Brooker914

It's a scrotal hematoma-not unusual in a large/giant breed dog. Sometimes it happens if the dog is being too active after surgery, sometimes they just have small bleeders in the subcutaneous/skin layers. Many times this will improve with time, rest, and ice packs, though occasionally it will require further surgery (scrotal ablation) to repair it. I would call the vet he stayed with for a few days to get further instructions and see if he wants to recheck everything to see what the next step needs to be. Good luck!

Giardia can be transmitted by eating rabbit poop.

Sorry for my wrong info--they can get tapeworms from rabbits, not the actual poop.

Yes a typical food allergy trial is 8-12 weeks. I agree with the stool guard to prevent her from eating the rabbit poop-there potentially could be something that could interfere. For the food trial, they really can't have anything else, no flavored heartworm prevention, no rawhides, no treats, etc. Besides, she could get tapeworms from the rabbit poo-yuck!

Did he get the steroid shot already? If so, he could be feeling better from that if he does in fact have Addisons. It wouldn't be the greatest diagnosis, but it can be managed and dogs can have a wonderful quality of life once on medications.

The ACTH stim test will be definitive. And it definitely wouldn't be a bad idea to run the fecal first to check for whipworms before the ACTH stim. Good luck, hoping for the best for you!

Do you know if they sent a sample for a culture?

Yes panting can be a side effect of steroids in dogs. Panting can be from so many things, including pain-but if you think she seems comfortable, it could very well be from the medication. Sending good thoughts to Shelby.

It looks like your vets are doing a very thorough job, so I would assume that urine was checked. Would be something to check though if it hasn't, especially with that albumin level. Good luck, and hugs to Cash

There is a condition in dogs called psychogenic polydipsia where the need to drink is "in the dogs head", so it is possible. It is a diagnosis of exclusion, so the long list of medical problems that can cause excessive drinking/urinating would need to be ruled out first. Has the dog always done this, or is it a new thing? You do want to be careful about limiting water in a dog that potentially has a medical problem that needs the excessive water--I wouldn't recommend restricting it until at least some initial tests were run.

If the culture comes back negative, then your next step will likely be testing for Cushings with one or more of the tests that Jillysfullhouse listed. Diabetes insipid us can be hard, sometimes it's diagnosed by response to treatment, and that's usually why other diseases are tested for an ruled out first. Good luck with everything, let us know what the results are.

I might have missed it, but has he had a urinalysis run? If so, was there any protein in the urine? His bloodwork shows low albumin, which could indicate a protein losing disease such as PLN or PLE.

No the urine culture must be sterile, so a free catch sample won't work-a needle is inserted directly into the bladder.

Definitely needs to be cultured if it hasn't already. Have X-rays or an ultrasound been done to rule out stones? Has any bloodwork been done to rule out liver or kidney disease, and diabetes? If not, that would be the first step before looking into Cushings disease or DI. Do you know what the urine specific gravity has been?

From the Adequan website: "The drug is injected intramuscularly to ensure it reaches the critical parts of the joint. " Some veterinarians do give it subcutaneously, but I am not aware of any studies to prove that is equally as effective when given this route.