I don't know what is wrong with my dog. Any ideas?

Question

I've taken her to 4 different vets and NONE of them know what's wrong.

The first vet said she had colic - idiot.
The second vet suspected she had pancreatitis and prescribed some sort of tablet which didn't help.
The third vet ordered a blood test and found she had low potassium levels, and thought she might have Addison's. She was tested negative though.
Finally, the last vet couldn't find anything wrong, and concluded that she may have GME and prescribed prednisolone, which she's been taking for the past couple of days.

She's an 8 y/o fox terrier. Basically her symptoms are: panting, shaking (more severe than tremors but not as extreme as a seizure) and hiding under the bed when she shakes. She refused to eat twice last week, but apart from those times she has had no trouble with appetite. Her stomach feels a little harder than normal. Oh.. and for a couple of days last month she had trouble climbing up and down the stairs and jumping onto the bed but since then she's been fine.

None of the vets who have examined her have been able to find out what is wrong. Her temperature is always normal, there isn't any pain along her spine. Her breathing and heart sound fine.

Wth is wrong? Does it sound like she is in pain when she is shaking/hiding? The prednisolone which she is currently taking doesn't seem to be helping much. These symptoms have been going on for approx 2 years sporadically. At first it would last only a couple of hours and she'd be better for months, but since then it's been getting progressively worse. She's been shaking since last Wednesday now, and the last time this happened was around 4-5 months ago.

Help!

Answer 1

Vets have basic knowledge of a lot of things in many species of animals. What you need is a specialist who knows a lot about dogs.



Ask your vet for a referral to a canine internal medicine specialist who will find out what is wrong with your dog and will carry out appropriate testing if needed. Don't waste any more money going from vet to vet. Go to the experts and have your dog's records forwarded on to the specialist.



Did any of the vets you saw do a complete blood profile on you dog? (not just the vets normal blood test) My dog had much the same symptoms as yours does but she had them only for one day. She was taken to the vet immediately and I asked for for a complete blood profile to be done by the pathology specialist. It showed she had a high lipase level. This indicated acute pancreatitis. She was prescribed tablets for 5 days and a change of diet. She showed marked improvement within 24 hours and continued to improve. Now, a week later she is back to normal.

Answer 2

Well, don't use a gas powered leaf blower in the house ever again! Lol! Sounds like something I would have tried. Anyway, I vacuum my dogs during shedding season. I might just have to invest in a FURminator thing because the vacuum isn't working. They both stand and wait their turns, making me look like an idiot. The undercoat only gets spread around and on the floor (they are both short-haired breeds). 2. Do not turn your back on a dog in the tub or getting a bath in the yard. It always ends with a wet person, running dog and frustration. 3. NEVER, EVER leave a bowl of ice-cream on your bed for a second. I don't care how close the bathroom is. I caught my Rat Terrier licking out of my ice cream bowl with her eyes closed. BTW, I still ate the ice-cream. lol!! She only licked a small portion away before I caught her. 4. EVERY dog needs a slicker brush as the cheap brushes at the dollar store doesn't work and holds fur instead. hahaha 5. DO NOT EAT your dogs kibble, you will get very sick. I had the poops for an entire day. 6. If it's milk, take it with you because Rat Terriers love milk. I have caught my dog's nose in my cup a few times as a puppy. She would also drink the milk from mother's cup and mom will wake up to hairs floating in her milk and a tail vanishing around the corner. 7. If you sit PB candy on a low shelf, do not expect for your puppy to NOT STEAL IT!! Only got to eat 5 pieces and came back in the room with a torn box and a dog smacking its lips. Ate all my damn PB candy and never got sick. 8. Not pertaining to a dog, but my red eared slider will frantically swim every time I am near. She is just "starving" every waking minute. Took me a moment when I first got her to realize that turtles are masters of manipulation. She now gets fed twice a day, not every time she flails.

Answer 3

Firstly, I'd be a bit wary of her being on the prednisone, when the vet doesn't even know what's wrong.

It's a steroid and can have many side effects.

If you really feel, it's not making any difference, then I'd stop it.



Why did the 1st. vet, think it was colic?

And you say her stomach is harder than normal?



May be, you have to go right back to basics and look at her diet for allergies?

You could cook your own dog food, so you know exactly what she is getting.

Is it also possible, she is lacking something in her diet?

Have they considered Arthritis?



Add a tablespoon of Olive oil to her diet. Every day. It has many health benefits.

Give her tinned sardines in oil, once a week also.

And half an hard boiled egg, every day.

I'd also give her a teaspoonful of Organic, apple cider vinegar, with the 'Mother', every day.

From the health food shop.

This is amazing stuff!



If the vet doesn't know what's wrong after all the tests they have done, it's very difficult to say.

Which is why, I would completely change her diet.



I give all the above to my dogs.

Plus half a clove of garlic, chopped up, every day.

Garlic is not toxic for dogs. Onions are.

And fresh, chopped up parsley.

All mixed in with mince, (any) lightly cooked.



Commercial dog food is full of rubbish and can cause many allergies and health issues and shorten your dogs lifespan.



When did you last use a flea prevention on your dog?

Does that tie in at all?

When did your dog have a vaccination booster?

Does that tie in at all?



These things can cause terrible side effects in some dogs.



I'd suggest you do lots of research.

There's a very good website.

Go to the pet section of:

www.earthclinic.com

Answer 4

.



I've had a dog with Cushings and these are not at all classic symptoms of that illness.



Sounds to me that your dog could possibly be having seizures and that would explain why the prednisone isn't helping. Outside of that I think it's possible she could have a spinal injury.

Both situations would manifest sporadic "episodes" of mal-being



Seizures come in all shapes and sizes and can manifest themselves as violent trashing all the way down to subtle air licking.



You may also want to do some breed research to see if the breed itself is prone to specific illnesses like epilepsy. Again, epilepsy doesn't always manifest itself as grand mal seizures.



After having spoken to some terrier rescues or breeders, you 'll probably have a renewed sense knowledge of about what could possible be wrong with your little angel. Go back to your vet and discuss your concerns further, but don't rule out epi. It's more than plausible.



I'd be concerned about a vet who prescribes prednisone without having done some tests however. This drug in itself should only be used when absolutely necessary , so you may want to question this as well, especially since you say it isn't helping.

Best of luck

Answer 5

OK... go right back to basics. Think what got your dog out of it the last time 4-5 months ago. Is the dog in pain when doing that shaking and hiding behaviour, or is it psychological? To help rule out the latter try using Calming Signals. Turid Rugass' article is in the link here: http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.php?artid=1

If giving the dog a less stressful environment doesn't help then assume it really is in pain and ask

your vet to give you some pain relief medication (not Tramadol at this stage as it can send them well out of it). If that makes no difference then think about seizure activity and seriously revisit its posible causes.



I'd agree that changing food could well be helpful but it will take a week to transition to something better. It would ideally be hypoallergenic and as grain free as possible. (I feed James Wellbeloved but you could go for one of those very expensive 70% meat kibbles or even feed raw,)

Answer 6

It does sound like she's in pain.



If this has been happening on and off her whole life, I suspect a genetic component. I think when she was young, her system was more able to "bounce back" from what ever attack this is, and now that she's older, she just can't shake it off like she could before.



Prednisone would have helped seizures. If there's no change, it's not that. What could it be? I don't know. It could be a rare genetic defect of her muscles or nerves.

Answer 7

Ask one of those vets, probably the one you like the most, to run a Urine Cortisol/Creatinine Ratio Test to Rule out Cushings. The panting and hard tummy are all signs of Cushings and this test won't say it's Cushings, but it will tell you if it isn't.

My Cushings dog acted like this. Cushings is the opposite of Addisons, but most Addisonian dogs have major diarrhea bouts unlike Cushings dogs. Using Prednisolone will give a wrong reading to the UCCR test, so if you are going to have the test run, you need to have your dog off these meds for at least 2 weeks.

Answer 8

If your dog drinks a lot of water, pants and hungry all the time and has a pot belly have her tested for cushings. I am going through that with my dog. There is a group I belong to that has a lot of information on Canine Cushings. [e-mail]. Good Luck to you. I am having the testing done with my dog.

Answer 9

I had a dog that was panting and had froth coming from his mouth. We didnt know what it is was and he couldn't move. He was like this for one night, the next morning he died. It was an epilepsy. You might wanna check that, but i dont think it is. Better safe then sorry.

Answer 10

possibly was abused as a puppy?? my dog shakes and hides and hits the floor when he hears noises. even pees when he's really scared. we think he was abused as a puppy.



also, when really twizzed, he pants like crazy and his tongue sticks out as far as he can stick it out too.