Sick Curly

[KJ]

Sunday nite both dogs became quite ill with diarrhea. I began the rice regimin and Kaopectate (from Red Cross Pet First Aid). Shep thank god recovered-so far. Curly's continued and when the blood appeared, we went to the vet. The dx was that this is common but the cause is too vast to pinpoint and a scrip for metronidazole and Pepcid AC was given. Then we got home, and he drank and drank water and then puked and puked and more blood and then only blood and then blood in the vomit. He was so scared. He wouldn't come inside the house. I put his lead on and he'd just lay down. He was miserable. He hid in the lillies. He was so ill. So 3 hours later off the ER. The ER vet basically said the same rx but called it Hemmoragic GastroEnteritis. He gave him a sub-cu saline shot and pepcid shot. I had managed to get the metro pill in him prior to the visit. So today, no more episodes but he's so so listless, weak and really depressed. He's been eating and drinking little bits. He's been this way all day and I'm so worried. I'm not a great communicator and it seems everytime I have a concern the vet is so...just laid back about it all. I always feel like I am overeacting. I hate that. I know he sees things way worse but my dog is so ill!! Also all the on-line info is totally not in line with what either vet dx'd or rx'd. If he's not perked up by tomorrow he will go back in.

 

Anyway I was wondering if anyone has dealt with this and if so what your experience has been.

 

Good thoughts for Curl please.

thanks

[Shetlander]

Oh, so sorry to hear about this! Definitely if he is not doing better, get him in first thing tomorrow. My Lhasa became terribly, violently sick out of the blue last Fall and the vet thought it might be HGE but it wasn't. It also wasn't parvo, lepto or pancreatitis. Just one of those things, apparently.

 

You are not over-reacting! Again, if he isn't improved by morning take him right in to the vet. Much, much better safe than sorry! And if the diagnosis isn't quite right or there are complications, then that needs to be addressed. Chances are he is just very slowly recuperating from such an ordeal. It took my tough little Lhasa about a week before he seemed pretty much back to 100%. He was still easily tired, not himself and slept a lot the first couple of days.

 

Our dogs need us to advocate for them, so don't hesitate doing whatever you think is right for your dog. We live with them and know them best and love them most. Good luck and let us know how he's doing!

[Tassie]

A friend's BC had this (after a Greenie), and was very poorly. Her vet took it way too casually, and the dog ended up in hospital for a day or two on a drip. She took about a week, I'd say, to recover fully. Basically same treatment - Flagyl/metronidazole and fluids.

 

If Curly is eating and drinking at all, that's a good sign - and as long as he keeps doing that, with no more D and V episodes, hopefully he'll start to pick up. But yes - if you're worried - go back to the vet. The worst you can be told is that you're a panicking mother - but hey, as Liz said, we're the advocate for our dogs.

 

Hope Curly is feeling better by now, and that Shep is still OK.

[2 Devils]

My toy poodle had this last year. We believe his was caused by vaccinations.

 

Anyways, it took a couple days before he was even somewhat energetic. You are not being panicky so don't worry about that. Hemoraghic Gastroenteritis can cause death if not treated.

 

Just make sure Curly is not dehydrated and feed a bland, bland food for a few days and then slowly add back in the normal food.

 

Aspen was on the meds for approx. 7 days and that is about when he started acting normal again.

[PSmitty]

It's been about 7-8 years, so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but my senior bichon had an episode of this. It was scary, and since he was so old, I thought we were losing him for sure. But, after getting rehydrated with some IV fluids and meds, within a few days he was perked up and doing great. It did take a few days before we saw drastic improvement. I hope Curly is feeling better soon.

[Lewie'sMom]

You are NOT over-reacting! You know your dog better than anybody, even your animal-care professional. Don't apologize for hounding (no pun intended ) the vet. That's what you're paying him/her for.

 

I hope Curly continues to feel better. Hugs to you and Curly and Shep.

[mbc1963]

That is very scary, and absolutely trust your instincts!

 

Mary

[Guest blastoff]

This has really been going around here in Dallas. I've heard of A LOT of dogs that have gotten it and no vets have been able to diagnose it as anything. I hope your guy recovers quickly. So far all of the dogs I've heard of that have gotten it have recovered within a week or so.

[Lewie'sMom]

I just read very quickly on Wikipedia that we don't know why HGE occurs but it's not contagious.

 

Very puzzling that both dogs came down with it at the same time.

 

Could it have been something they ingested, unbeknownst to Mom? (rhetorical question)

 

Very puzzling, very disturbing.

 

I think for my second career I'll study to be a vet tech.

[nancy]

We had a scary encounter with HGE some years ago.

 

We boarded Fergie at our vet to go visit DH's parents. Because of flight times and vet hours, our daughter picked Fergie up the day we were returning. They turned the dog over, but told Mari that the dog had HGE. Geve rather scary information and cans of expensive specialty dog food. If there was a problem, she should take Ferg to the emergency vet. Mari got Ferg home and let her out in their fenced backyard. About the time I called to say we were home, Feg had bloody diarrhea in the yard. Mari was freaking. I rushed over, got Ferg, then looked HGE in the online Merck Manual. The vet had given Mari some pills, so I went with that. Things improved.

 

I called the vet, furious. First, we had left our email addresses and the phone number in Florida for them to call if there were a problem. They said they didn't feel this was that serious. Then why scare Mari. And, because we'd had a different problem another time, I had told them they could keep Fergie until we were home if there were a problem - I'm good for the charges. Again, they didn't think it was all that serious.

 

Fergie came through OK. But we changed vets.

[esox]

Sorry I don't have anything to offer diagnostically. You do have all our good thoughts and prayers.

 

Alex and Esox

[Beth G]

Wow! That is really scary!! *Sending healing vibes*

[KJ]

Thanks for the well wishes. Curly is almost back to normal. YAY!!! He's mostly depressed, moving slowly now but I think the lethergy is lifting. It is taking a long time to bounce back from it.

 

I wish I just knew what they both caught. Is it in the yard, in some rabbit poo, osprrey poo, (delicasies apparently) in the dirt clods Curly likes to play with, in the puddles he'll lap up? Then I wondered if it wasn't from the Chesapeake Bay as Curly went swimming 2 days prior. Blastoff I wonder what's going around in Texas? I think both dogs got the same thing, but since Curly's gut is really sensitive his turned into HGE. And I am making that up b/c the vet and web seem to say it can be anything from bacteria, to fungal, viral etc-the idiopathic thing makes me nuts. OH and also my husband fed them old chicken. The reason is that he ate it the day before and was said it was "alright". After he told me that, the subsequent 'converstaion' involved a few sentences followed by exclamtion points.

 

Shep is like a little tank healthwise which is a big blessing in more ways than one!

 

The metronidazole kicked in right away-pretty powerful stuff.

 

Well best to all your pooches and I sure hope all of them escape ever getting this.

 

thanks again-

 

kim

[Shetlander]

Glad to hear Curly is making good progress!!! It does seem to take several days for dogs to come back from this sort of episode. It's very scary, isn't it, how sick they get? I'm convinced my Lhasa woudn't have made if if I hadn't dropped him off at the vet's on my way to work. He went into shock that morning and fortunately, the vet was right there to give him the care he needed. It's also bothersome that we never figured out what brought the illness on.

 

Anyway, the important thing is Curly is getting better! Baby him and make sure he doesn't start exercising too much too fast.

[KJ]

Thanks-good thing you had the instinct to take your pup in. I don't know what would've happened had the metro and saline not been done right when the blood began. You know how bright these guys are and just kept looking at me like, 'sorry I soiled the house, i'm scared, i feel sick, i'm worried...' He's still looking at me just kinda sad. One of the symptoms of the HGE is depression and I find that interesting as well.

 

Currently he's barking like a mad man at the recycling guys so...thing are definetly on the mend. I can hear it.

[Shetlander]

You know how bright these guys are and just kept looking at me like, 'sorry I soiled the house, i'm scared, i feel sick, i'm worried...' He's still looking at me just kinda sad. One of the symptoms of the HGE is depression and I find that interesting as well.

 

Awww. Fortunately, I only had to hear about Chili lying in his vomit and not moving when the vet put the catheter in. When I stopped by that evening to see him, the vet and techs were all excited because Chili stood up in his crate when he heard my voice. He was able to come home the next afternoon. And when the vet took the catheter out a couple days later, he was very pleased that Chili put up a much more characteristic struggle over the procedure. He was almost humming as he passed by me wiping up blood spatter from his hands.

 

 

Currently he's barking like a mad man at the recycling guys so...thing are definetly on the mend. I can hear it.

 

Great to hear. You really appreciate your pup in a whole new way after this kind of experience.

[KJ]

See I know I need to let go of this idea of pinning what this was but I have to wonder if HGE is really what was going on b/c from what I've read it's usually small, younger dogs and it actually sounds much worse than what Curly was exhibiting and also the subsequent treatment. Maybe we just got lucky. Anyway sounds like Chili's ordeal was just terrifying and all hail the vet's and drugs that heal our pooches.