My Hailey had a lot of tummy trouble in the five short years we had her. She was five when we got her, a retired breeder that had the health bred out of her. She'd had a miserable life before we had her. Initially the vet thought she had pancreatitis, and these bouts of vomiting and refusing food always happened nights and weekends. Always.
Eventually we would up at the internal medicine specialist's office in Dallas. They recommended keeping her an Zantac, 0.5 mL twice a day, for life. And it worked, for a long while. So she was better, but not cured. When the vomiting and refusing to eat began again, our vet tested her and said she had liver shunt, the microvascular type, the one you can manage but not really cure. Next came the mild form of congestive heart failure, and the year after that she started having seizures. She was on a lot of meds and it was a lot of work and a fine balance, but we kept her well and happy for five years. I kept a medical diary of all her problems, kept a list of times and doses for all her meds, and kept a written log of when she got what, when she ate, when she peed and pooped, just so we wouldn't over dose her or forget to give her a med and some of them had to be coordinated with meals. It is amazing how often she was sick. We spent thousands, and we didn't really have it, so we went without a lot.
Maya Angelou says when someone shows you who they are, believe them. I initially liked our vet because of the depth and breadth of his medical knowledge, but in the beginning he did admit to us he would provide treatment a dog didn't need if it wouldn't cause injury to the dog if the owner wanted it because it was more money in his pocket. Occasionally, he'd make comments about how to make more money off people. Where was my head?
I wish hadn't spent so much with our nickel and diming vet and taken her to the internal medicine specialist a lot sooner in the game. She got better medical care there, and she might still be with us. She was funny and silly and smart and totally adored us and we adored her. I miss her so much I still cry, and it has been over seven months now. At least she got to know kindness and love before she went to the Bridge.
You've gotten good advice here. You have to get her on a regular routine. If she has pancreatitis, greasy or fatty foods can make her deathly ill, even one bite. You might want to put her on a kibble meant for dogs with pancreatitis. Don't let your son take her if he is going upset her dietary routine. He doesn't mean to, but he's hurting her when he does this.
All I can add is if you have the good fortune to be within a reasonable commute of an internal medicine specialist, whether at a University Veterinary Clinic or in private practice, bite the bullet and take her sooner rather than later. Have them run all the tests they can to find out once and for all what is causing these problems. If it's the microvascular type of liver shunt, she probably has a bacterial overgrowth in her tummy, and the right type of antibiotic can alleviate that. She will probably have to be on it for one week every month, just to keep the bacterial colony down.
Since our dogs are usually rescues, I've had a lot of experience with illness and learned more than I ever wanted to learn, but you do what you must do.
Good luck with your furbaby. |