HELP-Sick Dog

I have a one and a half year old female black lab who is sick. I came home about a month ago and she was coughing up blood. After a night at the emergency vet clinic, the vet thought it was rat poison and put her on some meds. Within the next few weeks she started to develop fluid in her chest cavity. The vet has tapped her chest weekly to remove the fluid. Last Wednesday they removed 88 oz. of fluid from her chest, that is a lot of fluid for a 60 pound dog. I have been very impressed with the overall knowledge of the members of this site, so I thought I would see if anyone has experienced this situation and what was the cause. The vet would like to do an ultra-sound which could lead to possible surgery. At this time surgery is not a financial option for me. She is a great dog and friend, any information or knowledge would be much appreciated. She is at the vet again today, and with the way she was breathing last night I’m sure she has more fluid in her chest. Thanks.

May I ask where you live and who your vet is?

I know a top notch vet that is in Cannon Falls. The guy is an “old horse” doctor………meaning he has been around the block for many years and is EXTREMELY knowledgable.

If your current vet doesn’t know the root cause to cure your animal……..I would not hesitate to get a second opinion.

This guy is probably the best in the area, if not region. Let me know if you need his name and number………

I’m not sure where you’re located, but if I were you I would take my dog to the University of Minnesota Veterinary Clinic on the St Paul Campus. They are a teaching hospital, so they have the latest technology, and have done some wonderful things for my family’s pets in the past. Here is a link to their website: http://www.ahc.umn.edu/ahc_content/colleges/vetmed/hospitals/
Good luck!

When my dog ate mouse poison (still hearing about that from the Mrs.) we ended up taking him to the U of M vet – our regular vet couldn’t figure it out.

Really expensive but they get the job done

Year and a half old, man that sux.
Have you tried calling the breeder to see if there is a family history of anything?
Definately try to get a second opinion.
There may also be a VET TECH school near you that would look at him, the University vet school near me is a cold cruel place, but the vet tech school is alot more careing.
Here’s a link to alittle info.
http://www.2ndchance.info/cough.htm

Midnight,

I don’t know a lot about dogs, but did they do an ex-ray on the dog to see if maybe it swallowed something that was lodged in the stomach? or anything of that nature?

Midnight,

Sorry to hear about your buddy. If she is anything like my buddy Bailey, I am sure she means the world to you. I have had Bailey in to the U of M Vet clinic for a root canal about 2 years ago. They did an excellent job and took great care of her. I know everyone has there limitation as to what a person should spend on their dog, but if was me I would get another opinion and then is surgery was still needed I would do it in a heartbeat. An X-ray or ultra-sound appears to be the best start to seeing if something else is going on in her chest or stomach cavity.

I take Bailey into Rum River Vetinary Clinic in Anoka, Mn.

Good luck with your buddy!

I live in Faribault and would be interested in contacts for Vets on a second opinion. They have done multiple x-rays on her and nothing in her stomach or chest. What is happening is the fluid is builing up in her chest cavity therefore limiting room for her lungs, causing her do have difficulty breathing.

Blue Fin- how long did it take your dog to get better after eating the mouse poison???

Midnight;
Look up Dr. Peterson in Cannon Falls. He is on the north side of town, on Hwy 20. He has been a great vet for about 40 years…………

A second opinion can’t hurt midnight. I wish you the best of luck with your dog! They’re like family!

Go with the second opinion quickly. The Cannon Falls vet sound good as well as the U. I’m sure the CF vet would be easier to get to logistically. I would call the vet NOW if it were my dog.

At the very least, I would call the vet clinic at he U of M. I had some behavioral problems with my dog, a year ago when we moved into our new house, and they were willing to help me out over the phone. Free of charge.

I can vouch for this vet. He has been taking care of my animals for years. I was turned to him from my sister, who was a vet tech. She interned with him through the U. In her opinion, he was the best around. He isn’t the most “pleasureable” person to be around…….Kind of rude at times, with a “potty” mouth and will “tell you the way it is”, but who cares if he knows what he is doing. Years back, my beagal got shot by my neighbor (another story) with a 12 gauge……He saved her!!!! He took great care of her. I got quite the lecture for letting her get shot……..but again, that is another story………..

Here is his phone number: (507) 263-3929

He also takes credit cards, if funds are a bit tight…..

Ask to speak to him directly………

I asked my daughter who’s a certified vet tech,
she recommends getting a sonogram over x-rays.
That way they may be able to track down all the different fluid paths better.
Sonograms will see tissue moving much better than static x-rays pictures.
She said Lasiks gets prescribed alot for fluid build ups
(mainly in the lungs, but sounds like something else leaking)

jwellsy- is a sonogram the same thing as an ultra-sound. I think that is the path we are going to take, so we know exactly what is going on and can make an informed decision. She was on Lasiks and all that did was make her pee all the time. I just picked her up at the vet and they removed a large amount of fluid again so she definitely is leaking fluid from somewhere. Thanks to everyone for the help.

Sorry to hear about your pal, please let us know how this turns out.

I think they are the same.
This link claims that they are “alternate names”
http://health.allrefer.com/health/abdominal-ultrasound-info.html

We have her scheduled for an ultra-sound this afternoon. We are hoping to get a diagnosis so we can plan a course of action.

Midnight-

Sorry it took a while to get back to you on the mouse poison.

Once they figured out the problem he stayed at the clinic for 3 or 4 days because he needed a few transfusions. I believe they were medicating him as well but the main thing was the transfusions.

I think with poison they crash pretty quick so if it’s been more than a few days they might be able to rule that out. I’m pretty sure my dog would have been dead in less than a week if we wouldn’t have taken him to the U.

Blue Fin- How long did it take after you brought your dog home before he/she was back to normal?

I think he was feeling pretty good by the time we brought him home. Our experience is that their legs swell up (internal bleeding) and that was pretty well gone after a few day at the vet

We were still kind of freaked out and spoiling him but he seemed good.

Update- we had an ultrasound done on her Thursday afternoon and the result is, she has tricuspid dysplasia, which is heart failure in the right side of her heart. She has a bad heart valve which is causing her to build up fluid on her chest. She had a rough night last night and I took her in to the vet this morning. She is running a high fever and they are doing some blood work. The vet thinks she may have developed pnemonia or she may be having kidney failure, so we may need to make some tough decisions tonight. Thanks to everyone for their ideas and thoughts.

I’m sorry to hear about your sick Dog. Good Luck with your hard decisions.
God Bless.

That really sucks Midnight!! Remember your hard decision may ease a lot of pain for the poor pup.

Good luck Midnight!
I know that cannot be a easy task.
Poor pup…

So sorry to hear about your dog midnight. I hope they can do something. when I mentioned your problem to my wife, the first thing she said is possible heart failure due to the potential rat poison. Maybe it was that…maybe it’s the valve, either way, I wish you the best of luck in a very difficult time!

Thanks for the update, I’m sure everyone here will try to help you thru this any way we can. Usualy just haveing freinds that will listen is a great aid. IF ya need to vent and rant, well just have at it, buddy.
One thing I would definately try to do is contact the breeder. Where ever the pup was bred, they ought to know about this too. The other pups in the litter may be prone to this. And should be taken into account on their future litters they may plan to have. Any responsible breeders would be extreamly sympathetic about this situation.
Best Wishes to you, your whole family, and the pup.

Our family went through that on July 10th of last year. Keeping what’s best for the pup is the hardest thing to do.

I hope everything works out well.

Midnight, I extend my deepest condolences in this extremely difficult time for you and your dog. I’ve been through this 3 times in my life and it never gets any easier. From my experience, what’s best for your pet, is often the hardest on you and your family. I made the mistake of not having a pet for over 15 years after one difficult decision. I found that is not nearly as cathartic for you or your family as the companionship of a loving pet. Good Luck in these difficult times.

yea, my buddy is going through this right now. He had to leave town for a few days to get over it. He had a spaniel for 12 years. The dog got diabetes and he had to give it 2 shots a day. It was a really cool dog too. It was his shadow………

Whatever you do, don’t let an animal suffer……

Good luck with your decisions!