Stomach problem

[tara]

Hi

I am new to this website and any help would be greatly appreciated.

My Weimar is 10 years old and has always been in relatively good health, although when he was 7 he had to undergo an operation for a perineal hernia and was also castrated at the same time. Two years ago he swallowed a stone and underwent an operation to remove it from his intestine.

Over the past few years he has suffered bouts of trapped wind and is in discomfort for a while then it seems to break up and he is OK again until the next time. I am very careful what I feed him as he seems to have a sensitive stomach.

A couple of days ago I had to take him to the vet as he was vomiting and had the runs. He was really off colour and seemed in pain, plus he wanted to drink all the time, and then promptly threw it back up again. The vet took a blood sample, did an ultrasound and put him on a drip for the day. His stomach was very tight and he was running a bit of a temperature as well.

When I went to collect him at the end of the day he seemed a bit brighter but as the night wore on he seemed to go down again, although the vomiting had stopped.

The next morning at the vets he was put on a drip again and when I went to collect him later the vet had taken an X-ray of his stomach. The first X-ray showed a very enlarged stomach but a second X-ray later in the day showed his stomach was back to normal. The vet gave me Motilium tablets...2 tabs twice a day.

At the time he seemed so much brighter and the vet informed me that he had eaten a little food. The vet advised me to feed him three small meals a day instead of his usual two and seemed to think that while eating he may have gulped his food and taken a lot of gas into his stomach at the same time.

That was yesterday and he seems to have gone down again although not as bad as before. He is not interested in eating but I managed to tempt him with a couple of dog biscuits. I have spent some time gently rubbing his stomach and managed to release some wind but what is causing this problem? Surely trapped wind would not have caused a rise in his temperature.

I wondered at first if he had eaten something in the garden as one of my cat's is a real hunter and tends to leave her kills all over the place. I check the garden daily but maybe I missed something.

I'm at my wit's end and feel that the vet is stumped as well as to the cause of this illness.

Has anyone any ideas? Bailey has always been a happy go lucky dog and I hate to see him suffering like this.

Please help

Tara

[marjolein]

Sorry, can't help you, but I really hope he's on the mend rather sooner than later. Poor Bailey!!!

[Wetdog]

It sounds like a partial obstruction to me. He may have an area that is constricted(narrowed) by adhesions and is not letting things pass through normally. The most likely point would be where the old surgery was I'd think.
I'd make sure he has plenty of fluids available, and maybe give him yogurt for awhile. It would be high in nutrition and fluids and still able to pass an obstruction.
If you aren't getting satisfactory results with your vet, I'd try getting a second opinion from another vet.

[Ilana]

Hello and welcome from Israel

[Leslie]

I'm certainly not a vet, so I can't offer solid medical advice. It sounds like you really need to be careful with this boy not going into bloat.

I would like to share with you my personal experience with diet. My Bran who is now 13 always had a sensitive tummy. I tried all kinds of special kibble. The most expensive, vet prescribed, allergy releif diet, etc. At 9 I was afraid he was near death. He was very overweight even though I feed very little senior kibble. He was always gassy and bloated. He was tired, listless. He had arthritis and a bad limp. My vet didn't give me a lot of answers, just put him on that pain medicine - the brand name is escapining me right now Retinol?.

After one really bad bout of vomiting for days and being put on a drip, etc. I decided enough was enough. I switched his diet to a home-prepared diet and switched to a homeopathic vet and we started giving him acupuncture treatments. His weight dropped without even trying to diet, his energy returned, he got over his limp. I'm convinced I saved his life. Bran now gets raw meat and bones ground with veggies, and various supplements. At 13, he has the usual stiffness and incontinence, but my vet says he's surprised how much life is still in him.

Anyway, I offer that as something to consider. I know not everyone can afford the time and money to feed a home diet, but I do believe in a properly researched home diet. You may find that your boy was allergic to the additives, preservatives, or grain in the commercial food. Try some boiled chicken in broth with rice for a few days to relieve his tummy. Slippery elm and a little purreed pumpkin (unsweetened in the can) are both good for tummy especially if he has the runs. Probiotics and enzymes would also be helpful for digesting his food better. Bach remedies might be soothing too. a good site to look at for alternative care is: www.katberard.com/

I hope he is better soon. Leslie

[Leslie]

Another good source for products is b-naturals.com
Check out the newsletters. They also have products like powdered Alfalfa and yucca that give releif to digestive disorders.

[tara]

Thank you to all who have replied to Bailey's problem.

I ended up taking him back to the vet yesterday afternoon as I felt he was going down again. The vet put him back on a drip and kept him overnight. He was going to monitor his progress and possibly operate on him today. However when I went to the clinic this morning Bailey was back to his old self and had even managed to eat a little food. The vet had also X-rayed his stomach again and all was OK.

Because of his improvement, the vet felt I should take him home with me today but return tomorrow morning...whereby he may still operate if there is a blockage showing up in his intestine.

As of now Bailey is still a bit down but nothing like what he was before. He seems more depressed than anything else...probably fed up being prodded, poked and having needles stuck in him.

His diet has always been a concern and the comments from Leslie are something for me to look into. I also live in France but in a very rural part and I don't know of any homeopathic vets in this area.

I will keep you all posted with Bailey's progress.

Thanks again

Tara

[christina]

Gosh, whilst I was writing this, events have overtaken me.... Just read your latest mail, Tara, fingers crossed for Bailey !!

I will still post what I have written, since it still applies....

Hello Tara,

It's difficult to suggest something for Bailey, all I can think of has already been said by Leslie. Weims seem to have sensitive stomachs and are at high risk from bloat, and in my view most commercial diets, and kibble in particular, are not helping to reduce that risk. It is possible that Bailey might have developed intestinal adhesions after his operation, and they could interfere with the normal peristaltic of his intestines, causing gases to be trapped... it's just a guess. Alternatively, what you are describing could also be IBS (Irritable Bowel syndrome) or even IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease). As the words describe, IBS is a symptom, but not a disease in itself - IBD is an auto-immune disease.

If you are feeding kibble.... this food is based on grains - and dogs digestive systems are not designed to utilise grains. At best they tolerate it (and many Millions of dogs do) but all too often it causes problems. A lot of gastric distress is caused by commercial diets, as they are high in fibre, grains and starches. As Leslie says, if you have the time and inclination, you could try either a home cooked or a raw diet. Since Bailey is 10 years old, I would be more inclined to try him on a home cooked diet first, so that a change is not too drastic.

I have heard good reports about supplementing dogs with intestinal problems with L-glutamine . I have no personal experience with this, though. But I see it is one of the products that Leslie's second website provides. Might be worth a try.

But in my view, switching from kibble (if indeed you feed kibble) to a more natural diet would be a jolly good idea for Bailey.

Sorry not to be of more help,
Best wishes,
Christina

[Leslie]

tara said:

I also live in France but in a very rural part and I don't know of any homeopathic vets in this area.

Tara, not to be at all pushy, but I live in rural France too. What I do is have an allopathic vet nearby, but I make a trek to a larger city to occasionally visit a homeopathic/osteopathic vet for consultations, maintenance. I know of 2 personally. One in Bordeaux who is GREAT and one in Angers who is quite good. I called up the veterinary Osteopathic school for recommendations.

I agree with Christina that Bailey would probably do better at first on cooked foods. The chicken and rice is good for sick dogs, but FYI I wouldn't do rice as an ongoing diet.

Oh, I forgot to mention that Bran's horrible gas and bloating disappeared immediately when I changed his diet.

Kisses to Bailey.