[Just a warning--this post may contain graphic nature as it discusses bowel movements, etc. I am sharing this in case something similar happens to someone else's pet and maybe it can help them through the process.]
Seriously...is it already the end of November? I feel like just yesterday I was showing you the cutest bumble bee in the world. Things have become pretty loco lately if you ask me. I always come up with great stories to tell and somehow wind up sitting in front of my computer at 11pm sans inspiration to actually write a post. I wish this weren't the post that I can actually at 11pm on Tuesday Nov. 24th.
You see, Duclinea is sick and has been since this past Thursday. I came home on Thursday to an ungodly stench in the house and lots of diarrhea on the bathroom floor. Now, I know it is never easy when your dog (or kid) get sick, but when it is the first time they get truly sick, I think it is even more stressful and terrifying. When I started to clean up the bathroom, I noticed some streaks of blood in her droppings...something that made my stomach uneasy because blood is never a good sign.
We called the vet who has been seeing her and she said that we need to switch her to a bland diet (boiled chicken and white rice) and keep an eye on her for a day or so to see if it would pass. If not, she would need to see her. We did as told and kept a close eye on Dulcinea, who ended up vomiting a few times in the night on top of the diarrhea. We called a different vet clinic to see what they had to say about the situation and they said the same thing, except they said we could start giving her Diarsanyl Paste, which helps line the intestines and gives the dog electrolytes.
On Friday, she seemed normal personality-wise. She wanted to play and was excited to see us when we arrived home for lunch, but for the rest of the day she rested in her bed. She did still have diarrhea, but it wasn't as frequent and there wasn't any more blood....which led us to believe she was doing better. Saturday came and went without many other changes, but Sunday was a different story. Sunday she was kind of mopey, partly because she was tired from playing on Saturday and partly because she started feeling worse. In fact, she went into her travel crate several times during the day and just stayed there. She never does this so, yes, I found it odd. We decided to take her to a 24-hour vet clinic to see what they had to say.
The vet found her to be all normal (temperature, weight, etc.) except for the diarrhea. She hadn't vomited since Friday night so we seemed ok on that front as well. She said it might be a reaction to the shots that Dulcinea received last Tuesday (her 5 month shots) since they contain modified live virus. She said to keep an eye on her, keep with a different bland diet (white rice and ground beef) and if within the week she wasn't getting better, to take stool samples and see if some sort of parasite was affecting her. We were instructed to keep giving her the Diarsanyl paste but to also give her 1/4th of a pill that is a stomach calmer (but not an anti-diarrhea pill).
Sunday night she started with worse diarrhea and even bloody streaks after we got home from the vet. We watched her closely on Monday and unfortunately it continued. Here we are on Tuesday, and we hoped the blood would go away, but no. It is even more than before. So, we decided to take her to another vet clinic, one that is supposed to be the best in Santiago (and probably Chile), so they could examine her. I had taken a picture of a bloody stool from the morning and I made sure to take my camera to show the doctor. He examined her and is worried there is something lodged in her intestines. He said they felt extremely inflamed, but that he also felt some sort of mass or bulge that didn't seem normal. He ordered an x-ray, which we did, but unfortunately it didn't come out very well so Dulcinea has to go back tomorrow (Wednesday) morning to get another x-ray. Thus, the doctor couldn't really give us an answer as to what is wrong with her, but he promised to get the x-ray done tomorrow and let us know the results ASAP. She will probably stay at the clinic most of the day, until I can get off work to go get her. But the plus side of that, is that the doctor will be able to observe her during the day and actually see her poop. Thankfully, she has been her normal self personality-wise every day except for Sunday. That at least makes me feel a little bit better.
I wish I knew what was wrong or what to do to make her better....it is so frustrating to see this little 6lb. baby being so sick. I have, actually, been getting stomach aches and headaches just from being so worried about her during the day. For the evenings, we moved the top mattress off the bed and put it in the living room. So we are "camping out" as my husband likes to say. This allows us to sleep with and comfort Dulcinea during the nights, but it lets her go to the bathroom to do her business when she needs to. She has been such a little trooper, but I ask you all to please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. We need to find out what is making her sick and get rid of it as soon as possible! I feel like such a bad mom for letting her get this sick, but we honestly have no idea what could have caused it. I just hope we can figure it out soon and move past this point. In any case, I will post updates about her status as they become available.
And with that, I will live you with a picture of my little beauty:
Friends
Posts
20 comments:
Sending warm Dachshund wishes your way for a speedy recovery. Have a fantastic Thanksgiving, maybe all the food smells will help brighten her spirits.
sending doxie prayers
have they looked forpancreatitiis my oldone had that ansame thing happend to her they told me feed her chicken an rice an give her that paste . Make her stay from bones rawhides an any beef flavor items cause there lil insides cant take its .Sending prayers ure baby looks like my old gall i can see clina
I'm sorry to hear about your dachsie not feeling well. I hope she gets well soon. This sounds similar to something our dachshund had. He was diagnosed with HGE (Hemorrhagic GastroEnteritis). He had the bloody diarrhea and vomiting. There is not a known cause and it is diagnosed by eliminating other reasons. This sounds like what your vet has been doing. Here is a link which I hope you will find informative. http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/dogdiseasesh/a/HGEindogs.htm Key thing is your vet is treating Duclinea. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. Our little guy recovered completely. Can certainly relate to the feelings you have had during the episode. We went through them too.
Poor little thing. I hope she gets better soon!
I went through this earlier this year with two of my doxies. Jordan had just had surgery and was on an antibiotic, so when he started throwing up and having bloody diarrhea, we thought it was a result of the stress from the surgery + the antibiotic. Then Maddy started having bloody diarrhea too, and since she wasn't on an antibiotic, we realized that couldn't be the problem. The vet eventually suggested that we change their food. The pups had been getting Nutra's EVO red meat kibble, and, according to the vet, grain-free foods can sometimes cause that problem. I switched them to a fish & sweet potato food, and they've been fine since.
Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with you... truly they are. Sending you much love.
Frankie & Barbara
Poor pup! I have she has a speedy recovery. I can't stand it when mine are sick, so I can only imagine how you feel right now.
Oh how scary, I would be a mess too. Sending positive thoughts and prayers towards a quick recovery.
Hugs-
Mendie & Emma
Best wishes for you and Duclinea. I hope your baby girl recovers very soon. Our thoughts are with you.
Poor little thing! I hope she gets better. Thinking positive and healthy thoughts for you!
Please sweet Dulcinea get better!Will send our prayers for you to get better. My doxie, Lucy, had a same problem, years ago, because she like to play with wood-sticks and she accidentally swallowed a piece of wood which stopped in the stomach's wall. She vomited blood, but she get better. The vet said that she could have done a gastro-enteritis. But she didn't and she is 8 and very well. All your best for your sweet little girl.
Beautiful Dulcinea, ask Mom and Dad to check out thepetwhisperer.com lots of good advice and solutions for you. Feel better soon.Love
Reggie, Ruby, Holly and Peanut
Sending lots of love your way Dulcinea. Hope your feeling better soon.
Have you tried raw, canned pumpkin not pumpkin pie filling) it works wonders for both diarrhea and constipation.
Love Ruby & Penny
Hi Everyone, Duclinea's Mommy here. Thanks for the support and wonderful ideas! I will be posting a better update soon with the results from the vet, but Duclinea is to be doing much better! We are very thankful that she is on her way to a speedy recovery!!!
I'm so glad to read that she is doing much better. Gus (mix), Ellie (dachshund), & Buford (english bulldog)send good thoughts and well wishes that Dulcinea is doing better.
Awwwww poor baby!! I'm so sorry to hear you (and her) are both going through this. I recently had my dog go through something similar and she had to have barium / x-rays and we found she had eaten some poly-fil from a pillow she tore apart. It lasted about a week until it all passed through her system. Was the worst feeling for me! I worried about her like it was my child, so I know what you are going through. Sending prayers her way and please keep us updated!
Happy to hear the little one is on the mend :)
DID YOU EVER FIND OUT WHAT IS WRONG WITH HER MY DOG HAS A PROBLEM TOO SAMETHING I AM AT MY WITS END SHE IS NOT GETTING ANY BETTER BEEN 4 MONTHS JUST DIARRHEA..I HAVE HER ON THE DIRASANYL FIRST NIGHT TONIGHT..PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO GIVE SOME INFO.
Go see your vet right away!
Yes! I agree with Ben, go to your vet and if they don't seem to be solving the problem very quickly, take her to another one! The dogs can dehydrate very easily and the poor things have a hard time getting back on their feet without help. She ended up just having a stomach irritation. We ended up leaving her at the vet for 1 whole day for them to watch her and after that she started getting better. It was a matter of getting the right kind of food and medicine in here--they gave her a rice & chicken food from a can, antibiotic, the dirasanyl, and some drops to help with the stomach pain.
Best of luck!!!
Post a Comment