I'm so sorry for your loss. Not eating is a serious sign for dogs. It's not easy to tell if a dog is in pain. While you can push on a human stomach and get an indication, dogs are genetically programed to hide pain as best as they can and their only symptom of pain will be loss of appetite, so this should always be taking seriously. Another sign of distress is vomiting, this can be an indication of a bowel obstruction especially if there hasn’t been a bowl movement within the 12 hours, and this indicates a trip to the vet immediately because death can rapidly follow. Being 11, it’s hard to say, if it was the result of normal old age, heart disease and things like that, or if he had a bowel obstruction, or an acute attack of pancreatitis. Just as a small baby needs to been seen by the doctor at the first sign of distress, so does a small dog, and sometimes a trip to the ER can make a difference between life and death. Please don’t take this post as in any way criticizing you, you did the best you could, I’m no vet, I’m only guessing at some of the possible problems, and hindsight is much easier. I read the ER forum here, and I’m amazed at how many dogs are saved because someone was able to get their dog to an ER vet. My heart goes out to you, and you can’t blame yourself, you can only learn from this and help educate others. Your experience might help someone else realize that these small dogs can go downhill fast, and when it comes to medical treatment, time is of the essence. |