Rickiesmom Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Someone on a small whippet board posted the following - I am cross posting as there is such a large wealth of knowledge here - perhaps someone will have some experience / ideas: About 1.5 years ago my (then 10 years old) old boy Bailey spiked a fever of 104.1 and he had hives on his chest and belly. We ran him into the vet immediately. His stool was soft but not runny. The vet examined him and drew blood for a number of tests. Everything came back normal. White count was normal. Thyroid was okay. All was fine. The vet said he suspected an allergy of some sort....to either his bedding, stuffing in the couch he slept on......he told us to give him a low dose aspirin and benadryl. His fever was down within 2 hours and the hives were gone. Now, this is where it gets confusing. This happens often. He will have good days/ weeks/ even months and then all of a sudden he will spike a fever (normally around 104.0). Sometimes he eats when he has a fever, sometimes not. Sometimes severe diarhea accompanies the fever, sometimes not. His gum colour is always good. We give him benadryl and a low dose aspirin and within hours he's normal. About 2 months ago he had a really bad bout where he was "blowing his bum out" every couple of hours. The last time he"went" it was a dark brownish red liquid. It was 2:00 a.m. and I had decided to take him to the vet first thing in the morning fully prepared to have to put him down. When I got home from my school bus run the following morning he greeted me at the door, tail wagging and seeming 100% normal. I took his temp and low and behold, it was normal. I called my vet and we talked on the phone. He is baffled as to what could be causing this. I feed raw and he suggested that I limit Bailey's diet to tuna, chicken, and cooked pasta and rice leaving out the red meat portion of my dog's raw diet regime and always mixing with pasta or rice. He's been GREAT for the last 2 months.....until last night. He spiked a fever of 105.6, the highest it has EVER been, and his gums were white and the benadryl and aspirin didn't work to bring his fever down this time. So we stood him in a cool tub and put a cooling coat on him 15 minutes in/ on 15 minutes out/ off. At the time of writing this I have managed to bring his fever down to 102.7. I have had a couple of people suggest either auto immune issues or a parasite of some sort.....has anyone ever run into this before or can anyone give me any insight as to what might be going on with him? He is 12 years old and has had a VERY good life.....I don't want to subject him to a whole barrage of testing again only to have it all come back normal again because my vet does not know where to start looking for a problem. Any help you can offer for this sweet boy would be so very much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Batmom Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Has he had recent bloodwork? Stool culture? That is where I would start. If all checks out there, then one of the Antech/IDEXX comprehensive Fastpanel PCRs for vector-borne disease. I'd cook his food for the time being. 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...
tbhounds Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 I thought about this for awhile. Hives, spiked temp---responds to benedryl. I wonder if this pup has an undiagnosed mast cell tumor lurking about. If the owners no longer wish to pursue further testing why not keep the pup on a daily low dose protocol of baby aspirin and daily benedryl? Benedryl is a rather benign medication that is usually very well tolarated by most pups. Could run a buffy coat to check for MCT's but, it might be an outdated test. Anyway---just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryJane Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Has he had recent bloodwork? Stool culture? That is where I would start. If all checks out there, then one of the Antech/IDEXX comprehensive Fastpanel PCRs for vector-borne disease. I'd cook his food for the time being. I agree with doing bloodwork and stool culture. I would also start cooking his food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Believe it or not, my Pearl did this. She had fibrosarcoma of the spleen and liver. Her blood work was normal both times we took it but I noticed changes even within the normal limits. An ultrasound showed the cancer. I hope it's not that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest kerber Posted March 20, 2011 Share Posted March 20, 2011 Believe it or not, my Pearl did this. She had fibrosarcoma of the spleen and liver. Her blood work was normal both times we took it but I noticed changes even within the normal limits. An ultrasound showed the cancer. I hope it's not that. Did it happen at the same time every day? My dog is doing this every evening it seems, we are trying to rule out food allergy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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