Vetspet -- Is Doggy Having A Medical Emergency?

[The Democrat]

Back in 2003, when I bought my fishing boat, I gave my wife a new car, named the boat after her, bought her a health club membership, and gave her permission to get a dog.

It took her a long time to choose a dog, but yesterday (Saturday) a 6-year-old, 130-lb., female Great Dane was delivered to our home by a local Dane rescue society. This dog needed a new home because its former owners moved out of state and couldn't take her with them, and my wife was thrilled to get her.

Yesterday afternoon, doggy seemed happy and healthy. She met our cats (that was interesting), went for a walk with us, got lots of love and attention, etc. She ate a little Nutro (this was not the food she had been on), crank a couple bowls of water, and possibly got into some cat food (we're not sure, but if so, she only ate a very small amount).

A few hours later, doggy started having obvious digestive distress. She had dry heaves, then barfed up the water she drank, and lay down on her doggy pillow. She had a restless night, and doesn't seem at all improved today. She has not eaten or drunk any water for 24 hours. She lifted her head and looked around a few times, but has not been on her feet today. She occasionally groans. Her eyes are open, but she is extremely lethargic, and only slightly responsive to scratching her ears, petting her, etc.

Two of the people from the Dane rescue society who were involved in delivering the dog to us (including doggy's foster mom) told us not to worry, Danes are very sensitive to changes of surroundings, people, food, etc., and she'll probably be "moody" for a couple days. It doesn't look to me like this is mood, it looks like doggy has one **** of a bellyache. We have NO experience with dogs, so we don't know what's going on, and we're almost frantic with worry. Are we making a big deal of a little thing, should we wait it out for another day to see if she gets better, or does this dog need to go to the ER?

Thanks for any advice.

[waleht unlogged]

I have never owned a Great Dane, but what concerns me is that the dog is not drinking water and not up an about. I do know that a sudden change in the dogs food can cause havoc with the digestive system. However by now I would think a belly ache would have passed. Nutro's is a good dog food, but the dog should be weined (sp?) off of his food while mixing it with Nutros. Slowly increasing the nutros and reducing the old food until your 100% Nutros.

As far as moody....I don't buy it. I would go with your gut(sorry)and take the dog to the vet. Soon this dog will be dehydrated.

[The Democrat]

There's definitely more going on than stress at moving to a new home. I just put the water bowl under her nose, and she sniffed it, grunted, and turned away -- wants no part of food or drink. Very listless.

It's too bad this happened on Easter Sunday, when nothing is open and you can't get hold of anyone. I know what I'm going to be doing in the morning ... but there's not much we can do til then. I don't think she's going to croak, she's awake and doesn't seem to be in acute distress, breathing seems normal, just very listless and won't get up, or eat or drink.

[vetspet.ind]

don...you need to get her looked at asap....sorry...just got this today...monday...there is a super serious problem called gdv...for gastric dilatation volvulus....the stomach literally bloats up and turns on itself....fatal if not fixed asap ....and then often its too late...the emergency clinics are better than us regular vets at fixing this one as they see it all the time...i get one a yr...they get one or two a month...great danes are the #1 breed for this one and some experts say 50% odds they bloat/twist in their lifetime....a simple x-ray will tell you if thats the problem....you are welcome to call me anytime today and consult...have had lots of experience over the yrs with this one....if its not gdv...could just be the change in diet...stress...cat food...etc...may be just a minor problem but i'm guessin you have a gdv...feel free to call me at home...219-762-6102 or clinic 219-762-6102 hope i'm wrong...steve

[vetspet.ind]

oops...clinic is 219-962-8565

[washington_post]

Don:

Best of luck with your Dane, get her to the vet. We had several back when I was a kid. Very loyal, nobal dogs. Harlequin, brindle....?

BTW: Is her name really "Doggy", or is that just for the purpose of this post ? x(

[The Democrat]

What the heck?! I half-expected to find a 130-lb. corpse on the living room floor this morning, but she's up and bouncing around! She drank some water, then of course had to go outside and pee, and is walking around like nothing happened. A minute ago, I had a giant face in my keyboard as I tried to type ...

She sure sold her "dying dog" act to me!!!

Her name is "Dante" and she's dark gray on the back with white belly, forepaws, and white blotches. We're told this color is called "mantle."

Steve -- We received a booklet on "bloat" with her paperwork, and I looked for symptoms, but it didn't add up. If she had bloat, she should be dead by now, but Dante seems a healthy dog this morning.

I think I've been scammed by a dog ...

[dewyg]

The more info I read that comes from a vet I believe that they are fear mongers. If you look in the archives they are continuosly telling you to take the animal immediately to a vet no matter what the symptoms are. If these symptoms belong to a child we often let it ride and see if it gets better. I believe that if you took their word for every ailment then we would be broke paying vet bills. Sorry for the negative statement but after 12yrs working in the medical field I truly believe people pay more attention to animals health than they do each other. And that is what a vet preys upon.

[Juls_OH]

:rotflmao: What a dog!!!

Glad to hear Dante is doing fine. My first thought was that it was just "sad". I'm sure it knew it was never going to see it's owners ever again, and he was just plain upset about it.

The food change, and CATS on top of that, just made it worse. LOL

He is going to adjust just fine, I think. The fact that you noticed, and were concerned, shows that you will be a great dog owner.

Best wishes with your new "best friend" Democrat! May you have many years together. ;)

Juls
p.s. Please post pictures asap...I want to see this big guy. :popcorn:

[rockpt]

I have to disagree, dewyg. My father is a vet and growing up I went with him on many emergency calls where the owners simply waited too long after the pet became symptomanic to call the vet. By then, it was sometimes too late or became a problem that could have been easily treated but instead had become life threatening. I also don't buy the dogs are like children argument; they're not.

Just last week, my 8 year old Australian Cattle Dog became lethargic and had no appetite. I took her in and she had swollen tonsils and bloodwork showed some high bacteria levels. Got some antibiotics and she responded very quickly and is now fully recovered. $200 well spent. She might have recovered on her own without treatment or she might have gotten worse. Because she can't take herself to the vet, I have the responsibility and I'm going to get her checked out because that's what I would want if the roles were reversed.

I don't know vetspet, but for a few years I've read his posts and his advice always seems well-grounded, he certainly he isn't asking for or making any money off the advice he gives on WC. Steve should get a big pat on the back for taking time to give advice to anyone who asks.

[Juls_OH]

Well said rockpt...I agree!

I also think Steve should be thanked for all the advice he has shared with us over the years. He has helped many people, including me, with concerns about our pets.

We are VERY lucky to have him as a contributor here.

Juls

[dewyg]

Literature is proving that the over prescription of antibiotics is the main reason we are experiencing the prevalence of antibiotic resistant bugs. If we continue to pump ourselves and our pets with drugs we soon will have no recourse/treatment available to treat us when we truly need it. Yet again I repeat that often letting nature run its own course will provide the best treatment modality. I appreciate the information given by professionals on this forum, but alas sometimes the info is less than reliable.

[The Democrat]

Anybody who cleans Lake Michigan perch like Vetspet can't be all bad! Maybe just a little bit bad. :7 http://www.walleyecentral.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=1008&password=&sort=1&cat=500&page=1

[The Democrat]

The pics will take a little while, as I don't own a digital camera. The dog ate it. (Just kidding.)

[ffishman]

Got to agree with you rock pt. Our lab a few weeks ago got what we thought was KC. Did an internet search, and her symptoms were exactly the same. Even posted for here. All agreede it sounded like KC.(kennel cough) A lot of the internet info said to let it run its course. Being a Friday, we thought ok. Late Saturday after every cough, she throw up. This started happining all the time. Sunday morn we took her to the emergency vet. He checked her out, said it was KC and gave here a couple of shots, and some meds. She stopped throwing up right away, and the cough was gone soon after. Animals can't talk, so we, as their care takers have to use our best judgment as how to help them. The more you love your pet the easier this is to do. Cost me 300 bucks that Sunday, but she is well worth every cent.

[Eyesrfn]

Steve, Thanks for the advice you give here on WC. It means a lot to a lot of people and their pets.:bowdown:

[Planocat]

I would also like to thank Steve for taking the time to share his knowledge and professionalism with this board. Your contributions are so valuable to many.

In my opinion, dewyg's initial post was totally inappropriate, ill-timed, and way out of line. And if you don't understand why, dewg, then you probably are as big a jerk as your post would lead one to believe. Hopefully, that is not the case.

Sorry, but it had to be said.

Planocat

[Trailerguy]

[font color=green size=3][b]Medicating the family dog should be the least of your worries.
Antibiotics and other drugs are the mainstay of american livestock farmers. If you saw the feed formula sheets, they often have multiple antibiotics, and partitioners. Partitioners are a class of drug that causes certian parts of the animals carcass to grow more muscle, but are not classed as a steriod. ;) So if one hog in the barn has a sniffle they all get medicated.
Traces of these drugs show up in the meat we eat and the ground and water as well. It makes Canadian Walleye fillets sound pretty good.

Wish'in I was fish'in on Wabby

[Behr]

Actually, not completing the prescribed treatment: ie; feeling better before consuming all of the medication (Antibiotics) and then stopping treament prematurely is why these 'bugs' are becomiong resistant. The bug get a 'taste' of the treatment and builds resistance, when, if the treatment were completed, the bug would have been killed off entirely without a chance to build resistance.

-Behr

[Behr]

<<...and gave her permission...>>


You sure you're not a republican?

;-)

-Behr

[AlW]

I would think there had to be something good about a Vet who would post his phone number on a forum, knowing full well he may never make a dime doing it, thanks and I'm glad your here.

Also had we let our GSH illness run its course, she'd be dead now.
Addison's is not a summer cold.

I think that considering a dog can not tell what's wrong with them a bit of caution is not out of line.

All of the four dogs we've owned have seen the emergency room at least once, only two were what I'd consider a life saving trip, one for Addison's, and one when we found our dog was diabetic, do I consider the other trips wasted?
Not hardly, had one of them died because I was to cheap to bring them in, it would have been very hard to live with.

Considering the joy (and a little mischief) they have brought to the wife and I, its the least we can do...imho

Al

[bigfish1965]

Two big thumbs up for Steve and down for Dewyg.

Trying to mix the over-prescribing of antibiotics with an over-the-net attempt at helping out a fellow angler is way to much of a stretch. There are no super bugs for pets...only people. Perhaps the good human doctors of the world should follow the lead of vets like Steve.
If my pet were in some type of immediate danger, I would want to know ASAP.

[dewyg]

Wow the linguistic skills you display are astounding. Jerk? Lets be realistic the majority of posts on this forum are informative. But a group of middle age white males (minority females) whining about pets and the loss of a friend is truly moronic. These middle age men simpering about there dog is getting truly tiring, why don't you spend some time volunteering with big brothers big sisters. Then you can have something to talk about, the suffering of the poverty stricken children truly deserve to be discussed. As for my popularity within this forum that has no bearing in my life. I treat this web site as an educational tool, and use it as such.

[bigfish1965]

>Wow the linguistic skills you display are astounding. Jerk?
>Lets be realistic the majority of posts on this forum are
>informative. But a group of middle age white males (minority
>females) whining about pets and the loss of a friend is truly
>moronic. These middle age men simpering about there dog is
>getting truly tiring, why don't you spend some time
>volunteering with big brothers big sisters. Then you can have
>something to talk about, the suffering of the poverty stricken
>children truly deserve to be discussed. As for my popularity
>within this forum that has no bearing in my life. I treat
>this web site as an educational tool, and use it as such.

Of course YOU belong to big brothers, right? My dog is a part of my family and is treated as such. Perhaps you were bitten by a dog as a lad or your mommy wouldn't let you have one....this would explain your hostility.
AS for poverty...I came from poverty and made a life for myself. Don't bother talking to me about poverty. Of course I've yet to see you start a thread about anything, really.

[Thoughtful]

While Planocat may not have been loquacious, I, for one, found Planocat's succinct, direct, and accurate analysis to epitomize the hallmark of fine writing....:)

[dewyg]

Actually I have a lab and two cats, Growing up we ran a twenty run dog kennel for extra money. So please sir your assumptions are wrong, and as to my placing post I like to learn, and I feel that by gleaming knowledge from your vast experience will make me a truly better human. I grew up without money but surrounded by love, I have done well for my family.

[dewyg]

You done broke out the dictionary did ya, I'm mighty proud of you.