tablespoon of canned food every hour until they start feeling better. This worked for our old dog and she would spring back for a few weeks until she had another flair up.
It was assumed she had cancer but we never had it tested (very invasive).
I would try that before you give up..

As far as cost threshold we try to do whats best for the dog not us...
Meaning that dumping a bunch of money into something that will only prolong the issue isn't a good option for the dog. But if there is a good chance for a full recovery It is a comfort thing (financially) and I think that you should just do what you are comfortable with and if the expense is too much have it put down. This does not make you a bad pet owner.

In our case we were "lucky" in that the Vet is a old high school friend of mine and he helped us with the expense and to insure that we weren't spending money unwisely. I think a lot of Vets don't play it straight with you because they don't want to influence your decision. They would rather let you spend a ton of money on tests and such than tell you "chances are the out come will be the same regardless". Our vet just told us that he is 90% sure its cancer and if we spent the money to find out it wouldn't matter because she is old and you would at best be only buying her a year.
 
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Trunk Monkey - your dog needs further workup and more aggressive supportive care - no meaningful hydration or intake of nutrients since Monday - your dog needs to be hospitalized on fluids and antibiotics - you cannot "fix" this with a "shot". Whether the dog is painful in the abdomen or not, I would be HIGHLY suspicious of a foreign body - because that is what 8 month old labs do - and dogs with foreign bodies behave the way your dog is behaving - intractable vomiting and extreme lethargy. Go and get an xray! If a foreign body then your dog needs surgery and that will be $$$. If no foreign body, then you still need to hospitalize your dog and keep it appropriately hydrated with IV fluids and antibiotics. Based on YOUR description.... your dog should NOT be at home with you this weekend. A full week of this.... it's time to go ALL IN.... you've given it ample time to "self correct." Good Luck!!!
 
Is the dog defecating? No stool would be further indication of a POSSIBLE foreign body..... if diarrhea, then one would assume the pipes are open and clear. You need to rule in or out the possibility of a foreign body and then give the dog the supportive care it needs which is NOT trying to pump pedialyte down its throat. Is the dog up to date on vaccines? Always worry about parvo at that age as well - but usually there is bloody stool but not always - perhaps a parvo test is in order especially if vaccination history is sketchy. Good luck!!
 
Apparently she had a few drinks of water this afternoon, but nothing dramatic. Talked with the vet, she still doesn't think it's foreign object. She said if it were, the dog would still be trying to dry heave it up or would have bowel pain/distended abdomen. Haven't noticed if she's pooped. Vet said to let the antibiotics work and continue with slowly getting her to eat and drink more.

I have noticed this is a very polarizing topic. From looking at other online forums the responses to similar issues range from "call a pet ambulance right now, you're abusing your dog, I'm calling PETA" to "put it outside, see if it dies".
 
Ha ha.... yeah, animal welfare is definitely a topic where if you have an opinion then it's probably a "strong" opinion.... kind of like scrapping 60 land cruisers for no reason.... seems some people are kind of bothered that happened (search Proffitts).... me.... meh.

Keep us posted! And Good Luck!!
 
Taking her back in to the vet this morning. I scoured the yard for signs that she's pooped recently and couldn't find anything. I did find where she'd thrown up her dog food and near that was what appeared to the the remnants of a stuffed animal, not sure if it was one of her toys or one she nabbed from the kids. I also noticed she can't hunch over to clean herself. So, that all leads me to believe it's in her gut. I'll have them do an x-ray and rule out obstruction. It's definitely been weird to go from psychotic 8 month old lab puppy one week to a dog that acts like it's old the next.
 
Sorry... I thought I read that it wasn't eating....
We did have all three come down with something once, ( I think they had gotten into something dead).
I don't think any of them could hold anything down for about 10 days.
They were pooping though at least at first.
 
She hasn't been eating, the food I found was probably from the last time she ate. She's getting a barium x-ray and then surgery. Holy expensive.

EDIT - they opened her up, found a mass of string and cloth. No idea what it is, vet was trying to pull it apart to see. She'll be overnight with them and back tomorrow. Kids are happy, I'm broke.
 
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:eek:

Sorry to hear for the troubles TM but glad to hear they were able to figure out the problem before the dog suffered further. I don't even want to add up the bills on our lemon of a dog :D
 
The steps you have taken thus far is good on you TM.
 
Glad they found the problem. Hope the recovery goes well. Complications will be seen within 4 days. Then she should be good to go.
 
The cost is rough but good for you for extending the life of a 8 month old dog.

This post isn't directed only to you but everybody else that may read it. Young dogs need to be watched like young children. You just had an expensive learning experience . Hope your kids fair better.

Sorry, don't mean to be a dick. Getting my morning coffee on ....

Glad the pup didn't die and overall a happy ending.
 
I wish I had read this earlier. While they had the pup open would have been a good time to stitch the stomach to the side of the gut. This prevents bloat which can kill a dog in hours.

Many large breeds ares susceptible to bloat. What happens is the stomach flips, it happened to my dog when he had dry heaves. If it isn't corrected the dog can die in a few hours.
 
Rusty_tlc - perhaps a good thing to combine with an elective surgery like a spay or neuter - but not something you would necessarily want to add in to the mix when you are in surgery on a sick dog. Get in, Get done, and Get out. Your immediate worry is about the todays and tomorrows and getting the dog home alive..... not about whether the dog might bloat in 7 or 8 years. Come back and do that when the dog's healthy. But, you are right.... a good consideration when spaying and neutering.
 
We had our puppy eating small rocks that created an obstruction. Same stuff as yours, would not eat, drink and was acting like an old dog. Took it to the vet, they had to open her up to to get all the rocks out of her. It was expensive, but I guess she learned her lesson...she won't even go by small rocks now. She was back to her puppy self within a few days.

Glad you got her fixed up.
 
Glad to hear you got it figured out and she'll be OK!
 
Well, two weeks later and it's like nothing happened. Actually, it was like nothing happened the day after surgery. Few days of soft food and then right back to regular. Staples come out in a few days.

Look at mah zipper!

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