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Dog not eating, very weak and now limping
Hi. I have a 4 year old Yellow Lab named Dora. For the past 4 days she has not been the same. The first few days she just wanted to sleep, then she stopped eating and I noticed she hind leg was limping. The limping went away but she was walking very slowly and still sleeping all the time. She doesn't want to eat, we have to bring her water bowl to her in order for her to drink. Last night we took her to the vet and they took blood, exrays, and urine samples. The results came back fine, but this morning she could not get up. She isn't fixed and has not been bred but she did just come off a heat a few weeks ago. She isn't the same dog. Right now she is at the vets getting I.V and anti-biotics and a barium? The vet thinks she may have pyometra. So far with today's visit we're $1000 dollars into it, not including the surgery.
I'm just so worried. If it is pyometra the surgery will help her, but i'm afraid it could be something worse like a cancer. Her symptoms are getting worse really fast. I hope someone can help me out.
I'm just so worried. If it is pyometra the surgery will help her, but i'm afraid it could be something worse like a cancer. Her symptoms are getting worse really fast. I hope someone can help me out.
Good Lord!!!! I saw the photo!!!
I'll be the first to admit that I sure was wrong.......I would have thought that this infection would have shown up on the blood test.....I've learned something, too.....Good Call "Ginger"!!!!
I'm delighted for you & your Dora.....Yes, A great Easter Gift it is!!!
Thank you again for your updates......Those not only help us, but also future visitors.......
You and yours, have a wonderful weekend......I'm so glad that this has all turned out for the best, for a change.......Let the Egg Hunting begin!!!! ;)
Sincerely, Karla
I'll be the first to admit that I sure was wrong.......I would have thought that this infection would have shown up on the blood test.....I've learned something, too.....Good Call "Ginger"!!!!
I'm delighted for you & your Dora.....Yes, A great Easter Gift it is!!!
Thank you again for your updates......Those not only help us, but also future visitors.......
You and yours, have a wonderful weekend......I'm so glad that this has all turned out for the best, for a change.......Let the Egg Hunting begin!!!! ;)
Sincerely, Karla
Okay, if anyone is interested in what Dora's pyometra looked like, I uploaded it into my photo's. Couldn't post it on here, or at least I couldn't figure it out.
Hey Everyone :-)
Here's the update. Dora had surgery today, it was a pyometra. He took out her uterus and it weighed with the infection 6.6lbs. This thing was HUMONGOUS. The amazing vet we have took a picture of it while she was in surgery. I will try and upload it here so you guys can see what it looked like.
Surgery went well, and she is staying in the hospital overnight to monitor her and we will be able to bring her back home. I'm soo glad we decided to take her back once we noticed that the antibiotics weren't working because if we would have waited especially with the long weekend coming up, god only knows what would have happened. We just knew she wasn't getting better.
I feel a HUGE weight lifted off my shoulders now. We stopped by the vets on our way home tonight and they took a picture of her so we could at leasts see her in her crib. We didn't want to go in and see her and make her excited. We will have lots of time to smother her with love tomorrow. What a great Easter gift this is.
Guys, thank all of you so much from the bottom of my heart for being an ear and support when I needed it the most. I only hope that I will be able to help someone else out here in the future like you all helped me.
God speed and God Bless you all. Happy Easter everyone!!!!
Here's the update. Dora had surgery today, it was a pyometra. He took out her uterus and it weighed with the infection 6.6lbs. This thing was HUMONGOUS. The amazing vet we have took a picture of it while she was in surgery. I will try and upload it here so you guys can see what it looked like.
Surgery went well, and she is staying in the hospital overnight to monitor her and we will be able to bring her back home. I'm soo glad we decided to take her back once we noticed that the antibiotics weren't working because if we would have waited especially with the long weekend coming up, god only knows what would have happened. We just knew she wasn't getting better.
I feel a HUGE weight lifted off my shoulders now. We stopped by the vets on our way home tonight and they took a picture of her so we could at leasts see her in her crib. We didn't want to go in and see her and make her excited. We will have lots of time to smother her with love tomorrow. What a great Easter gift this is.
Guys, thank all of you so much from the bottom of my heart for being an ear and support when I needed it the most. I only hope that I will be able to help someone else out here in the future like you all helped me.
God speed and God Bless you all. Happy Easter everyone!!!!
Thanks Karla.
Well Dora will be staying there today and they will be opening her up tomorrow a.m. Best case scenario is that it is pyometra, Im hoping nothing worse, but once they get in there, if it isn't a pyometra, they will spade her anyways, but will be taking out pieces for analysis to look for other things. Crossing my fingers that it isn't her liver or kidney. I miss her already. She gave me this look as we walked out. I feel bad that she's going to be there without us today. She is with my 24 hrs a day so it's quiet in the house right now.
I'm really happy with the new vet we found though, and interestingly enough, the first vet called the new vet and would like to know what is was, once they find out what is it.
I'm praying that my gentle giant gets better quickly. Her stomach has seemed to harden so we know there's something inside her not right.
Anyways, thanks for hearing me out. I miss her and just want her to get better. She's such a friendly gentle dog and is still wagging her tail which shocks the vets lol, not me though. She's not a complainer but we know she's just not the same. Labs are very gregorious dogs so still, she's a mystery.
Well Dora will be staying there today and they will be opening her up tomorrow a.m. Best case scenario is that it is pyometra, Im hoping nothing worse, but once they get in there, if it isn't a pyometra, they will spade her anyways, but will be taking out pieces for analysis to look for other things. Crossing my fingers that it isn't her liver or kidney. I miss her already. She gave me this look as we walked out. I feel bad that she's going to be there without us today. She is with my 24 hrs a day so it's quiet in the house right now.
I'm really happy with the new vet we found though, and interestingly enough, the first vet called the new vet and would like to know what is was, once they find out what is it.
I'm praying that my gentle giant gets better quickly. Her stomach has seemed to harden so we know there's something inside her not right.
Anyways, thanks for hearing me out. I miss her and just want her to get better. She's such a friendly gentle dog and is still wagging her tail which shocks the vets lol, not me though. She's not a complainer but we know she's just not the same. Labs are very gregorious dogs so still, she's a mystery.
I'll be thinking about you and Dora today.......Please let us know how it turns out & good luck.......Karla
What is so weird about this, is that all her testing came back normal. I wish that they would have been able to give us some definitive answer but I suppose some things just don't show up.
I'm really curious to know what it is.
I'm really curious to know what it is.
Hey guys
Had to take her into the vets again yesterday, she still doesn't seem to be getting any better. Dora was allergic to the antibiotics that they prescribed for her which was doxicilian(sp?) so we decided to stop those for a few days. What we are noticing is that her stomach looks as though it's swelling, she takes really long pees and has difficulty getting up and very slow to lay down. We spoke with the vet this a.m and we are taking her in at 11:20. We are going to be giving her a surgery. It seems that pyometra is now back on the table. I just want her to get better. Whatever it is, it's in her stomach. My poor baby just hasn't seemed to kick whatever seems to be ailing her.
I will let you know what the outcome is.
Had to take her into the vets again yesterday, she still doesn't seem to be getting any better. Dora was allergic to the antibiotics that they prescribed for her which was doxicilian(sp?) so we decided to stop those for a few days. What we are noticing is that her stomach looks as though it's swelling, she takes really long pees and has difficulty getting up and very slow to lay down. We spoke with the vet this a.m and we are taking her in at 11:20. We are going to be giving her a surgery. It seems that pyometra is now back on the table. I just want her to get better. Whatever it is, it's in her stomach. My poor baby just hasn't seemed to kick whatever seems to be ailing her.
I will let you know what the outcome is.
First of all, I'm really glad to hear that Dora is doing better and that the antibiotics seem to be working. This, coupled with the fact that she had been eating Purina food and you have stopped feeding her the Purina food makes me wonder if the food DID have something to do with her illness!
It's really very scary reading the accounts that people have written in about their pets' illnesses and deaths from Purina products. Whether we do or do not feed Purina foods, we have all grown up seeing them everywhere, on television, in magazines, in the stores, just about everywhere that pet things or food is sold. Such a large, well-known company and now their products have become something to fear!
I do not feed Purina products, however I still find it to be very unsettling. I no longer allow people to give my puppy a treat when we're outside, things that used to be unhealthy only in terms of being nutritionally useless and basically junk food can now take the lives of our furry ones!
Please keep us updated as to Dora's condition. I hope she continues to improve and is back to her old self in short order.
Ghilly
It's really very scary reading the accounts that people have written in about their pets' illnesses and deaths from Purina products. Whether we do or do not feed Purina foods, we have all grown up seeing them everywhere, on television, in magazines, in the stores, just about everywhere that pet things or food is sold. Such a large, well-known company and now their products have become something to fear!
I do not feed Purina products, however I still find it to be very unsettling. I no longer allow people to give my puppy a treat when we're outside, things that used to be unhealthy only in terms of being nutritionally useless and basically junk food can now take the lives of our furry ones!
Please keep us updated as to Dora's condition. I hope she continues to improve and is back to her old self in short order.
Ghilly
COMMUNITY LEADER
I am absolutely thrilled to hear Dora is making good improvement. I wonder what could have been the matter with her?
I think the vet may have thought it could be Pyometra possibly because Pyometra strikes quite fast, knocks them off their feet a bit, and is very common in entire females. (But it's not VERY common in a dog your Dora's age. Usually it affects middle aged or older dogs.)
Plus perhaps the fact that Dora got sick a certain number of weeks afer her "heat" cycle, as that's often (though not always) when Pyometra strikes.
My dog got Pyometra. Her belly didn't swell either. The only real symptoms were her extreme lethargy -really didn't want to move off her bed- and slight wobbliness on her legs. But then she got vaginal discharge, which made things clearer. However there is a type of Pyometra where there is no vaginal discharge, and that is a bit harder to diagnose.
Anyway -good that Dora's getting better. Let's hope she continues to improve so well. Great news!
I think the vet may have thought it could be Pyometra possibly because Pyometra strikes quite fast, knocks them off their feet a bit, and is very common in entire females. (But it's not VERY common in a dog your Dora's age. Usually it affects middle aged or older dogs.)
Plus perhaps the fact that Dora got sick a certain number of weeks afer her "heat" cycle, as that's often (though not always) when Pyometra strikes.
My dog got Pyometra. Her belly didn't swell either. The only real symptoms were her extreme lethargy -really didn't want to move off her bed- and slight wobbliness on her legs. But then she got vaginal discharge, which made things clearer. However there is a type of Pyometra where there is no vaginal discharge, and that is a bit harder to diagnose.
Anyway -good that Dora's getting better. Let's hope she continues to improve so well. Great news!
Just wanted to give everyone a quik update. We brought Dora back home yesterday, she's on anti-biotics but looks much better. She is still limping slightly but we can see improvement. We are hoping that once the antibiotics are in her system fully that she will improve even more. We still didn't get a diagnosis on what happened, but I'm just glad she's slowly but surely getting better.
I also wanted to say thanks to all that responded and gave me advice and support. This forum is very helpful and knowledgable.
Thanks guys, Dora says Ruff-thanks-Ruff too :-)
I also wanted to say thanks to all that responded and gave me advice and support. This forum is very helpful and knowledgable.
Thanks guys, Dora says Ruff-thanks-Ruff too :-)
I can't believe what I have read about Purina dog food. I will not be giving her any more...period.
OMG....that is soo sad and heartbreaking. I didn't realise the food was soo bad. What type of food would you recommend I give her?
"Her dry food is Pro Plan with shredded chicken in it."
In case you didn't see this one:
Vicki of Grand Rapids, MI on March 13, 2012
Satisfaction Rating: 1/5
This is a follow-up to my original post on 2/13/12, at which time our female Brittany Spaniel, Lexie, had passed away on 1/25/12. At best, her death was due to organ failure, probably caused by a diet of Purina Pro Plan. We are assuming serious complications were brought on by Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend. We ceased feeding all kibble a week after Lexie's death. Severe complications also followed her mate, Ruskin, who had battled Cushing's disease for the past two years. Ruskin had a severe seizure during the late night hours. I was able to talk with a knowledgeable friend that guided me with administering Pedialyte & Karo Syrup. I was in contact with the vet over the weekend. Not wanting our dear pet to suffer, we were discussing having him euthanized.
I called on Monday morning to make an appointment for a pancreas test. We were looking at a full blood work-up and probably another Cushing's test, before they would singly test the pancreas because he is already identified with CD and taking meds. When he started displaying tremors, an onset of a seizure, I clipped a toenail into the quick so we could get a fast blood sample to do a Glucose Test. The result showed 84, within normal range.
Considering I had tried perking him up (to get him to the vet) using Karo Syrup & drips of Pedialyte, his glucose level before I administered sugar to him was probably in the 60's, which is low! My daughters and I wrapped him in a small comforter and I held him snug against me when he began to seize. We never made it to the vet. Ruskin died in my arms of cardiac arrest at 9:40 am, March 5, 2012, forty days after his mate died. Although we had changed their nutrition plan to a raw diet, in hindsight, we believe Ruskin had already suffered damage to his organs, especially his pancreas. He had probably become diabetic with the large amounts of sugar in the food that he consumed.
We knew the CD would eventually take his life, and very possibly was brought on because of his long term diet of Purina. Unfortunately, his body was too distressed from the sugar imbalance. We are currently monitoring our 10-year-old Brittany and 2 cats. Brittany will be having blood work done at the vet as he has not been a good candidate for home glucose testing. It is not just Purina! Type in 'pets 2012' in the search box in the upper right corner on the Consumer Affairs site, the first three pages will display complaints for popular brands. We continue to be saddened by the unnecessary sickness and loss of so many pets.
In case you didn't see this one:
Vicki of Grand Rapids, MI on March 13, 2012
Satisfaction Rating: 1/5
This is a follow-up to my original post on 2/13/12, at which time our female Brittany Spaniel, Lexie, had passed away on 1/25/12. At best, her death was due to organ failure, probably caused by a diet of Purina Pro Plan. We are assuming serious complications were brought on by Purina Pro Plan Shredded Blend. We ceased feeding all kibble a week after Lexie's death. Severe complications also followed her mate, Ruskin, who had battled Cushing's disease for the past two years. Ruskin had a severe seizure during the late night hours. I was able to talk with a knowledgeable friend that guided me with administering Pedialyte & Karo Syrup. I was in contact with the vet over the weekend. Not wanting our dear pet to suffer, we were discussing having him euthanized.
I called on Monday morning to make an appointment for a pancreas test. We were looking at a full blood work-up and probably another Cushing's test, before they would singly test the pancreas because he is already identified with CD and taking meds. When he started displaying tremors, an onset of a seizure, I clipped a toenail into the quick so we could get a fast blood sample to do a Glucose Test. The result showed 84, within normal range.
Considering I had tried perking him up (to get him to the vet) using Karo Syrup & drips of Pedialyte, his glucose level before I administered sugar to him was probably in the 60's, which is low! My daughters and I wrapped him in a small comforter and I held him snug against me when he began to seize. We never made it to the vet. Ruskin died in my arms of cardiac arrest at 9:40 am, March 5, 2012, forty days after his mate died. Although we had changed their nutrition plan to a raw diet, in hindsight, we believe Ruskin had already suffered damage to his organs, especially his pancreas. He had probably become diabetic with the large amounts of sugar in the food that he consumed.
We knew the CD would eventually take his life, and very possibly was brought on because of his long term diet of Purina. Unfortunately, his body was too distressed from the sugar imbalance. We are currently monitoring our 10-year-old Brittany and 2 cats. Brittany will be having blood work done at the vet as he has not been a good candidate for home glucose testing. It is not just Purina! Type in 'pets 2012' in the search box in the upper right corner on the Consumer Affairs site, the first three pages will display complaints for popular brands. We continue to be saddened by the unnecessary sickness and loss of so many pets.
Hey Karla - Thanks for the links. Quite educational and scary! The chicken treats are from a company called Vitalife and it says labratory tested in Canada. I live in Canada. The pedigree MarrowBone says it's from the U.S
I will make sure you keep you all posted. Thanks for everyone's help.
I will make sure you keep you all posted. Thanks for everyone's help.
Here's one resource: This is just the tip of the iceberg.....This should get you started....Other links are provided within the sight.....
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall/chicken-jerky-treats/
http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-recall/chicken-jerky-treats/
OMG!!!!!!! It's possible that She's being POISONED!!!!!! Hundreds (Probably thousands by now) of dogs are sick & dying from Purina Products.......ALso, The chicken tenders (Made in China) have been doing this (Illness & death) for quite some time......I will find the links for you........
Here's the latest one: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Dogs/consumer-reports-on-PURINA-Cat-and-Dog-foods/show/1701334
Next: I can't find the link for the chicken, but just Google "Chicken Jerky treats/tenders made in china complaints" or something like that.....There are thousands of complaints of dogs being ill and dying from chicken jerky imported from china!!!!!!! Check the package that you have...Look closely, if it says Made it China anywhere...It's poison and must be thrown away!!!!!!
Make sure your Vet is feeding her something different (Preferably Wet food to help flush toxins out of her system)!!!!!! Let us know......Bye for now, Karla
Here's the latest one: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Dogs/consumer-reports-on-PURINA-Cat-and-Dog-foods/show/1701334
Next: I can't find the link for the chicken, but just Google "Chicken Jerky treats/tenders made in china complaints" or something like that.....There are thousands of complaints of dogs being ill and dying from chicken jerky imported from china!!!!!!! Check the package that you have...Look closely, if it says Made it China anywhere...It's poison and must be thrown away!!!!!!
Make sure your Vet is feeding her something different (Preferably Wet food to help flush toxins out of her system)!!!!!! Let us know......Bye for now, Karla
Hi Ginger (The pyometra expert i'm guessing lol)
To be honest, other than the fact that Dora isn't fixed, nothing else is pointing to this being pyometra. Short of getting an ultrasound done, which apparently costs 500 just for that, the vet just wants to do surgery. I will be getting her fixed once she gets healthy again, but i'm still confused why the vet thinks it pyometra? Her main issues are not being able to move around, stiffness, hard to get up and first limping in the back leg, and now the front one. Her stomach doesn't seem big. I just don't know. I hope the antibiotics works for her because it breaks my heart to see her trying to walk around. Dora is a very energetic dog and will follow me around all day long, it's sad to see that she doens't have the energy to get up and only tilts her head to see where I am.
To be honest, other than the fact that Dora isn't fixed, nothing else is pointing to this being pyometra. Short of getting an ultrasound done, which apparently costs 500 just for that, the vet just wants to do surgery. I will be getting her fixed once she gets healthy again, but i'm still confused why the vet thinks it pyometra? Her main issues are not being able to move around, stiffness, hard to get up and first limping in the back leg, and now the front one. Her stomach doesn't seem big. I just don't know. I hope the antibiotics works for her because it breaks my heart to see her trying to walk around. Dora is a very energetic dog and will follow me around all day long, it's sad to see that she doens't have the energy to get up and only tilts her head to see where I am.
Her dry food is Pro Plan with shredded chicken in it. Her treats are the little marrow bone s by Pedigree and chicken tenders. Some times we give her raw hide but she hasnt had one lately.
Oh also, she ate her regular food. We gave her a little bit of homemade hamburger in with her food to get her to eat a few days ago, but hasn't wanted to eat since. Also one night at the beginning of the week on our regular trail she picked something up like a bone and ate it which we told the vet about which was why she wanted to get an xray but nothing was lodged or picked up on the xray.
I hope that once the antibiotics kick in, she will feel better. I guess we're playing the waiting game right now. Problem is, vet thinks her uterus is slightly distended which she could see from the barium she gave her today? but her leg shift limping and stiffness isn't supposed doesn't happen when you have pyometra. It seems hard to pin point exactly what it is,(which undoubtedly is worrisome and frustrating to me) - whatever it is, came on fast and hard. She had a low-grade fever last night but temperature was fine when we brought her in the a.m.
Status as of right now. She's still on I,V, has eaten a little bit and has gone to the washroom, had her anti-biotics but still has the limp. .
I hope that once the antibiotics kick in, she will feel better. I guess we're playing the waiting game right now. Problem is, vet thinks her uterus is slightly distended which she could see from the barium she gave her today? but her leg shift limping and stiffness isn't supposed doesn't happen when you have pyometra. It seems hard to pin point exactly what it is,(which undoubtedly is worrisome and frustrating to me) - whatever it is, came on fast and hard. She had a low-grade fever last night but temperature was fine when we brought her in the a.m.
Status as of right now. She's still on I,V, has eaten a little bit and has gone to the washroom, had her anti-biotics but still has the limp. .
COMMUNITY LEADER
Well you're right Karla. The White blood cell count WOULD normally be high with Pyometra. So normal bloodwork doesn't quite figure. It's MUCH easier to diagnose Pyometra if there is vaginal discharge. If not -it's harder, but yes it should definitely show in the bloodwork! An experienced vet should know all the ins and outs of Pyometra however.
Again...What do you feed this girl & what treats (Names) does she consume? Thanks......Karla
More often than not, the Lyme disease test (Especially, if it's an in house snap test) comes back negative....I'd ask your Vet to go ahead and treat......If it's Lymes, the Doxycycline will show a notable difference in 3 days.....
Hey Karla
Thanks for your reply. My boyfriend is seeing the red flags with the vet as well, Im probably just too emotional to think that way right now, but it seems as tho she doens't know what it is but yet wants to do surgery before the antibiotics have even kicked in. She had an abdominal xray done and there is no blockages anywhere. Along with her blodtest last night the vet gave her a SNAP4DX test which test for ticks? and that also came back normal. Could it be possible the test missed it at all??
She's a mystery.
Jackie
Thanks for your reply. My boyfriend is seeing the red flags with the vet as well, Im probably just too emotional to think that way right now, but it seems as tho she doens't know what it is but yet wants to do surgery before the antibiotics have even kicked in. She had an abdominal xray done and there is no blockages anywhere. Along with her blodtest last night the vet gave her a SNAP4DX test which test for ticks? and that also came back normal. Could it be possible the test missed it at all??
She's a mystery.
Jackie
I'm sorry you and your girl are going through this, too.....
Interestingly, I think it's odd that your Vet suggested Pyometra when he/she said bloodwork was Normal....That's not possible!! Also, this is a red flag against your Vet....Did you get a copy of the bloodwork that you can read?
Pyometra is a serious bacterial infection & would have shown up on the blood test results....(As in White blood cells, I would think would be alarmly high, trying to fight the infection).
We need "Ginger" in on this one as she has incredible knowledge on Pyometra!!!!
I agree with Connie on the Tick Diseases....If your dog has not been tested, A FULL Tick Panel needs to be run.....You need to rule this out....
What were the xrays of? Did they look for any kind of Digestive System Blockage or just xray a leg because of the limping.....
I want to throw this out there & it may have nothing to do with it, but what do you feed her? Including treats?
I'm hoping this can all be figured out and quickly......Please, keep us updated...I'll be thinking about you both.........Karla
******Hi Connie.....Glad to see you back...Hope all is well......Karla*******
Interestingly, I think it's odd that your Vet suggested Pyometra when he/she said bloodwork was Normal....That's not possible!! Also, this is a red flag against your Vet....Did you get a copy of the bloodwork that you can read?
Pyometra is a serious bacterial infection & would have shown up on the blood test results....(As in White blood cells, I would think would be alarmly high, trying to fight the infection).
We need "Ginger" in on this one as she has incredible knowledge on Pyometra!!!!
I agree with Connie on the Tick Diseases....If your dog has not been tested, A FULL Tick Panel needs to be run.....You need to rule this out....
What were the xrays of? Did they look for any kind of Digestive System Blockage or just xray a leg because of the limping.....
I want to throw this out there & it may have nothing to do with it, but what do you feed her? Including treats?
I'm hoping this can all be figured out and quickly......Please, keep us updated...I'll be thinking about you both.........Karla
******Hi Connie.....Glad to see you back...Hope all is well......Karla*******
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