swollen stomach

[mishhd]

My dogs stomach has swollen and is filled with fluid, i have been to the vets who thought it might be to do with her liver not functioning, but all blood tests have come back normal.  The vets havn't a clue what is wrong with my dog, she stopped eating, they have give her medicine to go to the toilet and heart medicine, and also some steroids to stimulate her to eat, she has eaten some chicken today and seems to have perked up a bit, but she is still full of fluid.  If the vets don't know what is wrong with her I don't know what to do.

She is a staffordshire bull terrier, i don't know much about her life before i had her, I found her 10 months ago, when I first had her she used to wet on my bed and in her bed, but she stopped that, she was a very lively happy dog, it is horrible to see her this poorly.  Any suggestions on what this problem could be.

Many thanks

[Ssmesh13]

This is really sad. My dog is having the same problem. With all my strength I hope its nothing serious :) Gonna take her to the vet tomorrow.

[Abbee34]

We took her to the vet last week they said they need test her blood only than they can identify the disease. They did some test and gave her 5, 6 medicines which made her worst then she was earlier.. She couldn’t sleep the whole night because of the drugs. I have lost my own two dogs due to the miss treatment and overdose of the medicine, they suffered so badly that it was even so hard for them to die, that’s the reason I don’t trust the vet in my city..
Now we are keeping her home since, she don’t eat anything we just feed her glucose water time to time. Her jaundice had faded away and the fluid has also decreased but she is very week. Any suggestion on what can we feed her (mostly on liquid).

Thank you

[Ghilly]

You need to take her to a different vet and have them analyze the fluid to see what's in it.  The accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity is called ascites, and the vet needs to an analyze the fluid and see what's in it so they can determine where it is coming from.  Ascites can signify liver disease or kidney problems but it can also signify heart failure (specifically right-side heart failure) or severe intestinal disease, so it's important to see what the fluid is made of so that the cause can be found.  Putting her on a variety of different medicines is  not going to tell them what is causing it, and the treatment for ascites varies depending on the cause.  The problem with ascites is that pretty much all of the causes are serious and require immediate treatment, so that's why it's so important to determine what the cause is early in the game so that no more time is wasted than necessary.

Ghilly

[Abbee34]

My dog also has a same problem her belly is swollen, We took her to vet but the medicine they gave her made her more sick. Now she is turning yellow, its a sign of Jaundice I guess. We are probably taking her to vet today.
She is just 4 years old, she recently gave birth to 3 beautiful babies but now she is sick. :( She love food but she does not even look at it anymore.. It breaks my heart to see her like this..

[Abbee34]

My dog also has a same problem her belly is swollen, We took her to vet but the medicine they gave her made her more sick. Now she is turning yellow, its a sign of Jaundice I guess. We are probably taking her to vet today.
She is just 4 years old, she recently gave birth to 3 beautiful babies but now she is sick. :( She love food but she does not even look at it anymore.. It breaks my heart to see her like this..

[alicenlayne]

That is just terrifying, I am so sorry for your loss. my dogs abdomen is swollen,  we have  been to a vet the other day and im trying to decide what to do. Shes 10 but besides the swelling shes very healthy, they couldn't see anything because of the fluid, didn't even mention the possibility of draining and taking a sample, they said bring her in for surgery by Friday. they want to open her up to see if they can do anything, if they cant help her then they just wont wake her up ):
im not liking this at all. her blood tests were good besides high white blood cell count, shes acting normal, eating and drinking fine.

[Timtessblue]

I just lost my dog on the 4 Jan 16 . She had been back and forth to the Pdsa and seen numerous vets, had blood tests,fluid sample taken from her stomach and ultrasound scan and still no vet could tell me what was wrong with my dog.
1 of the out of hrs vets said they would drain the fluid from her stomach the following day, but where I returned with her the next day the vet said quote "we can't drain the fluid because we don't know how much to drain away" what the hell this could have saved my dog.
All her tests came back perfect except low protein which no of the vets told me I have had to wait for a report to read this information. I had taken her to the vets because she had a bloated stomach and wasn't eating but she was drinking a lot of water due to the Frusemide tablet they had given her.
When I returned with her on the 4th they said it could be cancer somewhere in her stomach, so we might aswell euthanse her, to which I declined due to they were saying they didn't know what was the cause of the fluid but it could be cancer.
I agreed for them operate on her and take a biopsy but 1 of the vets said he were not going to operate on her unless I given permission to put my dog to sleep, sorry but you don't operate to put to sleep.
They took her into the operating room and about 20 mins later came and told me my dog had die under anaesthetic (what a coincidence) I believe my dog was put to sleep without my consent, which is not what should have happened.
I should have been taking my dog home alive that day but they took this away from me
Rest in piece baby girl we will never forget u n will always lov u x x x

[Kalimati]

i am so sorry timressblue

[Loulou1time]

I have a beautiful Lab mix Pit Dog.His stomach was bloated,but his
appetite was and still is after a month.I can tell he don't like the
bloat and slows him down some he is 10 years old.Now to the frustrated
part,I took him to the Vet and first thing he says was like giving him his last
rights.First he checked heart and say it sound good next he look in mouth say nice and pink then he pulled out a sample of fluid and changed everything he just said.My dog has been on Heart Guard for about 7 years.
This remind me of a friend I know with Lung Cancer,the doctors say they
can cut it out,so after they get inside they say too massive to try.Drs. say
go home take chemo but 6-10 months he would die.Ten years later he is
still walking around,they say now annual appts. but your Cancer is gone.

[jm2k]

know its an old thread but what meds did they give for the infection and how did they diagnose it?
thanks

[Misfits4Me]

There is too much guessing here!! What does the blood test report say??

A complete blood panel would point out any of the suspected diseases without all these tests & expenses.......Did anyone do this??? Let us know ....I'll be thinking about you!

[Minette813]

I have a Pom ,belly swollen ; took her to 2 vets. $390.00; lab works ... "Diagnostic - can be an infection in the uterus, cab be a liver failure ... Vet DONT KNOW.. but prescribed antibiotics, liver supplement .... And if the bloating and not eating persisted... A sonogram...OK... NEXT DAY...thought Mia would explode.... And still not eating.... Happy but not eating and bloating by the minute....by the way, all labs. Ok... Run again to the vet for a referral for a sonogram.... Hmmm went there... AGAIN.. Labs and more labs...Vet after sonogram...."hard to say... Can be liver failure.. We don't know unless we do more tests... Hmmm have to stay for three days to keep running tests...staying in hospital .. $400.00 A DAY!!!!  I decided to let her 24hrs., they took  fluid out, she ate...etc... And will take her home today and I will take care of her and let you know, if I can, day by day, her progress or non progress so I can help other doggies on the same situation ... Specially the owners like me, who love our dogs as our child and don't have the money to pay vets for experimenting with our kids...I think is not fair... Well... See you soon... This afternoon will get my baby and start my own way of procedure... Will keep you posted.....

[Margot49]

Ginger gave you good advice.  I would just ask if the dog has been tested and treated for any type if parasite?

[ginger899]

Check her gums. Are they pale? (They should normally be pink) If they are pale, this is an emergency situation and she probably has some internal bleeding. Then she will definitely need to go to the vet right now, and the money will have to be raised quickly (by selling anything which would sell rapidly, such as gold jewelry etc), or borrowed, or put on credit card.

If her gums are not pale, then even though i may be no internal bleed, there are a number of conditions which could cause fluid build-up in the abdomen. And all of them need veterinary care as soon as possible.

[yorkshires]

Yorkshire  terrier her stomach is bloated not real big but I can tell it's full of something she eats fine she poops and pees fine she still gets around okay I can tell though she is a little uncomfortable. she's was throwing up the week before like twice a day about for a week  i gave her Kaopectate twice a day for 2 days and she has not thrown up again. now just bloated. I made her apt. I tried to make her appointment for vet exam was $54 I could have done that but if they wanted to do anything else to help her it could have been 100 200 300 400. I do not have that at this time. so I had to cancel her appointment and make it on Friday which is 4 days away I hope she can wait. I asked if they could take payments after I paid for her exam they said no they do not take payments. she ate fine again this morning. I have split her meal into three smaller meals a day to try to help the bloating I do give her natural dog food and a little bit of canned with it she loves it. and yes she is faded any ideas what could be wrong with her

[avic0526]

hi..i have a puppy to had swollen tummy like he had a lot of water in his tummy.. i feed him a boiled chicken with rice.. but he's always craving for foods although he had a big tummy like watery inside..he's tough became pale.. please help!

[aholtrop12]

hi i have a 4 year old LARGE black lab and he has always been a healthy active dog and last month we took a vaca and put him in a kennel, after that he has never been the same. first he lost his bark, then he wouldn't eat anything but grass and drink a lot of water, so my parents started to give him can food and he ate it very fast so they stopped then they noticed he threw it all up and now anytime he drinks he gets sick right after and now his stomach is swollen and hard the vet says they it didnt flip and that he is stressed from being in the kennel but it was over 2 months ago, i could tell he is jus not the same hes very sluggish. please help me i want to do everything i can for my best friend !

[andrea459]

My American Pit-bull Terrier is been on a decline for a few months now. We thought it was because he was gaining a little weight so we put him on a raw meat diet (chicken hearts and gizzards). He seemed to have lost a little weight and started getting more lively again but it didn’t last long. He started peeing in the house (which he never did). He is about 7 or 8 years old. He is not doing so good now. His stomach area seems to be really swollen and he has now seemed to experience some muscle loss and/or deterioration. It is really hard for him to get up, most times he can’t but after trying a bit he succeeds. His mid-section looks really heavy and even hangs lower than the rest of his body when he's standing. He breathes heavy and grunts when he moves (i feel like he may be in pain).

The weird thing is that he has not lost his appetite. ALL he cares about is eating (it's the only thing he gets up for). He also pees and poops regularly (the other thing he gets up for). It's like he knows once he lays down he can’t get up so he stays standing for a while when he gets up to decide if he has something else he wants to do :)

He doesn’t want to go on walks or get in the car (he relieves himself in the backyard). I took him on a walk today to try and get him moving, but pretty much had to drag him. He walks slow and with his head down.

We took him to a holistic vet as well as a regular vet, but no one knows what is wrong with him. The holistic vet performed acupuncture, blood work, and sent him home with several herbal supplements as well as some pain medication. The other vet ran x-rays but could not see any issues or masses. The blood work showed high liver enzyme levels (very high)….we are taking him to vet again to test for Cushing’s disease. After reading up on it, it sounds like it fits. Any advice or suggestions on the best test to prove it or a good treatment?

Any responses are greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[franno]

My dog is the same, swollen abdomen but has lost lots of weight, he is a staffy and is usually overweight, he has very watery stools and it just shoots from him but he eats all the time and is always begging (he never did this before) and sometimes feel he would eat us if we sat still. Do you think it is the same.

[Jolenedr]

We took our three ear old chijauja to the vet today.  Swollen stomach,  they tested her for heart worms.  Negative there.  She eats and plays.  But is getting to where she looks uncomfortable.  We are trying her on a dewormer for five days as she could have a parasites in her intestine.  Doc said it could be a number things and include heart and liver.  They exrayed her and found no obstruction.  We are going to take it slow.  Will take a stool sample back.  We did notice about a month ago that her hair around her neck lightened up and now you can see thebones on her back. Will let you know how it goes.  Good luck with your baby.

[shereeree]

hey I have a staffishire to, he's a 3yr male and I'm goin through the exact same thing, I've been to 3 vets and they have kno clue, fluids have been drainedbut they still dnt kno, he still plays an eat but sometimes he has his day wen he barely eats, this have been goin on for 7mo now, have you  found out what was wrong wit  your dog?... I would love 2 kno that I can fix him I love my dog sooo much

[J713]

Hi, how is ur dog doing? My dog is going through the same thing right now. He's a 8 year old Lhasa apso. His stomach is very swollen and has not been eating. He has absolutely no energy to even walk. He also shakes very bad when he inhales.. do you have any advice..

[jadasgrandma]

I live in wilbraham, ma  was tufts expensive? I took my dog in today and they did test and all they can tell me is it is complex they dont know said she needs an ultrasound and an echo just the ultrasound alone is 500. I spent 620.00 today basically every penny. I asked what if i dont have the money and she basically said my dog will die they tested her fluid just said its not cancerous, can you give e any info on tufts I would do anything to make her better just dont know how I a going to be able to afford it before she gets worse, thanks Robyn  ***@**** jadasgrandma

[Ghilly]

I feel your pain, Ginger!  LOL!  Sometimes I wonder if anyone at all reads our "Please read this before posting" posts.  I guess this is our answer!  :/

Ghilly

[SuperCharge]

Is your dog fixed? Could she possibly have pyometra?