Tummy upset, but Fraser not bouncing back

[tritonx]

My 9 year old boy Fraser is sick with what appears to be a digestive upset. However, him being greedy spaniel and always eating something off the ground he shouldn't, I've been through a lot of nights with him in and out to the garden to look for grass, throw up a little, poop some diarrhea and then by morning, he's fine. This time is different. All Saturday evening he kept whining at me and seemed to be asking for something even though I let him out to pee several times. Then overnight, he was still whimpering and I was up and down letting him outside where he threw up twice and had a smelly poop. Still couldn't settle. When I let him out again, he went to the far end of the garden and just sat there, hunched over. Needless to say, very worrying and unusual behaviour. By morning he wasn't interested in getting out of bed, so even though it was a Sunday, called the vets and got an appointment. His temperature was normal. He had blood tests and X-rays. Ruled out pancreatitis, nothing else to show in the blood except kidney number was slightly elevated though nothing significant had showed in urine. Vet didn't think it was related, just one of those things to keep an eye on during yearly checkup. However, X-rays showed his gut was full of gas, no blockage. So he was given a shot for pain and I went home with anti-biotic, anti-inflammatory, probiotic powder.

What's worrying me is that this morning, he's still listless, wasn't interested in getting out of bed, but eventually followed me out to the garden, plodded over to have a pee and then plodded back inside. This is a boy who's normally beaming with joy and good health. He did eat some rice, pumpkin and a small bit of boiled chicken. But he's back to bed. That part isn't unusual as he usually naps after breakfast (and his morning frisbee play before which obviously didn't happen this morning.) But he's very low response and obviously not well.

Does any of this sound familiar? I've made an appointment again with the vet for this afternoon to look again, see if the gas is dissipating.

[ejp]

Hmmm...  I get why you are concerned, they do normally bounce back much quicker, and in your situation I would be back to the vet as well.  Was there any blood in his poop or mucus?

[Emilyoliver]

Please ask your vet to test him for Giardia. Particularly if he’s prone to scavenging.  My dogs had it last year - vet didn’t test for it until I asked. One of my dogs was very unwell and ended up hospitalised on fluids. He became very listless and was vomiting. But the one common symptom of Giardia is foul smelling diarrhoea. He had that. It’s a relatively cheap test to have done and at least you can exclude that.

[Poppypuppy09]

Poor Fraser, so sorry he is poorly  I had similar with a Springer years ago and it was actually because she was feeling so sick she didn’t want to move. She was given Zantac and was her normal self within a couple of hours even though the tummy issues didn’t get better for a few days after the Zantac, just a thought. Hope Fraser is feeling much better really soon 

[tritonx]

I'm just back from a plod around the block with Fraser. He did have a small poop (small as he eating less than usual), but it looked fairly normal. The pumpkin seems to have gone through pretty much unchanged and no sign of mucus which he usually has with his upset tummy episodes. I think he gets yearly shots for giardia (called beaver fever over here) and it is common in streams. But I'll have to check with the vet. You'd think it would be top of mind for the vet as it's so common in streams here. And that it might show up in the blood tests. The symptoms of beaver fever in dogs do sound similar to how he's behaving, the fatigue at any rate. I'm not sure how long the cysts can stay in the body. A few months ago, he used to go trail walking with a dog walker, but I discontinued them as the walker would let the dogs off leash in the forest and there are a lot of coyotes around which can pick off dogs wandering by themselves. Occasionally Fraser would disappear for a while as he followed a scent. So, now he gets on leash walks around the neighbourhood and doesn't drink from puddles etc. He sometimes eats poop before I can drag him away. I'm assuming it's wild animal poop--bear, coyote, maybe cat. He doesn't normally eat other dog poop. I canceled today's vet appointment as he is eating, drinking, peeing and pooping. The main symptom is his lassitude. I'll see how he is by tomorrow and if he's still listless, then back he goes. In the meantime, of course, I'm a worrying dog owner. Thanks for your comments. Always helpful.

[phoenix]

I hope the antibiotics kick in, infection causes the fermentation that makes the gas. It must be really uncomfortable until it blasts its way out. 

[ejp]

That sounds better, I forgot you are not 'here'  You certainly have a lot more to worry about than fox poo and random dogs of lead    Hope Fraser is better tomorrow and the vet is surplus to requirements.

[tritonx]

Fraser does seem improved though not entirely. It's the contrast between what a vibrant, enthusiastic dog he usually is and his current state. He's interested in food though and even hoping for treats and he rolled around on the grass this morning. All happy dog signs. So, I hope a couple of more days will bring back the full on bright eyed boy and his usual bounce. This is his first alarming sickness (been lucky so far) and I don't do well with the worry of it, but I suppose none of us do.

[its.sme]

That's what COL is for, to help us all through it 

[ejp]

Glad Fraser is doing better, couldn't agree more with you, there is nothing worse than them being unwell, it is such a worry.

[Patp]

Good news!  Not sure if you can get it where you are but if you can get some Kefir (in the UK its in the Polish fridge aisle at our supermarket).  When Jinley has had an upset tum I give a couple of spoonfuls a few times a day to put the good bacteria back in to her digestive system.

[tritonx]

It's day 4 and I was expecting a nudge upward to normal Fraser, but he's still very droopy. No bounce out of bed, long stretch and then impatiently waiting for me to let him outside to play frisbee. He just lay in his bed and then followed me out. Sniffed around the garden, probably peed. When I went outside to check for poop, he just sat down and watched me. He was interested in his food, ate it and went back to bed. I am completely confused. He's eating, peeing, pooping, doesn't seem in pain, but absolutely no energy. Strange lady (me) yesterday evening closely examining the poop he did on the evening walk. Looked normal, no blood, mucus etc. I don't know what to do. I'm leery of putting more money out on vet costs when his physical signs apart from the low energy are normal. But the low energy is definitely not normal. I'm pondering waiting to see how he is for the rest of today and if tomorrow morning, he's not seeming more energetic, taking him back for further examination. It seems to me that relatively young animal vitality usually returns quite quickly when whatever's afflicted them has been addressed. 

p.s. about Kefir (which I love), the vet did give probiotic powder to go on his food to restore gut flora in addition to the other meds. But I'll keep it in mind for future tummy upsets. Vet's office just called and I've made an appointment for tomorrow afternoon, so I can observe his behaviour today. It's nice to have the support of fellow COL members who understand exactly how worrying this sort of thing is. Thanks for your comments and suggestions. COL is my first port of call when things go wonky.

[ejp]

That is not the update I was expecting, I had hoped he would be bouncing about like a cocker, or certainly more energetic.  I think it is wise to monitor for a bit and have the vet appointment in your back pocket, so to speak.  He definitely sounds like he is taking his time to recover. Hope he improves soon.

[tritonx]

Yes. He should be back to normal by now with all other signs being normal. I'm still pondering the possibility of giardia. Yesterday I mentioned that to the vet assistant and he said usually there's some blood showing in the poop, but also that Fraser hasn't had a shot for giardia. I think I'll try to get a poop sample tomorrow to take in as that's the only test that wasn't done on Sunday.

[ejp]

Personally, I would get it ruled out, just for peace of mind.  Text book symptoms might just not be Fraser's thing.