Maggie is very sick
 

On 11/05/10, dh took Maggie to the vet for her routine checkup. He did not know she wasn't supposed to have the Leptospira vaccine, well she got one. She was not herself all week-end and it continued into the week. She was mostly lethargic but she was eating and drinking. Wednesday, she ate very little, Thursday she ate less, by Friday she wasn't eating. Saturday her stools looked like runny black tar. She wasn't eating or drinking, she was very restless, moving from room to room. Sunday (yesterday) I took her to the Emergency Hospital. They did blood work and gave a dx of Gastroenteritis. They gave her fluids, an injection of Cerenia and Famotidine and sent home Metronidazole. She wasn't any better today so I took her to my vet. He did some xrays, and concluded that her intestines were inflammed. He gave her fluids with a B12 shot included and a Centrine injection and sent us home with Clavamox and Panacur. Maggie does not seem any better, she is sleeping, does not bother to get up or even look up if someone comes in the room, etc. Much more lethargic than last week-end. Yes, it has only been a couple of days, am I expecting too much? Is there something else I should be doing? Is any of this related to the vaccine? She doesn't even raise her head off the pillow.

I'm of no help, but just wanted to wish her well. Poor baby! :(

poor little baby. quick question....which medications are you giving her?

Poor Maggie! Sorry I don't have knowledge/advice to share with you, but I wanted to send healing wishes. Get better soon Maggie.

She is getting Metronidazole, she got one dose of that this morning. She is also to take Clavamox. She is due for a dose of both soon.

just remember to give food with both. and I'm assuming your Vet knows you're giving both? the only reason I ask is that the metronidazole is actually Flagyl so you're giving her 2 antibiotics.

I hope Maggie starts feeling better soon. Did your vet say it was from the vaccination? If so did they say how long it would be before she felt better. Hopefully the medicine will start working and she will perk up.

No it's not related to the vaccine.

Is she getting any fluids? My Reese had and acted exactly what you described...he received sub q fluids 3 times that week. Dehydration happens very quickly. I tried to keep Reese's fluids up via syringe every hour to no avail.

He also went anorexic on me from the antibiotics. The vet can give you something to increase her appetite.

I never got a diagnosis for Reese. He only got better after a barium x ray...which pretty much radiated whatever "bug" he had.

Hope she feels better soon.

I asked him about that and he said to give her both. Should I question him again?? How can I give them with food when she is still refusing all food?

The vet says it is not related to the vaccine. It probably isn't, I didn't want her to get the vaccine and then everything else just came on. I hope it's not related.

Thanks for the well wishes. We did give water via a syringe a couple of times. I asked the vet at the EH about that and he was against it. He said if she was fighting us it could go down the wrong pipe. If she would lap it when we put the syringe in, it would be ok. But I will try it again if she still refuses water.

Jeanie, I am so sorry Maggie is ill. :( I would not force food on her. I have given those meds without food when pups were ill. Just keep a close eye on her...check her gums to make sure they are not dry and sticky to the touch as that would indicate dehydration. Hopefully, the meds will kick in, she will feel a bit better and eat something.
You might want to try baby food. Sometimes they like that.
Someone mentioned meds to increase appetite: you might ask your vet about Mirtazapine. It is an amazing medicine....in dogs it controls nausea and also stimulates the appetite. I have seen it work in some very ill dogs!

Thanks Linda! I tried to get her to eat baby food yesterday before I took her to the EH. She refused everything. I have heard people on YT talk about dry and sticky gums and she had those yesterday. I had never seen that in one of my pups. She has really been down with this. I've been in tears for two days.

Actually, she just ate some boiled chicken. Not much, but more than she has eaten since last week. I might try the baby food again.

Thanks again!

Maggie, please feel better soon.

The boiled chicken is best....I just use baby food because sometimes the smell gets them to eat. That is good she ate some chicken! Maybe make some rice for her as well.

I am so sorry...I know how it feels to have a sick pup. You want so much to make them better.

An antibiotic upset my lil Muffin's tummy once and she refused food. I started giving it to her with chicken broth and she liked the chicken broth so very much! It kept her hydrated and got her interested in eating again. I eventually started giving her little bites of chicken and from there she began eating on her own again.

I'm sorry your little one is sick. I hope she gets better soon.

I actually started giving the chicken broth with a dropper, since she wouldn't eat.

if he said it was ok, then I'd go ahead and give both. I know Clavamox is notorious for causing stomach upset and the last thing you'd want is for her to start vomiting. wonder if you could add some Pepcid to help since she really isn't eating much.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Mirtazipine is used in humans for the same reasons (also used for depression/anxiety/insomnia).

I'm so sorry Maggie is ill, Jeanie :(! I can tell you're so worried, and I would be too...I just hate it when my kiddos are ill in any way.

So, no diarrhea or vomiting? Gastro bugs are often accompanied by these, but perhaps some of the meds she is already receiving are mitigating this. Gastro bugs really can take a while...even a few weeks sometimes.

Other foods to try - pure carby things like crackers, pieces of bread (can sometimes stuff meds in bread, if she is liking the bread), mashed potatoes (from the can or fresh). Also, if you go to the baby food/toddler section - look for those mini-hot dogs that come in glass jars. When Marcel was post-giardia and having a horrible tummy day, he would eat those almost without fail. Obvs, they're not the greatest food - but when your babies won't eat, it's more about getting some food in them.

Lots of hugs, and please keep us posted!

I did not know that about Clavamox. One of the last questions I asked before I left his office was if I should give both medications. He got the reports from the EH and had looked at them before I got there. I also told him several times the meds we were sent home with. aaaargh!!!

Maggie had lots of diarrhea, no vomiting. It was horrible, it looked like black, runny tar. And smelled as bad as it looked. I can't believe how many times she went, and she wasn't taking anything in. She wanted to be held a lot and a couple of times it sounded like she was going to vomit and she would swallow it back down.

I almost bought the mini-hot dogs when I bought the baby food. I thought I had read they might entice the babies to eat. I've been making chicken and rice, she's not that into rice but she did eat some chicken earlier. It's been a rough three days. I freaked out today when she slept non-stop for about five hours. She's been so restless the past few days I guess she needed her sleep.

Thanks for the well wishes!!

Ohhhhhh..... a few years ago one of my pups had God awful diarrhea following her DHPP shot!!! Same description. Maybe it was from the shot...but not the Lepto part. ?? Not that it matters...you would still just treat the symptoms.

Jeanie I'm just seeing this now that Maggie is sick. Is she doing any better?

Jeanie, so sorry Maggie is not well. We're sending good thoughts and healing prayers. Hope she will feel better soon. Hues, clavamox upset hot rods tummy when he was taking it but he also was not eating.

Thanks everyone...Maggie is doing some better. She did eat a little bit of chicken earlier. I haven't seen her drink any water. Although the vet said since she got fluids again today she probably would not drink much water. She has gotten a couple of doses of medicine in her so hopefully she will do better tonight. She has not been active at all. That's the part that worries me as she is my energizer bunny with the big bark to go with it. I have to go to work tomorrow and will worry all day. Nobody can tell me how she got this. That worries me as well, how do I prevent her from getting it again?

Sometimes they get sick and we never really know why. My Olivia started vomiting the other night...out of the blue! She was ok the next day...but she had me worried. I almost took her to the EC after the fifth time, but then it stopped. She was hydrated, so I let her sleep. She never eats anything but her food....some of mine are vaccuum cleaners and you never know what they might get into. But, not her...so I have NO idea why she was so sick. Just happens.
I hope that tomorrow morning Maggie will be even better! :)

So sorry Maggie is not feeling well....

How much does she weigh? And was Lepto the only vaccine she got on the 5th?

I hope Maggie starts to feel better soon.

Maggie appears to be doing better this morning. No diarrhea anywhere. She only ate a few bites of boiled chicken this morning. She wouldn't eat the baby food hot dogs. I haven't seen her drink any water. I'm hoping she will improve more today. I'm still worried.

Glad to hear she is a little better! It may take a couple of days for her to really improve...baby steps first! :)

Hugs to Maggie. Hope she is feeling much better.

My Shadow just got spayed and the vet gave us Clavamox to administer at home. Turns out it upset her stomach so much that she wouldn't eat and just wanted to sleep. Scary.

Took her back to the vet and he gave her a shot of antibiotics and said to stop the Clavamox and she's eating much better.

Please keep us up to date on her progress.