Matese, hello there. I am going to offer my own advice, which is going to be right in line with Wylies Mom, LadyJane, 107Barney, kyc, and a whole host of others.
We are all long time dog owners, at least one of us is a breeder, and many of us have had dogs that have been sick, some with some unusual conditions.
First be advised that seeing a vet specialist whether that be at a teaching hospital, an emergency clinic, or just a specialty hospital, your specialist and your personal vet, will be working closely together. That has been my experience in over 30 yrs of owning dogs, all kinds of dogs.
What I see here, and what many others do, is a dog that has not successfully been treated for his colitis (if indeed it is colitis), that he continues to have bloody diarrehea, and sometimes mucousy stools.
I have no idea if your vet is footing the medical care for your dog, but in my opinion that is a moot point. Your dog needs to see a specialist. And I don't care about the size of the animal either. If my 120 lb large male went 4months with the same condition, (which he wouldn't) not without extensive testing and specialist advice, that would be as concerning for me than if he weighed the 6.5 lbs my Yorkie does.
A point has been made, which I will stress again, that dogs hide their pain. If your dog went limping around for 4 months and after 3 vet visits and medication to "cure" him, would you not want to at least inquire as to is it "time" yet to see a specialist?
None of us can comment on the "excellence of your vet", but we can share and comment on our own experience with many different general vets. Every single general vet I have used over the years, has always either recommended a specialist, or if I asked them; "if it was time to seek expert counsel", the answer was usually yes. General vets recognize that many many owners are reluctant to spend the extra $$ a specialist will charge, and IMHO, sometimes err on the side of delaying that recommendation.
What many of us feel is, that it is certainly time, if not past time, to seek expert counsel.
And I suspect there is a part of you that also feels that way, and is one of the underlying reasons for your thread.
Whilst I doubt any new reader who came here looking for info on colitis, could stand reading through all the confusion, I feel that it is important that new readers, should at least take away, that unsuccessfull treatment that lasts as long as 4 months, is a prime reason to secure expert counsel; ie a specialist. |