Ok Brains Trust

[dasha]

SO I was hoping to get some ideas on here to help a little pup.

Mon PM. Perfectly normal at 11:30 pm. eaten food, pooped firm poop, bright etc

Tues AM ~9:30, Bright, alert. NOT Eating. Temp normal. Poop firm.

Tues 11:30, slightly quiet but still would play with siblings, but would rest before the others were finished playing.

Taken to Vet, could feel poss small lump up under ribcage.. possible foreign body but small enough it should pass if needed.

X-Rayed about 4pm Tues - No obvious FB or signs of abnormal things. Enema Given, parasite smear done. (had been wormed every 2 weeks so far)

Nibbled at some food ~ 6pm and seemed brighter and wanting to play. Picked her up to come home. She ate dinner at about 9pm, pooped normal form poop. ALL OK but didn't play rough with litter mates.

Wed AM, Jumped out of kennel as usual, NOT Eating again. Walked around yard and paddock with me and other dogs, seemed a bit quiet..... Normal Poop, no temp. Got a bit tired after a few mins so I picked her up to carry her a bit. When I put her on the ground, she looked quiet depressed and proceeded to vomit..... Bile....... 4 times. Carried her back to house and put in crate. Called vet. More vomit in crate. WOuld not stand up to get out of crate. I had to reach in and pull out bedding with her on it to get her out. Very lethargic.

Took her back to vet for another check. Another x-ray or 2. Still no signs on x-ray. Palpation initially found small lump again, this time further down. But then not felt at all a few hours later. Left at vet

Palpation and picking her up causes more vomiting.

WED arvo, placed on drip, given antibiotics, given anti vomit drugs, and pain relief. Vital signs were reasonably good.

Thurs AM Diarhoea, vomiting overnight even on anti spew drugs, but possibly as the pain relief wore off. Poop sent to lab to test for PCR to see if anything else can be found.

Thurs Day, Barium studies done, nothing showed up again. Vets are pretty confident that it is NOT a foreign body now. Vital signs are OK, but fluctuate with nausea and vomiting episodes.

Diarrhoea doesn't have signs of blood in it.

She has not had exposure to any chemicals. The pen is cleaned multiple times a day and disinfected. The day pen on the grass is on clean lawn and moved daily. They drink tank water as general drinking water. They did have an adventure down the paddock to the dam but they mainly ran along the edge of the water and one (not her) rolled in the sand etc. They may have lapped a little but it is only rain runoff from the heavy rain and it drains away over a few weeks. It isn't stagnant water that sits for months. The other dogs regularly play in here when there is water and drink and have never had problems with them.

They go to the paddock multiple times a day for their walks and to empty out. The dig holes, chew stuff and generally just have puppy fun. They eat sheep poop etc.

It is not a heritable disease. (DNA testing done etc)

I am leaning more towards ingesting some kind of plant toxin as they have been digging in the garden but her symptoms aren't consistent with any of the descriptions of symptoms for any of the plants around.

Vets are also stumped as they are leaning towards an enteric problem but her signs aren't really consistent with them either.....

So she is getting supportive care so far and being treated symptomatically

So if anyone can come up with any ideas as to what it might be, it would be much appreciated.

[*kirty*]

I know some foreign substances don't show up well on x-ray (I think toy stuffing etc) so perhaps dont cross it off just yet. Dont have any other ideas sorry.

My tip though would be to get some Hills A/D for her. Great for boosting unwell babies. That stuff is like liquid gold and I credit it for saving several very sick animals over the years. Poor little baby - hope you get to the bottom of it soon.

[sandgrubber]

I'd suggest re-posting this in the Breeder's Forum for best chance of feedback from people who have encountered similar.

[tdierikx]

When were they wormed? Vaccinated?

T.

[pipsqueak]

Is it possible that she is lacking gut enzymes, and cannot digest food properly? I have no idea how they test for this, but thought it worth throwing out their so you can ask your vet.

Edited March 14, 2013 by futuredogtrainer

[pipsqueak]

....

Edited March 14, 2013 by futuredogtrainer

[WreckitWhippet]

Having just expereinced a young pup with a foreign body that did not show up on xray, I would say the symptoms are very similar. What did not show up on xray for us , was a 25cm stick. There could well be something in your pup and the only way to find out is to open the pup up and go looking for it.

[Missymoo]

I think you should post that photo Wreckit...amazing...

OP I hope your pup is ok

[dasha]

Well today she has improved a little.

A bit brighter and no vomiting. She has had a little bit of ID (didn't think much of that) and ate some chicken.

He had a little play in the yard in the vet and played with some leaves. She then started to dig a hole.... All while still on a drip

So the vet said providing she keeps her food down tonight, she may be able to come home in the morning....