Guest midgie1007 Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 Since my vet is flummoxed... This is one of my 10mos old American Bulldog female. What she did the past 3 days: We were at a show all weekend...she hunted Friday night, did a novice weight pull Saturday morning...showed both days...spent the rest of the time in the dog trailer in a box w/ hay in it. She was a little grumpy yesterday afternoon, but it was hot and they were tired, so I didn't think much of it. She was fine when we got home at 1:30am, and went in her crate til morning. This morning she was a bit uncomfortable and bloated. She spent all day in a crate. I figured she was tired from the weekend. I got her out around 4pm...she was obviously uncomfortable, pretty bloated, straining to poop but only having a little diarrhea. I took her into the vet, they took an xray, which showed very little contrast, so they did an ultrasound, and she has a good bit of fluid in her abdominal cavity. They aspirated some of the fluid...no blood, no urine, nothing of interest, and her blood work came back normal. The vet has no idea at this point...the fluid isn't what would be caused by common poisons, she doesn't think anything has ruptured, her white blood count is normal...the fluid is the type she would expect in an older dog w/ heart failure, etc, but her heart has always been strong and normal. Any ideas? We're on a wait and see right now. A vet friend suggested getting a specialist to do an abdominal ultrasound to check for shunts, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest meakah Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Is there any bruising anywhere? Is she having any difficulties breathing? Have they done an ultrasound on her heart? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trudy Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Did they send the fluid out to see what it IS? Organs can 'ooze' and cause a fluid build up in the abdominal cavity. This was one of the last problems we had with Ryan - his abdomen was filling up with fluid. We had to do a "super" ultrasound as my vet doesn't have an ultrasound that would give him good enough resolution to see much - we did a color flow ultrasound which showed the flow of blood though veins and whatnot. What we saw from that was a LOT of clotting in Ryan between liver and spleen and stomach. Blood was not flowing well (70-90% occluded) so his organs just started leaking. Once the clots started to break up/dissolve, the blood was able to flow as it should again and his organs stopped leaking and the fluid was absorbed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Yikes. Another ultrasound would be a good idea. I second the notion of taking a look at the heart/lungs while you're at it. Sending prayers. Quote Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in IllinoisWe miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trudy Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Yep - make sure you are going somewhere with a good quality ultrasound (expensive unit that most regular vets won't have on hand) that can get good looks at everything in there - and have them look at it all. You might also want them to do a urinalysis to see if there is anything that is showing up in the urine (blood, etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhndz Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Were liver function tests done? A build up of fluid in the abdominal cavity (called "ascites"), particularly if her protein level was low in her bloodwork, is suspicious for liver disease. Is she jaundiced? Is she acting like a sick dog? Is she coughing, getting winded easily, panting? If a dog is having right-sided heart failure, this, too, can lead to signs of liver failure, including ascites. While waiting for another ultrasound of the abdomen, and presumably an echocardiogram (ultrasound of heart), the vet could do a chest x-ray, which would show an enlarged heart or fluid in the sac surrounding the heart ("pericardial effusion") that often accompany congestive heart failure. With a puppy, I'd think about a congenital heart defect. Does she have a murmur? Unfortunately, ascites can also indicate an underlying malignancy, and I sincerely hope that's not the case with your puppy - it's probably unlikely given her age. I'd think shunt first. Does she have any history of seizures or other strange neurologic symptoms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest midgie1007 Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I'm going to touch base w/ my vet in the morning to see about getting a better ultrasound done. No bruising (she's a white/short-haired dog so they would be easy to see), no trouble breathing, panting, no jaundice, etc. She's exhibited some discomfort...stretching out her back legs a bit, walking a little stiff, and straining to poop. Her blood panel had nothing of note on it. The vet didn't send off the fluid just examined it in house...but there was nothing to suggest ruptures, etc. She's never had a heart murmur...is actually a great running partner and can play ball for days. Today she is still bloated (maybe smaller), stiff but no funny stretching, and much perkier though I've kept her crated or gated in the kitchen. No seizures...though she is a neurotic pica dog...will eat anything she can get her mouth on, which was why we xrayed her in the first place...she's already had one surgery to remove a quart baggy's worth of plastic, a cell phone charger end, a spring, and string. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamborine Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Like Jordan (houndznigz), I'm thinking liver....maybe a portosystemic shunt? Quote Maryann, Bama (TW Beltram), Stephanie (Tom's Stepinhi) & Henderson the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greyhndz Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 A couple of things can be accomplished by tapping the fluid from the belly: it will make her more physically comfortable, at least temporarily, because it may re-accumulate. And, by sending the fluid off for various labs, cultures, cell counts, etc., the vet can get a better idea of where the fluid is coming from. Also, humans with ascites, in addition to dietary restrictions, are often put onto diuretics like spironalactone or furosemide, and it might be a good topic to bring up with your vet tomorrow. Boy, I really wish I'd gone into veterinary medicine, not human medicine. But please don't tell my employing hospital that..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LindsaySF Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 Good posts from houndznigz. Sending good thoughts your way.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest midgie1007 Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 She's almost back to normal this morning...bloating has gone down significantly, and she's pretty much back to her normal goofy self...though I'm still crating her and keeping her quiet. Seems to strange to blow up that fast w/ fluid and then have it reabsorb so quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trudy Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 She may have been hit or run into something over the weekend with some internal organ bruising which caused the leak, but I'd expect that there would have been some blood cells in the fluid if that was the case Good that she's shrinking though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest trevdog Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 I'm thinking shunt here too, best to get the ultrasound even though she looks better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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