Is this an emergency? 3 year old Toy Poodle sick

[ete77]

Yesterday morning (Easter Sunday) my usually playful and healthy 3 yr old male toy poodle, Chessie, was very listless.  As the day progressed I noticed he wasn't eating or drinking nor did has he gone to the bathroom in at least 24 hours.  When I picked him up he whimpered like his belly hurt and when he is laying down he shakes/shivers a little.  His nose is cold and wet which I think is normal.  I called the area animal hospital and spoke with a woman.  She made the first appointment that was available for him- Monday at 9am which is in three hours.

I stayed up most of the night with him. I have no idea what it could be- but I did find bits of an almond on our rug and he could have chewed that.  The last time I know for sure that he ate was Sunday at about 2pm- he licked some soft (canned)  food and water from my fingers but he would not make any effort to walk to his bowl or move much at all.  It is 6:12 am and I am staying up with him- do you think he will be OK until 9am which is the earliest appt I could get him?  Or should I go in for emergency treatment?  (It will cost 3x as much to do this so)  If anyone is up and can answer this, I'd appreciate it.   If not, I may just take him in because he is my baby!

[chasha33]

One thing that you may want to think about,Is that when you have him neutered it decreases his chances of alot of problems with his prostate and so forth.I have a 3year old English Bulldog that i want to get collected and then have him neutered due to preventing health issues on down the road.I do just like you as far as keeping him away from females and so forth.Also it really helps with stopping them from marking areas.As far as vaccinations,You can get lab work done and it shows that most vaccines stay in there systems up to 3 years.Where i live Rabies is required yearly even though they give a 3 year vaccine.Well keep us posted.Take care.

[ete77]

Sorry, I meant 6am not 4am- They were great and I'm sooooo grateful they are so closeby.

[ete77]

Hi folks,

He is doing so well!  He is eating alright today and he played outside much of the day with my Dad today.  He's now going to the bathroom fine too.  

Sorry it's taken me so long.  I actually answered the first reply with my phone- but it didn't save I guess.  Here's the timeline:

Sunday is when all the drama occurred.  I stayed up with him Sunday night through Monday morning and around 4 AM decided to take him in because he was in alot of pain.  

It just so happened that two vets were already there on another emergency call.  So they saw him immediately (I was so happy about that!)  They examined him,  did xrays, and took bloodwork.  They also did a prostate exam.  The Xrays showed no signs of blockage but *slight constipation.  The bloodwork came back excellent...with the exception of higher protein levels.  She told me that his prostate was enlarged and it may be because he is not fixed.  She told me that his belly was bloated because he was holding his urine.  She also somehow (needle??) took a urine sample after which she asked me to take him into the yard and let him do his business if he could.  Well, he went right out and peed for the longest time and stared at me like "Oh my God THANK YOU MOMMY!"  I felt so bad for him and decided right there that I don't care what the cost is- if I ever suspect he is in pain again we are headed straight to the Vet and I don't care if it's Christmas Day.  

She gave him medicine and prescribed Lactulose constipation and Metacam for pain relief.

Chessie eats mostly canned dog food but I also make sure he gets chicken and scraps that I think he can handle (Usually small bits of meat.).  Very rarely do I buy bagged dog food.  Most of that is made of rotten horse meat and I don't think that's a good diet for dogs.  How can that be natural, I mean?   A little dog can't go take down a horse in the wild and eat it!  Anyway, I thought he had a pretty good diet but than how did he get that sick?  Has anyone ever had this problem with their Toy Poodle and what did you do?  What's the best diet for them?  He always has water- can I trust that he is going to make sure he drinks enough during the day?  This experience has left me with some questions and I don't want to be that scared again.  

One last thing- she told me that if I get him neutered that he won't have the problem with swollen prostate.  I really don't know what I think of that.  I'm very responsible with him and I don't bring him in contact with female dogs- though one friend did ask to breed him with her Toy.  He has papers and I don't breed him BUT I don't want to have him go through a surgery when I really don't know that it's as necessary as it is made out to be.  (Why shouldn't he leave this world with all the body parts that the Lord gave him on his birthday?)   I'm friends with alot of people who are naturalists where their pets are concerned- who have done alot of research on some excessive scripts for vaccinations and I am still on the fence about some of it.  He does have his rabies shot though and he had all his vaccinations through hi first two years.  

Sorry this is so long, I've had alot on my mind regarding this.  Would love to hear your thoughts.  :)

Vareo

[chasha33]

I just wanted to check and see how your baby is doingI hope that he is doing well.Please let us know .

[lindapalm]

How did you make out at the vet?  I hope your buddy is okay, let us know..

[April2]

I just saw this post. I hope by now you've taken him in. He could have eaten something bad or could even have a blockage. I do think he needs to be seen as soon as possible.
Will you come back and let us know how he is?
I have 2 toy poodles and have a special fondness for them. I hope he's ok!