Jenna has had ongoing rash and stomach trouble for a week now

[Jenna AK]

Carrying on from this thread: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...-dog-food.html

On the overnight of the 10th Jenna was beig uncharacteristically agitated, getting on and off the bed, shifting positions, scratching more than usual. Normally we got to sleep and that's it for her till morning, then we have a leisurely day with her sleeping never far from me and me doing things around the house. It seemed like the 11th was going to be such a day, except for that I'd had little to no sleep the night before and neither had she.
I gave her breakfast and within the hour suddenly noticed that she was breaking out in a rash with hives the size of dimes in her leg bends and on her inner thighs and belly. Very upset, I called the last vet she had seen who had given her an antihistamine back in Sept 2012 for 'seasonal allergies.' They said I could use it for this and so I gave her a cautionary 1/2 of the prescribed dose as she'd never had it before. It seemed to calm her itching and put her to sleep but didn't do much for the rash overall.
I figured it had to be the Freshpet food I'd been giving her for the last week or so, since she hadn't had it in awhile and perhaps she'd gotten sensitized to it. Instead, for her evening meal I boiled some hamburger and fed that. In 30 minutes the rash was flared up anew and now bumps were appearing. Called the ER vet because it was now OOH and they said to give her the full load of Chlorpheniramine, which was set at 1 ml. I did this and within 2 hours my dog was all but comatose. She could see me and recognize me but it was like she'd been paralyzed all over her body. I could pick her up and set her on her feet and she'd just flop over. Called the ER vet back and since I had no way to take her in at that time (long story) they told me to push fluids, and as we were talking Jenna actually got up on her own and jumped to her pillow, so I went ahead and syringed water for hours until she was more herself. By morning she was better and we decided not to use the chlorpheniramine again.
Note that this was a suspension in some kind of beef or liver flavor. The Freshpet was also beef and usually all Jenna wants for meals is homecooked beef or the occasional chicken, which I don't often serve as too much gives her diarrhea.
Lately my OH has been giving both our dogs these VitaSnacks treats as well, which I had finally put the kibosh on but perhaps a bit too late. I normally don't give treats but when the dogs are together she would make a fuss for whatever our other dog ate and that meant I was making more daily meals as well.

After the incident with the chlorpheniramine it all becomes a blur, but I've spent the whole of this last week in and out of vet offices getting new medications, new foods to try and I still have a very miserable Yorkie at the end of the day. I am very worried now because they had her on Hills Z/D canned food for Monday and Tuesday and each day she would vomit yellow foam in the morning and evening until Wednesday when she stopped eating and began vomiting a gravy like fluid that evening and then yellow foam with red flecks in it overnight. She had been prescribed Medrol and Benadryl for the skin and itching and apparently the steroid caused a violent reaction. Which is too bad becasue it was clearing up her skin, but over Wednesday night into Thursday morning I had a Yorkie who was VERY sick, throwing up all night till blood came, unable to take either food or water. Called ER again as it was OOH and they said stop steroid and take her back in first thing.
The first vet who saw her wasn't available the next morning so we ran her back to our old vets as they could get her in right away. She immediately gave fluids, drew bloods and helped trim her nails so she wouldn't continue to tear her worsening rash. By now this is raw and inflamed all over her body and coming out her ears.
Blood showed a lowered protein and higher than normal blood count due to the dehydration from vomiting. Liver and kidneys were okay. She gave a total of 300 mls of fluid because the first round of fluid had disappeared by the middle of our visit there and Jenna was still trying to vomit. She also gave her a shot of Cerenia for nausea. She found blood in Jenna's sputum and stool so decided to put her on sucralfate for a possible ulcer.
Jenna also has some kind of infection but has a bad history with ketoconazole and the vet was going to offer metronidazole, so we held off on that. She did give us tri-otic ointment for her ears which are badly inflamed and raw. To date because her stomach is in such bad shape, even antibiotics have to wait.
By this time Jenna has not eaten more than teaspoonfuls of Z/D for twenty four hours as she's balked at every attempt to attempt to feed any more. Since a food allergy is suspected our options were limited and I was told to just be sure she keeps drinking water.
We were to take her back to the first vet yesterday for a review, which we did. More fluids were given sub q and we have a probiotic now to help with her stomach, but it has corn and soy which I know Jenna can't tolerate. *sigh*
In the last 12 hours she's begun having trembling episodes, jerky leg movements and obvious stomach pain, from what I am not sure. She made some watery diarrhea last night, then a proper BM and a huge wee, but the urine color is now green. Overnight she was up and down drinking water and although she managed to signal when she needed to go outside last night, this morning she just walked into the bathroom and peed on the mat. Completely uncharacteristic for her, this dog was shaking in fear when she had her little 'accident' last night. (BTW she is a rescue dog and I got her when she was aged approximately 2 years, she is almost 5 now). But in the three years I've had her she hasn't soiled the floor once except for the first week I was working out her routine.
Her stomach is gurgling constantly like a cauldron. The rash has not left yet, in fact it's way worse and even under her tail in her anal area now. The only time it seemed to go was while she was on the Medrol (which probably caused the bleeding unless she's been working up to an ulcer) or when she wasn't eating anything for almost three days. Even syringing meds in causes the rash to flare up.
I have one very unhappy little pup right now. The only nourishing thing I've been able to get her to willingly swallow was some diluted chicken broth last night. We'd hoped to give her cod but after boiling it even gently it came out with such an ammonia smell she wasn't interested and I was afraid it would make her sick if it had gone off. So I was desperate she have some nourishment but of course it really flared the rash.

We're also on a very low dose of Benadryl still because she began to exhibit very high heart rate and breathing after a few doses of the 25 mg, of which we were giving her half a tablet twice a day, now we're down to 1/4 twice a day. Needless to say it doesn't do much for the rash but it helps her sleep and keeps her from scratching.

I'm really worried for her. We've got no real clue as to why she has deteriorated so quickly like this. The bloodwork did show slightly lowered protein but they want to wait 4 weeks to run the test again and see if it's changed. I am not sure I can get this little girl through the next four DAYS!

I could use any tips on how to cook the cod so I don't ruin it, other foods that I might be able to get into her to keep her calories going (her glucose was at 149 on Thursday, high even for my nervous girl) and any help on what may have caused this rash would be greatly appreciated.

If anyone has any vibes/prayers going spare, could you please send them for my wee girlie? I am terrified I will lose her.
Thank you.

[kimp5]

I am so sorry this sounds just awful for all of you. If the cod had an ammonia smell then its bad. It shouldnt smell like that. I would try some new fresh cod, rinse it in spring water and steam it instead of boil. I hope it all works out for you...

[bobohyde]

Columbo was just diagnosed with a protein losing enteropathy caused by severe IBD. He had no symptoms until he had a pleural effusion and severe hypoalbuminemia. He has been put on Purina EN and so far is doing OK on it, although he is on steroids and metrazonidole also. Here is a good article my husband found and it talks about food. Maybe it will be of some help to you. A lot of your pup's symptoms are similar to a protein losing enteropathy (PLE) or a protein losing neuropathy (PLN).
Protein-losing enteropathies (PLE)-2008 « Hungarovet

[SusieQ36305]

Oh that sweet baby. I am so sorry for all you are going through. Bless her little heart. Sounds like the broth might be the best thing if you can get that in her. It would be mild and maybe not inflame her tummy any more. Maybe try soaking a little bread in it and see if you can give her that? I'm sorry, I can't offer any more suggestions but I really hope you find out what's wrong with her and fast.

[Jenna AK]

Thank you everyone.
Well she turned the broth down today, so perhaps we're going with trying to steam some fish and see if the next batch is a bit better than the one I tried feeding last night.

I read the article, thank you. It's a distressing thought, but of course there was the possibility. Although her low protein could have been from not eating for two days prior and vomiting every few hours.
I learned something in that it takes 2-3 weeks for antigens to settle after a reaction. That's huge! It bothers me that it takes so long though to confirm a diagnosis of enteropathy. If the dog is not eating, or just doesn't want the recovery food, that seems too long to wait. Is there no testing besides biopsy that can determine the cause faster?

Thank you for all your well wishes. It's been a rough week, needless to say.

[Teresa Ford]

Just checking for updates, no advice sorry. Prayers for Jenna.

[Patti]

I will keep Jenna in my prayers.

[Jenna AK]

She's presenting with something new this evening.
Trying to feed her some baked cod, she would try to take it from my hand, then her tongue just can't hold it. It's like she can't chew or move her tongue properly and the food just falls out.
She'd had some trouble swallowing the other night when we started the sucralfate, but I thought it was just because she didn't like the taste and was being weird about spitting it out. Now it seems to be a motor difficulty.
At the same time when she was trying to manage the fish, her rear legs kicked out twice, seemingly for no reason. I've seen her kicking and trembling before, but it's never looked like this. It's as if her neurons aren't firing correctly. Try to swallow something, hop like a kangaroo instead?
Has anyone ever experienced anything like this? I managed to mash the fish up and mix it with water to syringe in and she took about 1/4 cup of fluid, but if she can't chew and swallow, what could cause that?

[MelissaStiffler]

I don't have any advice, however I do hope Jenna get's feeling better soon, and that they can figure out what is going on with her.

[kimp5]

Did she any way get into some toxin? Ate a mushroom in the yard? Was there any company that treated your grass or for pest control? Over head spraying? Carpet shampooed? Anything different? It sounds just so heartbreaking for you...Im so sorry...

[kimp5]

how is she today? ive been checking in to see...

[Jenna AK]

She has still been doing some coughing and hacking, but no vomiting. It must hurt her poor throat though because you can see, when she drinks water, it is a bit of a strain. But she's still been drinking, even through the night. This is big for her, because she is not prone to drinking much water normally. Needless to say, she has peed on the carpet again this morning. She is always so worried too, she fears retribution so when she's made an error she comes to me with her head hanging down and lays on the floor with her ears down. I have never done anything to hurt this dog, she has to have had a very bad experience in the two years of her life before she came to me.
It's not her fault if I can't wake up in time to get her out the door, so as she is so ill and probably with an ulcer and doesn't need more stress, I just take her outside as soon as we find the spot and clean up the mess for now. It's an old house with old carpet so I'm not too worried and I'm sure as she's feeling better this will stop.
She is also sleeping better, shows affection again and in general seems more relaxed.

Yesterday she began taking syringed fish broth, which was huge. It really seemed to help her energy level.
We took her sucralfate down to 1/4 tab twice a day, it seemed to be giving her stomach cramps.
Today, (thank the Lord) she took a few bites of baked cod that I made yesterday.
I wouldn't say it was more than a tablespoon, that's a generous estimate, but it is progress.
Thank you so much for your vibes and prayers. I am praying we are on the way back up. Her belly is not as red, her ears are not as raw looking. She is still having trouble chewing and swallowing but it is not as pronounced.

I don't think she's gotten into anything toxic. I believe she was simply on a very bad diet that accumulated stress to her stomach, plus there's been a lot of changes in the home in the last year and she is a very nervous dog who picks up on my emotions too much. I'm trying to spend as much time with her as possible, keeping others in the family from stressing her out and altering her diet to remove whatever antigens have caused this horrible change.
If anyone has further ideas on how to keep her on this fish diet and yet not overdo the protein so we have another reaction, I would be grateful.

Thanks again for all your concern for her. Bless xx

[SusieQ36305]

Glad to hear she is some better. What about making her some mashed potatoes, very bland? Need to keep that blood sugar up for sure. Maybe trying different flavors of broth might help, too. Chicken to beef, etc.

[kimp5]

im so glad shes doing better...
some people on here say small bite of pasta? keep us updated.
Your a wonderful mom...

[Jenna AK]

Thanks everyone.
Jenna continues to eat her fish and improve. Vet wants to keep her to just the cod for awhile and see how she fares. She does continue to have a dry cough that can end in a bit if a gag, but we figure it's strain or burns to her throat from the propulsive vomiting she did last week. We're making sure to keep an eye on her for signs of aspiration pneumonia though.
I'm hoping by this time next week we may be able to add a bit of mashed potato to her food or some carrot. She's done so well so far, we want her diet to be better balanced this go around.
Still going with ulcer or GERD for the diagnosis, complicated with protein allergy. Stress is a big factor and we need to get hers reduced.
Eliminating any and all possible environmental allergens as well, perhaps everything just came together at the right moment for a disaster.
Oddly enough, her breath, which has always been horrible, is improving on this diet also. Who knew? :-/ She'll be up for a good tooth cleaning anyway, once she's back to top form.
Thanks again for thinking of her.