Sick 8 year old Boxer

[Kysha]

Tegan is 8 years old and has been very healthy all her life.

About a month ago she started having diarreah and she vomitted twice in two days. This was unusal for her as she has ALWAYS been normal all her life. The vomitting stopped as abrublty as it started, but the diarreah has continued to this day.

We have brought her in for a stool samples - all negative (the tested for parasites, worms, bacteria...). She has had blood work done - all normal. She has been on Flagyl for two weeks with not change, and now she has been on Tylosin for about a week with no change. The only thing that the medication has done for her is alow her to hold her self for the entire night. The stool is competly liquid most of the time (the most solid it will get is the consistancy of very runny pancake batter (sorrt for the visual)). She can hold it through the night when she is on the meds, but as soon as we take her off of them she has to go out at least twice during the night.

Tegan has been on barf for abour two years with no problems. Tegan has been on a bland diet (rice with boiled chicke or beef) for about a month with no changed either. I have since started her back on barf since the bland diet has done nothing. Her energy level has bee relatively normal considering she is clearling no feeling well. She is drinkning a little more than normal because of the diarreah I think.

Owen is my other Boxer (5 years old) and he has been fine throughout this entire time.

They are now talking about doing a endoscopy and or some exploritory surgery... She is 8 years old and I don't want to put more stress on her than needed, but I trust my vet and will do what they suggest.

Do any of these symptoms sound familiar to anyone? I hate when they are sick, especially when they are older like this - I get very worried for the worst.

If anyone has any thoughts please let me know.

Thanks,
Kysha

 

[mobrian]

All I can think of is that she has some kind of obstruction whether it be from a foreign object or a polyp or something of that nature. Has the vet mentioned any thing like that? The reason I am coming up with that is because my husbands Aunt is being treated for colon cancer and diarrhea is one of the first signs.

I will keep Tegan in my thoughts and hopefully I am way off base.

 

[Vela]

My first thought, after reading everything else you have tried, was some type of intestinal tumor. I deal with human gastroenterology patients and diarrhea is often one of the first indications of intestinal cancer. I am not saying this to try to scare you and I HOPE this is not what is going on with her. Have you tried adding pumpkin to her diet as I have heard mentioned to help with the diarrhea? If her stools are not firming up on the diet she's on and you have had all the tests run as mentioned above and the antiobitcs should have helped if it was a type of colitis. This was my first thought but I definately hope it's not the case. Maybe she just has colitis or something that didn't respond to that medication. GOod luck and keeping fingers and paws crossed for you. Get better Tegan!

 

[Kysha]

The next step is an endoscopy to check the status of her intestines/stomach...

Cancer or tomour is such a worry that I have. It was the first thing that I thought of, but the vet does not want to jump to conclusions... he want's to rule our ecerything else.

It's frustrating watching her go through this, waiting for results, and not knowing what we are dealing with...

Thanks for the support.

We have another appointment this Friday for more testing - I will keep everyone posted on what we do and the results.

For some reason (even after over two years on BARF) I jump to conclusions and want to balme the diet for some reason... I beleive in the diet 100%, but I guess it's the easiest thing to blame because I manage it... I have to get that out of my head though...

 

[Kysha]

Vela - thank you for your thoughts.

Pumpkin was the first step in this process (before I went to the vet I tried the pumkin and did the bland diest automatically). But it was not helpful.

Then we thought it might be colitis, but she is not responding to the medication, but we may need to try another type...

It's just all too much. I don't want to jump to conlusions with a tumour, but when she has had a CLEAR history with NO troubles, and the 'standard' diarreah meds/diet don't work - I have to think tomour/cancer... given that she is 8 too doesn't help.

One reading that was high in her blood work was vitamin b12. Owen (my other Boxer is anemic) so Tegan probably gets alot of iron (b12) in her diet as default because Owen gets so much! The vet says this is not a problem, but of course I have to worry about that too...

Thanks againg for your support.

 

[Linda/NJ]

We just want to send Tegan speedy healing vibes~~~~~~~~~

Linda & Ginger

 

[Mama_Zookeeper]

Oh Kysha, I am sending out some hugs & kisses for Tegan. When they get older it is hard not to panic when they get sick. I hope she will be feeling better soon.

Dora & the Zoo Crew

 

[Kysha]

We went back to the vet today since the medication (Tylosin) is not working. They founf blood in her stool - not alot, but traces of it.

We are now headed down the long road of diagnosis :( We are starting with worms and giardia. We will test for these, if it's not that then we move on to, bacteria, then irritable bowel syndrome, if it's not that them we move on to toumors,,, and somewhere in there we will touch on alergies too!

The vet warned me that it will probably be a long road and I will need lots of patience!

We think the problem is in the large bowel vs the small bowel due to her symptoms (urgency, frequency, straining, blood,...) this is neither good or bad - it does however help us to narrow down the issues that could be causing all of this...

Tegan is still on BARF, but I have chosen to stop giving her RMB's (chicken backs is what I feed) until she is forming solid stools. My fear is that because her 'insides' aren't working 100% that she is not able to break down the bone correctly and it will cause other issues. My vet agrees with my decision - he is not a raw feeder homself (nor are most of his clients), but I still trust him.

Should I make sure that she is getting enough calcium/phosphorous from other sources, or suppliment her in the meantime? Will a month or so without RMB's effect her badly? I will up her fish (sardines) to help and she will still receive a varied supply of meat...

Everyone's support and help is greatly appreciated during these trying times.

 

[Vela]

I'm sorry they have not found the problem yet. You and Tegan are in my thoughts and prayers and I hope for a speedy recovery for her. I hope it turns out to be nothing seroius and it can be cleared up with medicatoin easily.

 

[Jan]

Kysha, I sure hope you figure out what Tegan's problem is. I'm not sure what the best thing to supplement her diet with as regards to calcium. Canned sardines and salmon would certainly help. You could also try giving her ground up egg shells. Have you considered consulting a Holistic Vet. They may better be able to advise you on how to supplement her diet when you can't give her RMB's.

I'm sending positive healing vibes your way!