Mystery Sickness - ideas?

[YorkOfTheShire]

Bella got sick Friday afternoon, vomited twice. We assumed she had a little too much fun with Gypsy (the new puppy). When Bella gets overexcited she gags (she's already been to several vets and it is an emotional reaction, nothing medical). So we thought nothing of it.

By early Saturday morning/late night Friday she was throwing up more after having done zero activity other than sleep - she woke us up with her vomiting in her bed, she wasn't playing. There was a horrendous stench in the house, and we discovered she had left a river of diarrhea all over her pads.

Three hours later we took her to the vet, who stated she probably just got into something. He gave her some Flagyl and Be...something (pills). We were to wait for 8 hours from the time she last vomited, and then give her some prescription w/d he'd given us to take home, along with her pills. Well...she wouldn't eat the food and wouldn't take the pills. I ended up crushing the pills inside a scrambled eggs and plain yogurt mix (it was the only way she'd take them and even then she barely got them down and refused the rest).

She began vomiting foamy bile again, and presented with severe diarrhea again (nothing but water) late Saturday night. She'd scream when either one of us went anywhere near her. I called the vet and he said to meet him at the office Sunday morning at 7am (he drove in just for her).

He pinched her neck area and said she was dehydrated (even though I'd been using a syringe between her teeth to give her water). She had to have a needle stuck in her neck, attached to a tube which was attached to a bag of fluids; she screamed the whole time. She got a shot in her back leg and screamed again.

Since he was the only one there (no office staff, etc) we had to be the ones to help. I held Bella (gently) as he inserted the needle with fluid. Ever since then, she screams when I go anywhere close to her, but I don't think it's due to pain now, I think it's because she's scared of me and associates mommy with pain. She's fine when my husband goes to pet her, now....and she's a mama's girl.

Vet said it was not the first time he's seen it but that they had no name for it - he felt it was a virus.

Our other two are totally unaffected (other than Sprout who is affected by worry for Bella).

It is now Monday morning at 8:40am. Bella has not vomited nor has she had diarrhea since around 2am Sunday morning...but she is refusing food, water and movement. I am feeding her via syringe, and she is gulping it down, but will not take anything on her own. Thus far I have 1.5 TBSP of food in her and syringes of water.

The vet said that unless she stops accepting this, don't bring her in...as it is causing undue stress. He feels confident she will eat on her own no later than this evening, and she IS showing signs of improvement (she's wagging her tail and panting when Sprout goes near her (she adores him).

I asked the vet if she could have gotten something from Gypsy (new puppy) and he said "not likely, but watch them very closely, because if THEY start to get sick you need to take action immediately". Sprout is a senior at 14 years and Gypsy is only a babydog...so they'll both go downhill fast if they get sick.

So far neither one is showing any signs of being ill.

Has anyone else had this weird "mystery" illness like Bella has?

What is it? IE: is there a name for it?

Some things to consider:

Bella is an indoor dog - she did not pick up anything outside.
I keep our floors immaculately clean - nothing on them at all apart from hardwood. I use Healthy Habitat to clean with.
The garbage can has a lid on it and it's impossible for them to get into it.
She has not changed food at all in the last 2.5 years (apart from the w/d gastro wet food the vet gave us but that was AFTER she was sick)
No new toys or treats

...what is this nasty crud that is finding a home in my kiddo?


--- I should also add that Bella has a yeasty beasty ear. She was given Mometamax for that and he said it is completely unrelated.

[YorkOfTheShire]

That should read WE have not changed food in the last 2.5 years (all of them are on the same food). Bella has been eating it for almost 2 years...since she was a puppy and has never displayed any negative reactions to it at all. There's just no way she "got into something".

[YorkOfTheShire]

I just realized I put this in the wrong section - I'm sorry, admins.

...Bella is sleeping right now and Gypsy just woke up - so I'm off for a bit, but will look for posts with possible causes later.

Thank you in advance.

[marlenemaria]

I pray she gets better soon

Could it be a bad batch of her food? Maybe she got bitten by something and had a poor reaction? Maybe a detergent being used to wash laundry and she is reacting to it?

I truly hope you find the source

[lynzy420]

Did your vet do bloodwork? I would definitely have blood work done...no matter what, I always have that done...Could be a doggy virus. I would swipe out all the food and treats you have too...start with a new batch. The food from doc...put some parm or chicken broth on it...For the pills go get PillPockets, they love them...

If she is not better by TONIGHT I would get a second opinion and off to an emergency vet.

I hope this resolves quickly..good luck and keep us posted!

[ritapatt]

No insight on the illness, but once she is feeling better- I have had a lot of luck with probiotics to help control yeast issues (ears, itchy paws, etc) and strenghten their immune system.

[tricia208]

Good to hear Bella is improving. We always believe we know every where these little guys go and what they consume. Clean floors could mean a drop of cleaning fluid that Bella licked and made her ill. It could be anything. I had a Yorkie years ago that started foaming at the mouth. Long story made short - she was licking a frog outside. That made puppy kisses less welcome for a while. Even though she only went outside for short periods of time in a restricted area she still came in contact with something. It a mystery that may never be solved.

[YorkOfTheShire]

He didn't do any bloodwork, no. He said he felt "confident" that it was a virus and she'd be over it by this evening. So far she is improving, but gosh it's slow going. She was sleeping an hour ago but she's awake now, and she did walk by herself (for the first time since Sunday morning) to her pad to pee without having to be carried (which she hates right now and normally she loves to be carried). She peed the size a large breed would though (I imagine because of all the fluid he gave her). She did take 2 pieces of kibble from their bowl, but just nosed one across the floor a little, and ate half the other one. So...she is improving because prior to now she didn't want to move by herself or have us move her. I called the vet just a few minutes ago and they said her lack of movement is most likely due to the shot she had in her hind leg, it can leave them a bit sore. He said as long as she's eating and drinking, or accepting food and water from me...she's making progress. She still whines when I go near her but doesn't scream like she was before.

So now I'm "sit and wait" on not one but TWO of our kiddos and I hate it.

If she's not measurably better by this evening I'm taking her to the ER.

She is trying to scratch where the fluid needle went in but can't reach it. I washed my hands really well and then sort of moved my finger (no fingernail) over the area and it seemed to ease her a little.

She doesn't seem to like the w/d food he gave us, but she did try and eat a couple of her regular pieces of food...succeeded in only half a piece. Should I wet it down with water and mash it up a little and see if she will take that?

[YorkOfTheShire]

She's eating!! All I did was put warm water on her regular food and she ate it. There's nothing wrong with her mouth so I'm not sure why she wanted it mushy but she's eating it, which is what I wanted. And...she's eating it by herself - no syringe. She simply didn't like the prescription w/d stuff.

[Amazing Yorkies]

So glad to hear she's doing better! Sounds to me like what we call Show Crud. It is an overgrowth of bacteria and antibiotics given to the point that symptoms stop and fluids. I'm glad you took her to the Vet!

[KazzyK810]

My ZoE was sick with watery diarrhea and a bit of vomiting last week. She dehydrated fast, and had two rounds of IV fluids, one at the emergency vet and one at her regular vet a day later. It's so scary when they get sick.
Here's my thread on ZoE's experience : http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/sic...-er-visit.html

She was on chicken & rice only, with meds for 4 days, then I reintroduced her kibble. She's completely back to normal now & doing great.

Hope Bella has a quick recovery too

[YorkOfTheShire]

Bella is back to herself now...she was feeling back to herself late last night but I forgot to post about it.

I am glad ZoE is better now, too!

...since Bella is feeling better, do I still have to give her pills for upset stomach?? He gave us two different pills but we have two left of each. They're not antibiotics (she had shots for that), they're just upset tummy pills. I'll call the vet this morning to find out, but I don't see why I should keep giving her tummy pills if she's okay now...I hate popping things into her that she doesn't necessarily need. =/