Help Plz :,(

[biokid101]

My dog is a 3 year old spanish water dog and she suddenly changed after a couple weeks.. I got a job a few months ago and i guess shes become more depressed with me not being home for a long time. But she has been throwing up and not eating and i cant figure out wats wrong.. We spent over 600 dollars for her vet bills and they said nothing is wrong with her when obviously there is.. We took her to 2 vets and they both said the same. They want 1000 dollars to keep her overnight and we cannot physically afford that and she means the world to me.. She is in heat and its around her 2nd week bleeding and stuff and im wondering if thats the reason why.. Shes loosing alot of weight and we r scared and cant spend anymore money is there a cause to this? Is she dperessed? She still runs and stuff an plays but she is walking slower everyday shes only 3 :,( help :. If ur gonna criticize plz go away i need help not to be yelled at... Thank u

 

[Cazgar]

The change of routine could've upset her.
She was used to you being home & now you aren't.
Also she's in heat, that can alter her behaviour tbh I'd have her neutered as soon as she's finished in season.
If 2 vets have told you there's nothing physically wrong with her I'd tend to believe them.
It sounds like it's more a behavioural problem

 

[robert clements]

she is misssing you mate give loads of cuddels when you get home. mate do it as soon you get home evey day shuold help and some treets

 

[Flubberlump]

Keeping a dog entire, that is, to not have them spayed, can cause a lot of stress if they're not allowed to mate. I used to work with dogs and the biggest signs were weight loss and loss of appetite. I'd also recommend that you get her neutered as soon as you can.

I'm not a vet, and haven't seen your dog, so I can't say that this is a definite diagnosis, but in my experience the fact that she isn't neutered could cause all sorts of problems. I personally would get her neutered. You may find that this helps, or you may not. Ask your vet about it and see what they recommend.

The change in your routine could also be causing her stress. Make sure that she has plenty of things to keep her occupied whilst you're at work. Give her a rawhide chew. This should take her a while to eat, and they're good for her teeth too! Don't give her too many treats though, as they'll upset her stomach.

What tests have your vets done so far? I assume they've done blood tests and things like that? Do you know how much weight she has lost? How long has it taken her to lose the weight - a couple of days or a few weeks? How suddenly has she become ill? Did it happen overnight or has she slowly been getting worse? How long is she on her own for when you're at work? Do you have any other pets? Have you changed her diet recently?

Sorry about all the questions, but the more information you can give the better we can understand the problem, seen as we can't see your dog.

 

[Rummynose]

Have you changed her diet in any way, changed brand of food? Could she have eaten anything she shouldn't have and may have hurt her intestines? Are you feeding her human foods, you may want to do a search on toxic foods for dogs. Our seniour dog, who we had to put down at 15 yrs of age used to eat tomatoes from our garden. These for example are not good for dogs!

If she is very lonely would there be someone whom you trust and could bring her to before you leave in the morning and pick up again when you come home? How about getting her a companion, another dog? It doesn't have to be a puppy, since they would need a lot more attention, but a shelter dog perhaps! A lot of people get a second dog after they tried out a couple of meetings between the two of them. We did, and we never regretted it!!!!

Good luck with your little sweetie, I hope it all turns out well!

 

[Cazgar]

I wouldn't advise getting another dog if the owner is out at work all day, it could double the trouble.
Have you a local dog walker who could come & take her out for a walk while you're at work?
They were bred to work, so apart from her being in season she could be stressed as she's bored

 

[Baccus]

Quite a few things that could all be adding to your dogs condition.

1. Seperation anxiety - my sister inlaws dog suffered from this terribly and if he wasn't escaping her yard and ending up in the pound he was destroying her house if locked in doors. If seperation anxiety is one of the factors in her behaviour change, personally I would not make a huge deal of her when you get home, rather set a returning home routine of puting away house keys, taking shoes off and putting away breifcase/ handbag, put the jug on. While you are doing this you can say hello to the dog but not pat. Once you are settled then call the dog over and have a quiet calm pat and chat with her. Often by trying to appease/ reassure a dog people inadvertinately "reward" the wrong behaviour.
2. Being in season - I always advicate spaying a dog that is not going to be used for breeding, with females it greatly reduces the chances of certian cancers and takes the stress off of you about unwanted pregnancies.
3.Give her more things to occupy her mind while you are not there, kongs filled with peanut butter work well, as do large meaty bones (but watch her other food intake with these options), new toys, swap her current toys around so she doesn't get bored with the same old.

Now some more questions.

When you get home has she already been sick or does she only vomit when you get home? How do you react to her vomiting? Do you try to sooth her and make a fuss? - this can be seen by a dog as positive reinforcement. It's like kids playing up just because they want attention, so they start seeing being yelled at as some sort of attention, and the more they play up. My own rescue dog had learnt all sorts of bad habits and as a 6 year old dog we had a lot of work to do in even getting him too come to his name. He has come a long way simply by rewarding the behaviour we wanted with lots of praise.Even when we where ready to throttle him for not coming when called, when he eventually did come we made a huge fuss of him being a good boy, now you call he comes simply because he wants the pats. Never food treats.

At home is she locked inside the house? If so does she have windows where she can see activity happening around the neighbourhood? Is she out in a yard? If so can she see activity occuring in other peoples yards ior does all she have is solid fences and sky to look at.

The vets have obvioulsy ruled out the most likely causes for her change in behviour, but the thought processes of dogs for most vets is not what they trained in, so if it's not a testable physical illness some vets will struggle with a diagnosis.

And lastly I would strongly advice finding a dog training/ dog agility club or some such organisation to not only allow your dog to socialise with other dogs (you also get to meet like minded people too) but also the training in obedience etc will keep her mind busy. Once you start learning the basics of many of the training comands etc it's easy to practice at home or out on walks. Keeping it random will also help keep her mind alert.

Good luck

 

[biokid101]

Okay lots of responses so im gonna try to cover wat i can : first off thank u everyone for helping i cannot tell u how much it means to me. She hasnt beeen spayed idk why honestly its up to my stepdad. Shes home with someone all day but shes closer to me cause i care for her and im only 16 so i have school then work so i seee her for about 2 hrs a day and i give her all my attention. We switched foods about 3 or 4 times since she stopped eating. The tests they took were blood tests. We leave her in the kitchen when she vomits cause it stains the carpets i dont react much like im mad at her but my parents do ;/ my brother walks her when im at work.. I dont work everyday tho but i have school when i dont she lost her weight very fast she was bloated at first and thats what scared us and made us take her to the vet and they said it was just water and gave her antibiotics and she finished them and lost it all. And the weight startted coming off slowly.. I dont know her weight sry. Ii think i misssed some stuff but i just got home from work and she seems happier. My mom told me she went to the bathroom in her diaper(we use it cause shes bleeding and dont want it on the carpet obviously) and i guess it made her feel better like she had to go reallly bad. She also gets excited when she showers she loves it so much.. Thank u guys so mch plz keep helping i know we can solve this.. O she doesnt eat ppl food my parents r soooo against that

Missed a couple : she is out in the yard when she has to go to the bathroom and we dont leave her out cause shes in heat and who knows what mut is out there.. Also she can see outside..she doesnt like other dogs when they r being walked and thats why we kinda blocked off her lower view cause she barks alot

 

[Rummynose]

I am still worried that it may be food related. What are the first 3 ingredients listed on her food package?

Does she like treats and if so, what does she get? I heard rawhide sticks and rawhide bones are bad for their intestines because they swell up and can cause blockages. I don't buy them anymore! Don't give any cooked bones for her to chew on and no poultry bones either, they splinter!

Does she have any skin issues, scratching a lot, starting to lose some fur at some spots, scabbing? Could she have a food allergy or food sensitivity?

One of my dogs used to scratch herself to the point of bleeding under her chin. We switched from a brand food we could buy at the super market to a brand that does not have any corn meal in it. Plus I cook some dog food using 1 part rice, 1 part meat and one part green beans and shredded carrots. A scoop of kibble, a spoonful of the cooked food, and I add some warm water to get the chill out since the cooked food is stored in the fridge. Both dogs are on this "diet" and since then no more scratching and their fur has become super soft!

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I wish I could offer advice. But reading this just broke my heart and I just wanted to say I hope you figure it out soon and that your doggy gets better!

 

[biokid101]

Dieses madchen thank u <3 shes the only
Thing i have right now and my wittle princess i want her to be okay (( we give her milk bones i think thats what they r called. She doesnt eat anything else cause i dont want her to throw up and get introuble i wish i knew wat was wrong so i can help her maybe the vets r right there is nothing wrong.. She is definetly sleeping more than ever now.. And i have to say her name quite a few times for her to wake up so thats scaringg me. Ill let u guys know what happens tomorrow morning im praying shes fine god bless my little girl :,(

 

[Flubberlump]

Giving her treats because she's not eating her food isn't a good idea. I know you want to help her, but treats are exactly that, treats, for giving them occasionally. Like sweets for people. If her illness is food related, the treats could make her worse. Rawhide treats shouldn't be given every day, but as long as you give her a substantial one based on the size of her mouth, that will take her a long time to eat, they're fine in moderation. It's best not to give her things like that until you find out the cause of her problem though as they could make it worse. If you fill her up on treats then she won't want to eat her regular food as she won't be hungry.

Do you know what bloodtests the vet did? I know sometimes they don't tell you or are unclear, but it'd really help to know what they did if you know? A food allergy test is a bloodtest, so it'd be useful to know if she's been tested for allergies. I don't know about over there, but in the Uhe sethese tests are expensive. When she vomits, what is the contents of it? Is it like regurgitated treats or watery yellow bile? Dogs will vomit bile when they are very hungry. Changing a dog's food suddenly can upset their stomach. It needs to be done gradually to allow their body to adjust. Because they get fed one type of dry food and or dog meat, their body gets used to digesting that one food. If you change the food suddenly to something different, it throws everything out of balance and can give them awful sickness and diarrhoea.

I know you said that your parents don't feed her 'people food' but it really is worth trying to give her something really bland if she hasn't eaten for a while. Boiled chicken breast cut up with some plain boiled rice is good when they're off their food. Or plain scrambled egg with boiled rice (no butter or anything). If she's hungry, she should eat this. But if she does, and she keeps it down, you should feed her this and nothing else until she's better. It doesn't contain as many vitamins as dog food, but it'll settle her stomach, and allow her to build up a bit of strength. If this works, you can then slowly wean her onto her original dog food over a couple of weeks, so as not to upset her stomach. What was her diet originally? Has she ever had problems like this before? Also, what was her feeding routine? Did you put her food down and then take it away after 15 mins or so, or did you leave it down for her all day?

I know it can be difficult when your parents make the decisions about your pets. Try to talk to them about getting her spayed. If she were spayed, she wouldn't need to wear a diaper, wouldn't make a mess, and you wouldn't need to worry about her being in the yard because male dogs wouldn't be interested in her like they are when she's on heat. If this started when she came on heat, then this could be the problem, and she may be perfectly fine once her season is over. If so, then getting her spayed is the best thing to do, you don't want this happening every time she's on heat.

You say she has company all day at home while you're at school/work, and that she gets walked regularly, so it doesn't sound like withdrawal symptoms. If it were, she should eat when you're with her. If this is the first time this has happened it makes withdrawal less likely too.

If she's unsociable around other dogs, a training or socialising class would be a huge benefit as already mentioned.

Has anyone used any chemicals in the yard? Rat poison or anything like that? Or in the house? Is there anything harmful that she could've got to? If she's still active as you say then this is less likely to be the cause, but you need to cover all options.

I really hope you find the problem and that she gets better soon, it's horrible to see your pets ill like that

 

[Rummynose]

How is your princess today? I know this is a difficult thing to deal with, when your pet is not well, and you don't know how to help them.

One thing you could check is how her poop looks like. Does she still go regularly, meaning morning and night? Does she seem to have well formed, or loose, or very dry stools? Is she drinking water normally, or is she drinking a lot more?

When you say all she eats is milk bones, you mean as treats, right? Milk bones have not much nutritional value, she needs proper foods to have energy.

You could try giving her some broth (cook some meat in some water, don't add salt). You could also scramble an egg and cook that in some boiling broth. It will curdle, it is harmless but it will be nutritious for her. If you worry about her throwing up put her in a room where the clean up is easier, maybe in the kitchen or the bathroom? Try giving her some of the meat if she keeps all that down.

That she is so tired may just be from not getting any nutrition: vomiting, not being able to absorb due to food allergies(?)....

It is important that she drinks water, even if it is in the form of broth. You could also try giving her a few cubes of melon (make them small if she doesn't chew them) they provide a lot of water as well as some energy.

 

[Baccus]

I don't know if this stuff is available where you are and it sure isn't cheap but the absolute BEST appetite stimulant and conditioner I have found for dogs is Nutrigel. It is truly amasing stuff, it has a highly palatable source of calorie and vitamin supplements and is recomended to being added to cats and dogs diets where these vitamins etc may be low or lacking. It is designed for convalesencing pets. I am simply suggesting this stuff or similar in case she is low on iron and magnesium, calcium and iodine along with quite a few others.
I am guessing when the vets did the blood tests they only tested for the most obvious causes, it is impossible to screen blood for every illness. Do you by any chance know what they actaully tested for?
To help her keep food down you can feed her cooked (BBQ) chicken (no bones), as well as boiled rice with an egg mixed through. Just don't give her to many eggs I have heard of eggs locking up certain nutrients and
the dog not being able to absorb the other goodness. Broths are also a great idea, and pet milk (no lactose milk or use goat milk for human consumption) will also be useful.


Have you checked inside her gums around her teeth? Are her gums a nice healthy pink or are they looking white? If white I would be suspecting interanal parasites or something more sinister happening inside her.

Unfortunately your parents going mad at her for being sick , is giving her mixed signals, try to come up with a common family way that everyone agrees to disaplining and and training her.

Also does she chew on a lot of things? Could she have a blockage like stockings, part of a shoe, a shoe lace, hair band, hair ball (yes dogs can get hair balls as well as cats), part of a ball or an entire small ball, or even under pants, all of these things and plenty more forigen objects have been removed from the stomaches and intestines of dogs. Maybe asking your parents if your dog can go back to the vet for an ultrasound will help solve the mystery.

Best of luck and I hope the problem gets solved soon.

 

[biokid101]

Well last night she fell asleep and when i woke up she was on my pillow and i was like completely pushed away she never snuggled up so close to me before .. I was happy to know she got thru the night tho.. But when i got home from school my parents told me she couldnt even stand up and kept kinda falling over ... My stepdad gave her warm milk to ease it and when i got home she jumped on me like she used to :,) shes fine now just sleeping the night away. Honestly i hate when they yell at her for vomiting i say stop but u knoww how parents r... Im not sure about the bloodtest tho as i didnt go to the vet the second time..they said she was just bloated with water idk sumthing like that and was expensive. Im going to go to the pet store to see if they have that nutrigel stuff i heard about that..shes been eating this wierd rice thing and drinking lots of warm milk and she seems better and not as fatigued. Yesterday she pooped in the diaper she wears cause of her bleeding.. It was so much and so stinky my mom gave her a bath( i was working) she told me after that she ran around everywhere it made me happy at this point we r desperate for her to eat something we give her anything maybe not the right thing but its something? Its better then nothing. I just feel like its her heat cycle cause he hates the diaper but the carpet is 6000 dollars we cant have it stained.. We r probably grtting her spayed after this it migh be best. Or we might just bring over my cousins dogs to have a play date a couple times a week to lift her spirits:,) ill keep u guys posted tomorrow cause im home all day finally ! Well then i go to work but still

U guys have helped so much i cant thank u enough! <3 im learning more and more and its not ony helping my dog but helping me to undertand this.. Cause i want to be a veterinarian when i grow up.. Thank u all

Also about my cousins dogs she only plays with them after she gets used to em if not she growls and becomes defensive but i knew how to handle it and shes a very playful pupp