Sick Puppy, I have no idea what is going on
Submitted by Jlambe on August 7, 2013 - 1:00pmI am currently a new owner of a 4 month old English bulldog named Mack Daddy, I have had him for 1 month and he has had all his shots but this last Sunday he started throwing up. I first thought he had too much of a Rawhide bone because that's what came up. Well early Monday morning he started throwing up and having diarrhea and didn't eat breakfast, so I took him to the vet. He examined him and he wanted to started off just giving him a shot to stop the nausea and recommended me to boil some chicken and white rice. So I did and he ate 3/4 of a chicken breast and half a cup of white rice. He was able to keep all that down but as of right now he hasn't eaten since Monday morning. Mack Daddy has been tested for Parvo which came back negative, he has been x-rayed and everything looked good, chest looked good, no flim build up, nothing lodged anywhere in the stomach or in intestines. Vet did a rectal examine and everything was fine, he doesn't have a fever. the only thing the vet noticed was that his white blood cells count was a little high, has a runny noise and had a gas build up in the large intestines and not the small intestines so there is no blockage. So he used liquid to spray up in the rectal area to kill the bacteria hoping that might easy some uncomfortableness so maybe he would eat and the vet also gave me anti biotics for the runny nose and help out his irritated intestines. He drinks water occasionally so he is hydrated and his color looks good.
Last night he finally ate a little bit of cheese and peanut butter but that was it then this morning he started chewing on his dog food but he just chews on it but doesn't swallow it.
I am out of ideas and so is the Vet till he shows anymore or different symptoms. I feel bad for the pup and I am just grabbing at straws, one thing the vet is cautious for is that he might have distemper which isn't good but he doesn't have blood in the stool or a fever.
I am just looking for an advice or knowledge. the vet and I have tried all sorts of food to get him to eat
boiled chicken and rice, cottage cheese, yogurt, special puppy food, wet food
My first thought would be...
a blockage since he's throwing up and not eating. Rawhide isn't good for bulldogs, they can swallow large chunks and it can get lodged. I would think it would show up on xray, but I don't know that for sure. Does your vet know he was chewing rawhides? Also, how long before all this started did he have his shots and which ones did he have? Make sure they don't give him any more vaccines until he's completely well.
Has he pooped?
If he is pooping and not throwing up then he likely doesn't have a blockage. Did the vet do a barium test? Xrays when the stomach is full of gas will not necessarily show a blockage.
NO Rawhides. Were they rawhides from China? Does your vet know he was chewing on rawhides?
As a puppy he should be drinking lots of water not just a little.
I would ask the vet about poisioning. The rawhide to me could be a concern. These kind of products made in china have killed hundreds of dogs.
If he hasn't eaten since Monday I would be concerned, especially with the elevated white blood count and being a puppy. Is he lethargic?
THe Vet knows about the
THe Vet knows about the Rawhide, the white blood cell count was high then usually but not drastically over the average. He said an average count would be 16, 000 and the puppy has around 18,000. He isn't lethargic that I know of and he hasn't tested postive for poisoning
Just thought I give yall an update
So the vet took more x-rays yesterday and all the gas build up that was there on Tuesday is now gone and everything looked fine. Nothing looked wrong, no build up, no obstructions, stomach looked good. I asked him about the barium with x-rays, he told me he doesn't like to use barium because let's say there is a blockage and then you do surgery and the barium leaks out then the puppy could have some more issues with it being a foreign liquid plus he has had multiple issues where he has used barium in the past and the x-rays showed there was a blockage, so he does surgery to take out the blockage and in reality there is nothing there.
So the plan as of yesterday afternoon, if Mack (the puppy) doesn't eat anything by tomorrow he would recommend two things, run a scope which if pretty expensive, run a ultra sound which is also expensive, or do exploratory surgery which is cheaper.
As of right of right now, Mack did eat last night, seems to have a little more energy from taking his meds. I talked to the Dog breeder asking if she has seen any cases and she mentioned that since the puppy has some discolored flim come out on his nose that he could have a type of ammonia/ respiratory infection that wouldn't show up on the x-rays which could effect the way he eats, maybe a swollen throat since he chews food but won't swallow it. plus lately he has been have a harder time breathing by having flim in his throat, so she gave him a penicillin shot. Things were looking up this morning which is good.
THe Vet knows about the
THe Vet knows about the Rawhide, the white blood cell count was high then usually but not drastically over the average. He said an average count would be 16, 000 and the puppy has around 18,000. He isn't lethargic that I know of and he hasn't tested postive for poisoning
Just thought I give yall an update
So the vet took more x-rays yesterday and all the gas build up that was there on Tuesday is now gone and everything looked fine. Nothing looked wrong, no build up, no obstructions, stomach looked good. I asked him about the barium with x-rays, he told me he doesn't like to use barium because let's say there is a blockage and then you do surgery and the barium leaks out then the puppy could have some more issues with it being a foreign liquid plus he has had multiple issues where he has used barium in the past and the x-rays showed there was a blockage, so he does surgery to take out the blockage and in reality there is nothing there.
So the plan as of yesterday afternoon, if Mack (the puppy) doesn't eat anything by tomorrow he would recommend two things, run a scope which if pretty expensive, run a ultra sound which is also expensive, or do exploratory surgery which is cheaper.
As of right of right now, Mack did eat last night, seems to have a little more energy from taking his meds. I talked to the Dog breeder asking if she has seen any cases and she mentioned that since the puppy has some discolored flim come out on his nose that he could have a type of ammonia/ respiratory infection that wouldn't show up on the x-rays which could effect the way he eats, maybe a swollen throat since he chews food but won't swallow it. plus lately he has been have a harder time breathing by having flim in his throat, so she gave him a penicillin shot. Things were looking up this morning which is good.
How is your guy doing now?
n/m
Everything is great now,
Everything is great now, looks like the penicillen has cleared everything but he tends to sneaze alot still and have a little runny noise. I have heard you can give benadry to a dog but how much or possibly is there a better recommendation?
Avoid Benedryl for a puppy this young
unless you consult your vet first. People seem to think they all need Benadryl and push them like candy. I have never in 16 years given my dogs Benadryl on a routine basis. Ester needed it once vet prescribed after she got bite by something and swelled up like a balloon. She had Benadryl shots and took Benadryl for 10 days.