Beau- Still Not Good, Getting Worse, I Fear

[Guest SoulsMom]

Whew, it IS a good sign that there is no more blood. Thank goodness for that! I hope he continues to improve. Soul also lost a lot of weight, it was awful to see him so tired and thin

[Guest RocketDog]

no words of advice, just Feel better for mommy, Beau!

[patricia]

I hope you get to the bottom of things soon. No more grass sweetie...sending prayers.

[Guest LindsaySF]

I'm sure you've already been through everything with your vet, but has he been treated and/or tested for whipworms? I know that not all preventatives guard against all the varieties of parasites out there, and in what I've seen as a kennel volunteer, bloody diarrhea can be a sign of whipworms. I think they treat it with a different type of de-wormer than what we usually give the recent retirees who are new to the kennel. I'm sure someone with more specific knowledge than I have can jump in if you need it. It's just a thought.

Good post. This is why I asked if Beau had been dewormed recently. Whipworms and even giardia can cause bloody stool and/or diarrhea and weight loss. Even if fecals are negative, I would deworm him with some Panacur / Safeguard ASAP. It can't hurt.

 

Also, the grass he ate is probably causing some irritation of the digestive tract, that can lead to diarrhea and blood too.

 

A year or so ago Teagan had bloody mucusy diarrhea on a walk. I was horrified, but he was acting totally fine, etc. I dewormed him and it never happened again. (Fecals were negative).

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

[Burpdog]

I can't remember all the history, but I wonder if you have wormed hm with panacur even if nothing show.s Wouldn't hurt.....

 

Sending prayers!

[queenwinniesmom]

Wish I had some advice, but I'm just so sorry you and Beau are going through this.

[RobinM]

He is still very, very groggy, actually groggier than I expected for being only "sedated" but I took him an hour after instead of him sleeping it off there.

 

He had collapsed on the floor- so tired in the weirdest position and all of a sudden, while I was blowdrying my hair - I saw in the mirror his head popped up. I layed down next to him with a cookie and after a few minutes he started to smell it, I ran downstairs and got the AD. He ate about 1/2 can out of my hand very slowly then turned away. I hadn;t eaten so I grabbed a piece of grilled chicken and he was very interested so I gave it to him. It was plain- just grilled. So, he managed to get down almost a whole chicken breast which was cut in strips.

 

That is a good, very good thing. The last thing the vet said, was I doubt he'll eat tonight because of the sedation, but try to offer him some food now and then.

 

I am so grateful there is something in his tummy now.

 

I am praying that this will pass and it can get behind us too.

[Rickiesmom]

Glad he ate for you Robin. Hope everyone has a good night and that Beau feels better tomorrow.

[JedsMom]

I'm so glad to hear that he ate some tonight.

[MandysMom]

No advice, but sending lots of prayers for Beautiful Beau.

[Guest HoustonGreys]

Prayers for Beau and that you will find out tomorrow something EASY to fix.

[Batmom]

Might want to verify that your vet checked for giardia. It can be very hard to find in a regular fecal float, and most places, nobody looks for it. There is a quick ELISA test for it, tho.

[RobinM]

Might want to verify that your vet checked for giardia. It can be very hard to find in a regular fecal float, and most places, nobody looks for it. There is a quick ELISA test for it, tho.

 

I will mention it tomorrow. They do check for it (a friend of mine has a dog that was diagnosed there with it) but in the event Beau wasn't checked, we will do that too.

 

I will also ask about Whipworm.

 

This is so bizarre.

[Batmom]

The Panacur suggestion is a good one (give 2 rounds no matter what fecal says). In addition to giardia and whips, you have our good ol' friends, hookworms. Folks have been known to miss those in a fecal, too. Shouldn't happen often, but sometimes it does. Panacur is good stuff for all those creepies.

[Guest LindsaySF]

If they tested for giardia using fecal flotation and they say it is negative, don't believe them! Insist on the ELISA test (it's like the Snap test they do for heartworm). My grad school parasitology professor couldn't even find giardia in a slide we knew was infected, and I consider him an expert. Giardia is very easy to miss. It is so small that you usually need to go down to the oil immersion lens on a microscope to see it.

 

Hookworms are pretty distinctive and easy to spot, but everyone makes mistakes. My undergrad students missed them all the time.

 

Whipworms are notoriously missed on fecal flotation examination. The female worms only shed eggs every few days, so chances are good that you'll miss them, depending on when you take the sample. The most accurate way to check is to get multiple samples over a 3-4 day period. But it's easier (and cheaper) to just do a round or two of Panacur.

 

I hope Beau feels better soon!

 

[Guest laceyj]

Oh Robin, so sorry Beau is still battling tummy issues. I went through something similar with Scott, a very long battle with hookworms. Praying you have some answers soon and that he begins feeling better/eating.

[Bevd]

Checking in on baby Beau

[Guest vahoundlover]

Hoping you guys get to the bottom of this soon.

[TheFullHouse]

More prayers for your sweet boy.

[RobinM]

Morning update. Whatever "light: sedative she gave him, I have NEVER seen him so drugged for so long even after major surgery... anyway, I woke up ever couple of hours to check on him and he had not moved, an inch. Finally at 4AM, I said to DH- beau has not peed since 2Pm (he is our resident pee pot) and has not moved. I could not get him up. Finally, I took the leash and he willingly got up. Went out back- took leash off and watched. No grass eating. A MAJOR pee and pooped. Decent color- no blood. Ate 1 strip of plain grilled chicken. That was it- he finished it all. Took out another package to defrost and made that at 7Am. I am leaving for work. He has not eaten breakfast which I figured he wouldn't but DH will try when he gets back from the walk.

 

He does not like the ID. I did not know there was a precription Royal Canin- Are the ingredients better?

 

Will be speaking to the vet in a few minutes....

[Guest ss556]

Robin, just saw this. What about Iam's Low Residue canned food? Alan has eaten that and he's real picky. When are the labs and all other tests back? Boy Beau, what are you doing toyour mommy? Hope all well get better fast!

[RobinM]

Spoke to Vet. She said NO to the panacur as that will make the Colitis worse. They are certain it's a colitis, possible IBS/maybe crohns.

 

So, the plan of action is to try the flagyl again 250 bid and see if he tolerates it this time with the prilesec and carafate plus adding in a powder that starts with "T". I was on my cell phone driving to work when trying to comprehend all of this. IF GOD forbid this doesn't work, he would need to have a biopsy done of the intestine which of course would require general AGAIN and at least 24 hour hospital stay which at this point isn't the problem. It's the diagnosis that I am going certifiably crazy over.

 

We are also going to try the Royal Canin prescription diet.

[Batmom]

Might want to check with a pharmacist on dosing times as carafate can affect the absorption of other drugs.

[Guest greyhoundlover2]

Hey Robin! Terri from GAA. I just read all your posts about Beau. I thought all along it was colitis but wanted to hear it from the vet first. I've been through it with Chelsea several times. The "T" powder is Tylan and it is a wonderful thing! As soon as Chelsea starts with loose stools she gets a dose of that and...poof...all better! I've never had to put her on prescription food just a very bland diet until she's feeling better. Colitis is mainly brought on by stress, at least with Chelsea it is, so try to be aware of that. And not like you don't already know this but he picks up on you guys being upset too. I don't get on here very often but I'm sure wishing you well and if you want to chat drop me a note at greyhoundlover28@verizon.net

Terri

Chelsea, Carra, Lilly

And Tia at the bridge but 4ever in our hearts

[Guest ArtysPeople]

Checking in for an update. Hope Beau feels even just a little better today.