glad to hear your baby is on the mend. good vibes for all. T & J

glad to hear your baby is on the mend. good vibes for all. T & J

and the continued refusal to eat. The exploratory surgery would be the last choice but it may be necessary. Glad to hear that the vet is keeping a close watch on him. There could be some "string" or thread that has knotted/narrowed around a section of gut, there are cases of intussiseption (sp?)where the gut backs up on itself causing some blockage, a whole range of possibilities and I've only heard of a few. Sending best wishes your way for a quick solution to his problem. Hang in there!

and the continued refusal to eat. The exploratory surgery would be the last choice but it may be necessary. Glad to hear that the vet is keeping a close watch on him. There could be some "string" or thread that has knotted/narrowed around a section of gut, there are cases of intussiseption (sp?)where the gut backs up on itself causing some blockage, a whole range of possibilities and I've only heard of a few. Sending best wishes your way for a quick solution to his problem. Hang in there!

He's been thru alot in a short period of time. We've had 2 obstruction surgeries-be careful when he comes home and make sure he doesn't overdo-lots of crate rest. Let us know what kind of stones when the composition results come back. There are several of us out here that have dealt with both these situations.
L

Laura
Thunderstruck Bulldogs
http://sitekreator.com/thunderstruckbulldog/index.html

To those who understand no explanation is needed. To those who don't no explanation is possible.

He's been thru alot in a short period of time. We've had 2 obstruction surgeries-be careful when he comes home and make sure he doesn't overdo-lots of crate rest. Let us know what kind of stones when the composition results come back. There are several of us out here that have dealt with both these situations.
L

Laura
Thunderstruck Bulldogs
http://sitekreator.com/thunderstruckbulldog/index.html

To those who understand no explanation is needed. To those who don't no explanation is possible.

Well, we had no other choice but to do surgery today as he was only surviving on IV's and they did see something in a 2nd x ray today. In going in they found a plastic lizard and some cloth and hair. We have kids and the lizard certainly sounds like that came from my son's room. It ended up being in one spot so the removal was easy. It definatley wasn't going to move on its own so that was the only way to retrieve it.

While in there they also removed the bladder stones. She said there were a ton and it was a mess, very sandy. She is sending them off to be analyzed so we will know what we are dealing with.

She said he is not out of the woods yet though as intestinal surgeries can have complications and infections. She said in 2-3 days we should know that his intestines are going to heal fine.

What a ride and I do hope that he pulls out of this fine. He is young and healthy so I am thinking he should be fine. Of course we would have never had a reason to do an xray in order to find the stones if it hadn't been for the silly lizard he swallowed. so perhaps that worked out well in that we uncovered the nasty stones before things got worse on that end.

Thanks for all of your advice. I do appreciate you taking the time to write me. I will keep you posted on how he survives the weekend.

Well, we had no other choice but to do surgery today as he was only surviving on IV's and they did see something in a 2nd x ray today. In going in they found a plastic lizard and some cloth and hair. We have kids and the lizard certainly sounds like that came from my son's room. It ended up being in one spot so the removal was easy. It definatley wasn't going to move on its own so that was the only way to retrieve it.

While in there they also removed the bladder stones. She said there were a ton and it was a mess, very sandy. She is sending them off to be analyzed so we will know what we are dealing with.

She said he is not out of the woods yet though as intestinal surgeries can have complications and infections. She said in 2-3 days we should know that his intestines are going to heal fine.

What a ride and I do hope that he pulls out of this fine. He is young and healthy so I am thinking he should be fine. Of course we would have never had a reason to do an xray in order to find the stones if it hadn't been for the silly lizard he swallowed. so perhaps that worked out well in that we uncovered the nasty stones before things got worse on that end.

Thanks for all of your advice. I do appreciate you taking the time to write me. I will keep you posted on how he survives the weekend.

Thanks so much for the response. We did take Buddy to the vet yesterday to remain there for IV's and antibiotics. They watched him urinate and all seems to be fine with no blockage. The very last time he threw up on Monday evening some fiber looking material came up. It was strawy and stringy. Buddy has been known to munch an occasional kids toy or object but I did not recognize this as a toy. So now that he appears to have no blockage they are thinking he ate something and it is stuck in his GI tract. We brought him home last night to sleep here but will take him back again today for more IV fluids. He is still not himself. Not happy. Happy to see us at first but now just here with not much emotion. He IS drinking water good but refuses any type of food, and the food he normally loved. They want to do another xray as the first one did not show any object or any build up of gases that would accompany an object. At this point they are thinking exploratory surgery to go through his intestines.

Is that the best direction for us to turn at this point? What if they don't find anything, then what could possibly be the cause? I think that is the nmost bothersome point is that they just don't know what is going on but clearly he is sick.

thanks for the help. We do so love our bully!!!

Thanks so much for the response. We did take Buddy to the vet yesterday to remain there for IV's and antibiotics. They watched him urinate and all seems to be fine with no blockage. The very last time he threw up on Monday evening some fiber looking material came up. It was strawy and stringy. Buddy has been known to munch an occasional kids toy or object but I did not recognize this as a toy. So now that he appears to have no blockage they are thinking he ate something and it is stuck in his GI tract. We brought him home last night to sleep here but will take him back again today for more IV fluids. He is still not himself. Not happy. Happy to see us at first but now just here with not much emotion. He IS drinking water good but refuses any type of food, and the food he normally loved. They want to do another xray as the first one did not show any object or any build up of gases that would accompany an object. At this point they are thinking exploratory surgery to go through his intestines.

Is that the best direction for us to turn at this point? What if they don't find anything, then what could possibly be the cause? I think that is the nmost bothersome point is that they just don't know what is going on but clearly he is sick.

thanks for the help. We do so love our bully!!!

I don't want to sound critical but if you or your vet procrastinates much I'm afraid you will loose the dog. It could be that the stones, which are exceedingly painful if they are causing interruption or blockage, are enough aggrivation to the dog that he is refusing to eat/drink and waiting to expire...and pain can cause extra gastric juices which could in turn cause vomiting and inflammation in the intestines, causing a GI blockage. The bladder issue, IMHO, needs to be addressed immediately, the dog needs to be put on steroid injections and IV fluids for at least 24hrs to maintain hydration and give his GI system a rest (they can add a 5% dextrose solution to the fluids to provide nutrition if the vet feels this is needed) and then see if he will take liquids by mouth and hold them down...same with some soft food (small amount offered several times a day for 1-2 days). I'd ask the vet to identify whether there are crystals in his urine to see if any adjustmetn to diet is required to prevent recurrence.

I've had a dog develop inflammation of the GI tract just from nerves (when I was out of town...he's a mama's boy) and there would have been no physical pain, just emotional pain. After having barium x-rays taken, and a confirmation that he didn't have any foreign object in there, just swelling, the treatment was anti-nausea meds and steroids for a few days, IV fluids for 24hrs and then soft food, as I've stated above.

Hope your bully is better soon!

I don't want to sound critical but if you or your vet procrastinates much I'm afraid you will loose the dog. It could be that the stones, which are exceedingly painful if they are causing interruption or blockage, are enough aggrivation to the dog that he is refusing to eat/drink and waiting to expire...and pain can cause extra gastric juices which could in turn cause vomiting and inflammation in the intestines, causing a GI blockage. The bladder issue, IMHO, needs to be addressed immediately, the dog needs to be put on steroid injections and IV fluids for at least 24hrs to maintain hydration and give his GI system a rest (they can add a 5% dextrose solution to the fluids to provide nutrition if the vet feels this is needed) and then see if he will take liquids by mouth and hold them down...same with some soft food (small amount offered several times a day for 1-2 days). I'd ask the vet to identify whether there are crystals in his urine to see if any adjustmetn to diet is required to prevent recurrence.

I've had a dog develop inflammation of the GI tract just from nerves (when I was out of town...he's a mama's boy) and there would have been no physical pain, just emotional pain. After having barium x-rays taken, and a confirmation that he didn't have any foreign object in there, just swelling, the treatment was anti-nausea meds and steroids for a few days, IV fluids for 24hrs and then soft food, as I've stated above.

Hope your bully is better soon!

Just wanted to update you on Buddy! He came home last week after having a plastic toy lizard along with other debris wrapped around the lizard removed from his intestines AND they cleaned out a bunch of bladder stones. he is healing nicely and is back to his old self of a hardy appetite, adorning all of his family members with big, sloppy licks, talking to us in low moaning noises (anyone else's do this?) and of course enjoying his favorite spot on the couch, tongue hanging out and snoring ticking away. We are very lucky for it to have been such an easy fix to get our bully back but also a very costly one. He gets his staples out tomorrow and then hopefully can fully climb stairs again, that has been very painful. It will take about 2 months for the report on the stones to come back and once it does I will be sure to post it and tell all what the recommended diet will be to hopefully avoid more stones.

Love my Buddy the bully!

Just wanted to update you on Buddy! He came home last week after having a plastic toy lizard along with other debris wrapped around the lizard removed from his intestines AND they cleaned out a bunch of bladder stones. he is healing nicely and is back to his old self of a hardy appetite, adorning all of his family members with big, sloppy licks, talking to us in low moaning noises (anyone else's do this?) and of course enjoying his favorite spot on the couch, tongue hanging out and snoring ticking away. We are very lucky for it to have been such an easy fix to get our bully back but also a very costly one. He gets his staples out tomorrow and then hopefully can fully climb stairs again, that has been very painful. It will take about 2 months for the report on the stones to come back and once it does I will be sure to post it and tell all what the recommended diet will be to hopefully avoid more stones.

Love my Buddy the bully!