Kyna Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Hi there, My husbands colleague has two young great Pyrenesse. One is apparently teething and won't eat or drink. Been to the vet twice and the only thing the vet can come up with is teething. But the dog is loosing weight and the owner is worried about loosing the dog.... I would hope the vet would put the dog on IV before it gets that dire but I am not sure which vet they go to. I suggested a little sugar in the water to make it more inticeing and some ice cube trays with pumpkin and peanut butter for an inticing and soothing treat. Anyone have any thoughts or suggestions? Thanks! Kyna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anda Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Milk? My dog loves milk and would always drink it, regardless if he's thirsty or not. Real human food? Would he eat treats? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryP Posted August 5, 2009 Report Share Posted August 5, 2009 Go to a different vet pronto. If the puppy won't eat or drink and is loosing weight, I'll bet my bottom dollar that there is more going on than teething. This is very serious and I wouldn't mess around with a "teething" diagnosis while my puppy was fading away. I recently had a puppy that wouldn't eat or drink and was loosing weight (and dehydrated). She had a intussusception and she didn't survive it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted August 6, 2009 Report Share Posted August 6, 2009 sheesh, yet another stupid vet...get thee to another vet, pronto! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyna Posted August 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 Update - It seems there is more to the story - their vet does think it could be a growth problem. He isn't able to do much so they are going to the other vet in town on Monday (the one we go to). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted August 8, 2009 Report Share Posted August 8, 2009 I don't understand. What is "a growth problem"? Is the pup eating and drinking, or not? As others have said, I wonder if a new vet would wise. I'd certainly want to hear more concrete information from the vet than has been passed on to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyna Posted August 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 They are going to another vet - they are going to the vet we go to tomorrow - as per my previous post. She is a great Perenesse and apparently this breed is prone to a plate formation problem - I didn't get the name of the impediment. She is drinking and eating 'a bit' - your guess is as good as mine as to what that means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted August 10, 2009 Report Share Posted August 10, 2009 I have a friend who helped a neighbor with a dog that basically had pano of the jaw bone (growing pains) - the vet diagnosed it and put the pup on watered down soft food to limit chewing and he's doing well. Maybe this is the condition that the vet suspects?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyna Posted August 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 Sad ending. They did go to our vet (for a second opinion) who told them to go to a neurologist in the States (we are in Southern BC) - by the time they got the second opinion the dog was imobile and in bad shape, not eating, drinking nor eliminating. They felt they didn't have the money for this and that the dog was already brain and kidney damaged so they had her put down. It was certainly a tragedy and I understand that they are going to stay at their current vet. I have told them about pet insurance for their other puppy. It is hard when you can't influence peoples choices ore decisions. I did suggest the 2nd opinion after MaryP suggested it and they did go, I have never had experience with a large breed like that so I didn't know that teething was such a big deal (i.e. going off food/water for a day and bleeding gums) - but I suspected that it wouldn't last for that long. But I didn't know - which is why I asked you all. I am not the type of person who takes the vets word. I also have no problem getting a second opinion and I often come here and post questions. My vet knows this and actually seems to book longer appointments with me because she knows she needs to explain the 'why's' to me - I think she enjoys it (at least that is what I tell myself). She lays it all out for me and lets me decide, but she does tell me which way she is leaning. For example, Isla our 11 (almost 12) BC has a slight heart murmur, we can get an ultrasound (either in the States or in Calgary/Kelowna/Vancouver) or we can see how it goes, the murmur is a 1 or 2 depending on the day and she is showing no signs of slowing down or coughing. So I am comfortable waiting - We didn't take this decision lightly, and I have been to the vet every 2 months or so to have it rechecked. But if she said to me that your options are to go to a neurologist or put my dog to sleep, and that she wasn't sure if she would get better on her own I'd like be grabbing my passport. But I don't have 3 kids. I don't know, is it better just to stay out of peoples lives when they don't share your paradigm? Are people going to do whatever they want regardless of input? I found this devastating and my 2 cents didn't seem to add to a positive outcome. Who knows if this was preventable - the breeder has requested the body for an autopsy. I really don't think I can judge this type of situation, but I can guess at what my actions would be. Thanks for your previous advice and listening to me. Kyna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokjbc Posted August 16, 2009 Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 But if she said to me that your options are to go to a neurologist or put my dog to sleep, and that she wasn't sure if she would get better on her own I'd like be grabbing my passport. But I don't have 3 kids. I don't know, is it better just to stay out of peoples lives when they don't share your paradigm? Are people going to do whatever they want regardless of input? I found this devastating and my 2 cents didn't seem to add to a positive outcome. Who knows if this was preventable - the breeder has requested the body for an autopsy. I really don't think I can judge this type of situation, but I can guess at what my actions would be. Thanks for your previous advice and listening to me. Kyna Personally, I would not judge them negatively for that choice- after years of watching clients go to our neurologist (the one who often will not book an appointment unless we assure them that the client is going to be willing to spend literally several thousand dollars) and with very limited positive outcomes (I'd say back injuries we send there are the only cases that are resolved satisfactorily, for the most part), I'd hesitate myself. In fact, I'd have to have at least one or two strongly positive possibilities before I'd even consider that expense. I strongly believe that are reasonable limits to responsible care of pets, which for me does not obligate any pet owner to get specialist care or reflect badly on them if they do not. It's a personal choice, and in this case, I think they made the right decision if they were not willing to be aggressive with diagnosing the illness. You were very correct in recommending they get a second opinion- puppies EAT- if they do not eat, there is something seriously wrong with them. It sounds like they did pursue your recommendation- but you had no control over the outcome. Your advice could have worked quite positively- there are many treatable things it could have been that might have been caught by your vet. Unfortunately- the pup was severely ill, and it's quite possible that very little could have helped the poor kiddo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyna Posted August 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2009 Thanks Smokjbc - you are 100% right about not judging, especially when it could cost thousands of dollars. I know these people really love their pets, they refer to them as their children (even though they have 3, very nice, human children). I am just not cut out for some of life's tragedies - I don't know how vets and rescue people do it. And I know these people are good dog owners - what about all the goofs out there? But even just the day to day putting dogs to sleep has to be hard on the heart - I know I saw my vet one day and she broke down in tears, they had an awful week and put a handful of local dogs down due to old age and disease. I think it may have 4 or 5, but we live in a really small community. I know this is all off topic from teething but thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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