hemorrhagic gastroenteritis
Hope you all don't mind me talking about one of my non-shiba dogs, but this was a scary situation that I wanted to share.
This past weekend my beagle mix Buckley almost went into shock after having only three hours worth of bloody diarrhea. It scared me so bad we went to the emergency vet, who immediately put Buck on IV fluids, got an xray and did blood work.
Their diagnosis was Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis.
Merck Vet Manual Info : http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/23311.htm
According to the vet, if we had waited the night out, he probably wouldn't have made it through.
It's incredibly freaky because Buckley is going to be 2 in October, and he's a healthy, hearty little dog. This was so sudden - literally four small messy piles of bloody poo within three hours time frame - it was our only indication something was wrong.
The only contributors I could compile was
- we just got back from Maine two weeks ago. Buckley ate a lot of new things, rolled in new things, walked and swam in new places.
- one week ago he got a dexamethasone shot to help him pay less attention to a hot spot on his face (caused by fleas he brought home from maine). He was also given a capstar pill
- I give my dogs whatever I eat (except for dangerous stuff) and this past week I had crab meat, salmon, cheese, veggies. He got bits of all of it, as did my other three dogs.
It's disconcerting that Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis isn't so much a diagnosis of a disorder as it is a description of a condition. Because there is never a universal cause, they cannot conclude why this happened, just that it did. And we'll never know if he's susceptible to it happening again... or how to prevent it...
- - - - - - -
I guess I'm posting to ask if anyone has ever dealt with this? I'm hoping not...
and
Where would you go from here? Be more discerning with meds or food or both?
Thanks
Here's my other three dogs comforting little Buck
And this is a blog post I wrote about the experience and the diagnosis, because it's not easy to find information about this anywhere:
http://shibainuspirit.blogspot.com/2011/09/hemorrhagic-gastroenteritis.html
This past weekend my beagle mix Buckley almost went into shock after having only three hours worth of bloody diarrhea. It scared me so bad we went to the emergency vet, who immediately put Buck on IV fluids, got an xray and did blood work.
Their diagnosis was Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis.
Merck Vet Manual Info : http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/23311.htm
According to the vet, if we had waited the night out, he probably wouldn't have made it through.
It's incredibly freaky because Buckley is going to be 2 in October, and he's a healthy, hearty little dog. This was so sudden - literally four small messy piles of bloody poo within three hours time frame - it was our only indication something was wrong.
The only contributors I could compile was
- we just got back from Maine two weeks ago. Buckley ate a lot of new things, rolled in new things, walked and swam in new places.
- one week ago he got a dexamethasone shot to help him pay less attention to a hot spot on his face (caused by fleas he brought home from maine). He was also given a capstar pill
- I give my dogs whatever I eat (except for dangerous stuff) and this past week I had crab meat, salmon, cheese, veggies. He got bits of all of it, as did my other three dogs.
It's disconcerting that Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis isn't so much a diagnosis of a disorder as it is a description of a condition. Because there is never a universal cause, they cannot conclude why this happened, just that it did. And we'll never know if he's susceptible to it happening again... or how to prevent it...
- - - - - - -
I guess I'm posting to ask if anyone has ever dealt with this? I'm hoping not...
and
Where would you go from here? Be more discerning with meds or food or both?
Thanks
Here's my other three dogs comforting little Buck
And this is a blog post I wrote about the experience and the diagnosis, because it's not easy to find information about this anywhere:
http://shibainuspirit.blogspot.com/2011/09/hemorrhagic-gastroenteritis.html
Comments
And i love that pic!
And poor Buckley. I am glad to hear that he is doing better. And I hope that you are able to figure out how to prevent a relapse/re-occurrence.
I took him to the vets as soon as they opened, I had to carry him he was so weak. and grey- his ears were all grey inside. While I waited there with a 65 lb dog in my arms, I put him down and he bled all over the floor. I just lost my composure and was crying like a baby. This woman I didnt know came over and helped me clean up and was really so compassionate to me/us. The. worst. He got a steroid and SubQ fluids and was hospitalized all day, then the next.
Obviously he got better, though. I may have written about it here in the forums somewhere, or at our blog wryandsage.com
A friend's cockapoo also recently had it, she attributed it the fact that Loona got into the trash, but who knows. Loona was also hospitalized, survived and has been fine since.
It is a bit scary to deal with the sudden onset.... So glad you took him to the clinic at the first sign of trouble and he is doing better now. The severity you describe actually could be a result of a combination of things. Quite possibly he merely picked up a bacterial infection that his body could not fight and rolled into a more intense form of GI problems that at its worst leads right into HGE.
This summer has been pretty bad bad with a lot of dogs coming into the clinic with gastroenteritis in varying stages, and many of the training centers have had absentee dogs with the same problem. Often if bacterial it can be passed from one dog to another given the heat and humidity is a prime petri atmosphere in keeping the germs incubating on grass or even water longer than it normally would.
If he is doing well on the meds and is fine in two weeks ease gradually back to regular food bit by bit and take it one day at a time and observe. It takes a bit of time to recover.
Don't let the vet panic you too much with a deaths door speech, this type of thing is actually more common than you would think. I have had it with more than one Shiba that was training and picked up the germs from the facility. Dogs are quite amazing in their turn around though, from what I understand given the medication available, very few dogs die from it. However, it does cause anxiety. I know the poor dogs become more stressed trying not to poop in the house and owners are frantic trying to keep up with potty schedule and cleaning. Three words.....unscented baby wipes.... yeah "it's a good thing" (LOL).
Snf
It is scary though.
Buckley had puked two days prior to the bloody stool, but I didn't connect them until the e-vet asked about recent vomiting. When we made it to the vet his tongue was purplish and his gums very pale.
So freaky.
And jessica! two dogs at once. oy!
SnF - any theory why this summer has been H/GE prevalent?
I hope no one ever needs this information - but at the first sign of bloody loose stool, don't hesitate - get to a vet ASAP.