Sick dog

[blackhillsbiker]

Our beloved Curly-coated Retriever is very ill. He was debarked (before we adopted him, by a breeder who wanted to keep more dogs than the city ordinances would allow). He has always had a problem with dry food, coughing and sometimes choking. Now he has developed some sort of infection. The vet has him in a "sweat bandage" until tomorrow, hoping either an abscess will come to the surface, or the swelling will go down. He got a massive dose of antibiotics and some anti-inflammatory medication. Poor baby can barely swallow. He is so miserable it breaks my heart. We lost our Scottie mix to lupus in May. I don't think I can handle something happening to Doodle.

Deb

[bmccasland]

((((((blackhillsbike and pup)))))))

I hope your pup recovers. Soft food for life?

[NbyNW]

Aw, poor puppydog. So sorry to hear he is suffering. Please tell him that I think he is very brave.

[OakLeaf]

Oh, poor puppy. :( Hope he feels better soon!

[drgynfyr]

Doodle will be fine after a bit :)

((Sends lots of doggie prayers))

Make him some chicken soup broth :)

[jessmarimba]

Aww! poor Doodle! I hope he feels better soon.

[Roadtrip]

Here's to hoping your pup is better soon!

Shannon

[TsPoet]

sending healing energy...
this is as tough on you as him, so I hope you both feel better quick!

[Tri Girl]

so sorry Doodle is sick. Sending all the positive energy your way that I have inside. Hugs to you!!!

[Owlie]

Poor guy. Healing thoughts to him!

[indysteel]

Debarked? OMG; I didn't know such a thing could even be done. It sounds rather gruesome. I hope Doodle's feeling better soon. Keep us posted.

[PamNY]

So sorry to hear! Hope he's better soon. Doodle is a great name.

[blackhillsbiker]

He got back from the vet today and his fever is down. No abscesses. :) Still has a sore throat, but he seems to be on the mend.

Yes, debarking is gruesome (IMHO). He has been left with scar tissue, a chronic dry cough and no voice. It is becoming illegal throughout the eastern states, although breeders are objecting. They are calling it "bark softening." Somehow the euphemism makes it sound more acceptable. For my part, I think it is cruel and unnecessary. I'd love to know what Doodle's voice would sound like.

He's a sweet, well-mannered boy. right now he's laying at my feet and snoring softly, paws twitching. Lookout dream squirrels!

Thanks for all the good thoughts. He got so sick so fast it really frightened us.

Deb

[NbyNW]

So glad he is home! Home is the best place to recover.

Doodle is lucky to have such a safe and loving home.

[Koronin]

Glad to hear he is recovering.

[Zen]

Debarked? OMG; I didn't know such a thing could even be done. It sounds rather gruesome..
Gruesome is not the word.
The word you're looking for is inhumane.
People disgust me.

Try feeding Doodle wet foot with a little extra water so he can essentially lap it up.

[emily_in_nc]

Poor Doodle! So glad he's feeling better. Debarking should be outlawed. That's just horrible. :mad:

[Chicken Little]

Deb- is there some mild laproscopic surgery for Doodle that could ease the cough and other symptoms? It sounds like he has some extra laryngeal tissue flapping around in there. We do it for people, it must be available for pups.
Such and insult, this debarking thing.

[zoom-zoom]

It disgusts me the sorts of things people do to pets for their own convenience. Just as disgusting are vets who will do such procedures. Seems unethical, at the very least.

Glad Doodle is doing better. He sounds like such a sweet guy. How lucky that he has people to treat him like family, now. :)

[badger]

it boggles my mind that there are veterinarians out there who do those things just for money. Any vet with an ounce of compassion or morals will refuse to debark a dog or declaw a cat.

Anyways, I'm glad to hear that Doodles is doing better. I once knew a sheltie that was used as a stud and also debarked. Awful.

[zoom-zoom]

it boggles my mind that there are veterinarians out there who do those things just for money. Any vet with an ounce of compassion or morals will refuse to debark a dog or declaw a cat.

We had a vet who had the audacity to tell us that if we CARED ABOUT OUR FURNITURE we'd declaw our cats...WTF, seriously?! We never went back.

[malkin]

Try feeding Doodle wet foot with a little extra water so he can essentially lap it up.

Zen's typo cracked me up! It is a typo, right? (I'm keeping my shoes on, just in case.)

Anyway, all the best to you and Doodle!

[blackhillsbiker]

He's eating a kind of gruel (wet dog food and lots of water). Still he is gagging. We've had him for 5 years. This is the first time he's had a major problem swallowing his food. We usually just have to be careful not to let him get hold of dry foods. When someone drops a piece of popcorn, that is the worst.

The vet is going to evaluate his throat as soon as all the swelling and redness is gone. I've read that there are some ways to reduce scar tissue. I think one of the articles mentioned laparascopy. I hate to put him through more. Still, if it would help make him more comfortable. The sad thing is that his breeder was pretty famous at one time. The year after we adopted Doodle, his littermate, Flash, won the Westminster Dog Show Best of Breed. I just wish she could see how hard it is on him now. I think all her dogs were debarked.

Deb

[NbyNW]

Does he do okay with peanut butter? Yogurt (I've seen various sources say yay or nay on yogurt, but . . .) ? Just thinking, maybe there are some "smooth" foods that might help supplement his diet while he's healing.

[drgynfyr]

Yay Doodle!! *wishing him a speedy recovery **

[sundial]

The year after we adopted Doodle, his littermate, Flash, won the Westminster Dog Show Best of Breed.

Disgusting! No ethical breeder would de-bark a dog or a litter for the sake of sneaking around city ordinances. :mad: :mad: On a happier note, I'm glad your Doodle is doing better. :) Do you by chance have access to a doggie internist in your area? They could perform an endoscopy to see what's going on with his throat. Another alternative is performing an ultrasound on the esophagus. As for feeding soft food...I have had success by softening food in chicken or beef broth or adding a little bit of baby food to the meal. Be aware that bouillon cubes and canned broths may contain onion powder and you might want to check with your vet regarding this. It probably won't be enough to affect the kidneys but it's better to be safe than sorry.

[tzvia]

De-Bark? Holy crap!

I hope Doodle continues to mend; what a horrible torture he went through :(.

Hopefully the Doc can do something to ease his throat...

Oh, I had to hug my 13 year old puppy Kelev after reading this; I had no idea that anyone would do something like this; I'm just in shock. What was mentioned already, chicken broth, nice and warm with some chicken pieces in it is what I give Kelev when he is under the weather. No matter how he feels, he never walks away from chicken. I can't even say the word in the house- he will drool all over my hardwood floors as only a lab can do.

[Zen]

Zen's typo cracked me up! It is a typo, right? (I'm keeping my shoes on, just in case.)!

Doh! My dog has an excessive licking habit but that's not what i meant.

[Aggie_Ama]

I am not a fan of breeders after my own experience with a vet that was a breeder of 5 different breeds. I know we have a few breeders here and I am sure they are not like the horror stories I have experienced. Our dear Maggie Bear we had to put down last year was sold to me because "she won't take for me, you can have breeding rights though". A vet said that and told me I could keep on trying to make her have litters. :( Her kidneys shut down at 9 years old, my vet felt her breeding background couldn't have helped.

Debarking though? My vet gave me a look when I said I would have never declawed my cat because it disgusts me (she was decalwed by her former owner) but I have never heard of them debarking a dog. I am glad to hear Doodle is recovering, give him an extra hug from all of us. Poor baby!

[smilingcat]

Home made pureed chicken soup is the best. Anytime our babies are sick, we give them chicken stock and any pieces of shredded chicken meat (cooked in the stock or the broth) to go along with it.

[bmccasland]

Nala got poached chicken, rice cooked in the chicken broth, with some cooked sweet potato and dollops of ricotta cheese on the side the last couple of months of her life. She was going off her feed, didn't even want to eat the high quality canned dog food (looked like people food stew), then I brought home a roasted chicken from the grocery store for my dinner, and there she was nose sniffing, "chicken? do I smell roast chicken?" Figured hand picked roast chicken wouldn't hurt, and I happen to have plain rice already cooked. Her vet suggested the sweet potatoes and ricotta cheese. Of course this little dish had to be warmed in the microwave if left over, couldn't be served cold, oh no. :rolleyes:
But it got her to eat.
Now if I could just get Herald Cat to eat. Guess its time for another roast chicken, or maybe some sushi.

Glad Doodle is going better. :)

[blackhillsbiker]

Another week of antibiotics and soft food. The vet said he no longer has a fever. One lymph node is still a little swollen. His throat isn't red or swollen anymore. She didn't feel like surgery is a good idea at this time. His problem wasn't so much the scar tissue as the infection which was able to take hold because of his compromised throat. He'll probably always cough and gag more than other dogs. His tail is back to wagging. :) Thanks for the thoughts and support. We do love our fur-babies!

Deb

[Tri Girl]

a wagging tail is a GREAT sign!! So glad to hear that he's on the mend!!!:D

[OakLeaf]

So glad he's starting to feel better! And +1 on the chicken - chicken or raw ground beef, with rice and shredded carrots, is what my Taz got during his last illness.

It's actually because of Taz that we're no longer completely vegetarian at home. We would buy the meat for him ... and couldn't waste what he wouldn't eat.

[NbyNW]

wag wag wag

glad to hear Doodle is feeling better!

[nancielle]

a wagging tail is a GREAT sign!! So glad to hear that he's on the mend!!!:D

++++1 to that! Also glad to hear that Doodle is feeling better. :D

[blackhillsbiker]

We thank you all. :D

Deb & Doodle

[Owlie]

Aww, so cute! Glad he's feeling better!

[Tri Girl]

he is just precious!! So glad he's on the mend!

[Koronin]

I've heard of debarking and can't believe it's actually legal. As much as I hate declawing, and for the most part cropping and docking (which I do understand IF the dog is actually a working dog and doing what it was bred to do) I just do not understand how debarking can be legal.
Glad Doodle is eating again. Now if I can get my cat to eat enough to start putting weight back on. (This is the 5th time she's stopped eating. She is eating again a little on her own and we're force feeding her, but she's just not eating enough yet. Good thing is that is definitely getting her strength back.)

[blackhillsbiker]

Do you know why your kitty is not eating. I've had a hard time the few times we have had to medicate ours. I can't imagine force-feeding a cat. I hope she feels better soon!

Deb

[Koronin]

Unfortunately we don't know. We have some ideas, but nothing for sure. My old vet (we moved this past spring/summer) had every test she could think of run on our kitty and even set us to an e-vet/specialist to run a couple of other tests. This has happened over about 8 years. This time we were visiting the town we used to live right when it happened so I just called and they had the meds ready for us when we got there to pick up. I do have a really good new vet, but she hasn't seen Tiger yet. At this point the only two guesses we really have are that she does not digest vitamin B properly or that she gets a hairball throws up thinks that she got sick because of eating, doesn't eat and doesn't get sick. Those are the only two things we can come up with. She actually made it through all the stress of selling our house, sending all three of our kitties to my parents home (in Ohio) while selling house and moving and bringing them here. We got moved here in June and got them in July. She stopped eating again at the very end of Oct. Now she is better at this point than there. At that point she was not eating at all. Now she is eating some wet food and some dry food, but not enough yet. Even though I'm getting frustrated I must also remember she does get her strength back before she gains weight and she is not hiding, which she does when she is not eating at all. She is also 13 years old at this point. Although age is not the issue since it's been happening since she was around 5.