Sick Dog, Advice?

[4x15mph]

There is always great advice on the forum and through the combination of experiences, I figured I would add a post here and hope for some luck.

We have an 8 1/2 year old Bernese Mountain dog. She stopped eating about 2 months ago and started to become very lethargic. We brought her to the vet for blood work and they said that she had a tick born illness and we started her on antibiotics. She started to do better and would eat although not exactly back to usual. Fast forward to a few weeks ago, I bring her to the vet again, they do blood work, and suggest that she might have a gastro intestinal problem. We leave with more meds. This doesn't help so after a few days, I bring her to another vet (friend of family as well). He suggests it is 1 of 2 things; auto immune or cancer. He starts her on a heavy dose of prednisone and she has been on that for 10 days with no improvement. The only food I can get her to eat is cheese (with her medication) and Chik-Fil-A. She can finish off a 12 count nuggets and waffle fries like she is feeling great but she is in such bad shape that she can't get back out of the car when we get home.

I have an appointment this morning for an ultrasound of her abdomen and I am hoping that we can at least get to some diagnosis, otherwise I feel useless and watching your dog like this is like ... well, you know.

Anyone have other experiences that I might learn from? Questions to ask?

 

[96Pirate]

No expert here but could it be a blockage? Did she have normal bowel movements up to the point that she stopped eating? The ultrasound should pic that up though.

Good luck to you guys! Hope it's nothing serious.

 

[2nazt]

I don't have much advice it sound more like the last Vet is right and the ultrasound will show something. I feel for you though it's a very hard thing to deal with.

 

[McMark]

Hoping for the best. Doggie mojo on the way.

 

[Scottintexas]

unfortunately I have no new advice to offer other than getting additional opinions, I'm sorry she's going through it and your having to watch it,
Does she get a lemonade with that sandwich and fries?

 

[haknslash]

Hate to hear this but hopefully it's nothing serious and the ultrasound gives you some insight. Sending thoughts your way!

I have a large dog that's 10+ years old and that dang dog still eats napkins, socks, underwear....you name it like he's a dang pup. One time he got so blocked up he wouldn't eat for a few days and when he was in the backyard heaving to throw up we had to pull the freaking sock out of his throat!

Be careful with giving them antibiotics. Some dogs do not take well to them and can even become deathly ill over them. My dog once was given cephalexin to treat an infection he had and the cephalexin made it where he couldn't even walk without crying about it and actually became worse. I did some google searching and sure enough other dog owners had the same experience with the drug. My sister is a manger of a vet and she still thinks I'm crazy for thinking an antibiotic could do any harm but she wasn't here to experience what my dog was going through while under the meds. It was heartbreaking so I took him off the meds and he immediately started coming around a day or two later. I'm not saying this to scare you. I'm just telling you to pay close attention to your animal while they are under meds and just like humans, not all dogs take to medicine well.

 

[Julian]

Also....watch out with feeding too much cheese...it is very binding....

 

[Yan Masse]

We had a bernese Mountain dog, he was 5 years old when he became sick with almost the same symptoms. We took him to three vets numerous times but unfortunatly they could not find the cause.

It lasted 2 months.

 

[bobbie]

I had a pug mix that had similar symptoms. A ultrasound detected the intestines were telescoping into each other. Emergency surgery the next day showed the reason was cancer. After a talk with a dog oncologist, she was hopeful Abby would respond to chemo pills. Abby rebounded great and tolerated the meds just fine. We were able to get another year out of her with a great quality of life. Just after her one-year anniversary, it was obvious the cancer had taken over. It was a little easier making the decision ending her life knowing we did all we could and she did eek out every minute of life she could. Good luck....we are dog loving family with five dogs. I feel for ya.

 

[itsdgm]

Does the dog have a history of getting into and eating things? A buddy at work has a similar dog who ate a whole pack of gum. Wrappers and all. Not only is it a problem of bowel blockage but the "artificial sweetners" are apparently poisonous to dogs. Anyway, I'm sure an ultra$ound will help diagno$e your dogs issue. Good luck, hope it all works out well for you guys.

 

[4x15mph]

thanks all and your advice helped me ask questions, etc. unfortunately, just back from the ultrasound and There appears to be cancer in her spleen and some traces in her lymph nodes. I'll have to speak to the vet to see what makes the most sense for her. At the least, her spleen would need to come out for a biopsy but it may be inevitable.

She did eat her Chik fil a on the way home but she didn't finish her fries. She hurts.

Thanks again.

 

[itsdgm]

Sorry to hear that. But at least you know what you're up against. Hopefully there's a treatment plan that will help out.

 

[McMark]

Aw man. Continued puppy mojo.

 

[96Pirate]

Aw...so sorry to hear that. She must be feeling bad if she could not finish those fries. Hopefully she can pull through.