Is there anything I can do to help my dog?

[Shobbs22]

Hi!  I have and 8 yr old chow/lab mix.  She is normally really energetic.  She was eating just fine up until last friday she ate her food but she threw it up.  She did'nt eat anything Sat, Sun, or Mon but she has been drinking alot of water. She has been going to pee normally. She had the diahrea on sat and sun but hasnt pooped since.  I know her bottom was hurting because her anal glands were swollen but it has gotten better now.  She has done nothing the past few days but layed around and looked sad. I took her to the vet and they put a dehydration pack in the back of her neck to help keep her hydrated. She is drinking water just fine i really dont understand why they did that.   She has no fever and has gotten out of her doghouse some today and actually sit on our back deck.  My mom is going to try to get her to eat some white rice tonight to help her. I took her to the vet the other day and spent 300 just for the hydration pack that only lasts 24 hrs and lab tests. The vet did not thoroughly explain anything to me unless I asked a question and then its almost like she was hesitant about her answer and told me that she would ask some of the other vets that were there to be sure about if all of the tests she was running were necessary. I want to help my dog but I am worried that a lot of the things they are doing are unecessary. And I am really broke right now so I don't know what to do. The vet has me thinking she has something really serious thats going to cost a fortune and they have told me nothing or even done nothing to help her to feel better. I don't know what to do. Some one please give me opinions.. Oh and the vet kept on saying that if shes vomiting then that really concerns me. And i told her about 3 times that she was NOT vommiting. Its almost like she is trying to add symptons to the list that she doesn't even have

[Misfits4Me]

Sandy,  I'm sending you a message to your profile page....Go there and check....Let me know when you get it............Karla

[Shobbs22]

Thank You for taking the time to reply to my comments and trying to help us!! When she vomitted  on friday night it was just big lumps of her dry dog food, No blood . She had pooped twice yesterday and it was back to normal, no more diarreha .   She didn't eat anything all day yesterday until last night and she ate about 1 1/2 cups of dry dog food but we had to sprinkle a little bit of shredded cheese over it to get her to eat.  It was raining in Ga constantly yesterday so she stayed in her dog house a lot. Her dog house is the size of a big tree house. When my dad built it he even put windows and a small deck on the front.  She pretty much layed around in there all day and would come out on the front deck some but she wasn't very energetic still. My mom is going to boil some chicken and mix it with rice and try to get her to eat a little bit at a time today.  There is 2 other things we think maybe could be causing it. There is a wild cherry tree in the back yard.  I know that when the leaves are in the process of dying they are considered to be poisoned.  My grandfather had a calf years ago and my dad had thrown wild cherry tree limbs over into the pasture ( not knowing they were poisoned)  the calf ate the leaves and within a few hours it died.  About 2 wks ago when my mom went out to change her water she said there was 2 of the wild cherry leaves had blown into her water. I don't know if she got one in her mouth or not , and if she did would it have affected her sooner?? I also thought maybe being outside she could have gotten a snail. I don't know if that would hurt her or not.  Could any of this cause her liver enzymes to be abnormal that you know of?  Again Thanks So Much for Your Concern!!  Sandy

[Misfits4Me]

First of all, if her liver enzymes are just alittle off, that does not require hospitalization. What it does mean is that she is having an overload of toxins and her liver is having a hard time keeping up. This could be her food, pesticides in the yard, toxic water, eating poisonious plants, medications or a multitude of other things. You did say she vomited once, right? Was there any blood in it or just food? Did everything else in the bloodwork appear normal? I agree with you, there is something NOT right about this Vet/or clinic..I see a few red flags in your post. You can always go get your dogs records and bloodwork results (You paid for them), and take them to another Vet. You'll save the cost of having it all re-run again. That's what I'd do... For now, add some boiled chicken to the rice and try to get her to eat....Also, because she is showing alittle dehydration, get her some canned food...It is full of moisture & she might appreciate the change. I don't like cereal everyday for me, either. Try to buy the highest quality you can afford.  Make sure she has fresh water, daily.....If she starts excessive vomiting or excessive diahrea, you will have to get her to another Vet...Have your test results (From the other Vet) ready...In the meantime, I will do a check on the Purina food and see if anyones having a problem with it....I hope I can narrow down, the green bag.  ;)   I'll check back later....Let me know how she's doing.......Karla

[Shobbs22]

They did get the lab tests results back and they showed that her liver count was a little abnormal so they are wanting to hospitalize her.  I am was really worried about her not eating and they told me that there was really nothing I could give her. I called another vet last night and they told me to try to give her white rice that it would be gentle on her system and help clean some of the fats out.  She actually ate about a cup of the rice/ ;).  My mom watched her all day yesterday and she was actually getting out of her doghouse and sitting up and holding her head up for a lot of the day. I feed her the green bag of Purina dog food. She has been eating purina for about a year now since i switched from pedigree.  They did say that it showed up that she was a little dehydrated. But she has been drinking water and peeing regular. Thanks for the reply I will check back later today after work.  Please let me know anything that will help.  Thank You!!!

[Misfits4Me]

Have you received the lab test results? Did tests show that she was dehydrated? Was it just blood work or other tests, too? What are the other things they're doing that you feel are unnecessary (Other than the hydration pack)? Let me know......Karla
P.S. What is her primary food and how long has she eaten it?