Odd symptoms, anyone seen anything like it?

I have a 20 month old lab, she has some odd symptoms and we have been to the "best" in Colorado...although i liked him and he was very good, he does not know what is wrong and we are trying different things and will go in for more tests soon, I will make this as short as possible:
She has two very obvious symptoms one, she has a green slime (looks like snot from a kids nose when they are sick - sorry to be so graphic and gross) and the other...she vomits or gets sick (hangs her head and drools excessively) pretty often, about 3 times a week. She does NOT have diarhea or any other stool problems, she is very regular and her BM's are well formed; so I am told that rules out IBS/colitis/etc - during an MRI last week it was discoverd her spleen is 30% larger than normal and her intestines 75% enlarged her kidneys were "grossely enlarged and had irregular borders". SHe is very healthy, she is a field trial lab and hunts a lot, she is beyond in "good shape" and seems very healthy, other than the other symptoms - oh the green slime is almost constant. The vet seems to think she has an inablity to process protiens so he put her on a special food which she has been on two weeks now, no changes - vet says that is a bad sign but wants her to remain on the food two more weeks. She was bit by a rattlesnake when she was 11 months old and died on the table when given anti-venom and steroids (she was given high doses of steroids at the same time as the anit venom) she was revived with ....mmmm.....I forgot, but Im sure it came to most of your minds.....anyway....if anyone has ever heard of anything similar to seen it....please I need help!!!!!!!!!!!! I want to get treatment started but I need to know what to treat obviously.
My husband and I cannot have children and our dogs are our life - Alli (short for Alligator, she crawls on her belly when she is on a "stay") anyway she is the sweetest dog in the world.
She has not lost any weight (gained one pound and has a great appetite)

Alli-

I have no idea what your baby could have, but I do wish you all the luck in the world. How long has she had these symptoms? Giving us that information may help more knowledgable people to help you. Please keep us posted on your dog Alli. And welcome to Pets Ca

P.S. can you post a few pictures of your angel. Is she a black, yellow or chocolate lab. I have a yellow. He just turned 1 on feb 2nd.

I would do some reading about the effects of anti-venom. I understand it can be very hard on the body and can have permanent effects. You will probably find more info reading about humans and snake bites.

Sounds like you are lucky to have him at all. If you live in Rattlesnake country than you should break your dog off of snakes, but you probably know that now.

http://www.uplandbirddog.com/snake/

I would investigate the long term effects of the anti-venom, paying particular attention to how it affects the lymphatic glands/lymphoid system. Is the mucus coming from the nose or the anus?

Has lymphosarcoma(sp?) been ruled out?

What does your vet say?

I am sorry to hear your dog is suffering from an unusual symptoms.



It does not sound like an acute reaction to snake venom (and the meds are all different depending on the snake and I admittedly have no idea how they work in dog, just two pawed beings) - which is usually nausea, an effect on allergies. There is also little standardization among antivenom producers - with some of the drug being more degraded than others.

However, antivenom - especially in people with immunosupressed and compromised systems - sometimes produces severe reactions and I wonder if this is a delayed reaction? Or some chronic condition aggrevated by the drug.

I agree that you should research the chronic effects of the medication administed to your pet. There are newer ones on the market now that claim to be equally effective but less toxic. (Obviously an antivenom, like a vaccine. has some of of the venom in it.

Some ER docs recommend giving sub q adreneline in order to prevent adverse reactions to the antivenom. (It probably would work in dogs too).

Having said all this, it occurs to me that this symptom could well be some other primary issue?

Good luck with this perplexing problem.

Check out this site. It describes the symptoms of a grain seed. Is it possible that your dog came into contact with this or another foreign body that may be lodged somewhere?


cockerjessy.piranho.de/emfram/foreign-bodies.htm

I would assume that your vet has tried giving antibiotics. A co-worker has a golden retriever puppy. She adopted it at 4 months old with little or no history. At his first vet check up the vet noticed a lump on his tummy. Beside the lump there were two small scars. He advised to watch the lump for a few weeks in case it was something that would go away itself. It did not and upon further testing the results revealed a foreign body such as a piece of nail (from the mother stepping on it when he was a tiny pup)that had become infected. Aside from the lump the pup had no other symptoms and the lump did not appear to bother him either. Next week he goes in to have it removed. My point is, is that a foreign body can be hidden in the body for a while without being noticed. Perhaps this is the case for your guy. Maybe he inhaled something.