trouble with Bill my dog

[crushers]

Hi All,
i hope someone can help me with this one.
Bill (my husky looking mix) has something wrong with him and i can not pin point the problem.
at first i thought he had drank some antifreeze.
symptoms are:
rapid shallow breathing
weak
heasitant

good signs are:
normal body tempurature
cool nose
no pain anywhere
normal unination
normal thirst
his bowl movements are firm.

so i ruled out antifreeze poisoning since one of the signs is a loss of ability to urinate.

he has been this way for 3-4 days, okay so i have been very busy and didn't pay close attention. he has been extremely healthy right up till now. i did notice he seemed lazy but i thought it was because of the extreme cold weather we have been having. he vomited once and quite heavily.

i am quite worried about him. if you can point me in the right direction that would be appreciated. our regular vet can not see him till tues but i am taking him in there tomorrow morning and will camp in his office till he makes the time.

thank you

 

[flintknapper]

How long has been doing this.
How old is he.
Has been eating or not.
Is he on a heartworm program.
Shallow rapid breathing is cause for alarm. He needs to see a vet immediately.

 

[erics_bruisers]

emergency vet

emergency vet

emergency vet

i lost 4 dogs on friday -- all preceded by sporadic breathing --

e

 

[Stone]

Wayne...I agree with Eric, get him to an emergency vet immediately. Both your dogs are wonderful, it would be a shame to lose one. Hope he pulls through...sounds like he ate something, maybe?

 

[crushers]

How long has been doing this.
How old is he.
Has been eating or not.
Is he on a heartworm program.
Shallow rapid breathing is cause for alarm. He needs to see a vet immediately.

he has been this way for 3-4 days
he has been eating ham or food when i give it to him but i have not seen him eat his dog food
no program

 

[crushers]

Wayne...I agree with Eric, get him to an emergency vet immediately. Both your dogs are wonderful, it would be a shame to lose one. Hope he pulls through...sounds like he ate something, maybe?

i am taking him in right now...

 

[erics_bruisers]

GOOD!

-- grab your ankles, but it's worth it --



e

 

[fsusteve]

I was thinking heartworm too, that's how my dog was when I got her. If they eat raw meat they can get worms from there also.



Where the hell is Bear....again.

 

[crushers]

GOOD!

-- grab your ankles, but it's worth it --



e

no crap, $85 to look at him and then tons more for a battery of tests. so i asked him straight out if the dog is going to get worse in the next 8 hours, he said not very likely so i am on my way now to a vet i trust, one that is in the practice because he loves animals. i will pay what ever it costs to get Bill's joy in life back.
i hope all turns out well.

 

[cruisermaine]

no crap, $85 to look at him and then tons more for a battery of tests. so i asked him straight out if the dog is going to get worse in the next 8 hours, he said not very likely so i am on my way now to a vet i trust, one that is in the practice because he loves animals. i will pay what ever it costs to get Bill's joy in life back.
i hope all turns out well.

Now there's a contradiction...
Wayne,

Not very likely doesn't mean he won't -especially since he doesn't know what the problem is if he will need to run some tests. If you can afford it suck up and pay. At worst it's only some money, at best it may save your dog. If he takes a turn for the worse tonight what will you do and how will you feel then? I'm sorry if this comes across harsh but I think you should take Eric's advice. My dogs are worth more to me than my cruiser -it can be replaced.

Hoping Bill gets better

 

[Doc]

There's someting to be said for using your head and not going to an emergency Vet. I came home one day to see my big boy carrying is front paw up by his body, not even trying to walk on it. I immediately took him to the emergency vet (because the 'normal' vet had closed 5 minutes earler) and got a huge bill for what amounted to a sprained toe. I could have waited until the morning I guess...

But with breathing issues, you gotta suck it up and go in right away.

 

[The Bear]

Sounds like I'm too late and you are already on the way to your veterinarian...that is good, this is definitely one of those instances where you should go to the vet immediately.
Let us know how it went, and if you have any questions about what your veterinarian did, about any of the tests s/he ran, etc, etc, please feel free to post up here or PM me, I'd be glad to help out. I hope that everything went well, and that your dog is okay.

The Bear
(Dr. The Bear DVM in May)

 

[crushers]

Bill is with the vet for the day. he mentioned a spleen tumor could be the problem. the exrays are being done now and if the vet feels the need then blood tests and a cat scan are next.
Cruisermaine:
i am not offended by what you said, i understand completely. it is not a matter of not being able or willing to pay the costs, it is more the trust issue. i had some very bad experiences with vets that are in the business for the money. that is why i took him in at midnight, i wanted to make sure that what ever it was would cause him more pain in the following 8 hours till i could see my own vet. BTW, we went there at 8:05 and even though my vet was triple booked he took us second in line. That is great service in my books.
having one of my best friends back sitting beside me is more important than business, money or time... but at the same time, the QUALITY of life he will experience is important. if he gets healed but is not enjoying life, i think it would be cruel to keep him around out of my DESIRE to have him here.
IF it goes bad i will miss him dearly but if he can be healed then there really isn't a price limit. what is money for if not to help out those you love?
thanks for the support guys.
cheers

 

[flintknapper]

Hooray for you.

Bill is with the vet for the day. he mentioned a spleen tumor could be the problem. the exrays are being done now and if the vet feels the need then blood tests and a cat scan are next.
Cruisermaine:
i am not offended by what you said, i understand completely. it is not a matter of not being able or willing to pay the costs, it is more the trust issue. i had some very bad experiences with vets that are in the business for the money. that is why i took him in at midnight, i wanted to make sure that what ever it was would cause him more pain in the following 8 hours till i could see my own vet. BTW, we went there at 8:05 and even though my vet was triple booked he took us second in line. That is great service in my books.
having one of my best friends back sitting beside me is more important than business, money or time... but at the same time, the QUALITY of life he will experience is important. if he gets healed but is not enjoying life, i think it would be cruel to keep him around out of my DESIRE to have him here.
IF it goes bad i will miss him dearly but if he can be healed then there really isn't a price limit. what is money for if not to help out those you love?
thanks for the support guys.
cheers

Your dog is very lucky to have a caring and compassionate owner such as you.
Hope all goes well.

 

[SHREG]

Hope yer dog has a speedy recovery.

 

[fsusteve]

I would have a hard time believing anyone in the Veterinary field would be in it for the money. Granted there are some not as sharp as others, but I couldn't spend the time they do in school and being bitten or scratched they way they are to make decent money AFTER school loans are paid off. I think it's more of a comfort/familiarity thingy then anything else.

 

[Greg_B]

Hi Wayne...

Hope it all works out well!

gb

 

[Doc]

I think, like with any job, you get people who are jaded and people who still have a high level of commitment to the job they do. We tend to trust those that seem more empathetic to our plight. Doesn't mean the other Doc isn't as good or as capeable, but we want to feel like the person we are entrusting our loved ones too care as much as we do.

We have a very high number of vets/pet in my town and we've tried about 4 before we settled on one we liked. Some peoples personalities just mesh better with others.

The first vet we tried had been a vet most of his 60 something years, and he wasn't very gentle, and tended to over-sedate when sedation was neeeded. We didn't like having a groggy dog for three days- and went someplace else. I think they still got good care, but the guy we go to now definately takes more time with us- and helps explain things a lot better.

 

[crushers]

so i just got back fromt he vets, i am still waiting on the final vertic. the vet is still checking for a tumor, he is fantastic. he is very to the point, if it is a tumor and it has reached under the rib cage then put him down, if the tumor has reached the liver then put him down. i respect his honesty instead of giving me undue hope just to yank it away at the last minute. he did give me a small ray of hope by saying he has had dogs in the past that showed all the signs but there was nothing there. i am not counting on it though.

as for "in it for the money". my only 2 examples are when my wife's dog needed putting down (the little gaffer was really 'near dead') the vet insited on doing a blood test for almost $300 and the gaffer died the next day before we even got the results back in. to me, anyone with a heart would have put the little girl down as soon as they saw her instead of trying to milk a few bucks out of the ordeal and putting my wife and I through another night of torture.
the second time was when i needed to put down my Chow. i took him in and the doc asked me to hold him on the table as he injected the dog. the dog starts snoring and the bastard walks out of the room and comes back minutes later, "oh, he is still with us?" and i respond with tears running down my face, "yah, but you couldn't even wait to make sure the dog was dead, you had to leave the room." another shot and the dog was gone. a truely painful experience. both times at the same vet. when we got the new Collie looking mut i had heard of this vet i am using now. he made me feel completely at ease everytime i went to him. i would willingly pay him 3 times the fee the other vets charge, he is just fantastic.

now to wait for the phone call.........

 

[flintknapper]

Sometimes those blood tests are necessary and revealing.

About 25 yrs. ago I had a Lab/Dalmation mix that I had raised from a pup and loved more than anything.

I was hosting a big BBQ party at my place in the country on the 4th of July.

Well, unbeknownst to me....my dog was going from one person to the next begging scraps,
everyone was giving him a big piece of FAT from the briskets we had cooked.

Some time later I noticed my dogs rear end sag underneath him and he just fell over unconscious and looked for all the world to be dead except he was breathing.

I called a good friend of mine who was a vet and he met me at his office.

I told him what had happened and he asked me if anyone had been feeding him ..(I really didn't know) so he took a blood sample, put it in a centrifuge and in a couple of minutes showed me a sample that was about one third liquid fat on top.

Pancreatitus!!! (sp.)

He gave him a shot of epinephrine and something else ...and in 15 minutes I had my dog back (and a valuable lesson learned).

I am so greatful for his educated guess and the blood test that day.