Bandit is Sick

[AJ]

My seven year old boxer, Bandit, has been sick for the past six months. His symptoms began in June 1999. He was vomiting after eating, running with his head tilted to the left, and would lose his balance and fall on the ground. He had also been losing weight. I took him to the vet who stated it could possibly be an inner ear infection and gave him antibiotics. The vet also performed lab work, which showed normal readings. The vet assured me it was not a brain tumor due to the normal WBC reading. The antibiotics helped for a short time, but the loss of balance continued. I began feeding him twice a day, he did gain some weight, and his balance did improve. This past week has condition has changed once again. He has lost more weight and has become very weak. At times he can't even hike his leg to urinate, but at times he can run and jump. I took him to the vet again yesterday, and the vet stated he had a URI and once again placed him on antibiotics. He stated that if this did not help to bring him back in for more lab work due to the possibility of a tumor. Has anyone's boxer had symptoms like this? Please respond as I am very concerned.

 

[Aimee]

My sheltie had a central brain lesion and would sometimes display seizure like episodes but yet he was still alert. He would stagger and be weak but return to his normal self within minutes. Garrett tended to favor one side always which was his cardiologist's first clue that his seizure like activity was neuro as opposed to cardiac (he had multiple health issues). Bandit's WBC should be high if he has any type of cancerous tumor. Boxer's should be fed twice a day and I would recommend you continue to do this. One of my Boxer's has a regurgitation problem (we had always referred to it as vomiting but if there is not wretching so to speak and he is vomiting piles of food this is considered regurgitation) and my vet recommended feeding in raised bowls and feeding 3 times a day. She states that if they inhale too much air while feeding and especially while eating larger portions the results will be the regurgitation of the food. An MRI will detect a lesion or tumor of the brain. But does Bandit have any heart problems? Dogs that are not getting enough oxygen to the brain (because of congestive heart failure and such)tend to exert the same symptoms you have described such as loss of balance and falling over. Has your vet ever detected a murmur?

 

[AJ]

Thanks for replying Aimee. Maybe Bandit does display symptoms of regurgitation. What usually happens is after he eats his meal, which consist of a bland can of dog food, he will vomit the entire amount of food within 5-10 minutes. I can't even get him to take his medication today because he is vomiting the food. I even attempted placing the pill in a piece of bread soaked with milk, but he vomited after he took a small bite of the bread. Thank you for the tips on preventing this problem. Hopefully they will work. As far as the question regarding CHF or a heart murmur, the vet stated that his heart sounded fine and his lungs were clear yesterday. I just pray that his condition will improve with the help of the antibiotics. Thank you once again for your response. Amanda

 

[Aimee]

I know how hard it is when you are unable to get them to eat (Garrett spent his last week being force fed by us). Try feeding him chicken broth or boil some chicken and rice and feed this to him. My vet highly recommends this when they have an upset tummy. They tend to be real weak when they don't eat. You can also try giving Bandit his medication in a little scoop of peanut butter if he will eat that. But get some chicken and rice in him first before trying to give the meds or atleast some plain chicken broth if he won't eat the boiled chicken and rice. Keep me posted!