<p>I hope you got this sorted out. I have a dachshund as well, they are great dogs. About a month ago our other dog (Siberian Husky) started having trouble walking, seemed to be in great pain and had no appetite. The emergency vet took abdominal xrays and diagnosed osteoarthritis of the spine. Started him on pain meds; after a few days’ improvement he went downhill and did not eat for over a week (he was still drinking). After several visits with our regular vet, a chest xray finally was taken, which showed pneumothorax (air in chest cavity) and collapsed lung caused by a large tumor. We wasted 3 weeks on the wrong diagnosis. Good luck to you and your doxie.</p>
<p>Hope you dog is doing better!</p>
<p>A close friend’s dog got suddenly sick last week. The regular vet had no idea what was going on and sent him home. He just got worse as the hours went by, so they went to a specialist who kept him in an “oxygen box” and cared for him for a few days until he was stabilized. They think that it may have been poison. It sounds like he may not have made it without the care from the specialist. I also hear that this is a tough time for pets with all of the unusual things around for them to get into.</p>
<p>Not sure if he is getting better. He is not worse tho. I was so distracted yesterday. I dropped chicken, now feeding just plain rice. VH - I share your concern about force-feeding anything other than fluid. Broth has so little calory and he hasn’t eaten for so long. He can take Cerenia one more day to suppress rechting. I am going to call to see if we can get a specialist today or tomorrow.</p>
<p>Wise idea, Iglooo. Good luck.</p>
<p>Dog breeder and former vet tech here. Don’t force feed him anything, but try meat baby food and dribble some water from a syringe (the pharmacist can give you a few) into the side of his mouth every hour or two.
As hard as it is, evaluate the little guy’s quality of life. I know that you love him, and I’m sure that he knows that too, but sometimes, it’s not fair to prolong their suffering. We had to make that choice in September when our 14 year old Scottie ( I bred the dog and he was my D’s dog in the AKC breed ring) just couldn’t go on anymore- he stopped eating, lost anything he did eat and just wanted to keep to himself. If you want to ensure that you’ve done everything that you can, get him into a specialist today- they do have emergency spots for critically ill pets.
Wishing you all the best…</p>
<p>thinking of your poor doggie. I hope he is doing better.</p>
<p>I’d add a lot of water to the rice and make it easy to get fluids into him. Hope pup is getting better. Don’t know if you need a specialist, but it seems you need another vet in that practice to take a second look and not just think this is a simple stomach upset. Also, had one of our dogs get a bacterial infection in his intestines which made him lose fluids like a firehose and the vet had to inject saline above his shoulders like someone described up thread, which his body absorbed over a day or so - made me less worried about dehydration.</p>
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<p>When we had this issue with our dog (dehydration and severe weakness), they actually taught us how to do the fluids sub-cue and we had to do it for several days. It was one of the worst things I ever went through. No matter how bad I wanted our dog to get better, I just could not be the one to insert that needle under the skin, so H had to do it. I was relegated to the job of distracting her with a treat and giving her tiny treats to distract her while it was infusing.</p>
<p>I didn’t know they did subcutaneous fluids (sub-q) with dogs. I had to do sub-q with my cat for about two years, for her renal failure. It very quickly became very routine.</p>
<p>As to the dog: he needs to go back to the vet. This isn’t a simple stomach upset that’s over in a couple of days.</p>
<p>Hows the patient doing, igloo?</p>
<p>Thank you for asking, jym. Not doing well, I am afraid. Many of the trusted doctors are away including his vet at the moment. Scheduling for a fluid shot is about the only thing I couldd do. Can the dog be dehydrated and still pee every couple of hours?</p>
<p>Given his age and breed, I am not sure if we should drag this on if he doesn’t get better, as Mezzs Mama suggested. He was getting a lot less active and in pain from arthritis.</p>
<p>Igloo, where are you located? The reason I ask is because I would try to find some very top vets and go for second, third opinion. I have dealt with a yet undiagnosed but somewhat managed condition in one of my animals, and a huge factor has been trying different (top) vets and piecing together what I was observing and what they were suggesting; trying different things. It has been a tough road, but for an animal with an average life expectancy of 5-7 years, we are 11 months out and hanging in there, so I feel that already is huge. But I really had to come to terms with the fact that the vets just have no idea what this particular condition is and really take the lead on where to go with testing/treatment. At this point, as the vets themselves say, I know here condition better than anyone, as I feel it should be. Part of it for me was accepting that even if we don’t have answers, it doesn’t mean that we should stop looking or that we can’t manage the condition.</p>
<p>Also, the vet can teach you how to do sub-q’s at home (I do all injections, sub-q’s at home as needed). That can help ease the stress of not constantly going to the vet and also make it easier to be on a firms schedule.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t give up just yet, especially if your dog isn’t. I would definitely try several vets and do some reasearch of your own. Rare conditions can definitely stump even the best of vets. Also, sometimes, when you can’t find a solution, focusing on managing can be a big help.</p>
<p>Finally, just because that’s what I have been dealing with, I am going to throw it out there - is your dog maybe having some sort of a bloat?</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>so sorry, igloo :(</p>
<p>Just wanting to add warm wishes from here. </p>
<p>I did want to add for informational purposes only that sometimes dogs with partial blockages will have very loose stools.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t hurt to get a urine sample if you could. I used an old frisbee with our female dog. You can put the container in the fridge until you go to the vet. Also if still producing loose stool grab a sample and you will be ahead of the game just in case.</p>
<p>Any other vet options like emergency vet or vet hospital where you aren’t waiting the weekend for a regular vet appointment? I just hate to have you worry all weekend not knowing what was up. I agree about vets not always knowing - have run into a few duds over the yrs and a few good bedside manner but lack of knowledge and then a few gems.</p>
<p>Have been thinking of you igloo. Sorry to hear that things aren’t improving. Poor pup.</p>
<p>I was going to ask the same question as amandakayak. I know that our local Emerg. Vet. Hospital is amazing and is open 24/7 everyday with specialists available. </p>
<p>It’s difficult to reach a point where you know what the best outcome is for the pup. It is always so hard to let go. Good luck, igloo.</p>
<p>just going to throw this out there, but are his gums really pale? We just got over a year long battle with IMHA, had never heard of it but apparently it is fairly common. Our dog’s symptoms started out similar to what you are posting.</p>
<p>AL34, that’s what our dog had/has. I would hope that igloo’s vet would have tested for that in the first blood panel. It’s a horrible disease. It’s been two years for our dog and she was stabilized for a long time with meds but had a relapse a couple of months ago, so meds have been increased again.</p>
<p>((( Iglooo ))) [gentlebellyrub] Iglooo’s beloved pup [/gentlebellyrub]
Hope you’ll get some answers today. Sending good wishes to you.</p>
<p>I hope things improve for your dear pooch, but having put down our 15 year old Lab last spring, I want to caution you not to wait too long to make a decision if and when you get a terminal diagnosis. We did wait too long, and it seems everyone I talk to has had the same experience and regrets it. We want to hang on to our companions, but it’s doing them no favors if their last days are spent not living a normal doggy lifestyle. Watching our dog terrified to walk down the shallow ramp we put over the front steps when she couldn’t navigate them any longer, seeing her not even raise her head when we came home, much less wag her tail, and being unable to convey to her that we would fix things if only we could–well, it was just awful. Of course it’s possible to regret letting a pet go too soon, but I think I’d rather live with that than with my sad memories of our girl’s last months, which now shade the memories of so many happy years.</p>