Any idea what is wrong?

[Blackrose]

Ever had her lipase levels checked for pancreatitis? I have a dog with chronic pancreatitis and her symptoms are almost identical to what you describe.

I'd wait til she's eating and feeling better to do her vaccinations...well, personally, I wouldn't do them at all, but that's a whole other issue. My vet wouldn't vaccinate an already ill dog in any case.

Good luck. I hope you find an answer and Chloe feels better soon.

No, she hasn't been checked for anything. Even just thinking that it could be pancreatitis makes me want to crawl into my bed and cry because that is why we had to put our cat of 15 years to sleep.

She's only a year old, so the vaccs she'll be getting at her last booster set, so to speak. One being her rabies, which she really does need. After this set, though, I agree with you - I'm going to have her titer tested when its time for her next round.

[Glacier]

No, she hasn't been checked for anything. Even just thinking that it could be pancreatitis makes me want to crawl into my bed and cry because that is why we had to put our cat of 15 years to sleep.

She's only a year old, so the vaccs she'll be getting at her last booster set, so to speak. One being her rabies, which she really does need. After this set, though, I agree with you - I'm going to have her titer tested when its time for her next round.

Pancreatitis is much easier to treat in dogs than it is in cats...still serious, but generally not something you'd have to consider putting her down over. I've had several dogs with pancreatitis both acute and chronic. None of them have died because of it. Paxil has had chronic problems for years. She's 14 now and still doing very well. She was still my main lead dog this past winter. (she's retired now, but I haven't broke that news to her yet!) I have to monitor her diet very closely and occasionally give her sub-q fluids. At one point we added enzemyes to her food, but she doesn't seem to need that anymore.

I'd ask for a general health panel(bloodwork). It should show if anything isn't working right in her major organs and at least give you a starting point.

I didn't realize Chloe was so young! I do vaccines for two years(one when they first arrive if I don't know their history and a booster a year later). I do rabies every three years because I have to keep my kennel permit(there hasn't been a case of rabies here for 50 odd years).

[Spiritwind]

(there hasn't been a case of rabies here for 50 odd years).

That would be so nice if it was like that here!! I just heard on the news lastnight that in the county (Guilford) just north of me, there has been 13 confirmed rabies cases so far this year!... just in that county! Foxes, raccoons, skunks, bats, cats...etc... I know last year was really bad as well!...

[Twisterdog]

That would be so nice if it was like that here!! I just heard on the news lastnight that in the county (Guilford) just north of me, there has been 13 confirmed rabies cases so far this year!... just in that county! Foxes, raccoons, skunks, bats, cats...etc... I know last year was really bad as well!...

Here, too. A few years ago we had a BULL with rabies. Now THAT would be scary!

[bckrazy]

I was going to suggest the same thing as Glacier... get her checked! My friend's dog was diagnosed with Pancreatitis. Apparently, a dog will either have it from birth (which sounds like Chloe probably has) or will get it following an intestinal infection. You'll have to give her enzymes, but it's highly treatable! It's weird, but I have met several dogs with Pancreatitis in the past few months. I used to know nothing about it, and thought it was super rare... but my friend's dog was just diagnosed, a dog at the park had it, and a dog in rescue was diagnosed with it, and they are all healthy with treatment.

Since the episodes are sporadic, it doesn't sound like Chloe has a severe case... but I've read that a dog with Pancreatitis will slowly starve to death, so it's SUPER important to get her checked out! Unless they're absolutely positively necessary, I would skip the vaccinations, until Chloe is better. Good luck, and keep us updated!

[critters]

Could she have Giardia? The SNAP is better at finding it than a poop test, in our experience; poops can have plenty of false negs.

[Blackrose]

Just got back from the vet visit. I didn't get the results for her fecal, but her heartworm blood test came back negative for everything. She is physically in great shape. I got some meds for her that she will be on for the next week to clean out her system. With just what I was telling him, he said it could really be anything, especially since there isn't anything abnormal about her stool and vomit (no blood, mucus, or anything like that). The meds will treat her for all of the intestinal problems that it could be, and if she's still having problems, Dr. Griese said to bring her back and they'd do further tests.

I did finally break down and buy her some canned food to mix in with her dry and she is downstairs happily chowing down. *shakes head* We'll see how long that lasts though. Let me tell you, trying to find a good canned food that wasn't expensive was hard. I bought this Natural Life Adult Lamaderm (Lamb and Rice formula) for a buck twenty per 13 oz can. The ingredients are Lamb broth, Lamb, Lamb liver, Brown Rice, Rice Flour, Peas, Carrots, Flaxseed Meal, etc., etc.

Even when she isn't feeling well (she had a bacterial infection along with a case of worms when she was spayed) she would eat her food when I mixed canned in with it, so at the very least this will keep her from starving.

She weighs 42 pounds, which is what she weighed a couple of months ago when I had her in for a bath. So while she hasn't lost any weight, she hasn't gained any either, which she should have done as she's matured a bit.

[Giselle]

Could she have Giardia? The SNAP is better at finding it than a poop test, in our experience; poops can have plenty of false negs.

I'm confused. At our clinic, we swab the poo with a cotton swab (which then break and mixes with a solution) and then drop a couple droplets into the Snap test window. The poop test IS the snap test. Right..?

[Jessika]

Honestly... the only advice I can give is to have her checked out by a vet. I really hope you find out what's wrong, though. Have you talked with your vet about a payment plan if you can't pay for it all up-front, or post-dating checks?

[Blackrose]

Honestly... the only advice I can give is to have her checked out by a vet. I really hope you find out what's wrong, though. Have you talked with your vet about a payment plan if you can't pay for it all up-front, or post-dating checks?

I have an appointment scheduled for 1:30 tomorrow. The head vet, Dr. Griese, is going to be looking at her.

The perk of working at this particular vet clinic is that I don't have to pay up front for any medical care that my dogs recieve. Their stand is that if I fail to pay in a timely manner, they can always deduct the payment from my check.

Pancreatitis is much easier to treat in dogs than it is in cats...still serious, but generally not something you'd have to consider putting her down over. I've had several dogs with pancreatitis both acute and chronic. None of them have died because of it. Paxil has had chronic problems for years. She's 14 now and still doing very well. She was still my main lead dog this past winter. (she's retired now, but I haven't broke that news to her yet!) I have to monitor her diet very closely and occasionally give her sub-q fluids. At one point we added enzemyes to her food, but she doesn't seem to need that anymore.

I'd ask for a general health panel(bloodwork). It should show if anything isn't working right in her major organs and at least give you a starting point.

You have no idea how comforting that is to hear.

If her fecal comes back negative for any type of parasite, I'm going to request for a blood panel to be done.

I just want her to get better and be healthy.