Swollen stomach

[Sam3mum]

I have a Dalmatian ***** who is 13 years, 9 months old.  She is normally fit and we walk a couple of miles each morning.  Three days ago she did not want to walk far, then two nights ago she wandered around on and off during the night, then was sick. In the morning I took her to my vet where she has had blood tests and a scan, all of which are clear.  The last blood tests came back from the lab this afternoon and showed she did not have pancreatitis.  She is slightly better today as far as getting up and walking a few yards.  Her tummy is still as big or bigger.  She is eating tinned rice and chicken purchased from my vet, on his advice.  She had a painkilling injection from the vet at around 1 pm yesterday which sent her into s sort of weird trance-like state.  I took her back to the vet yesterday at 7pm because it was worried about her dazed state.  He vet phoned me at 10 pm to go and collect her as she was now more normal mentally.  Sure enough she was as pleased to see me as I was to see her.  She slept well during the night and has only been sick the once the previous night.   She has eaten her rice and chicken today, which I am giving her in four feeds of half a tin a time (as per my vet's instructions).  She did not want her drink of milk which she normally loves when I have a cup of tea.  She normally arrives at great speed whenever she hears the teapot rattle. I am very worried about her.  She normally talks a lot but is doing this much more as if she is trying to tell me what is wrong.  It is breaking my heart.  She has tablets which are tramadol 50mg, 2, 3 times a day and Clavaseptin 1, 12 hours apart.  I have to let the vet know how she is tomorrow morning.  She is well enough to follow me around the house again, but is still telling me something and still swollen.  Any ideas?  Good news would be much appreciated.

[tonyb286]

Hello again. Grief from the loss of a pet an be extremely traumatic and sometimes even more so than when we lose a close friend or even a relative. We form such a bond with our dogs and our feelings of loss run very deep. It is best not to second-guess what happened. The point is, you did what your instinct told you was right at the time. Sometimes, owners feel guilty about the 'event', but when it is done out of love and care and a desire not to let our dogs suffer ... then we are doing it for all the right reasons.

You offered a lost soul and home. You gave her all the love and attention you could over the years. She was lucky to have found you and if she could say it, she would thank you for the happy life you provided.

You are in my thoughts. Tony

[Sam3mum]

Thank you so much.  I do miss my dog, every waking moment.  I had her for 12 years as she was almost 2 when I got her from a rescue organisation dealing with Dalmations.  She was the Fourth Dalmatian I has, the first I got as a puppy in 1971.  Only yesterday I moved a drinking glass from the edge of a coffee table in my daughter's house so the spotty tail wouldn't knock it over, then felt that awful surge realising that tail would never wag again!  I feel so damn guilty as I asked the vet to put her to sleep. She was crying with every breath and has refused even ham.  I was convinced she was in pain and did what I thought was best.  The scan had showed something unusual with her liver.  I did not want her having painkilling injections without understanding the cause of the pain.  I did not want to leave her to be drained, and I considered her much too old at almost 14 years to have an exploritary operation.  I made the decision and now I have to live with it.

I have s 5 year old Norfolk terrier x miniature poodle and I am concentrating on keeping him so well walked he hasn't time to pine.  My Dalmatian had adopted him as the puppy she never had and washed his face and ears a dozen times a day.  

Anyway, thank you for your kind words.

[ginger899]

I am so very sorry for your loss. It is possible this was caused by internal bleeding from a tumor on the spleen, or even possibly involving the liver as well, as many do. This is often Hemangiosarcoma, a cancer originating from the cells that line blood vessels.
The cause is genetic, and is quite hard to diagnose early enough to be able to cure it. There was not much you could do, if this was the case, except love and help her at the end -which you did.
Dogs with this condition can seem fine one minute, and desperately ill the next. Some can hang on a little while, some for days, some weeks, and occasionally for months, with recurrences of minor bleeds, which eventually clot, and the dog recovers for a time.
But some (as was the case with my own dog) only live a very short time after symptoms show.

My heart goes out to you. I know what it's like to lose them. They love us so much, and the house feels empty without them.

But what I have discovered from my own experiences, is that they live on in spirit, and continue to love us very much. One day we will all be reunited with those we love -including our fur-companions (beautiful Souls!)  

[dobelove]

So sorry for your loss. Just to say that when a dog has a distended stomach as you described it tends to be life threatening. I have had Dobermanns with this problem and my brother has German Shepherds also wit this problem. It is very sad, however, it is best not to leave the dog in pain. My heart goes out to you as I have shed many a tear over my dogs and I know how it feels to lose a beloved pet.

[tonyb286]

Hello. This is very sad news ... and I don't understand how that decision came about ... but I offer my condolences on your loss. With normal blood panel results and the potential of dealing with the issue, given an accurate diagnosis, this makes the situation even sadder. Tony

[Sam3mum]

Thank you everyone for your helpful comments.  Unfortunately my dog has been put to sleep as she was in a lot of pain.  I miss her very much.

[Sam3mum]

Thanks, I will.  

[tonyb286]

Hi. Yes, trying to kid some dogs with their medication can be an uphill struggle. Dogs have an extraordinary good sense of smell, and probably guessed there were pills in her food even before she got close to her bowl. You could ask your vet if the pills can be crushed, as this would probably make it easier.

I just wanted to mention the fact that you regularly give your dog milk ... unfortunately, milk is not good for dogs, so I would stop this straight away. Dogs are commonly lactose intolerant, for one thing, and while humans have specific enzymes to break down lactose (apart from those humans that are themselves lactose intolerant), dogs do not have enough of these enzymes, and the lactose often therefore causes diarrhea and/or digestive upset. Even those dogs that seem fine with small amounts of milk can have serious problems. Gas can build up in the digestive tract - and if it becomes trapped (possibly the cause of your dog's distended stomach), this can have serious consequences.

Have you mentioned the fact you give your dog milk on a regular basis? If not, I would do so, because this may be something he hasn't considered.

Hope this helps.

Tony

[lindapalm]

Its possible she won't eat her breakfast because of the pills being in it. I would wrap them in cheese or use a pill pocket instead.  My dog always knows when I'm trying to hide pills in her food, so do the cats, and they walk away.

[Sam3mum]

Thanks.  I have to phone a progress report to the vet this morning, but she has just refused to eat her breakfast with her pills hidden in it.  Normally she is very greedy.  All blood tests have come back normal and the scan showed nothing wrong.

[Margot49]

I am so sorry to read your dog is not well but glad you took her to the Vet because torsion is Always a concern.  ESP due to her age, this could be due to heart, liver or kidney problems but you say the Vet did blood work and a scan.  Wish I could be if more help.  Maybe she has some intestinal infection.