Sudden Illness

[maxcat]

Sunday night Heiko seemed extra tired, but I just assumed it was from all of the activity over the weekend. Then, this morning (Monday) we went for our walk as usual and practiced obedience. He was his same self, just a little slower from what I assumed was the heat. I thought things might be a little off when he wasn't too interested in eating. But, everything else seemed okay so I left for work as usual.

My father came to our house to check on him at lunchtime. Well, there was vomit around his crate and then he continued to have diarrhea, liquid and horrible smelling. My father instantly called me and I called the vet and was on my way home from work. When I got home, he was obviously not himself. Instead of greeting me, he just sort of rolled over for a pet. And his eyes looked sad. He was just sooo lethargic.

So, we get to the vet's office and he was a different dog. He was wanting to play and have fun, etc. The vet didn't feel any obstructions, she said he was very well hydrated and he did not have a fever. She recommended running a fecal test and said that it was most likely Giardia. She gave us metronidazole and said to monitor him closely. Oh, and no food for the rest of the day.

My concern, is that he is just so lethargic and not himself. He had Giardia once before at about 3.5 months and he never acted like this. He was his usual spunky, food hungry self. But now he is just so out of it. If, in the morning he refuses food, I will definitely call the vet again. But, should I have insisted they do a parvo test even though two vets at the office didn't think he had it. Is lethargy typical with Giardia?

[targonrotts]

how old is your dog?
how many vaciines has he had?
did they run any bloodwork, such as a CBC?
do you have ticks or seen any ticks on him?
did he eat anything different-did they xray to rule out obstruction or only palpate?

those are some of the questions i would have to see what can it be.
tick diseases make them tired, slow, lethargic, can upset their stomach.
obstructions and parasites can make them the same too.
in other words, too many diseases start the same way.
if he is not better, i would ask for more precise bloodwork and possibly xrays.
as for parvo, if he is under 8 months and vaccines were not timely, i would consider the test.(bloodcount would usually be low).

[maxcat]

I apologize. After I wrote my original post, I realized I forgot some things.

Heiko is almost 7 months old and has had all of his vaccines on time. They didn't run bloodwork...yet. Based on his history and energy level at the time of our visit, they wanted to wait at least a day to see how he responded to the medication. And the vet wanted to run his fecal first.

They did not suspect an obstruction based on the exam and what he has eaten.
And I highly doubt it's ticks. Not likely where we live, plus I checked him just in case.

Things seem to be going better this morning. He is still a little slower than usual, but he was ravenous and ate all is breakfast. No vomiting or diarrhea, but he also has not eaten in 24 hours. We will continuously monitor him today, but my fear has been alleviated somewhat. I will call the vet as well to see if they have the results of the fecal.

thank you for your advice!

[targonrotts]

seems like he is headed in the right direction!
keep eye on him, hopefully he is sore from weekend activity now, and whatever upset his stomach is gone.
but if it starts up again or still slow, get bloodwork done.