Beagle puppy sick

[miller12345]

Hello.  I have a 7 month old Beagle puppy who is acting out of sorts.  We have taken her to the vet numerous times and done stomach x-rays (nothing off in those) and blood work (white blood cell count was up.)  At first we thought she might be sick from eating a mouthgaurd (but over 5 days earlier) and now we think it might be from a neck injury.  All that to say, she is on pain meds and antibiotic and stomach meds.  She was eating a little but in the last day has stopped eating and is drinking very little.  

I am wondering if she is reacting to all the medication, or still has a stomach issue.  I am not sure when I should be concerned about her not eating.  She ate yesterday morning, and has been drinking bits here and there...

Thanks!

[Margot49]

LOL Jaybay.  Yep, always gave it to my kids and animals when on antibiotics but I got the capsules and opened them up and just put it on the food.  

[Jaybay]

I'm so glad to hear you took her in!  Good point from Margot about probiotics.  Baytril is a very strong antibiotic so don't be too alarmed if diarrhea develops as a result.  I pill my dogs with acidopholus capsules as a prophylactic and it works great. Works great for me too!  :-)

[dominosarah]

I am so happy you took her back in and she is eating better.  Keep us posted

[Margot49]

Glad you took her into the Vet and are on top of this.
Baytril is a good antibiotic but I would give some Acidophilus or unclutured yogurt to help keep a normal bacterial flora in the guy. Won't hurt.
Hope this clears that all up.
Kids!!  :-)

[miller12345]

Hello everyone.  Thank you for your comments.  We did head back to the vet today.  She had a 104 fever and there was blood on the thermometer when they took her temp.  The vet thinks it is likely she has a bacterial infection in her colon.  They gave her another medicine (baytril), took her off the pain pills, and did an injection of fluids.  He told me to feed her turkey baby food - which she actually ate a good portion of already!  She seems much more alert and I am hoping we are on the up and up.  But here are answers to the different questions

-the vet today said her white blood cell count was really high...
-we did x-rays on two of our visits and both showed now indications of any problems - everything was flowing smoothly.
-we didn't check for fragments at first becuase she was fine for  days after eating the mouthgaurd.  Which is why I still tend to think that might not be connected.  But it could be.  
-She has not always been sick - she used to be a very energetic dog.
-We thought it might be a neck injury becuase she yelped when picked up, yelped when you turned her head, and was being weird about eating food off the ground.
-She also had a head shake, which the vet today said was a seizure.

We are taking her in again on Friday for a check up, and hopefully improvements by then.  The vet said if he is right about the problem, she should be eating more by then.  

[Margot49]

How elevated was the WBC?  Vet have an idea why that is elevated? Any temp?
As she is a puppy and you know she ate something (and possibly anything else), I think I'd be asking for an x-ray and/or ultrasound to be done to make sure there is no blockage.

[dominosarah]

What kind of neck injury did she have?  I would take her back to the vet.  Dont let this go.....

[Misfits4Me]

How long has she been sick? What do you feed her?
Did it all start after she ate the mouthguard or has she always been sick?
Could the fragments of the guard be lodged in her intestines or did they pass? Did you check her stool daily to see if it came out?
What are her symptoms exactly?
Why do you think it's a neck injury?

[Jaybay]

Since your beagle is still so young, lack of eating and drinking shouldn't be allowed to continue for long. Something is obviously very wrong and since there is no real improvement with the meds, it's time for a return visit to the vet.  Since your regular vet seems to be batting zero in finding a diagnosis, it's a good idea to get a second opinion.  Sometimes you just need a different set of eyeballs on the problem to get to the bottom of it.  Please don't wait and risk dehydration.  That's always a worry with puppies.  And please do come back and let us know what happens.  :-)