Very sick - diarrhea with blood

[moondog]

You're not being a pain at all! You are concerned for your dog as you should be and we will try to help as best we can.

I think you should find a veterinary internist. Do a search on this link http://www.acvim.org/ to find one in your area. There's a "Find A Specialist Near You" link on the right side of the page which shows a lot of them in New York state. Start calling. You need someone who will jump on this with all seriousness.

[RottiMomCT]

When feeding the boiled rice & burger, feed about 1/4 a cup, two times a day - these small amounts will give him nutrition and stave off hunger, but will not give him enough food to make him have to poop.

My boy Ben had a good round of diarrhea for about a week or so after drinking ot of a 'community water bowl' at a public dog event. no more of that for me!

Take an inventory of everything you did the week prior to the dog getting sick - any work around the house involving chemicals/paint, etc., any travel you and the dog did where he may have had access to strange dogs or their poop, or anywhere you guys may have gone that he encountered water that could have made him sick.

Make a list of ANYTHING you can think of that he may have encountered to help the vet narrow down what's caused this problem. Don't let the vet tell you "Let's wait and see..." You've waited long enough...the dog isn't getting better and you want answers.

Also, inventory your socks and underwear...you never know if he could have eaten one of those..., Im serious. Trust me. When all of our snow melted here in CT last year, we found a lost sock that thankfully did not get stuck inside one of our dogs...

I wish you luck in finding out what's going on, and a speedy recovery for the dog. Please keep us posted...and you are not being a pain at all!

[rottsnroses]

We have recently gone through some serious GI tract problems with Max, so I can sympathize with what you are going through right now. I don't think that our vet really knows for sure what is wrong, but after 8 visits over a 1½ week period and numerous x-rays and tests, the combination of antibiotics he is on right now seems to be working. Although we don't really know what it is, we have at least been able to rule out some of what it isn't. According to our vet, they do that for a lot of GI tract problems that they can't determine - give them the antibiotics and hope they work.

With the mucus and undigested food in his stool, make sure the bloodwork your vet did included checking for pancreatis. It sounds like your vet is starting to take action, albeit slowly, but if he/she is not acting quickly enough for you, discuss your concerns and expectations with him/her. A lot of vets will do only what is necessary at the time without this kind of communication from their customers. Then if things still don't progress as quickly as you like, ask for a referral to an internist.

From what we've recently learned, the process for these types of problem seems to go from physical examination and stool samples, to blood work, to x-rays/ultrasound, to barium series, then endoscopy. We went through this process to the barium series just over a week ago with Max. Good luck to you and your boy and please post on how Tuesday goes.

[nestamarley]

My dog went through this. She had something wrong with her colon, and went on some medication. It took two rounds of medication to totally alleviate it. Now that I look back, it was rather funny. She would yelp as she pooped, and run all around dragging her butt. I felt so sorry for her at the time, but the images make me laugh now.

Definetly take a stool sample

[carolynnl4]

I really sympathize with what you're going through... Athena faced very similar symptoms as a 5 month old puppy -- diarrhea with blood, mucous in her stools... I can't remember if she had a low red blood cell count, but she did have a a perfectly normal white blood cell count, and it was very odd, but a high potassium count. This really screwed her vet up, since they saw *something* in her x-rays, but couldn't really tell if it was serious, and she showed no signs of infection (usually looked for in the WBC count). It turned out to be an intussception, which they found out through a sonogram. So I guess my point is, have you tried a sonogram?
And your idea of an emergency vet wasn't a bad one, you can just call and see if they can recommend an internist (as Moondog also suggested).
I hope he gets better soon!
Carolyn

[toobad]

I'm still checking in. Tomorrow just can't get here fast enough. His belly is so swollen up.

[frontierrots]

Originally Posted by toobad

I'm still checking in. Tomorrow just can't get here fast enough. His belly is so swollen up.

Is this new? I don't recall you mentioning this before.

That concerns me greatly. How is he acting? eating?

Do you have an emergency clinic near you? I have to say I'd be inclined to take him. Swollen belly could be many things, most of themvery bad :(

[moondog]

I agree with Diane! It sounds like this is getting progressively worse as times goes by. I'd be on my way to a clinic that would see him now.

I'm assuming the bloody diarrhea is continuing?

[toobad]

Originally Posted by frontierrots

Is this new? I don't recall you mentioning this before.

That concerns me greatly. How is he acting? eating?

Do you have an emergency clinic near you? I have to say I'd be inclined to take him. Swollen belly could be many things, most of themvery bad :(

His belly seems swollen a little bit more every day. He is eating very little but he is eating something. He is very lazy looking.
My vet just called and cancelled untill Wednesday at 8am BUT he did call in a perscription for some other medicine a antibiotic for the colon in humans. My wife is going to pick it up now.

[rottsnroses]

FWIW, if it were my dog, I certainly would not wait any longer. I'd be at the emergency clinic right now and finding a new vet tommorrow.

[moondog]

You have a VERY sick dog! I would NOT accept being put off by the vet as meaning your dog is okay to wait yet another TWO DAYS. That just tells me your vet is not taking a serious situation SERIOUS enough. For pete's sake, your dog could die from this and it's already been going on for 2 weeks (or more?). This is serious and your dog needs to be seen NOW!

At this point I would be at an emergency clinic. No question about it.

[frontierrots]

AGREED!

Do not give your dog any new medication without him actually being seen by a vet in his current condition!

This means get him seen ASAP, tonight would be my preference. This sounds very serious and your vet is not at all behaving professionally! :(

[Judy Chrusch]

Originally Posted by toobad

His belly seems swollen a little bit more every day. He is eating very little but he is eating something. He is very lazy looking.
My vet just called and cancelled untill Wednesday at 8am BUT he did call in a perscription for some other medicine a antibiotic for the colon in humans. My wife is going to pick it up now.

I am appalled by this bc what vet would cancel and then turn around and prescribe a medication w/o even seeing the dog . A distended belly is not a good sign and with all his other symptoms, it simply needs immediate attention. Please get this dog to an ER ASAP, it can not wait even another day. I can't even imagine what this poor dog is going through . Please keep us posted on how he's doing, I'm very worried about him.

Judy

[moondog]

I'm going to post links again, just in case you need them:

To find a vet hospital/emergency vet:
http://www.healthypet.com/HP_Findahospital.htm

To find a veterinary specialist in internal medicine:
http://www.acvim.org/

[Dianae]

I missed the last few days, what happened at the Vets? If I was worried about my dog in any way my Vet would squeeze me in to his schedule and at least take a look at her. He's great that way..