Guest gr8greys Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I'm new to the forum and I guess I just need support from other Greyhound lovers. I have an almost 11yr old, zany Greyhound who's been in our family for nearly 9yrs. On Thursday she began getting diarrhea but was eating/drinking well and her personality hadn't changed. I gave her a bland diet and it seemed to get better slightly. However, on Sunday, I noticed her getting worse - no appetite, back to complete diarrhea and now blood in her stools. We took her to the ER and they ran some tests: they found she had a bacterial infection in her GI tract. They gave her subcutaneous fluids, an injection of Pepcid AC and an anti emetic to help with nausea. We took her home a few hours later with antibiotics. She ate that night and her stools had seemed to form a little. in the morning, she seemed brighter and wanting to go for her walk. However, upon our return, she didn't want breakfast. An hour later, she vomited a large amount which had quite a bit of blood in it. I brought her to our vet and they're giving her IV fluids for the day hoping it'll get her over the hump. Apparently, she went potty, and it was still loose but not runny. She's not interested in any food though which is their concern since they gave her an anti emetic. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I was told she has fantastic blood work for an 11yr old. I'm scared of losing her... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest jerrybird Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 You have come to the right place for information. I hope that your DVM will be able to help your gal. Is she being kept overnight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerlinsMum Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 Oh gosh I'm so sorry! I have not experienced blood in poop before but I know several people here who have had a similar experience with their dogs. I am sure they will give you some good advice. Hang in there... :grouphug Quote Kerry with Lupin in beautiful coastal Maine. Missing Pippin, my best friend and sweet little heart-healer 2013-2023 Also missing the best wizard in the world, Merlin, and my sweet 80lb limpet, Sagan, every single day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 (edited) How did they diagnose the bacteria and what medicine did they prescribe? I hope your vet can confirm or deny the Evet DX, always good to have a 2nd opinion in these types of cases. Soul recently had HGE (bleeding of the GI tract) and had to be hospitalized for 24hrs on fluids. He was also not interested in his food and felt very poor. With him, immediate treatment was the key, it probably saved his life. It's good that you got her to the vet so quickly ETA: Soul recovered with 20days of Flagyl and a prescription diet. However, we're still working through his issues. He relapsed New Year's Day, but I was lucky that I saw what was happening right away and could get him the meds he needed. Edited January 20, 2009 by SoulsMom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahicks51 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 If they found bacteria in the GI tract- not at all unusual, as the gut is full of bacteria- did they find one in particular that causes harm? In other words, did they culture out a particular organism that is a potential threat? Quote Coco (Maze Cocodrillo) Minerva (Kid's Snipper) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I'm sorry to hear that your 11 year old is having some problems .... If I get this correct, she's having blood in her diarrhea and she is throwing up blood (quite a bit). I guess one thing I might question is whether she could have gotten into anything lately that she shouldn't have. Did she get a bone? Maybe you were at someone's house and she got into the garbage or if you are in the cold weather, maybe she ate some sidewalk salt. Maybe she had a nasty fall on the ice (if you are in the cold weather). Could someone have given her something, like a neighborhood child? Has she seemed "bloated" at all or sensitive to being touched around the "tummy area"? Also, did they by chance explain how they came to the conclusion of a bacteriological infection in the GI tract? Did they do some type of scan or did they do cultures? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest longdogs Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Bloody diarrhoea is not uncommon in dogs with a GI infection and is usually quickly cleared by antibiotics. One of my greys was a keen scavenger and an expert at finding unpleasant things to eat. He had a couple of episodes like this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gr8greys Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 I thank you ALL from the bottom of my heart to all of your advice and heartfelt sympathies. I know we all love our dogs and they mean the world to us. As much as I don't like to have favorites, she's my "baby" out of the Border Collie and Chihuahua that also live with us. I brought Ellie home tonight and she was VERY perky when I picked her up. She ate and drank when I got her home - thank goodness! The vet wants to admit her again tomorrow for the day to give her more IV fluids. She's currently on 500mg of Metronidazole twice a day. As far as her getting into something - I don't think she did. My husband and I are home so they're rarely left alone. Both vets did express their opinions that they believe the new addition to the family (the Chihuahua puppy), is probably to blame. They said that stress can cause this to happen to Greyhounds. That sounds weird though because if it's a bacterial infection, which they determined through a fecal examination, then how can that be related to stress? Ellie has been the "top dog" and we've tried to maintain that hierarchy but it's hard when the new puppy, whose been in a shelter most its life, just wants to play and receive your love. I try to give all my dogs individual attention every day but perhaps it just wasn't enough for the Greyhound if the vets were indeed right. I wonder if it is due to the new puppy being in our family, then will Ellie eventually be okay with him or will she continue to stress and get these infections? We brought the puppy home the week of Halloween. Again, my sincere thanks to all of you wonderful people that care so much about this graceful, elegant breed! Irene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greytexplorer Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Irene! All I know is that stress can really do a number on any given greyhound. I'm sure that in *her* time, she will come around and realize that the puppy is not a threat to her TopDog spot. Pepcid seems like a good idea, just in general. hugs, ~Pat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Just MHO, I think the E-vet mis dxd your girl. Sounds like he didn't know and just wanted to give you an answer. . . . Metronidazole is what Soul was on tas well~aka, Flagyl. Several hounds on here (like Soul) have had HGE, and the cause is unknown but can be anything from stress, to their food, to an infection of some sort. After three months, and two courses of Flagyl, my vet and I still don't know what is causing Soul to bleed so I'm now keeping a diary of EVERYTHING that goes on in his life. Food, stressors, when he gets his teeth brushed, etc. . . . .It certainly sounds like stress could be the root cause of your girls illness. So glad to hear she is home and doing better. Did they put her on a special diet as well, until her tummy settles down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Glad to hear your pupper is better and hope she makes a complete recovery. Re bacteria: They could've done the giardia snap test and diagnosed her that way. Not saying they did, just that they could have. I wouldn't buy the stress diagnosis. Yeah, stress can contribute to illness, but in my experience stress by itself doesn't make a dog that sick. I wouldn't worry overmuch about that -- unless your dogs are at each other's throats or running terrified from each other all day long, they'll likely settle and do fine together. 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...
DaisyDoodle Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 If the vet thinks it's something the new dog introduced into your environment, then you should have that dog checked and possibly treated as well. If the chi is carrying something, your pack won't be well unless the chi and maybe all of them are treated. Quote DonnaMolly the Border Collie & Poquita the American-born Podenga Bridge Babies: Daisy (Positive Delta) 8/7/2000 - 4/6/2115, Agnes--angel Sage's baby (Regall Rosario) 11/12/01 - 12/18/13, Lucky the mix (Found, w 10 puppies 8/96-Bridge 7/28/11, app. age 16) & CoCo (Cosmo Comet) 12/28/89-5/4/04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gr8greys Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Just an update... Ellie did great during the night. In the morning she ate and drank and then I took her back to our vet for a day of IV fluids. I'm hoping this will be the end of it. Re. HGE...the emergency vet initially suspected that but the tests she ran didn't show that it was. Perhaps through blood work? The chi doesn't get into Ellie's face because she'll snap at him if he pesters her but I do think she doesn't particularly like him around - the house was relatively quiet before the chi came! Thanks again to EVERYONE!!!!!! May all of your Greys live, long, healthy lives! Irene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 So glad to hear she's feeling better! HGE is a "catch-all" dx . . . .Meaning they have to eliminate everything else as a cause for the internal bleeding before they can say "it's HGE". Soul had extensive blood tests run and an ultrasound. Nothing was found that could be causing the bleeding, thus the HGE dx. Since we don't know what his triggers are, he is now once again on an ID diet to let his tummy settle, then we'll try different things to try and figure this out. I'm keeping a diary of everything that goes on in his life everyday: what he ate, what the weather was like, if he had bag balm on his nose, if I brushed his teeth, etc. GI bleeding can get very bad, very fast so I also keep a bottle of Flagyl on hand in case it happens again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gr8greys Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 Thanks for the info, Amber. Soul looks an awfully like Ellie except my girl is now quite grey on her face. He's adorable. I hope you can find out what triggers his HGE. Irene. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SoulsMom Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 You're welcome. How is she tonight? And did your vet run any blood tests? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest gr8greys Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Ellie is home and looks to be herself again. I've been told not to take her for her walks till the weekend and you can certainly tell she's not happy about that! She's eating well, although I still have her on a bland diet, and drinking. Her belly isn't "gurgling" anymore and she's sleeping on her lounge looking like a dead cockroach again - she's content Vet doesn't want to see her unless she regresses but I don't see that happening at this point. THANK YOU all for caring! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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