Young Rott w/Fliud in Belly

[DakotaMom]

Hi, I am new to this discussion forum. We have a young female rott, who we adopted from our local animal shelter about six months ago. We have noticed she gets winded very easily. Recently, her belly looks very full at all times, but we can still see her ribs, and feel her hip bones through her coat. I took her to the vet this morning, and he said she has a lot of fliud in her belly. He is running blood and stool tests, and said he will call tomorrow with results. He said it could be many things, from parasites to possible liver or heart problems. He also said she has a faint heart murmur. I am very worried, and hoping it turns out to be some sort of parasite, which hopefully can be treated. Any info about similar situations owners have experienced and how they turned out would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[moondog]

Are her stools normal? There are some intestinal diseases that can cause fluid accumulation in the belly, too, (lymphangectasia) but you'd likely be seeing some vomiting and/or diarrhea along with it.

[DakotaMom]

Her stools look normal to me, and she has had no vomiting or diarrhea st this point.

[moondog]

Not likely due to an intestinal problem, then. It's very concerning, I can see why you're so worried. Sorry not to be of more help, but please do let us know what the vet says about her test results.

[DakotaMom]

I appreciate any info I can get, so thank you for your input. She is only a little over a year old (we think...the vet estimated her birthday was sometime in Feb 2005).

[brunie's mom]

The cases I have seen while working at the vet's office when dogs had fluid in the belly were caused by a faulty heart.

I do remember a young Labrador that would come in about every week or so to have about a litre of fluid removed. There was no cure for his bad heart, and the fluid removal just make him more comfortable.
It came to a point where the owner finally realized that it was not fair to keep the dog going and had him PTS.

Sorry...I cannot be of much help...but this does sound serious. An ultrasound will likely need to be taken and other tests done.

Hope you find your answer soon.

Gina

[DakotaMom]

Well, Dakota's bloodwork and stool sample came back normal. So Now the vet want to an ultrsound, which we will do on Tuesday. Thanks for all the input.