My dog has abdomen pain & swelling

HI, hoping someone can shed some light on my dear dog's illness.  Sunny is a 3 1/2 year old Maltese x Shih Tzu & started being unwell a week ago.  She didn't eat for 3 days & only had water on 1 day along with just laying in bed sleeping.  She then started eating small amounts & drinking.  At times she would seem her normal self, then a few hours later, be fatigued again & stay in her bed.  On the Wednesday, she seemed like she was back to her normal self, so I took her for a walk around the block...after that however, she was fatigued & stayed in her bed till I took her to the vet at midday on Thursday.  The vet suggested it could be pancreanitis or something she's eaten & to take her to the animal hospital.

Yesterday afternoon (Thursday) I take her to the hospital & it was confirmed that Sunny had indeed severe abdominal pain & swelling & they were going to do blood tests & an ultrasound.  Plus she also had a temperature of 39 deg C.  Today being Friday, they called me in & said they didn't find anything...her liver does seem abnormal & it could be her liver or it could be cancer.  The vet who performed the ultrasound said he was perplexed because the liver is situated under the ribcage as such, yet her pain is coming from the lower abdomen.  

She is now home with us...& is on antibiotics - Noroclav for 10 days plus Ilium Meloxicam an anti-inflammatory.  Also just to add - on the 24th August this year, she had her desexing operation...of which the vet said, would have nothing to do with this illness.

I'm at loss of what is wrong with my poor baby...if the vets dont know, how am I supposed to know.  They said if they did surgery to do biopsies - it would cost me 1000s...& I am on a government pension which makes me unable to be able to pay for this.  Then the vet said...they wouldn't be able to fix anything anyway...the surgery is only for 'finding out' what is wrong with her!

Any suggestions or information would be greatly appreciated.  She was one healthy happy dog, till all of a sudden.  It just seems weird.  Could it be a bug & the antibiotics make it go away...or something else that they haven't picked up.  Thank you for reading this.  

[Thomas Dock, CVJ, Vet. Technician]

Hi jellybean...I am so sorry to hear about your little dog.  It sounds like she is really uncomfortable.

This is a great question to post in the Ask A Vet Expert forum.  If you can provide some more details from the bloodwork, our doctors there might be able to help guide you with some questions to ask your veterinarian and maybe help you find some answers.

So often, diagnostics are really the only way to determine what is truly wrong since our pets can't talk to us.  Did the ultrasound show an abnormal liver or were the liver values on her bloodwork abnormal?

Best of luck to you...keep us posted and let us know how she does on the antibiotics.

[jellybean14fun]

Sunny finished the antibiotics & I stopped the anti-infammatory's seeing as she was so well.  But a few days later started showing signs of being unwell & lethargic.  Started the anti-inflamms again...for another 2 days...but this time...stopped her supply of dry food.  Coincidentally, this dry food was purchased for her straight after her desexing operation...& this is when she started getting sick...unwell.  

Its now been 5 days without this dry food & no meds & Sunny is healthy & happy.  She has a beef allergy which means we have to cook up fresh pork steak or chicken for her with rice or pasta with carrots.  She cant have any commercial food as they have beef by-products...plus she also cant eat fish...of which she throws up the next day.  In saying all this...the dry food I purchased from the vets...as she needs some dry food was supposed to be digestive friendly (sensitivity control) It's the brand WALTHAM ROYAL CANIN.  But I looked at the ingredients & there is fish oil in there.  It wouldn't be another ingredient would it?

Is there any other dry food that is minus beef & minus fish out there?

[Jaybay]

How about lamb and rice?  That's usually a good food for dogs with tummy troubles and is readily available.  You'll have to read the fine print on any commercial dog food to be sure there are no ingredients your dog reacts to.  I'm surprised the Royal Canin didn't work as it's a really high-quality food, but allergies can crop up with the stangest things and even after years of having no issues.  You might consider reporting your dog's reaction to the manufacturer.  After all, they don't want to be selling food that makes their customers sick, and there may have been a problem with that particular batch.

One thing to beware of with homemade diets is nutrients.  Don't get me wrong - homemade diets are great for your dog.  However it can sometimes be difficult to be certain the diet contains all the nutrients your dog needs.  To ensure that issue is covered, just add an age-appropriate daily multivitamin.