Help from the Brain Trust - sick dog

[Brando]

The wife and I were abruptly awoken at 3:00 AM this morning to our miniature dachshund heaving - on the bed! First thing I do is hold his head over the bed so it ends up on the floor (we have already forfeited our deposit due to him and a couple of cats).

The wife cleans up the puke and treats it with enzyme stuff to keep it from setting and I start to clean of the dog's face. Wife takes him into the kitchen to keep an eye on him and he throws up even more. This time there were little specks of red and left-over food. Side note: He hadn't eaten a full meal since Friday evening, barely ate any of his breakfast Saturday and none of his dinner. After that, he pees on the floor and less than a minute after that, he poops. First it was solid, then it was runny with blood.

So we clean that up and start looking for a 24-hour emergency clinic. I don't know much about dogs but I do know that for people if there's blood in any fluid/feces that come out of you it's time to visit a doc.

We get him to the vet and the first thing they do is run a blood test. 45 minutes later we get the details: He's dehydrated, low on electrolytes. Liver enzymes are normal, pancreatic enzymes are way out of whack, white/red blood cell counts are normal, he's got a fever and sore in his abdomen. The vet said that it looks like acute pancreatic inflammation or infection but another test would give us an indicator of the severity (if it is). She wanted to start him on IV fluids/electrolytes, anti-vomiting and nausea medication and then try feeding in about 6 hours. They recommended keeping him for 24 hours at a cost of $1200-$1600.

Seeing as money is a bit of a concern, we opted to have him stay in their care for the next 12 hours (for $800) and monitor his progress. If he's on the path to recovery we'll take care of him the rest of the day and I'll stay home Monday to take him to our normal vet for follow-up care.

My questions to the Pelican Brain Trust - how common is this? What causes it? What's the best/worst scenarios to prepare for?

Obviously this is a bit heart-wrenching. We love this little guy like a kid.

The dog stats:
Breed: Miniature Dachshund
Age: ~9.5 years
Weight: 11 lbs.
Health Problems: Allergic to fleas, has a heart murmur, on controlled thyroid medication.

[RWebb]

did you feed him any pork? it can cause pancreatitis in dogs

[Baz]

I wish I could off offer some technical advice, Brando - but I can't about your little one's scenario other than maybe it was something he ate (?)

The amount of $ these vets charge is ridiculous sometimes...but that's another discussion I'm sure.

Wishing good vibes for a fast recovery - please keep us posted.

[john70t]

No onions or garlic either. Some houseplants as well.

Might check to see if the food or snacks have been recalled.
A bit of toxic stuff went around before. Oversea companies were adding sawdust fillers with a nasty chemical to mimic protein for passing nutrient test procedures.

[john70t]

Might want to shop for vets. Don't support highway robbery.

[Steve Carlton]

Hope your little boy will be okay!

[tweezers74]

Poor little guy.

[vash]

Originally Posted by RWebb

did you feed him any pork? it can cause pancreatitis in dogs

sounds like pancreatitis. i had a dog with it, and you described it perfectly. it is all about the vomiting and no appetite.

it isnt just pork. it is rich foods. my vet said most pet hospitals get overrun by this on thanksgiving. everyone giving the dog his share of the holiday meal.

i flipped my dog a tiny piece of pate. it was the size of a players dice. cost me $1700.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by john70t

Might want to shop for vets. Don't support highway robbery.

Vets have learned that they can charge like medical doctors because...


they are medical doctors. Nowadays you nave to buy pet health insurance. The racket has spread.

[SiberianDVM]

Acute pancreatitis is VERY serious and usually requires several days of intense and possibly expensive therapy. Especially emergency care.

I'm astonished by the vitriol directed at veterinarians who don't make near the money that MDs so, by people who think nothing of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on playtoy cars. Amazing.

Good luck to your dog.

[Chocaholic]

Have to disagree. These are pets, not people. In the absence of health insurance, my kids would get brain transplants if needed. Wouldn't matter what it costs. Not the dog.

Stinging a young family $1600 to run an IV and a few lab tests on their sick Dachsund is inexcusable. Any comparison to human healthcare only confirms my point.

Good luck with your pup. Hopefully feeling better already. And good advice about finding another vet.

[Drdogface]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

Acute pancreatitis is VERY serious and usually requires several days of intense and possibly expensive therapy. Especially emergency care.

I'm astonished by the vitriol directed at veterinarians who don't make near the money that MDs so, by people who think nothing of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on playtoy cars. Amazing.

Good luck to your dog.

I agree, unlike Choc. (Mike, I'm surprised at you, Amigo) Oh well...

Having said that, it does sound like it could be pancreatitis but the full set of tests should show it. Pancreatic enzymes would be way high if so. Any rich or fatty food can trigger it and like was said above by my colleague, T'giving turkey scraps are infamous.

I hope you get a good outcome...serious condition and takes time and good care to get him over it.

[crownarch]

My wife and I just experienced the same episode with our little Jack Russell. Listless, no appetite and throwing up. She is 13 years old and prior to this, would eat anything including the garbage can lid if you gave it to her. Took her to our vet and he suspected pancreatitis. The vet competed an ultra-scan and found that she did have minor pancreatitis with elevated levels in her blood counts. About $500 bucks later and some antibiotics she is again making us laugh. Since we have no children, I didn't bat an eye when he told me the cost. She is our family member and my conscience wouldn't allow me to blow thousands on a Pcar and let my best friend die because I want to be cheap!! Vets are underpaid for the job they perform. Doctors patience can tell them what is ailing them....good luck trying to get a dog to talk.

[Zeke]

Originally Posted by crownarch

My wife and I just experienced the same episode with our little Jack Russell. Listless, no appetite and throwing up. She is 13 years old and prior to this, would eat anything including the garbage can lid if you gave it to her. Took her to our vet and he suspected pancreatitis. The vet competed an ultra-scan and found that she did have minor pancreatitis with elevated levels in her blood counts. About $500 bucks later and some antibiotics she is again making us laugh. Since we have no children, I didn't bat an eye when he told me the cost. She is our family member and my conscience wouldn't allow me to blow thousands on a Pcar and let my best friend die because I want to be cheap!! Vets are underpaid for the job they perform. Doctors patience can tell them what is ailing them....good luck trying to get a dog to talk.

Good one.

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by Drdogface

I agree, unlike Choc. (Mike, I'm surprised at you, Amigo) Oh well....

Probably responded a bit harshly to Siberian's chastising of those who have a different perspective. Everyone's financial picture is different and they ought to make an appropriate judgement, especially when extreme expenses would have an impact on family and children. Not everyone here is dropping mega bucks on Porsches, and such generalizations tend to get under my skin.

With three dogs that own our house (almost 300lbs worth), I can assure you that we're dog lovers. But I still respect those who make difficult decisions and will always support logic over emotion, especially when the family can suffer as a result. These are personal decisions and should be respected.

My 2 cents.

Update....I see crownarch's vet ran the gammut for less than 1/3 of what the OP's vet quoted for a day of observation. "Pay the $1600 or he's your problem"....not very compassionate. We happen to have a great vet who is very concerned to bill people reasonably. One of our dogs was an animal shelter rescue. He neutered him for 15 bux as a result. Good guy.

[Brando]

Thanks for the input and well-wishes everyone. You all nailed it with pancreatitis. We're picking him up now and will be taking him to our normal vet first opening in the morning. We're moving forward with pain meds and human-grade bland food. Vet couldn't provide an explanation, just that an infection in the pancreas is random just like appendicitis in humans.

I very much care for this little guy and respect the profession - but as a young married couple with little disposable income (we do have an emergency fund for this type of stuff) it was very difficult to decide on a 12-hour stay over 24-48 hour stay. Of course we will be watching him like a hawk for the next week.

[crownarch]

If I insulted anyone or sounded like I was getting on them please accept my apology as I was only trying to point out that we basically went through the same thing. Brando, I know how you feel as my wife and I raised five children and no matter how you try to save, one always gets hit with unexpected costs and at the most inconvenient times. All of us love our pets like our children and most, if not all of try and want to provide the best for them just like we do for our children. The next time a Vet lays a surprise cost on you like that just explain your financial situation and most will work with you. Pancreatitis can be caused by so many things I doubt any Vet could pinpoint it to a specific item. I just try to do the best by no table scraps, no human food, and no cheap dog food with all the fillers and/or coming from China. We switched to "Flint River Ranch" dog food years ago. Hope your dog does fine and remember "there is no love like the love of a dog".

[Drdogface]

No insults here. It's all hard to swallow and deal with. Vet Med used to be more affordable but with the advent and demand for higher tech and the increasing prices of pharmaceutical stuff it has gotten way more expensive. I just paid $2000 for half a day of diagnostics on my dog at UC Davis and I'm a member of the same profession.

Trust me...I never charged nor made the $$ that's in play these days but never had the tech that's used now either.

[Brando]

Now the peculiar behavior... Vet said he was eating when fed by hand earlier today. We've been trying to feed him over the last 4 hours but he has no interest in his food or water. We'll try mixing up some light chicken broth to see if he takes to that. He whimpers or whines every couple hours which leads me to believe the pain meds are wearing off.

Our concern is that he's plateaued but I think it is too soon to tell if he's getting better or worse. So frustrating... i wish there was a way to communicate. It's maddening and terrifying at the same time.

I'm calling our normal vet first thing in the morning to see what is best. This is uncharted territory for us and not sure what to do every step of the way.

Mark - any sage advice? We want to keep the worst from happening if possible.

[Drdogface]

Wow..I know this is hard on you both...especially since its all new. If you have the lab sheet with you there should be two tests called amylase and lipase. These are pancreatic enzymes which will be very elevated in pancreatitis...especially the amylase. IF this is pancreatitis I would not want a dog eating too soon at all as food will only stimulate the pancreas. Check with you normal vet and maybe repeat some of the tests to see what direction things are headed. We all want to see them eat, but it's not always the best for them. Let his GI tract rest a while.

Let us know as time goes on...