Akita mysteriously ill?

charlie

My 20 month Akita has been a healthy dog until I took him to the vet's on Saturday (25th sept) the vet gave him a clean bill of health. He had been licking the floor which he does all the time everywhere he goes no matter how much I try to stop him.

Anyway on Wednesday he vomited Tuesday's food up. After that he refused food after that but nobody seemed concerned (other dog owners and the vets). He got weaker until Thursday night when he vomited blood. Friday he had blood filled dirrahoea. I took him to the vet where they tested everything, operated to find blockages/objects but could not find anything, however, they said his insides were swollen/inflamed. Charlie improved slightly but was still very ill.

I went to see him yesterday (Wednesday) where I was told he had an infection in his liver and it was now down to him to improve. Today the vet said he was brighter but I am not getting my hopes up yet.

In your experiences/knowledge, does he have a chance getting through this.

JessicaRabbit

I am sorry to say (but also grateful) that I have no experience in this one. I so hope someone here has some insight for you. That has got to be so scary. I am sure the vet checked for parasites. Do you use a certain floor cleaner? I know the swiffer wet jet fluid and a few others are VERY toxic to pets. That is the only thing I can think of.

charlie

I stick to the least toxic since Charlie has been around but there is every chance the vets had used it when we went in on the first visit (health ckeck ... how ironic!)

JessicaRabbit

I am assuming they gave him activated charcoal and lots of IV fluids already too right?

Where are you?

charlie

Yes he is on a drip with anti-sickness, anti-biotics and had a few other medication as they were testing him over the last few days.

I am in the U.K

JessicaRabbit

That way if we have any vet staff type folk who could give you referrals they know where to refer you.

Fingers crossed for your little guy.

charlie

Thank you very much

Edgewood

I am sorry about Charlie. My strongest vibes that he gets better soon. Maybe Jessica is on the right path with the floor cleaner???

charlie

Yes I am more convinced by it each day, otherwise I am sure they would have picked it up if it was something else like a virus. Thank you

Calia

Veterinary offices are extremely dirty and germ filled, especially the waiting rooms. There are tons of sick dogs that come in, sometimes they even have accidents (piss, poop, vomit) that may have just been wiped up with out disinfecting.

Did you guys get a blood test done? Is he fully vaccinated? His symptoms almost sound like parvo (bloody vomit/diarrhea, won't eat) Why didn't they use an x-ray to see if there is blockage?

There is always a chance of him making it (just as, unfortunately there is that chance he may suddenly turn for the worse). So we can't really give you false hope or promises (no matter how much you would like to hear us say that he WILL make it). I know this sounds cruel, but it's the truth.

The only think i can really share with you is my own experience with a similar situation. Two days after bringing home my Siberian Husky, Tikaani, from the the breeder, he fell ill. He was very weak, sort of vomitty, wouldn't eat, and had a fever (very scary to see with an 8wk old puppy). We rushed him to the vet where they took a blood test and told us to keep him cool over night (it was late in the day, they were about to close up and we didn't want to leave him unsupervised). He slept between me and my boyfriend (so we can keep an eye on him just in case we needed to rush him to the ER), on an wrapped icepack with a wet towel draped over him. We couldn't sleep at all that night.

The next two days we brought him in for IV during the day and took him home at night (no one to supervise and we didn't want to leave him alone). They said he might have parvo or distemper but the symptoms aren't pointed to any specific one. After those two days, he started to perk up and actually eat a little. Then it was vet visits every other week until he was 4.5 months when the vet finally said he was healthy (and we could finally start his vaccinations).

I know what you are going through, I know how you feel, the fears, the sadness. Just remember that we are all here for you, and sending healing vibes to your pups.

charlie

Thank you for your reply.

He has been on IV since he went in unwell. He has had blood tests. I have had him 5 months so not sure when he was vaccinated but that was one of the reason's for the initial health check. Parvo was the initial thought but the vet ruled it out after two days. X-ray was done, the surgery was as a last resort.

I appreciate that and I know no matter how much false hope I search for the reality is sitting right there on my brain.

Luckily the vets are there all night and I can ring throughout the day/night.

Thank you for your thoughts.

lindsayt

I hope your boy begins to feel better. Is he fully vaccinated?

I don't want to speculate. I'm curious what his platelet, white blood cell and hematocrit counts are. Did the vet mention any lab abnormalities?

sunyata

I am so sorry to hear that your boy is so sick. Unfortunately, I do not have any advice to give to you, but I will keep you and Charlie in my thoughts. I hope he makes a full recovery very soon.

StaticNfuzz

Wow, I am sorry and wishing the best for you all. It is hard to say, I am sure the vet is doing the best they can.
In terms of toxicology it is a vast and wide area and hard to pin down unless you have some physical evidence of ingestion.

Some dogs have actually come down with similar symptoms after playing in warm pond water and it turned out to be algae poisoning from drinking the water. So as you can see it could be anything depending on your location.

As far as Swiffer wet jet, it appears to be an urban legend. Here is the link. You be the judge on that one if you want to use the product or not though. http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/swiffer.asp

Anyway, some dish washing detergents can be toxic and even old rags left from antifreeze or antifreeze residue on shoes can be a problem. Same goes if the dog gets it on his paws after a walk and licks his feet. Other problem area, mice and rats if they are poisoned and die on in your yard and your dog eats them.

I would do a house and yard check and clean out any products you think may be harmful so everything is ready for him when he gets back home.

Wishing a speedy fully recovery for your Akita
Snf

charlie

Thank you all for your advice and messages of support.

I don't want to tempt fate but I just called and the vet says they are very pleased with Charlie today. He has held his food down/in and could be on the mend. Long way to go obviously but there is hope yet.

Fingers, toes, whiskers and paws crossed.

ShikokuSpirit

Oh poor Charlie!


THAT is super scary...I'm glad your vet is supplying him with the best that they can give him. I really hope he pulls through this, just keep on loving him!


You are doing your best to provide him with vet care, the vets are doing their best...now it's up to Charlie to hang in there and do the rest.


Be sure to realized both possiblities of Charlie's conditions, hopefully he'll exceed your expectations. All we can really do now is keep on rooting for him, love him and hope for the best .


We'll be keeping our paws crossed and keeping Mr. Charlie in our thoughts.

miss_mallinson

I'm really sorry to hear about Charlie I'm glad to hear the vets pleased with his progress though, we've never experienced anything similar to this with our Akita so I can't offer any advice, I'm afraid. Where abouts in the UK are you?

charlie

Thank you for your messages.

The more I hear other akita owners have not experienced this the better I feel as I was initially concerned it would be a common but incurable problem with akita's.

He is a fighter and had a rough start to life until I got him 5 months ago so he deserves to get through this and enjoy life some more.

tjbart17

I hope that Charlie feels better soon. You're doing everything right, and I'm sure Charlie would thank you for all the care that you are giving him.

asia

I hope his health continues to improve! I am so sorry to hear this!

charlie

Thank you all for your messages.

I went to see Charlie yesterday and to my amazement they decided he should go home so they would have the room on the weekend. Looking at him I think this is too soon. They took him off the drip a few days ago but failed to tell me.
He is very skinny, and not eating yet (although the vet said he has been eating whilst there). He is on 4 different medications, which is not easy to give him, I put them in food but he finds it and rejects the food (he has had a few bites of meat since getting home). I know it sounds cruel but I have put the tablet in his mouth, tipped his head back and poured small amounts of water in his mouth whilst rubbing his neck. He is trying to bring it back up but failing.

He is on tins of food and biscuits (for liver repair) from the vets. Can you suggest foods for liver repair that I can give him one these tins run out please?
Thank you very much for all your help.

amesylph

I am so happy to hear that Charlie's hanging in there even if he is still in rough shape. I don't have any experience with liver problems in dogs and many of the active forumites are in US timezones so will be here a bit later. From the quick look I've had online it looks like high quality protein is key so having a quality dog food or even a home-made/raw diet adapted to his needs would likely do him good, and it looks like a bit of extra fat via healthier oils wouldn't hurt either. I would think something high in omega fatty acids since that is a common dog supplement anyway (either via a supplement named so or salmon oil or the like...even sunflower, safflower, or soybean oil in a pinch). Ki gets a squirt of dog-specific omega fatty acid supplement in his food and thinks it's awesome so if that ends up being helpful it would be an easy thing to give.

Obviously, I would stick with whatever the vet recommends to ensure the best chances of full recovery for your pup, but I know you haven't been thrilled with everything your vet has done so far so perhaps call a few other vets just to see if they will give you a bit of advice over the phone and you can see if it matches up with what your current vet is recommending.

As for the pills, I know Charlie picks them out of food but have you tried something like Pill Pockets? Even a homemade version made from a bit of bread or cheese with the pill fully enveloped can help pickier dogs get medicine down.

Continuing to wish you and Charlie all the best...this must be incredibly difficult for both of you.

charlie

Thank you for your reply, I think I will check with other vets regarding his current foods. As for the food types you recommended, I will stop at the farm food shop where I get his food and see what they have got as the vets prices are 4 times higher and that's too much.

I have tried cheese (which he loves) but he knew it was there. He is not too good with bread, for now I will just have to carry on putting them down his throat. It is strange as Charlie is one of the greediest dog I have ever seen, now he is becoming very picky.

amesylph

I imagine he's eating really slow now, too, since he's not feeling good. Sometimes when Ki has to deal with a pill that is too big to easily sneak with food I take advantage of his excited food mode (even though I probably shouldn't). So with pills that he othewise refuses I'll grab his favorite salmon mini treats, have him sit for it or whatever, give him one and then in rapid sucession treat-pill-treat-treat. He goes into OMG TREATS mode and doesn't stop to notice the pill...or the treats really...

In Charlie's case, though, he's probably still too icky-feeling to get very excited about food yet. Poor guy.

charlie

Yes he is still a bit unusual (understandably) but when he gets more excited about food I will try that method. The curiosity and mild excitement is there but there is a lack of trust because he knows the tablets are there even when I put them in his bowl in another room. He ate a small amount of rice mixed with a bit of tinned food from the vets but once again worked around the tablets, so that's why it's the 'down the hatch' method for a little while longer.

ljowen123

Another idea (if you can), is to crush the pill and mix it with something - I have used salmon before.

charlie

I did consider that, but thought he might taste it and he is not eating enough for me to make sure he gets as much of each tablet as possible but when he is more into food I will try that method as well and see which works best.
Thank you for your suggestion

ljowen123

No problem. We used that method to tranq feral cats so that we could have them spayed or neutered. Usually the salmon or tuna has such an overpowering smell or taste, they don't notice the pill flavor as much.

charlie

Thank you for that, I will get some fish for him. Charlie tasting it was my biggest worry, as I have been trying with his vet food and cheese, he won't go near them now. So the smell of fish should do the trick.

tjbart17

You can also try heating up his food a little if he won't take the fish. It gets their scent glands going.

Did they tell you what was wrong with Charlie and why his liver went so bad?

charlie

He won't eat the vet food at all today, so I have put him back on the food he was originally on (before he became ill) which is warm. He is eating it a few mouthfuls at a time but still dodging tablets. So now I am just giving food and tablets separate or he won't eat.